FINAL: Kale Pick looks sharp in Blue team’s 14-10 win at Spring Game

By Jesse Newell     Apr 24, 2010

Nick Krug
Blue team quarterback Kale Pick drops back to pass during the first half of the spring game Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Memorial Stadium.

2:44 p.m.

Pick’s final numbers (when you combine his Blue and White team stats): 14-for-22, 214 yards, two TDs, 0 interceptions.

Webb’s final numbers: 8-for-13, 46 yards, TD, INT

FINAL: Blue defeats White, 14-10

Sands ends the game with an 18-yard sideline run, and officially, the Blue squad wins, 14-10.

Blue 14/White 10 — 3:00 left in game

Pick strikes again with another nice deep pass.

The QB throws a ball deep down the sideline for Matthews, who makes a great adjustment on the ball to bring it in before running to the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown. Nice play by Matthews, who looks like he’ll find the field in some fashion because of his athleticism.

White 10/Blue 7 — 9:26 left in game

Outstanding play by cornerback Calvin Rubles, who breaks in front of an out pattern, catches a Jordan Webb pass, then taps a foot inbounds for the interception. Tertavian Ingram didn’t do a great job of coming back to fight for the ball.

White 10/Blue 7 — 11:36 left in game

Conner Teahan checks in at quarterback and receives the loudest applause of the day. He completes a pass to Omigie, but on fourth down has a throw in heavy traffic knocked away.

White 10/Blue 7 — 17:07 left in game

Quarterback Jacob Morse with his first action. The running clock is making this second half go quickly.

White 10/Blue 7 — 22:30 left in game

A KU football tradition continues: A large rush of fans leave at halftime.

Opurum with one of the best runs of the day, bulling over Tyler Patmon for a six-yard gain.

The next possession, Quigley breaks free on the right sideline for 25 yards. Great block by tight end A.J. Steward to break Quigley for the long run.

White 10/Blue 7 — Halftime

For those of you wondering, here were the first teams on both sides:

Offense

OL Tanner Hawkinson

OL Brad Thorson

OL Jeremiah Hatch

OL Trevor Marrongelli

OL Jeff Spikes

QB Kale Pick

RB Angus Quigley

WR Bradley McDougald

WR Daymond Patterson

WR Johnathan Wilson

TE Tim Biere

Defense

DL Travis Stephens

DL Richard Johnson Jr.

DL Kevin Young

DL Patrick Dorsey

LB Justin Springer

LB Jacoby Thomas

LB Steven Johnson

CB Chris Harris

CB Calvin Rubles

S Lubbock Smith

S Phillip Strozier

White 10/Blue 7 — Halftime

Branstetter misses a 45-yard field-goal attempt with three seconds left to take us to halftime.

White 10/Blue 7 — 1:11 left in 2nd quarter

A little razzle-dazzle by KU, as Pick keeps the ball on a fake end-around. He floats a pass that appears to hang in the air too long, but the 5-foot-7 Sands skies to catch the pass over a defender and also save the interception. Sands is pumped about it, too, jumping up to high-five Pick.

White 10/Blue 7 — 4:19 left in 2nd quarter

Jacob Branstetter knocks through a 36-yard field goal from the right hash. The drive stalled when Webb received heavy pressure up the middle and had to release the throw quicker than he wanted to.

Blue 7/White 7 — 8:36 left in 2nd quarter

Quinn Mecham goes in with the blue squad, but after picking up a first down, he has a floating pass intercepted by Linton. The freshman returns it 30 yards before getting shoved out of bounds.

Blue 7/White 7 — 11:09 left in 2nd quarter

Pick and Webb trade three-and-outs. Christian Matthews goes back as a punt returner. The coaches seem to have a lot of plans for Matthews this season.

Blue 7/White 7 — 13:35 left in 2nd quarter

Kale Pick answers, delivering a deep ball in stride to Chris Omigie deep down the field for a 73-yard touchdown pass. Omigie high-steps into the end zone, and we’ll see if KU coach Turner Gill talks about that after the game. Safety Dexter Linton was the one burnt on the play.

Blue 7/White 0 — 14:55 left in 2nd quarter

Webb makes a play by himself offensively, scrambling away from pressure to his right before firing a bullet off his back foot to Biere, who brings it down in the end zone for a 20-yard score. To get that kind of mustard on a pass like that is impressive, regardless of level of football.

Blue 0/White 0 — End of 1st quarter

Webb switches to the Blue side. His favorite target is Beshears, who has caught a few passes in the flat and turned them into nice gains.

