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6A / SPORTS / TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Historically, this series is owned by the Jayhawks, and they've won enough games at the Coors Events Center for it to have earned the nickname Allen Fieldhouse West. The Buffaloes forced overtime in Boulder last year though, and they're a much better team this year. Leading scorer Alec Burks missed that game with an injury, and it's a safe bet that first-year Colorado coach Tad Boyle has his guys convinced they were robbed in that one.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Jeff Withey
Thomas Robinson isn't making the trip to Colorado with the
team. He left after practice Monday to be with his family in Washington, D.C. That means Mario Little will be the third option in the post and Jeff Withey
will be the fourth. Withey's minutes will be essential against the Buffaloes, who have great size in the post, if not great talents. Withey could play an instrumental role in countering the Buffaloes 6-foot-11 and 7-foot centers.
QUESTION MARK
Will Josh Selby show up?
It'd be easy to mark the freshman's struggles up to him facing quicker, tougher defenders than he did in high school ball. Colorado may present a unique opportunity to change his fortunes, if that's the case. The Buffaloes are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They're 11th in points allowed per game in the Big 12. Kansas needs Selby to find his way soon, or coach Bill Self will be forced to start looking at potential replacements in the starting lineup for the talented freshman.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"Every time anybody plays a game, 50% of the teams in the country lose that night, and we hadn't lost yet, so naturally, losing is a big deal but if a team can't respond from one loss then they're probably not that tough."
- Coach Bill Self
Taylor
Big 12 showdown Lighting up the scoreboard
KANSAS
18-1,(3-1 BIG 12)
STARTERS
KANSAS VS. COLORADO 7 p.m., BOULDER, Colorado
Tyshawn Taylor, guard
Kansas' enigmatic point guard was back at his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence in Saturday's loss. Dr. Tyshawn had six assists and zero turnovers and helped shut down Texas star Jordan Hamilton in the first half. Mr. Taylor was 2-for-8 from the field as a key part of an atrocious shooting night from the Kansas starters.
Reed
Selby
Tyrel Reed,guard
Reed was the lone offensive bright spot for Kansas on Saturday. He triggered the 18-3 Jayhawk run that started the game with a three on the first possession and finished with a team-high 17 points in the loss. Reed may draw the unenviable task of guarding Cory Higgins or Alec Burks, two of the purest scorers in the conference.
Morris
Josh Selby, guard Selby has had a brutal go of it lately, and his 2-of-9 performance from the field Saturday was the latest manifestation of that. The potential is still there, of course, but the Jayhawks need him to tap into if they're going to pick up a game on the conference-leading Texas Longhorns.
Josh Selby, guard
Morris
Marcus Morris, forward
Morris' numbers Saturday weren't terrible (16 points, seven rebounds), but what makes him great is his efficiency, and that was lacking. He was just 6-for-17 from the field against the excellent Texas frontcourt. He'll have a much easier time against Colorado. Expect a big day from him.
Markieff Morris, forward
Markieff is one of the best reers in the country, but he is struggling to carry the rest of the team. His numbers (8.5 rebounds per game) are the best in the Big 12, but the Jayhawks have been out-rebounded in four games this year. They're 3-1 with an average margin of victory of .25 in those games.
Markieff is one of the best rebound-
COLORADO 14-6, (3-2 BIG 12) STARTERS
Nate Tomlinson, guard
Tim Dwyer
Tomlinson has not been anything special this year. He averages 2.7 points per game and is second with 2.4 assists per game. The junior from Sydney, Australia, led the Buffalooes in assists as a freshman and sophomore, the first player to do that since NBA guard Chauncey Billups.
Tomlinson
Cory Higgins, guard
Last season, Higgins missed the shot with seconds left that would have given Colorado the upset over Kansas.The game is in the past and Higgins is second on the team in scoring averaging 16.1 points per game. He is second in the Big 12 in free-throw percentage (minimum 2.5 made per game), shooting 89.1 percent from the line.Higgins also leads the team with 2.7 assists per game.
Alec Burks, forward
Burks leads the team in scoring (19.6 points per game) and is second behind Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn (21.3 points per game). He has done most of his scoring inside the three-point line, only making 14 threes this season. Burks is deadly from inside the paint, where he draws a lot of contact. He has taken 146 free throws this season, connecting on 82.9 percent of them. Burks is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game, with 2.15 coming off the offensive glass.
