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GAME DAY / FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
Kansas is on many streaks right now. For the 16th straight season, Kansas won its 11th conference game, against Texas A&M Monday. The Jayhawks are 11-0 in the conference, 25-1 overall. The last time Kansas had such a hot start was the 1996-97 season, when the Jayhawks went 25-1 and eventually finished 34-2. Kansas puts its 56-game winning streak on the line when Colorado comes to town. In their last meeting with the Buffaloes, the Jayhawks needed overtime to win 72-66.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Tyshawn Taylor
The spotlight is on, and Taylor is center stage. He has been an important player in the last few games, sparking huge runs against against Nebraska and
and being an effective point guard when Sherron Collins struggled. Self is starting him to give the team some energy, but
Taylor
Taylor is also known to make mistakes and counter the good plays he makes with bad ones. What to watch for; good decision making, ability to penetrate for layups and speedy transition defense.
Will fatigue be a factor?
QUESTION MARK
Playing Saturday and Monday games offers a lot of downtime for rest, but it also makes getting out of sync a possibility. Self once gave the team two days off the week before Kansas faced Iowa State at home and played poorly. To make up for a small schedule during the week, the Jayhawks have to practice with intensity, which might be a problem if Self sticks to his desire to tone down practices. This doesn't always go as planned if he wants to work on certain areas, but he said it was a priority for the team to be fresh against Colorado.
HEARYE. HEARYE
"I'm not going to put the winningest player in the history of Kansas basketball on the bench because he shot the ball poorly the first half. Ever."
Bill Self responding to Bob Knight's comment during the telecast at Texas A&M saying Sherron Collins should be benched to start the second
REMATCH WITH THE BUFFS
Taylor, home court advantage should keep Kansas out of overtime
Collins
Taylor
KANSAS
25-1 (11-0)
STARTERS
Sherron Collins, guard
Both Collins and Self said there was nothing wrong with the senior guard, who averaged 11 points in the last three games. Collins said was just going through what Henry did early this season — the shots just aren't falling. Perhaps the birth of his third child this week will put the shots back into place.
★★★★
Tyshawn Taylor, guard
COLORADO AT NO. 1 KANSAS 3 p.m., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE, Big 12 Network
Taylor will have his first start since being benched against Baylor. He fills Brady Morningstar's spot to give the team a spark to get the game going with a speed and flash that coaches can't teach, Self said. Whether or not he keeps the position depends on how loud his wake-up call is.
Morris
★★★☆☆
Xavier Henry, guard
Aldrich
In his last three games, Henry averaged 14.3 points per game, compared to just 6.2 points in the five before those. It's safe to say Henry has his shot back, and he's playing at home, where he is most dangerous. Prediction: Henry will start the Jayhawks' night with a three-pointer.
Marcus Morris, forward
As good as he's been, everyone knows what Morris will do each game: double digit points, high efficiency and rebounds bordering on double figures. He leads the Jayhawks in Big 12 play with 16.6 point per game and the conference with a .577 field goal percentage.
★★★☆
Cole Aldrich, center
Bob Knight upset Self by calling out Collins for poor play, but Knight redeemed himself by calling Aldrich the most efficient college basketball player. Aldrich's blocks and rebounds per minute and his shooting percentage the past few weeks back
up Knight's claim.
★★★★★
Morningstar
Brady Morningstar, guard
If anyone can take benching on this team, it's Morningstar, Self said. He creates opportunities for teammates with his ability to penetrate the defense
and to find the open man, but he hasn't been producing offensively. Morningstar defends the perimeter well, but right now the Jayhawks need a little energy.
Corey Thibodeaux
COLORADO
12-13 (3-8)
STARTERS
Nate Tomlinson, guard
Tomlinson is the leading assist man for the Buffaloes, with over four per contest. He creates plays for his high-scoring teammates, particularly Cory Higgins and Alex Burks, but won't do a lot of scoring himself. It's just as likely that he'll score zero as it is he'll score 10.
Tomlinson
Higgins is having a career year, averaging more than 18 points per game. However, his role as the unquestioned best player on the Buffaloes has been jeopardized by Alex Burks recent breakthrough. No doubt Higgins is fine with having a sidekick as talented as Burks, though, because it opens up the floor a little more for Higgins.
