8B
GAME DAY / FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
Kansas (21-1, 7-0) gets its first chance for a season sweep when Nebraska (13-9, 1-6) comes to visit. In their first matchup, the Jayhawks rebounded off their first loss of the season, beating the Huskers in Lincoln 84-72. That was the game where Thomas Robinson started in place of Marcus Morris and eventually turned Morris into the Big 12 machine we see today. After barely getting by Colorado, the second to worst ranked team in the conference, the Jayhawks hope to have a more satisfying result against the dead-last Huskers.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Xavier Henry
It's getting repetitive, but he has to break through sometime. Again and again, Henry proves
he is far more comfortable and effective at home and the opposite when he's away. Since conference play began, it's like he's a
completely different player than who we saw in non-conference games. He is a freshman after all and they are known to go through extremes. If he wants to get back to his 20-plus performance potential, he might want to do it soon. Nebraska is a good start.
QUESTION MARK
Were the past two overtime games just a result of being on the road?
Going into overtime against 18-4 Kansas State was understandable. But going into 11-11 Colorado's house with a nice fan following after blowing them out a year ago and struggling is a little disheartening. The Buffalooes were without one of their best players, Alec Burks, but still gave the Jayhawks all they could handle. The Jayhawks are probably sick of close games at this point and a home game against a non-threatening opponent is a good cure.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"Tomorrow, I guarantee you we will shoot over 150 free throws."
After shooting 47.4 percent from the free throw line against Colorado, Sherron Collins knew Thursday's practice would be dedicated to the stripe.
BACK TO THE FIELDHOUSE KU looks forward to being home after back-to-back road nailbiters.
Collins
KANSAS (21-1) STARTERS
NEBRASKA AT NO.1 KANSAS 5 p.m., ALLEN FIELDHOUSE , ESPNU
Sherron Collins, guard
Collins didn't get off to a good start in Colorado, going 1-7 from the field in the first half. But just when his team started to feel some adversity, he poured in 14 of his 16 after halftime. The Jayhawks are never out of the game as long as Collins is around.
Brady Morningstar, guard
Morningstar has become quite the assist man, averaging just under four per game since joining the starting rotation five games ago. He finished with six points against Colorado and had a couple of steals.
Xavier Henry. guard
The struggles continue for the once-dominant freshman. He has played a total of 33 minutes in the past two games combined and in those games had a total of nine points. He is either in foul trouble or turning the ball over while not making enough plays on the offensive end. His worst games are on the road, so expect a better outing against Nebraska.
★★★☆☆
The sophomore is bringing it. Add another 15 points and eight rebounds, not to mention the most impressive play of Wednesday's game against Colorado. You can knock him for his free throw shooting (2-of-7) or his in ability to put in easy shots (6-for14 from the floor). But you can't knock his effort. He had five offensive rebounds against the Buffalofoes, three coming on the
Morris
aforementioned play
★★★☆
Cole Aldrich, center
Aldrich
damage on the offensive glass, this duo will be scary good. Aldrich dominated Colorado, getting his fourth consecutive double double with 16 points and 14 rebounds as well as five blocks. He was 6-8 from the floor and 4-7 from the line. He has the high efficiency, his teammates just need to make sure he produces at high value.
Taylor is the flashiest player coming off the bench right now. Markieff Morris and Tyrel Reed have their moments, but Taylor draws attention. Sometimes, the attention is good when he stole a pass against Colorado and went coast-to-coast for a layup. He only had one turnover in that game, but only had six points and one assist in 25 minutes.
SIXTH MAN
Tyshawn Taylor, guard
NEBRASKA (13-9) STARTERS
Corey Thibodeaux
Lance Jeter, guard
Jeter's a good ball distributor, which is essential in an offense like Nebraska's where there is no lethal scorer. Even though he only scored two points in the last meeting between Nebraska and Kansas, he played a major role, dishing out a career-high eight assists. He also takes care of the ball well, boasting a 2.35-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jeter doesn't take a lot of threes, but he can knock them down if he decides to. He's shooting 42.4 percent from distance.
