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The Greene Room

The Greene Room Live: KU-Baylor

By Ryan Greene
February 9, 2008 | 16 comments

9:57 p.m.: Bill Self stated it with plenty of conviction, saying he'd rather win 80-70 than 100-90 any day of the week. As he put it, 100-90 is 'fool's gold.' True, too, was his quote saying that allowing 90 points in the NCAA Tournament means you're on your way home.

Though even Self couldn't scoff at the impressive number in that 100 points scored: 0 three-pointers. It was the first time since the mid-Roy era that's happened (KU not hitting a three, that is). Feb. 28, 2000 at Texas, to be exact.

In all, Self and the Jayhawk guards were pretty happy with the showing, defense included. While the Baylor guards combined for 77 of the team's 90 points, Self pointed out the litany of guarded shots and contested buckets which were seen. The defensive screws all around will have to tighten before Monday night, because while even KU was a bit shocked by Baylor's backcourt proficiency, the Jayhawks are well aware of what the likes of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams are capable of in two days.

Some final numbers of note....

-KU went 238 straight games since their last trey-less showing.

-The Jayhawks turned the ball over just once in the second half.

-Russell Robinson's 22 points were two shy of a career high, while his 14 free throws made and 15 attempted were both new career bests.

-Mario Chalmers' four steals were his most since posting that same number at Boston College on Jan. 5. He's had four or more swipes now five times this season.

-Sherron Collins' 17-point showing is his best since scoring 18 against Loyola (Md.) on Jan. 8. It's his eighth double-digit performance of the year.

-While Baylor's guards went nuts on the final stat sheet, in the first half it was mostly Curtis Jerrells. LaceDarius Dunn scored 17 of his 23 after the break, Henry Dugat scored 11 of his 15 in the final stanza and all seven of Aaron Bruce's points came in the second half. Don't underestimate the defensive job Brandon Rush did on Bruce.

That's it for tonight. Talk to you really soon, as in once we get to Austin tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to it.

8:55 p.m.: I'd say that Jackson slam probably seals this one up. Baylor played solid ball, and if I had to give KU's defense in the backcourt a grade against the Bears, I'd make it either a C+ or B-. Good, not great.

Be back after postgame interviews with notes, numbers and nuggets.

8:42 p.m.: I couldn't possibly put it better than my buddy Berg, who just texted me "Man they're a different team when Collins is in and being aggressive."

I capitalized 'Collins' to make your grammar look flawless, bud.

But he's right. Collins just charged a huge run for the Jayhawks, including a couple of his patented only-he-can-do-it layups and a heads-up side-armed bounce pass to Brandon Rush for a finger roll.

Collins is making up for the sparkplug which had yet to show up tonight. He's shown more energy than anyone in a KU uniform tonight. He hasn't had many chances to do that lately, so maybe this is where he turns the corner and plays more like he did in league play a year ago on a regular basis.

8:30 p.m.: This Baylor team will cause absolute fits for someone down the road in the postseason. And at this point, I'm convinced this is an NCAA Tournament team...as long as they don't squander their remaining schedule.

But tonight, this one's going to come down to the closing minutes, and the three-point shot continues to be the difference. Baylor has now hit seven of them and KU none. The Jayhawks are 0-for-9 from deep, and Baylor's guards are having no trouble getting anywhere on the floor. Texas, with more quality big men on the offensive end, could make KU pay dearly if the Jayhawks play defense like this in 48 hours.

7:58 p.m.: I think it's safe to say the two big equalizers in the first half were three-point shooting and blocked shots.

Baylor was credited with six blocks on the halftime stat sheet officially, but really it was more like eight or nine. The Bears' big men have truly shown up tonight and stepped to the challenge. The Jayhawk bigs, on the other hand, have struggled to find consistency. Darnell Jackson's lone field goal attempt was a transition layup. Yes, he had just one shot attempted. That's going to have to change for KU to hold this lead. Darrell Arthur was a shaky 3-of-8 from the floor, while Sasha Kaun was just 1-of-6. That's a combined 5-of-15.

As for the rebounding battle, KU officially had a 21-20 advantage, but Brandon Rush led the way with five boards, all on the defensive end. Coincidentally, he's looked like the Jayhawks' most aggressive rebounder, too.

Curtis Jerrells leads the way with 17 points for Baylor, including a trio of treys. He's got to be a hard guy to defend, I'd imagine. He has a really funky looking lefthanded shot, but he predominately dribbles the ball with his right. But whatever he's doing is working so far.

I'm still saying KU wins by eight, but it's going to be much less impressive than I thought it'd be...

-Mamadou Diene has been the pleasant surprise for Baylor. Seven rebounds and two blocks in 12 minutes of run.

-Aaron Bruce, who averages double figures for Baylor, had just one field goal attempt...which missed. He's scoreless, while the team's second-leading scorer on the year - Kevin Rogers - is having as rough a go at it as his former high school teammate Darrell Arthur. Rogers had just two points on 1-of-3 shooting.

-Russell Robinson's nine points were pretty impressive, considering they all came in one stretch after a benching early in the game. He truly keyed the 14-3 run which helped KU overcome a 20-13 deficit.

-Baylor playing this close is surprising if you consider a four-assist, 11-turnover showing in the first half.