Cory Higgins, guard
Higgins
Alec Burks, guard
In three outings since missing the last 38 minutes of the Iowa State game and all of the Kansas game, Burks has scored 27 points, 17 points and 17 points. The Buffalooes pulled out just one victory — a 77-67 defeat of Oklahoma
— in that stretch, but their limited success has not been the fault of this freshman prodigy.
Burks
Marcus Relphorde, forward
Relphorde does most of the dirty work for the Buffaloes. He scores well inside, posting over 10 points per game, and averages four rebounds. Relphorde is a solid defender, but Marcus Morris should be able to put up at least double figures in points.
Relphorde
★★★☆★
Austin Dufault, forward
Dufault's a big body for the Buffaloes,but he doesn't do a whole lot in the way of numbers. He's good for 6.3 points per game and 3.5 rebounds, but, at 6-foot-9 with a solid outside stroke, Dufault should be putting up better
numbers.
Dufault
SIXTH MAN
Dwight Thorne ii, guard
Thorne, the lone senior in rotation, averages 21.3 minutes per game. He provides a relatively
error-free game, turning the ball over only once per contest. Thorne has been benched by Burks' performance, but he's a lethal marksmans from outside, hitting 46.6 percent of his threes.
Thorne II
★★★★
COLORADO
TIPOFF
ATAGLANCE
After going to overtime against in Boulder a couple weeks ago, the Jayhawks shouldn't take the Buffaloes lightly. Cory Higgins played an okay-at-best game last time out, and Colorado was without second-leading scorer Alec Burks for that game. The Buffaloes probably could have pulled off the massive upset with a healthy Burks or an on-point Higgins. Burks is back this weekend, but the home court advantage should spoil any Colorado upset. Kansas' talent goes far beyond Colorado's, especially when the benches are taken into consideration.
PLAYER TOWATCH
Alec Burks
After slipping through the cracks in the recruiting process, Burks has been a revelation for Colorado, averaging almost 17
points per game. Self saw Burks play in the Missouri State Championship his senior year - Self was scouting Bradley Beal,
Burks
now a Florida commit, at the time – and said he was good back then. Now, after growing two inches in the offseason, he's a scoring threat for the Buffs. It'll be a fun matchup between him and fellow superfrosh Xavier Henry, who seems to be back on the right track after a brief derailing.
QUESTION MARK
Can Colorado revive some of the magic from the last game?
The Buffaloes stunned the college basketball world by managing to take the No. 1 Jayhawks to overtime in Boulder. Since then, Colorado has won just one of three, while Kansas has bumped its winning streak to 11. If Colorado can hang around again, though, its confidence will continue to grow, and its chances to pull an upset will go up with every minute off the clock. If the Jayhawks can take the Buffaloes out of it early, though, Kansas should win in a rout.
HEAR YE, HEAR YE
— Bill Self after the Jayhawks beat the Buffaloes in overtime Feb. 3 in Boulder
"We didn't play our best by any stretch, but if you go 18-of-38 from the line and your starting perimeter goes 8-of-26 from the field and you somehow get a win, then some guys had to make some plays. But I thought Colorado played great."
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
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Game Time (CT) TV Channel
Baylor at Oklahoma State 12:30 p.m. Big 12 Network
Texas at Texas Tech 1:00 p.m. ESPN
Texas A&M at Iowa State 3:00 p.m. Big 12 Network
Missouri at Nebraska 5:00 p.m. Big 12 Network
Kansas State at Oklahoma 5:00 p.m. ESPNU
SCHEDULE
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THE BUFFALOES MIGHT STAMPEDE IF...
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
...Sherron Collins gets the Jayhawks up big early. Everyone knows their time to watch the winningest player in Kansas basketball history is slowly coming to an end at Allen Fieldhouse. What better way to spend one of his last three home games than hitting a couple threes early and putting Colorado away by halftime?
...Marcus Morris scores fewer than 15 points. Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins both aren't an automatic 15-20 points each this season. Xavier Henry is a freshman and, even though he is hitting his stride, he can't have the pressure of leading the team. The only scorer left is the consistent Morris, who scored six overtime points to beat Colorado in their last meeting.
Prediction:
LOG
Kansas 90, Colorado 59
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
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Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Feb. 22 OKLAHOMA ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 27 at Oklahoma State ESPN 3 p.m.
March 3 KANSAS STATE Big 12 Network 7 p.m.
March 6 at Missouri CBS 1 p.m.
March 11 Big 12 Championship
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March 18-19 NCAA tournament first round
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