Blue 0/White 0 — 2:27 left in 1st quarter

Quintin Woods with a third-down sack. Webb’s elusiveness and ability to get around defenders doesn’t play well in a spring game when the QBs are sacked when they are simply touched.

Blue 0/White 0 — 4:00 left in 1st quarter

Kevin Young with a touch-sack. The defensive front seven has gotten some good push so far.

Young with another sack, this time on third-and-20. The defensive line is the story of the game so far.

Blue 0/White 0 — 7:10 left in 1st quarter

Darius Parish sacks Webb on third and long. Alonso Rojas comes in for his first punt. D.J. Beshears will return the punt.

Blue 0/White 0 — 8:56 left in 1st quarter

Travis Stephens touches Pick for a sack on fourth-and-10.

Jordan Webb starts for the White Team, even though the original roster had him on the Blue squad.

Blue 0/White 0 — 10:23 left in 1st quarter

On third-and-12, Pick completes a pass in traffic to Biere for 14 yards.

Also, KU’s offensive players — much like last year — are still looking to the sideline before the snap to get the final play call.

Blue 0/White 0 — 11:45 left in 1st quarter

Deshaun Sands returns the opening kickoff. Could that be his role next year?

Kale Pick gets the first rep at QB for KU. Pick’s first pass is a rollout completion to Tiim Biere for 21 yards.

12:55 p.m.

The new videoboard on the south side of Memorial Stadium should be a highlight for those folks coming to the game today. The board appears to be at least three times bigger than the old board, and the picture on the screen also is about as clear as you can get on a videoboard that large.

We haven’t been given a depth chart up to this point in the spring. Quickly, let’s look at the surprises I see from the depth chart below.

Christian Matthews, WR

Just a couple weeks ago, Matthews was wearing a red jersey and competing for the quarterback spot. Now, he appears with the first unit of wide receivers. KU’s coaches must be wowed by his athleticism to move him so high on the depth chart already.

• Randall Dent, DT

This 6-foot-5, 275-pound red-shirt freshman from Grand Prairie, Texas, has a short bio in the media guide. He was named the defensive scout team player of the week twice last season, and now, he’s with the first team in a crowded position battle on the defensive line.

• Erick McGriff and Chris Omigie, WRs

These red-shirt freshmen have received their share of hype — and deservedly so — but as of now, they haven’t appeared to crack the first team just yet.

• Justin Puthoff, FB

He appears with the first-team on offense at fullback over Steven Foster. Puthoff switched from tight end to fullback during spring drills.

12:10 p.m.

Here is the format for today’s game:

• First half will feature two, 12-minute quarters

• Halftime will be 20 minutes

• Second half will consist of one, 25-minute running-clock period

12:05 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Memorial Stadium where the Kansas football team is preparing for its annual Spring Game — the first under new coach Turner Gill.

The Blue and White rosters have been selected. From looking at the roster, it appears the blue squad on offense is the first unit, while the white squad on defense is the first team.

Here are their rosters. An asterisk indicates that person will play for both the Blue and White teams. The players are listed in no particular order.