Jeter
Henry
Henry doesn't do anything particularly brilliantly, but there's not a whole lot of flaws in his game either. He's shown flashes of being an excellent distributor, with an 11-assist performance against TCU earlier this season and seven assists in the Cornhuskers' last game against Kansas State. He's too inconsistent with that, though, with six games with just one or zero assists.
though, with six games with just one or zero assists. Against Kansas, he had nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
Ryan Anderson, guard
Anderson is probably the best player on the Nebraska roster. He's the only Cornhusker that averages at least 10 points per game. He didn't come through in Nebraska's last game against Kansas, scoring just eight, but he did dish out a season-high five assists. Last year, after a zero-point effort in a 68-62 loss to Kansas in Lincoln, Anderson scored 10 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Anderson
Brandon Ubel, forward
Ubel
Ubel's the only real question mark in the Nebraska lineup, despite growing up in nearby Overland Park. The 6-foot-10 freshman saw zero action in the teams' first meeting, but has played at least eight minutes in every other game this year. Ubel averages just 4.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He's knocked down half of the threes he's taken, but hasn't attempted a triple in his last six games, in which he two points per
attempted a triple in his last six games, in which he's averaging just two points per.
Jorge Brian Diaz, center
Diaz, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Puerto Rico, has shown the potential to be an interior force for the Huskers, including a 15-point performance against Kansas and Cole Aldrich. Like the rest of the Nebraska team, though, Diaz is plagued by inconsistency. Since the Kansa
dy inconsistency. Since the Kansas game, Diaz is averaging seven points per game.
Diaz
SIXTH MAN
Brandon Richardson
Richardson, a 37 percent shooter from long range, went 3-for-4 from three against the Jayhawks in January, pouring in a team-high 18 points off the bench in that game. Richardson is the best
in the Huskers' first conference victory, a 63-46 triumph over Oklahoma last Saturday. Richardson averages 1.3 steals per game, second best on the team.
Richardson
Marcus Morris
Tim Dwyer
NEBRASKA TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
The Cornhuskers are, on paper, no match for the Jayhawks and their embarrassment of riches. Don't tell that to Nebraska, though. They came out swinging in the first matchup of the season, taking a 12-1 lead out of the gate and hanging on for a one-point lead at halftime before the Jayhawks collected themselves and dominated after the break. Brandon Richardson exploded for 18 points when the teams first met in January, but he won't sneak up on Kansas this time around.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Eshaunte Jones
Jones played a career-high 32 minutes against Kansas the last time these two teams matched
up. He went 4-for-11 from long range and scored 12 points as the Cornhuskers tried to knock off the then third-ranked Jawhaws. Since
QUESTION MARK
Jones
then, he has somehow planted himself in coach Doc Sadler's doghouse, though. He didn't play in their following game, and has played single-digit minutes in three of the four games since then.
Can Nebraska get the jump on Kansas again?
The Connhuskers already caught Kansas with its eyes closed once this year and they've got a perfect opportunity to do it again Saturday. The Jayhawks are in the midst of an emotional stretch, starting with a home win over Missouri January 25 and followed by two overtime battles on the road at north division foes. Then their next game is Monday at No. 10 Texas. If Nebraska can get off to another big lead, there's no telling whether or not they'll be able to hang on to it.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"You can't get into a scoring match with Kansas. If they're going to score in the 80s, you're not going to win many games. That's ultimately what happened. I can talk about how good we played, but the bottom line is that we didn't get it done."
-Nebraska coach Dot Sodler, after the Huskers lost 84-72 to Kansas in Lincoln
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT)
Oklahoma State at Texas Tech 12:30 p.m. Big 12 Network
Kansas State at Iowa State 1 p.m. ESPN2
Missouri at Colorado 2 p.m. Big 12 Network
Baylor at Texas A&M 3 p.m. Big 12 Network
Texas at Oklahoma 3 p.m. ESPN
TV Channel
SCHEDULE
BIG RED WILL JUMP FOR JOY IF...
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
Cole Aldrich and Marcus Morris combine for less then 25 points. Remember, in their last meeting, Nebraska had the Jayhawks down by double digits right from the get-go. Aldrich only had six points but Morris carried the load off the bench with 19. Husker center Brain Diaz had 15 points on 7-10 shooting. That kind of efficiency is what the Jayhawks need to produce without allowing the Huskers to do to the same.
This game follows the script. The Jayhawks are the better team and they proved it last time coming back from a double-digit deficit. Now they are at home and the crowd has seen their No.1 team endure two consecutive overtime games. They proved they can win the close ones, now let's see if they can get back to dominating the Huskers and put them away early.
Prediction Kansas 90, Nebraska 67
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Feb. 8 at Texas ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 13 IOWA STATE ESPNU 7 p.m.
Feb. 15 at Texas A&M ESPN 8 p.m.
Feb. 20 COLORADO Big 12 Network 3 p.m.
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.