6B / **GAME DAY** / TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas has been torn apart defensively in its last two games by a long, athletic wing. Memphis has that piece to the puzzle, and a much better supporting cast than Arizona and UCLA. If the Jayhawks have found a way to stop the bleeding over the last four days, they should be able to hold off the Tigers. If Wesley Witherspoon or Will Barton becomes the third straight opponent to go for 25-plus, the Jayhawks will be staring down their first loss of the season. Memphis has too many offensive weapons for the right-now sloppy Kansas defense to handle.
PLAYER TO WATCH
BRADY MORNINGSTAR
Morningstar is the key to everything the Jayhawks do defensively. He almost always draws the assignment of guarding the opponent's best offensive threat. That means Tuesday he'll have the unenviable task of guarding either Wesley Witherspoon, who leads the Tigers with 13.7 points per game, or Will Barton, who has three games of 20-plus scoring in his seven-game old career. If Morningstar can keep his man to single digits, the Jayhawks chances would take a huge boost.
QUESTION MARK
Who can stop (slow) Wesley Witherspoon?
Witherspoon is a matchup nightmare for the Jayhawks. He's listed at 6-foot-9, which makes him taller than all but one of the Jayhawks starters (Markieff Morris). That wouldn't be a problem, but Witherspoon plays the three for the Tigers, which means, unless Self trots out a new starting five (which I wouldn't rule out after the last two games) either Taylor, Reed or Morningstar will have to handle the primary duties on Wither-spoon. Taylor and Reed are 6-foot-3. Morningstar is the tallest of the bunch at 6-foot-4. Six inches (or five) is a whole lot to be giving up, and Witherspoon would be able to post whichever Kansas guard drew the defensive assignment.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I actually thought Brady did a nice job on him. I don't think anybody else that guarded him guarded him worth a flip."
-- Bill Self on the team's defensive effort against Tyler Honeycutt
KANSAS VS. MEMPHIS 6 p.m., MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, New York City
Taylor
KANSAS
7-0
STARTERS
Taylor was one of the few bright spots for the Jayhawks in last Thursday's heart-stopping 77-76 victory over UCLA. His 17 points were his most since the season opener, and he carried the reeling Jayhawks during a crucial second half stretch. He needs to cut back on the turnovers, though.
Tyshawn Taylor,guard
Reed
Tyrel Reed, guard
Reed remembered how to knock down threes, which, even though he wouldn't admit it after the game, must have felt nice after a rocky start to the season for Reed. He also kept up his surprisingly effective dribble-drive game, which if he continues to hit outside shots could make him lethal offensively.
Morningstar
Brady Morningstar, guard
Morris
Morris
Self said Morningstar did the best job against UCLAS Tyler Honeycutt Thursday night. Of course, Honeycutt poured in 33 points, so even the guy doing the best wasn't doing very well. The 6-foot-4 Morningstar will have to overcome a size mismatch once again Tuesday, facing either 6-6 Will Barton or 6-9 Wesley Witherspoon
Like his brother, Markieff still has some work to do to be a bona fide star for Kansas. The biggest flaw in his game? He can't stay on the floor. Five times this year he's been limited to 20 minutes or less because of foul trouble. In the two games he's played more than 20 minutes, he's averaged 12.5 boards. In the others, he's averaged just 7.8.
Teleford only played nine minutes against UCLA, but was one of the victims in the defensive effort that got lit up by the Bruins' Tyler Honeycutt. With his length and athleticism, Teleford has the potential to become a lockdown defender in the mold of Brandon Rush, but he has to get better, and in a hurry.
Marcus Morris, forward
Releford
MEMPHIS
Markieff Morris, forward
7-0
Morris needs to become a better rebounder for the Jayhawks. He's had two games where he hasn't pulled down a single defensive rebound, and he (and the rest of the Kansas bigs) were feasted on by Josh Smith, UCLA's 305-pound freshman. He's been the offensive force the Jayhawks need, but he needs to develop defensively to be a top-flight NBA prospect.
SIXTH MAN
Carmouche is in his first season with the Tigers. He is eligible to play this season as a result of New Orleans athletics moving from NCAA Division I to Division III. He is averaging 7.6 points per game and leads the team with 15 steals. Carmouche has started every game this season.
Travis Releford, guard
STARTERS
Charles Carmouche, guard
Carmouche
Jackson is one of four freshmen from Memphis, Tenn., and is one of seven freshmen overall. Jackson is second on the team in points. 12.1 per game. He leads the team with 4.2 assists per game, on a team that averages 17.2 per game. Jackson, however, is quite reckless with the ball, which is understandable as a freshman. He averages 3.5 turnovers a game, which is a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Jackson
Crawford, along with Will Barton, is the team's primary three-point shooter. They have taken 33 and 34 shots, respectively. He leads the team with 12 three pointers made. Crawford is another one of coach Pastner's homegrown recruits. Crawford is averaging eight points per game and 3.4 rebounds. Crawford has made 4 starts through seven games.