Blue Offense

OL Sal Capra

OL Jeremiah Hatch

OL Tanner Hawkinson

OL Trevor Marrongelli

OL Jeff Spikes

OL Brad Thorson

OL Duane Zlatnik*

WR D.J. Beshears*

WR Tertavian Ingram*

WR Christian Matthews

WR Bradley McDougald

WR Daymond Patterson

WR Johnathan Wilson

QB Kale Pick

QB Jordan Webb

RB Toben Opurum*

RB Angus Quigley

RB Deshaun Sands

TE Tim Biere

TE Bradley Dedeaux

TE A.J. Steward

TE Ted McNulty*

FB Justin Juthoff

White Defense

DT Randall Dent

DT Patrick Dorsey

DT Richard Johnson

DE Jake Laptad

DE Travis Stephens

DE Kevin Young

LB Jordan Fee

LB Steven Johnson

LB Justin Springer

LB Huldon Tharp

LB Jacoby Thomas

CB Greg Brown

CB Chris Harris

CB Ryan Murphy

CB Calvin Rubles

S Brandon Hawks

S Taylor Lee

S Lubbock Smith

S Phillip Strozier

White Offense

OL Gavin Howard

OL Tom Mabry

OL Michael Martinovich

OL Joe Semple

OL Alex Smith

OL Riley Spencer

OL Carl Wilson

OL Duane Zlatnik*

WR D.J. Beshears*

WR Roderick Harris

WR Tertavian Ingram*

WR Chase Knighton

WR Erick McGriff

WR Chris Omigie

WR Willie O’Quinn

WR Reece Petty

WR Patrick Schilling

QB Quinn Mecham

QB Jacob Morse

QB Conner Teahan

RB Ryan Burton

RB Rell Lewis

RB Toben Opurum*

TE Ted McNulty*

TE Nick Plato

TE Ian Wolfe

FB Steven Foster

FB Tyler Hunt

Blue Defense

DT Jamal Greene

DT Darius Parish

DT Shane Smith

DT John Wililams

DE D.J. Marshall

DE Tyrone Sellers

DE Quintin Woods

LB Drew Dudley

LB Dakota Lewis

LB Steve Mestan

LB Ryan Nelson

LB Chea Peterman

LB Josh Richardson

CB Isiah Barfield

CB Anthony Davis

CB Tyler Patmon

CB Corrigan Powell

S Brian Blackwell

S Prinz Kande

S Dexter Linton

S Olaitan Oguntodu

Special Teams

P Alonso Rojas (Blue)

P John Millsap (White)

K Jacob Branstetter (Blue)

K Nathan Kalish (White)

LS Justin Carnes (Blue)

LS Matt Wohlgemuth (White)

FINAL: Big second-half run pushes KU to 82-65 victory over K-State

By Jesse Newell     Mar 3, 2010

KU vs. KSU

Nick Krug
Kansas senior point guard Sherron Collins gets an emotional hug from head coach Bill Self as he is honored by the Allen Fieldhouse crowd before tipping off against Kansas State, Wednesday, March 3, 2010.

Box Score

Tough love

Jayhawks rise to challenge

Morningstar reminisces

‘Cats love Collins, too

Gary Bedore’s KU hoops notebook

9:33 p.m.

Sherron Collins Senior Speech Cliff’s Notes Version

• I don’t know where to start, but I have a notecard.

• Thanks Scooter, Andrea Hudy, Bill Cowgill. Also thanks teammates. “We’re like brothers.”

• Brady and I have a relationship like a brother (Collins stops to compose himself; Brady crying also). He and his family treated me like their child.

• Thanks Cole. He was 50 percent of my decision to come back to school. He called me every day to have me come back and win another championship.

• Thanks coaches — what Collins thinks is the best coaching staff in America. They care about you on and off the court. Coach Barry Hinson with his barbecue. Coach Townsend recruited me. He’s a positive role model. He means the world to me (Townsend crying on bench).

• Brett Ballard cares more than anybody about the university. After Saturday’s loss, he hurt more than the players.

• For a guy who has all the money in the world, the first thing coach Manning talked about was how to save money.

• Coach Dooley is one of the funniest dudes he’s ever been around. He cares for the team. He helped me with my dieting.

• Coach Self … I’ve had so many ups and downs with coach. I always thought he was picking on me. Everything that he’s said would happen has happened. He’s been one of the most positive role models in my life.

• Thanks 26 people here from Chicago. Turning me loose has made the difference. I love all of you (starts to cry again).

• Now to my other family (fans). “Nobody gets louder than here. Nobody.” Some teams lose, no one talks to them. When we lose, it’s like we won. Everybody is so happy to see us. Thanks for making my four years so wonderful.

• This is the last home game, but it’s not the last game for us. We still have goals. We have a goal to win another title. Hopefully, this isn’t my last trip to the Fieldhouse. We need the fans’ help. “Let’s do this. Let’s win another title. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.” (Raises fist to crowd at end of speech)

9:32 p.m.

Self after the game, after the fans started chanting, “One more year!” for Aldrich.

“That’d be great, but don’t hold your breath on that one,” he said.

FINAL: KU defeats KSU, 82-65

Clemente puts in a jumper, breaking KSU’s eight-minute, 15-second field-goal drought.

Collins is double-teamed, but he finds Marcus Morris, who dribbles around a defender for a layup.

KU milks the shot clock, and Taylor drives to the basket, putting in a one-handed floater off the glass to extend KU’s lead to 19. That should about do it.

Fans start the “Sher-ron Col-lins” chant with 45.3 seconds left.

Collins puts in a drive and layup off the glass with 33 seconds left. Those will be his final points at home.

With 30.4 seconds left, Self was about to check Collins out of the game, but Martin called timeout first. The KU fans send a few boos Martin’s direction for interrupting Collins’ final minute.

Collins checks out after the break, and he gives Self a hug as he gets to the bench.

KU dribbles out an 82-65 victory.