Higgins
Austin Dufault, forward
Austin Dufault, forwards
Dufault has similar height to the Morris twins, but does not have the athleticism. Dufault leads the Buffaloes with 2.75 fouls per game, but will have a difficult time staying out of foul trouble with the twins on the block. Dufault averages 8.7 points per game and grabs 4.7 rebounds, which is good for third best on the team.
★★☆☆★
Burks
Marcus Relphorde, forward
Dufault
Relphorde
Mike Lavieri
CU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Colorado is coming off twostraight away losses to Nebraska and Oklahoma after starting the Big 12 campaign 3-0. This will be the last time these two teams meet in Boulder while both are members of the Big 12. Colorado will be hungry to win tonight after taking Kansas to overtime last year. The Buffalooes are third in the Big 12 in scoring (81.8 points per game), but are 11th in points allowed (71.4 points per game). Coors Event Center is difficult to play in because of the altitude, sitting at about 5,200 feet above sea level.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Guards: sophomore Alec Burks and senior Cory Higgins
Bill Sell called Burks a pro and said that Higgins will probably be a pro. The two are the best scoring duo in the Big 12, averaging 35.7 points per game between the two. Both can score off the dribble, from behind the three-point line and can get others
Burks
involved. What makes the two difficult to defend is their ability to get into the paint and draw contact. Burks and Higgins have turned the ball over this season 92 times. That's because the two have the ball the most, but their assist-to-turnover ratio is an abysmal 1.08.
QUESTION MARK
How important are free throws?
Free throws have always been game changers or breakers. Colorado's three best free-throw shooters, Knutson, Higgins and Burks, are a combined 246-286 (86 percent). Higgins and Burks have been to the line 256 times. If Kansas fouls Colorado frequently, the Jayhawks will have a tough time stopping Colorado because it is so efficient at the charity stripe. Colorado is shooting 77.9 percent as a team, but take the three best shooters out and the Buffalooes are only shooting 66.5 percent.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
"I think we got beat by a team that wanted it more than us . . . they outplayed us, they out-toughed us, they out-scrapped us. They got long rebounds and loose balls. It was an extremely frustrating and disappointing day for our basketball team and our program. This is a game we could have won, should have won and we didn't win -and that's hard to swallow when you're a coach."
- Colorado coach and Kansas graduate Tad Boyle after Colorado's 67-60 loss against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF.
The Jayhawks don't let the emotional drain overtake them like it did Saturday. Kansas coach Bill Self admitted Monday that his players were emotionally spent, but if it hampers their performance Tuesday, the Jayhawks will be ripe for an upset. For the first time in a while, Colorado's got too much talent for Kansas to sleep on.
Prediction:
THE BUFFALOES WILL STAMPEDE IF...
me. "We developed a lot this year and I think they will continue to get better next season."
I'm not convinced.I'm not sure how the current talent level can improve enough to win against legitimate playoff teams every week. Quarterback play is crucial and I'm not sold on Matt
Cassel. In the 2008 season game, Cassel took over for Tom Brady on a team that went 18-1 the year before. All Cassel did was lose five games and miss the playoffs. He played great this year, throwing 27 touchdowns to only seven interceptions. The year before, he went for 16 touchdowns and a whopping
Kansas 89, Colorado 80
CHIEFS (CONTINUED FROM 8A)
16 interceptions. Maybe the addition of Weiss helped spark those numbers in 2010? I think so. It's too bad he's in Florida now.
Somebody, anybody, in the frontcourt steps up. Cory Higgins and Alec Burks are good for 15 points a piece, but the dynamic twosome can't do it themselves. Colorado's frontcourt has been lacking since 7-footer David Harrison graduated in 2004. Somebody has to step up.
But they won 10 games this yearand will continue to improve, correct? I don't think so. Not next year, anyway. A quick look at the Chiefs' record in 2010 shows they beat only one playoff
team, and that was the 7-9 Seahawks. It's more as if they beat half of a playoff team. The other nine wins came against subpar teams like the Browns, the 49'ers, and the Jaguars. Granted, a win is a win, but how often can a team win 10 games and only have to beat a single playoff team? Not very often. The 2011 schedule is brutal with
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games against the Packers, Bears, Jets, Patriots, Steelers and Colts. The walk in the park that was the 2010 schedule turns into a mine field next season. No week will be safe, and feasting on cupcakes won't get you a playoff berth.
The couple thousand KU fans yelling "home of the Chiefs" this Saturday afternoon will disagree with this,
中
and maybe they are right. Maybe the Chiefs will continue to improve and shake off the tough personnel losses and tough schedule.
But I don't think so.
— Edited by Marla Daniels