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6B / GAME DAY / WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KU
TIPOFF
AT A GLANCE
In its first game back at No. 1, Kansas goes to Boulder, Col., to take on the 11-10 Buffaloos, who are 10-1 at home. Colorado seems to be in a rut, but Kansas is hitting its stride at 6-0 in the Big 12. Kansas leads the series 117-39, 37-26 in Boulder. Kansas has won 40 of its past 41 meetings with Colorado. Shockingly, only one Jayhawk averages double figures in his career against the Buffaloes: Sherron Collins had 10.2 in six career games.
Tyshawn Taylor
PLAYER TO WATCH
Taylor is a solid player. He just needs to stop struggling with poor turnovers and bad fouls.
has shown his ability to get to the line and to pass the ball well (though inconsistently). He played 30 minutes at Kansas State,
proving that coach Bill Self has more trust in him. It has been a little rough for Taylor this season, so maybe he can turn it around with a solid performance against Colorado's talented guards.
After the daunting task of facing two rivals, will Kansas experience a let-down?
QUESTION MARK
The Jayhawks came out of a tough week sitting pretty atop the Big 12. With victories against Missouri and Kansas State, the Colorado match-up may not create the same intensity. The Buffalooes sold out their stadium of 11,000-plus, however, so the atmosphere might be menacing.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"Mario Little. I thought he demonstrated excellent form, wrapped him up good. He's good. He missed his calling. I think he should be on a football field."
— After Kansas coach Bill Self said recent practices included tackling, he was asked who the Jayhawks' best tackler was
Kansas hopes to ride its recent success and beat its western rival.
BOWLING FOR BUFFALOES
Collins
KANSAS (19-1) STARTERS
NO.1 KANSAS AT COLORADO 8 p.m., COORS EVENTS CENTER , ESPN2
Sherron Collins, guard
His coach and teammates said he's the best player in the country. He led them to yet another late victory Saturday at Kansas State. He leads the team with 15.5 points per game, good enough for 11th in the Big 12. When his team needs him, he there's.
Henry
Brady Morningstar, guard
Coming off a season-high 14 points against K-State, Morningstar seems to be in his groove right now. This would be his fifth start of the season. He is averaging 5.9 points per game this season and 7.8 in conference play.
Xavier Henry,guard
★★★☆★
Henry is just about the only Jayhawk not doing well with the Big 12 schedule. His conference high was 14 points against Texas Tech and he has only scored in double figures twice in six games. His minutes are dropping as his shots are not.
Marcus Morris. forward
★★★☆
Morris came away with his third double double of the season Saturday despite fouling out with four minutes to go in regulation. His Big 12 scoring leads the Jayhawks at 17.8 and leads the Big 12 with 62.1 percent shooting. His 8.2 rebounds are not to be taken lightly either because a majority of his shots come from grabbing offensive boards.
★★★☆
Cole Aldrich. center
Aldrich earned the Big 12 Player of the Week award Monday. At Kansas
State, Aldrich led the Jayhawks with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He has three double doubles in his last three games.
Tyshawn Taylor, guard
SIXTH MAN
When Collins, Aldrich and Morris were out of the game against Kansas
State. Tavlor
State, laylor had the perfect opportunity to be the hero for Kansas. Instead, he neutralized himself with great plays and head-scratching
blunders. He kept the Jayhawks close with 12 points, going 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
— Corey Thibodeaux
Tomlinson
Nate Tomlinson, guard
COLORADO (11-10) STARTERS
Tomlinson is a pass-first point guard who does a solid job of running the offense, averaging 4.3 assists per game. If he has to be, he's a lethal shooter from outside, knocking down 42.6 percent of his threes.
Cory Higgins, guard
Higgins
★★★☆
Higgins is the unquestioned star of the Colorado team. He's a dangerous shooter, averaging 18.3 points per game, but he's not a high-percentage shooter from three-point land, knocking down just 32.8 percent from distance. Higgins should prove to be the Jayhawks' toughest competition today.
Alec Burks, guard
Burks, a 6-foot-6 freshman out of Grandview, Mo., was lightly recruited out of high school as just a three-star recruit. He has played well at the college level, and is now the Buffaloes' second-leading scorer at 16.3 points per game. Burks was injured two minutes into the Buffaloes' last game, a 64-63 loss at Iowa State, but should
be back today.