KU 75/KSU 57 — 3:45 left in game

Another tough shot from Collins, as he puts a fadeaway off the glass and in with the shot clock running low.

Clemente races down the floor, but he misses a layup. Markieff comes away with the rebound, and it seems like he’s about the only Jayhawk that’s coming away with the boards right now.

Markieff misses in the lane, but Aldrich grabs the rebound. Taylor steps confidently into a three and swishses it. Suddenly, KU has extended its lead to 72-56.

Pullen takes it to the rim, but Aldrich extends to block it out of bounds. The KU fans “ooh” after that block.

Aldrich rips away a defensive rebound. He’s getting better as this game goes on.

KSU has not had a field goal since Clemente’s three at the 11:49 mark. That’s no field goals in the last eight minutes, four seconds.

KU 67/KSU 55 — 7:35 left in game

KU gets it into the middle of the zone, and Markieff Morris tosses a nice feed over the top to Aldrich for a two and foul. That’s also Kelly’s fourth whistle.

Nice bounce pass from Taylor, and Collins steps in to a three. Swish. That breaks a long drought for him. He was 0-for-5 from deep before that shot. The KU fans erupt.

KSU gets two offensive boards, but the possession ends when Samuels is called for a travel. It was so loud here that I never heard the whistle.

Collins with another tough shot, putting in a runner from the baseline over two defenders. Afterwards, Collins gives Samuels a two-handed shove in the back. KSU calls timeout, and Collins screams toward the fans.

KU 57/KSU 53 — 11:36 left in game

Colon gets a layup over Aldrich, but a crosscourt pass gets Reed an open three that he swishes.

KSU is now in a 2-3 zone, and after a few quick passes, Markieff Morris hits a 14-footer from the baseline.

Sutton misses a three, and Collins has the rebound go off his hands and out of bounds. Somehow, the officials give it to KU, even after having a conference. Martin stomps down the sidelines with hands extended, wondering how in the world the ball wasn’t given to KSU. Big break for KU.

The Jayhawks finally get it to the big man, and Aldrich composes himself before putting in a layup. Martin calls timeout with KU on a 7-2 run.

Out of the timeout, Reed pokes away a pass, and Collins comes away with the steal. The senior throws a long pass up the court to Henry, who puts in a two-handed slam behind the defense. The crowd rises to its feet.

Cheap foul called on Marcus Morris on a rebound attempt, and that’s his fourth whistle. It also puts KSU in the bonus at the 12:48 second half. This game could last till midnight.

Aldrich has a shot blocked, and no one steps up to guard Clemente on the fast break. Big mistake. The guard buries an unguarded three, and KSU once again is down just four.

KU 48/KSU 45 — 15:54 left in game

KU comes out awful offensively in the second half.

Collins misses a three. Marcus has two straight turnovers — he’s averaging less than two per game.

Taylor and Morningstar both add their own turnovers, and Pullen follows with a layup while Clemente hits a tough fadeaway three. That’s a 7-0 run to start the second half, and Self calls timeout, chucking the rolled up paper he had in his hand under the seats on the bench.

KU had two turnovers in the first half before racking up four giveaways in the first three minutes of the second half.

Morningstar breaks the drought with a much-needed three for the team — and him. He hadn’t made a three-pointer in his last five games.

Another turnover from KU, as Morningstar is called for a charge on a drive. The 3-2 zone is once again making it tough on the Jayhawks.

KU scoring — X. Henry 15 (5-for-6 from floor, 3-for-3 from three-point range), Collins 8, Markieff Morris 8, Taylor 6, Marcus Morris 3, Reed 3, Aldrich 2.

KU was 13-for-30 from the floor (43.3 percent), 4-for-10 from three (40 percent) and 15-for-18 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent).

KSU was 13-for-26 from the floor (50 percent), 3-for-7 from three (42.9 percent) and 9-for-13 from the free-throw line (69.2 percent).

KSU out-rebounded KU, 20-13, in the first half. KSU had eight turnovers, while KU had two.

Jacob Pullen had 15 first-half points on 4-for-6 shooting (3-for-5 shooting from three).

Halftime thoughts

• Anyone else reminded a bit of Raef LaFrentz’s Senior Night? Though it was LaFrentz that was honored, it was the underclassman playing in what would be his final home game (Paul Pierce) that performed the best. Let’s not forget that this is probably Xavier Henry’s last home game at Allen Fieldhouse, and he’s halfway to a 30-point game.

• KU with only two first-half turnovers? That’s a great number for the Jayhawks. KSU forces 17.3 turnovers per game, so KU has done a great job with ball security so far.