7:46 p.m.: I thought before this one that KU's post players would be the difference in the contest, and Baylor's bigs have stepped to the plate so far, blocking eight shots so far. Most importantly, for Baylor, they've dominated the offensive glass. The only one who's consistently produced on the defensive boards for KU so far is Brandon Rush, who I'd say looks pretty comfortable tonight in his first game of the year without protection on his right knee.

It's one of those nights where Curtis Jerrells and LaceDarius Dunn are filling it up from deep for the Bears, meanning at some point someone will have to answer the three-ball on the KU end. Mario Chalmers has yet to try one. Russell Robinson, who was huge in the 14-3 run, has tried just one, Sherron Collins one and Brandon Rush two.

7:25 p.m.: Mamadou Diene grabs another defensive board. Maybe this would be a decent time for Cole Aldrich to come in, given the way he's mopped up the boards of late.

7:20 p.m.: We're almost through the first quarter of this game, and so far, the KU guards are far from earning a passing grade against Baylor's backcourt. What's compounding things, though, is the inability of the big men to rebound. Baylor is grabbing offensive boards at will in the opening minutes, and Darrell Arthur has been swatted three times by three different guys so far.

Baylor's guards are completely unfazed by what's been presented to them tonight. They're not afraid of getting inside against KU's bigs. KU should have taken better advantage of a one-on-one matchup Baylor presented early between Brandon Rush and Aaron Bruce. Rush backed him down easily, but had a hard time getting the ball inside the arc after that for awhile.

6:52 p.m.: Baylor may be the best hair team in the Big 12 for two reasons...

-Aaron Bruce is the only guy in the league who can pull off a faux-hawk.

-Tweety Carter's 'do is reminiscent of that of O-Dog from Menace II Society. Great flick.

Ready for this one to start, if you can't tell.

5:38 p.m.: One pregame note: Brandon Rush came out for warmups without his knee brace for the first time this year. He's also not wearing the sleeve he had worn under the supporter since his return early in the season from ACL surgery. Looks like he'll try to play without it.

The obvious storyline in this game tonight - plus Monday's tilt in Texas - is the guard matchups. This was well documented in today's Journal-World.

I'm gonna knock my prediction out a bit early: I'm taking Kansas 80, Baylor 72. Baylor's no punching bag, and the Bears' resumé this year shows that. The stats further prove it. This backcourt is gonna get theirs. I was convinced of this last March when I watched them dismantle Texas' backcourt for about 30 minutes in the Big 12 Tournament. The Bears played the 'Horns close again today.

I'm thinking the difference today is the frontcourt. Darrell Arthur is due a big game after having maybe the most misleading 13-point performance ever Monday against Missouri. Eleven of those came in the second half with the game's outcome all but decided. He played just two minutes and recorded three fouls before halftime. Plus, Darnell Jackson hasn't really blown up in awhile.

-Moving on, lets play this week's edition of Best Team in the Nation. First, for awhile, it was North Carolina. Then they choked. Then it was KU, providing a feel-good story in a rare under-the-radar role. Then Michael Beasley happened. Then it was Memphis without a shadow of doubt. Then...well...they never slipped up, really, but the Tigers play in Conference USA, which is the equivalent of the bottom half of the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Best team in the country right now? Duke. I know, KU fans hate reading that. Trust me, I hate saying it. Like anyone who grew up outside of the state of North Carolina as a hoops fan, I have my reasons for disliking the Devils. Mine go back to the 1992 NCAA title game.

Though it's hard to refute the Devils' case right now as the best team in the land. Aside from playing the best basketball at the moment, they've got the best resumé. After slugging Boston College today at home, Duke is 21-1 overall and 9-0 in the ACC. Their one loss was to Pittsburgh...in overtime...on a neutral court...before Pittsburgh lost Mike Cook and Levance Fields to injury...when Pitt was considered a legit National Championship contender.

Duke has it all right now. Five guys scoring in double figures on average? Check. Outside shooting? Five guys shoot better than 35 percent from deep. Plus, nine guys average double figures in minutes played (KU has eight, for example). That doesn't mean Duke has the quality of depth that other contenders do, but you get the point.

Will they be the best team in the nation in two weeks? Probably not. Will they win the title? Probably not. The reason? Well, I just can't picture Greg Paulus winning one.

-Speaking of national title games, yesterday ESPN Classic aired the 2003 final between KU and Syracuse.

Three observations...

-I still scratch my head at Jeff Graves' final line: 16 points, 16 rebounds. That really happened.

-A co-worker who shall remain nameless said that if he were building a team out of those two combined rosters, he'd rather have Brandon Rush than Keith Langford. That surprised me mostly because the Langford shown in that game - fouling out with an impressive 19 points to his name - was the Keith Langford before his knee started bothering him. He was, at his best, a 6-foot-4 wing who could play anywhere on the floor except posting up bigger defenders.

It's amazing how often people dismiss the fact that Langford is the school's 6th - yes, 6th - all-time leading scorer (1,812 points). Heading into this game, Rush has 1,235 to his name. That makes him 28th. Even if their scoring averages are close, Langford was the last great slasher at KU who could both shoot from the outside or wedge his way inside and make offense happen whenever he wanted to. If he would have been fully healthy his last two years, I'm convinced he would have eclipsed the 2,000-point plateau. Plus, he never had to be reminded to be aggressive on offense. It came naturally.

-We later discussed who our starting five would be if we combined those two rosters, leaving out Wayne Simien since he was injured at the time. Mine was: Hinrich, Langford, Chalmers, Collison, Jackson. Any takers?

Talk to you in a bit.

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