Marcus Relphorde, forward
In the first three games of conference play Relphorde had 24 points against Texas, 17 in a victory against Baylor, and 18 in 19 minutes against Kansas State - but he has been quiet since then. In his last four games, Relphorde averaged just six points per game, down from his season average of 10.4.
★★★☆☆
Austin Dufault, forward
Relphorde
Dufault, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, averages just 3.4 rebounds per game. Colorado's frontcourt is, in general, underwhelming on the glass. That's Kansas' biggest advantage, with three players averaging at least five boards per game.
★★★★
SIXTH MAN
Dufault
seniors on the Colorado
Thorne II
roster, and the only one who plays any significant minutes. From the bench, he's the team's fourth-leading scorer at 8.9 points per game. A lot of his points come from long range, where he's hitting an incredible 51.9 percent of his shots, leading the conference in three-point percentage.
★★★☆☆
Tim Dwyer
Sherron Collins and Denis Clemente
CU TIPOFF AT A GLANCE
If this was a 3-on-3 game with the shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards, Colorado would stand a chance. Unfortunately for the Buffalooes, the point guards and the centers have to play, too, which means Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich match up against Nate Tomlinson and Austin Dufault, respectively. The odds aren't in Colorado's favor. If Cory Higgins and Alec Burks can put up 20 points apiece, which isn't out of the question, and get just a little help from the rest of the team, Colorado has a chance of pulling the upset. The Buffalooes are 10-1 at home this year, losing only to Kansas State by six.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Cory Higgins
Higgins is the best pure scorer the Buffaloes have boasted since Richard Roby graduated a couple years ago. He won't be a first team
all-conference guy, but he'll certainly be on the second or third team. Higgins is also one of Colorado's best perimeter defenders, poking away 1.9 steals per game
Higgins
He was already brilliant once against a team from the Sunflower State, netting 30 points in the Buffaloes' 87-81 loss to Kansas State, and he has scored 20 or more in nine of Colorado's 21 games.
QUESTION MARK
Will Alec Burks be able to play?
Burks slipped through the cracks in recruiting – the only other Big 12 team to offer a scholarship was Kansas State – but has turned into a real producer for coach Jeff Bzdelik, leading all Big 12 newcomers with 16.3 points per game. Burks sprained his left knee in Colorado's heartbreaker of a loss to Iowa State, but Bzdalik sounded optimistic that Burks would return. Though he cautioned that Burks is day-to-day, Bzdalkel said "we're in good shape here." If Burks can put up his usual numbers, it will be a huge boost for Colorado. If he can't play, the Buffaloes are in trouble.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"That's a good get for Colorado and a recruiting blunder by a lot of folks. He averages 16-plus, something like that. He's good. He's a player, and he obviously fits Jeff's system."
Kansas coach Bill Self, on Colorado freshman Alec Burks
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Iowa State at Baylor
Time (CT) TV Channel
Texas A&M at Missouri
6:30 p.m. MC/FSNSW
ESPNU
SCHEDULE
CHAUNCEY BILLUPS WILL MISS TWO FREE THROWS
FREE THROWS...
...if the Jayhawks keep their hot streak going. Right now, the Jayhawks are playing very close to their No. 1 ranking and Colorado is far from it. If Kansas comes in and puts up the kind of performance it's capable of, the crowd will be a non-factor. At the very worst, there is a chance Jayhawk fans could overwhelm the Buffaloes with their own chants, like so many other opponents before them.
COORS EVENTS CENTER WILL ROCK...
... if the Jayhawks become complacent. They beat Missouri and just beat a top 10 ranked rival in Kansas State. Now they are back at No. 1. With two games up in the Big 12, it's easy to feel satisfied where they are. If any sort of comfort seeps into their gameplan, it would put the Jayhawks in another Sherron Collins bail-out situation. Kansas coach Bill Self and the players said it would not happen, but who wouldn't?
Prediction:
KANSAS 84, COLORADO 68
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Feb. 6 NEBRASKA ESPNU 5 p.m.
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.