• Aldrich and Collins combined to go just 2-for-11 in the first half. Aldrich had just one rebound. And still KU is up seven over a top-five team. This is what makes KU so dangerous.

• In the Cram Session above, I said a big key for KU was to get to the free-throw line. So far, so good with that one. KU has 18 free-throw attempts and has made 15 of those tries.

• Great half for Markieff Morris, who had eight points with five rebounds. No other Jayhawk had more than two boards in the first half.

• Collins might be best served by letting the game come to him a little more. He seems to be pressing a bit on his Senior Night.

KU 45/KSU 38 — Halftime

Collins gets an open three in transition, but again his shot misses. The senior guard has eight points, but he’s just 1-for-8 from the floor.

Perfect execution for KU with a minute left. Self called a play, and the Jayhawks did what he wanted, getting the ball to the corner for a three from Tyrel Reed. The shot goes through, and KU shot quickly enough to get a two-for-one. The Jayhawks will have the last possession.

Collins splits two defenders but misses his floater in the lane.

KU takes a seven-point lead into the break. The Marching Cobras are up next.

KU 40/KSU 36 — 1:42 left in 1st half

K-State throws a trapping press at KU, and Taylor’s risky pass over a double-team barely makes it to Henry. The freshman knows what to do from there, driving straight to the lane to shoot in a 5-foot jumper.

Aldrich can’t catch an inbounds pass intended for him, and Rodney McGruder finishes on the other end with a dunk. Collins has the ball knocked away on a drive, and Pullen is left open for a three that swishes through. Timeout Self, as KU can’t afford to give away possessions without shot attempts.

K-State has switched to a 3-2 zone defense, and so far, it has given KU some fits. Henry finally drives baseline, and he’s bumped by Luis Colon. Henry makes both free throws.

Henry gets loose for another three, and he buries it from the side. Great move by Self to get him back into the game with two fouls. Henry is 5-for-6 shooting for 15 points.

KU finds a way to break the zone, as Marcus Morris gets in the middle, then lobs to Aldrich for a slam.

You’ve got to give KSU credit. The Wildcats are hitting shots to stay in this game. McGruder hits a baseline jumper, and Pullen drains a transition three with a hand in his face. Clemente misses, but Wally Judge barrels down the lane for a stickback jam. Self calls timeout with KU’s lead down to four.

Marcus Morris drives down the lane, and he draws Samuels’ third foul. KSU’s big men are in deep trouble with the whistles.

KU 29/KSU 19 — 7:56 left in 1st half

KU goes back to the Triangle-and-Two defense that it also used against the Wildcats in Manhattan. Taylor pokes away a steal from behind.

The Wildcats don’t know the shot clock is running out, and Pullen dribbles up top when the buzzer goes off. The crowd making lots of noise helped get that violation.

Collins runs into Jamar Samuels, and the innocent bystander Samuels is whistled for his second foul. Not a good call from my view, but there have been a lot of ticky-tack whistles so far.

Collins breaks the press, but he makes an unwise decision, jacking up a quick, fadeaway three. It fails to draw iron.

Pullen with a deep three, and KSU has pulled to within six.

Collins pokes in his hand for a steal, and he’s grabbed from behind by Denis Clemente. The KSU guard is lucky he didn’t get an intentional foul called that play. Collins makes his two free throws.

Xavier Henry checks back into the game, and that’s something rare for Self. Typically, when he has a player get two fouls, that player sits for the rest of the half.

The move pays immediate dividends. Henry drives around two defenders for a layup and foul, and he also draws the third whistle on KSU’s Kelly.

Henry misses his free throw, but Aldrich is there for the offensive board. Taylor twirls around a defender, then takes three big steps to go around a defender and put in a layup off the glass. It looked like a travel from here, but it happened so fast, the officials must have missed it.

KSU calls timeout to stop the mini KU run.

KU 20/KSU 12 — 11:58 left in 1st half

Brady Morningstar tracks down a loose ball in the lane, and he fires a quick pass to Markieff Morris for a layup that rattles in.

Morningstar drives inside to get Collins an open three, but his open shot bounces away.

Marcus Morris misses a fadeaway, but Markieff Morris beats Wally Judge inside to get the offensive rebound and stickback with a foul.

There are actually a lot of K-State fans in the building. There’s a pretty loud cheer that goes up every time the Wildcats score.

Elijah Johnson checks in for some first-half action. He’ll have the challenge of guarding the quick Pullen.