Joe Jackson, guard
Chris Crawford, guard
Crawford
Will Coleman, forward
Coleman is the only senior on Memphis this season. Coleman is a shot blocker, but does not lead the team this year. He has seven shot blocks behind Tarik Black's 10. Coleman is only averaging 5.6 points per game, but has been the most efficient, shooting 65.2 percent from the field.
Coleman
Wesley Witherspoon,guard
Witherspoon comes into tonight's matchup leading almost every statistical category for Memphis. He is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, 13.7 points and five rebounds per game. Long like the Morris twins, Witherspoon can shoot from the outside, where he is 5-8 on the season.
SIXTH MAN
Barton has only made one start in seven games for Memphis, but he is averaging 11.9 points per game in his role. He is shooting 12.5 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three. Barton is averaging 24.9 minutes and should see that number increase against a Jayhawk team that loves to run.
Witherspoon
Will Barton,guard
Barton
MEMPHIS
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Memphis comes into tonight's game ranked 13th in the Associated Press Poll and 14th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Its 7-0 ranking should be taken with a grain of salt. The only quality win to date is against Miami, a 72-68 victory on Nov. 15 at home. Last week Memphis saw an 18-point first-half lead become a 78-71 overtime victory against now 1-6 Arkansas State.The Tigers can get up and down the court.Tonight's game at Madison Square Garden will only be the second time for the Tigers being outside of Memphis this year. Their only other game was in Tupeelo, Miss., a 70-61 victory against LSU on Nov. 21.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Watt leads the team in scoring and rebounding. He is 23-38 from the field.(605) without attempting a three-point shot. He is a low-post player that will be difficult to guard. Kansas's defenders will want to get Watt as far away from the basket as possible to make it uncomfortable for him. Once he has the ball in the post, he can make a strong move to the basket or if he is double-teamed, he will be able to find his open teammates, who are shooting over 45 percent from the field on the season. He has a young, inexperienced backcourt getting him the ball, but it does not seem to be a problem so far this season.
WESLEY WITHERSPOON
QUESTION MARK
Is the third time a charm?
The 2008 National Championship game is still probably fresh in the Tiger's mind as opposed to last year's 57-55 loss. Memphis comes in scoring 85.3 points per game, which is 9th in the nation, while giving up 65.7. Kansas scores 89.9 points per game, third in the nation. Kansas also does a better job of handling the ball, leading the nation with 21.1 assists per game. The Jayhawks also are leading the nation in shooting percentage. .569. Memphis hasn't faced a team like Kansas that takes care of the ball as well as it does and forces as many turnovers as it does. Memphis has a 1.07 assist-to-turnover ratio, a recipe for disaster in the Big Apple.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"This is my second year as head coach. I have never been more disappointed in a group of guys and the way they played. Absolutely disappointed in them. We got outplayed in Arkansas State, and we were fortunate to get the W."
— Mike Lavieri
— Memphis coach Josh Pastner after the Tiger's 78-71 overtime victory over Arkansas State on Dec. 1.甩 ESPN
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Tim Dwyer
Game
Wed. Dec. 8 Time (CT) TV Channel
Alcorn State at Nebraska 7:00 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Tulsa 7:00 p.m. CBSCS
TCU at Texas Tech 7:00 p.m.
Prairie View at Texas A&M 7:00 p.m. FSSW
THE ROCK CHALK CHANT WILL SOUND IN THE GARDEN IF...
SYLVESTER WILL CATCH TWEETY BIRD IF...
The Jayhawks don't have the defensive answers. Kansas can score. That's not the question. The Jayhawks are third in the nation in points per game. But Memphis (ninth in the country in points per game) can score, too. So it will fall on the shoulders of Kansas' defense. Valparaiso and Ohio were gimmes. Arizona and UCLA? Whole different story.
SCHEDULE
The Jayhawks can hold two of the trio of Joe Jackson, Wesley Witherspoon and Will Barton to fewer than 15 points. If the Jayhawks can keep a duo from going off, the should be able to subdue the Tigers' offense enough to top them.
Prediction:
Kansas 81, Memphis 73
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Dec. 11 Colorado St. ESPN2 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 18 USC ESPN 2 11 a.m.
Dec. 22 Cal FSN 10 p.m.
Dec. 29 UT-Arlighton ESPNU 8 p.m.
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