Aldrich loses the handle on the way up for a shot, but Markieff Morris comes down with it and muscles up a shot over two defenders that somehow goes in. Good display of toughness from Markieff there.

Johnson picks up two quick hand-check whistles, and KSU already is shooting one-and-ones at the 12:30 mark. The Wildcats’ next foul will result in free throws for the Jayhawks as well.

KSU misses a fast-break layup, but the ball is given to KSU after it goes out of bounds. Self is furious, yelling at the closest official while pointing to the other end of the floor. Self hasn’t been happy with the whistle-happy referees so far.

KU 13/KSU 4 — 15:54 left in 1st half

KU wins the tip, and Collins makes a nifty move to the basket, going behind the back with his dribble to get to the rim. Unfortunately for the senior, his layup bounces away.

Tyshawn Taylor gets KU’s first points on a layup, and Xavier Henry follows with a three from the corner. The building is “juiced,” as Self would say.

Curtis Kelly picks up his second foul on a drive by Marcus Morris. Kelly doesn’t like the call, but he’ll have to sit just two minutes in.

Collins is pulling out moves on the dribble I didn’t think that he still had. He goes behind the back once again to get by a defender, then kicks out to Taylor. KSU’s defenders are all in the lane with Collins, and Taylor makes the easy pass to Henry for another three that swishes through. Give Collins the hockey assist on that shot.

Henry fouls KSU’s Jacob Pullen in the lane, and that’s his second whistle. Already both teams have starters on the bench with two fouls.

Collins with another drive, and this time he fakes a pass before putting in a layup off the glass. The senior guard has more boost today than I’ve seen from him in a while.

Taylor with a steal, and he’s fouled from behind on a layup attempt by Pullen. Taylor’s free throws give KU a 13-4 lead.

Cole Aldrich picks up his first foul trying to help out on a screen 40 feet from the basket. It’s vital for the Jayhawks that Aldrich avoids his second foul this half.

7:07 p.m.

Decibel meter up to 106.5 before tipoff. That’s the highest this year.

7:04 p.m.

A Collins- and Aldrich-themed introduction video. Mostly Collins, but still some Aldrich tucked in there. The big man does deserve some recognition on what is most likely his final home game.

6:52 p.m.

Sherron Collins didn’t even make it to the court for his Senior Day recognition. He was crying already.

Joined by his brother and mother, Sherron received a bear hug from KU coach Bill Self.

He waved his arms a few times to the crowd, then held up a framed jersey given to him by the athletic department.

He then disappeared back to the locker room with his teammates.

6:35 p.m.

This probably has not been discussed before, and it probably won’t be discussed again, but I think it’s worth saying.

For the last two years, Sherron Collins has been great to deal with from a reporter’s perspective.

I’ve covered KU teams in the past where interviews were more difficult. Some players seemed annoyed when talking. Others stayed in the training room to avoid reporters altogether. Others talked in short cliches, hoping that the bad responses would get them out of the interview quicker.

Collins was never like that in the time I’ve been here. He’s always made himself available for interviews and didn’t dodge them when losses came. He’s also taken responsibility even when perhaps it wasn’t his fault.*

* — Like last game, where he took the blame for KU’s loss to Oklahoma State. I looked back, and KU was outscored 15-1 in the first half when Collins was not in the game. There’s only so much leading you can do when your team gets outscored by that much while you’re on the bench.

Collins was polite and friendly and didn’t take himself too seriously. He also was honest and didn’t dodge tough questions or give canned responses to questions when he could have.

As a leader, I think he’s also set the tone for the rest of the team. As a whole, the entire team has been good to deal with this season from a reporter’s perspective. I think that starts with Collins.

This isn’t something that will make headlines. And maybe that’s why I think it’s such a big deal.

That, more than anything, will be what I remember from Collins after his KU playing days are over.

6:02 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the fifth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.

Obviously, this is Sherron Collins Day at the Fieldhouse, as the faithful here will honor the senior guard in his final home game.

I figured the comments section of this blog would be a good place for folks to post their favorite Sherron Collins’ memories. What memories stand out to you about Collins’ career? Bonus points got to those folks that don’t pick the national championship game.

I’ll give you some of my thoughts about Collins as we get closer to gametime.

For now, be sure to vote in the poll on the left and also use the hashtag #kubball to have your Tweets appear in our grid. Be sure to check out our pregame videos on the left side of the page as well.

FINAL: Make it six! Kansas clinches share of Big 12 title with 81-68 victory over Oklahoma

By Jesse Newell     Feb 22, 2010

KU vs. Oklahoma

Nick Krug
The Kansas Jayhawks dance with their sixth-consecutive Big 12 Conference title trophy after their 81-68 win over Oklahoma, Monday, Feb. 22, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse. From left are Travis Releford, Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Jeff Withey.

Box Score

Aldrich on championships: ‘It never gets old’

A league of his own

Remarkably, Kansas has stayed the course

OU doomed by slow start

Aldrich honored

10:20 p.m.

Following the game, Aldrich was honored as Academic All-American of the Year, and after a celebratory video, KU’s players were presented with the Big 12 championship trophy. Collins, holding it up with both hands, took it to the locker room.

KU scoring — Xavier Henry 23 (9-for-13 shooting), Collins 17 (5-for-12 shooting), Taylor 11, Marcus Morris 10, Aldrich 7, Markieff Morris 5, Robinson 4, Morningstar 2, Reed 2.

KU was 30-for-58 from the floor (51.7 percent), 5-for-10 from three (50 percent) and 16-for-23 from the free-throw line (69.6 percent).

OU was 26-for-63 from the floor (41.3 percent), 6-for-20 from three (30 percent) and 10-for-14 from the free-throw line (71.4 percent).

KU out-rebounded OU, 39-33. OU had nine turnovers, while KU had six.

KU defeats OU, 81-68

OU can’t miss late in this game. Mason-Griffin puts in a two with a foul. Crocker gets a jumper with a foul. Mason-Griffin follows with a three.

Luckily for KU, Xavier Henry breaks up OU’s points with a three-point play of his own. Otherwise, this one would have gotten closer than the Jayhawks might have wanted.

KU ends the game with three consecutive offensive rebounds, running out the clock for a 13-point victory.

KU 74/OU 62 — 3:37 left in game

Markieff Morris hits a 14-footer off the glass, but Davis answers with a tough fallaway jumper over Marcus Morris. OU has made some tough, tough shots in the second half to keep this one from getting too out of hand.

Steven Pledger hits a three over Collins, and OU has trimmed the lead to 14. Self calls timeout with OU on a 10-2 run, and this whole second half has lacked energy from KU’s players and fans.

KU 72/OU 50 — 7:20 left in game

Aldrich gets his offense going after the break, putting in a left-handed layup followed by a short shot inside. He’s also fouled the next time down the floor, making a free throw to give him five straight KU points.

KU 64/OU 44 — 10:30 left in game

It’s been too easy for KU with dribble penetration. Marcus sets a screen for Collins, and literally no Sooner steps up to defend one of the best driving guards in the country. Collins simply takes it straight to the rim and finishes with a layup.

Morningstar drives under the basket, but his layup attempt is blocked by the bottom of the rim. The guard is able to deflect the rebound back to Collins, though, and the senior knocks in a three from the right side. A bit of the swagger comes back too, as Collins thumps his chest twice. He’s made three of four shots this half and now is 5-for-11 from the floor today.

More poor defense by OU. Robinson sets a ball screen for Reed, who dribbles all the way to the rim for a layup. Someone has to step up defensively for the Sooners to stop the basketball.

Some KU fans pack up their coats to leave. I guess watching a Big 12 trophy presentation isn’t a strong enough draw to stick around.

KU 56/OU 33 — 15:32 left in game

Xavier Henry with a pass over the top, and Marcus Morris snatches it away to make sure it isn’t stolen. The sophomore finishes with an uncontested layup. That hasn’t always been an easy shot for him this year.

Xavier misses his first shot of the game, as his stickback try is blocked from behind. That’s kind of a lousy way to lose a perfect night, if you ask me.

KU 52/OU 31 — 17:15 left in game

Taylor with two good offensive plays to start the half. After getting an outlet pass, he zips a pass to Collins, who is fouled on a layup attempt. The next time down, Taylor takes his man to the basket, sprinting across the basket before putting in a quick layup from the left side of the rim.

It’s all going in for Xavier Henry tonight. He puts up a guarded 19-footer, and the ball bounces hard off the rim, then off the backboard and the rim again before falling through.

Collins curls around an Aldrich ball screen and swishes a 14-footer. Good sign for KU.

Capel calls timeout, as KU has opened the second half on an 8-2 run.

KU scoring — Xavier Henry 18 (7-for-7 from floor, 2-for-2 from three, 2-for-2 from the free-throw line), Collins 7 (2-for-7 shooting), Taylor 5, Marcus Morris 4, Robinson 4, Aldrich 2, Markieff Morris 2, Morningstar 2.

KU was 18-for-32 from the floor (56.3 percent), 4-for-5 from three (80 percent) and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line (100 percent).

OU was 10-for-33 from the floor (30.3 percent), 2-for-10 from three (20 percent) and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line (77.8 percent).

KU out-rebounded OU, 20-18, in the first half. Both teams had six first-half turnovers.

Halftime thoughts

Well, one Jayhawk has busted out of his Big 12 slump. Xavier Henry looks every bit of a one-and-done now, and not just offensively. He’s crashed the boards for four rebounds and also has been focused defensively.

I think it’s officially time to start worrying about Collins’ shooting. The rest of his game was OK offensively (four assists, two turnovers), but at some point, he’s going to have to shoot better than 30 percent from the floor. KU might be best losing the high-ball screen and instead just letting Collins take the overmatched Mason-Griffin all the way to the basket.

OU’s defense was about as bad as I tried to advertise. But still, it feels like KU should be up by more than 15.

Twenty-four of KU’s 44 points were from in the paint. That tells me if KU works the ball enough, it has been getting easy looks.

Encouraging minutes for Thomas Robinson with four points and two rebounds. If he’s just able to relax on the court and not try to make something happen on every single play, he might be able to provide a spark for KU off the bench in the postseason.

KU 44/OU 29 — Halftime

Collins puts in a guarded three, but unlike his uncontested shots earlier, this one goes in.

Marcus Morris once again takes his man inside, finishing with a turn-around in the lane. That’s a tough move for anyone to stop.

KU is getting beat defensively by poor rotations. Following ball screens, the Jayhawks are double-teaming the ball-handler but aren’t able to get back to their original men. A few quick passes from OU, and Crocker puts in a three.

Xavier isn’t cooling down, though, as he hits a long three from the right side. He’s now 6-for-6 for 16 points.

KU gets it to its hot hand, and Xavier deilvers, hitting an 18-footer around a screen. Make it 7-for-7 for the freshman.

Collins puts in two free throws in the final seconds, and KU takes a 44-29 lead into the break.

KU 32/OU 21 — 3:36 left in 1st half

Xavier Henry with a block on Crocker on one end, then a drive to the hoop for a layup on the other end. OU is doing nothing to stop KU’s dribble penetration in this game.

Cade Davis cuts to the basket, putting in a layup with a foul, and following a Taylor miss, Gallon puts in a short shot in transition. Self calls timeout.

The break doesn’t help. Collins turns it over when his pass is deflected, and Crocker follows with a dunk on the other end. Morningstar misses a contested three, and Davis pops in an unguarded three to push OU’s run to 10-0. Self calls his second timeout in 47 seconds.

Xavier Henry ends the drought, putting in a three from the right side. Give the assist to Marcus Morris.

KU runs in transition after another OU miss, and Xavier puts in a tough shot off the glass with a foul. Henry has 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting.

KU isn’t taking care of the ball well in this one. An Aldrich travel gives KU six turnovers already. OU is forcing just 10.8 turnovers per game this season.

Crowd has been dead today, as I’m sure you’ve been able to tell.

KU 24/OU 9 — 7:59 left in 1st half

Reed penetrates around a screen before pitching to Tyshawn Taylor for a three that swishes through.

Markieff Morris picks up his second foul, and Self checks in Thomas Robinson.

Collins misses a shot, but Robinson hustles to save it from going out of bounds. After taking a dribble, the freshman puts in a layup. The crowd gives him a nice ovation.

KU has been giving Collins high-ball screens when he’s been defended by Mason-Griffin, but honestly, I don’t think Collins needs them. Mason-Griffin isn’t a great defender, and the screen seems to just bring more traffic that Collins has to dribble around.

Speaking of Mason-Griffin, he tries a behind-the-back pass that dribbles out of bounds. Capel calls timeout.

Collins drops a pass inside for Robinson, who pivots a few times before putting in the short jumper off the glass.

Collins curls around a screen and is wide open, but he misses the 15-footer. He just can’t buy a shot. After a KU steal, Collins misses a contested layup before Taylor tips it in. Collins is just 1-for-5 from the floor.

KU 15/ OU 6 — 11:14 left in 1st half

Another miss by Tommy Mason-Griffin. OU’s Tiny Gallon makes things worse for the Sooners with a silly over-the-back foul trying for the rebound. That’s two fouls on Gallon, and he’s one of OU’s only threats for boards inside.

Fitzgerald finally puts in a 14-foot jumper at the 13:21 mark for OU’s first points of the game.

Aldrich answers immediately, fighting for position before putting in a short hook shot. He hasn’t missed many (or any) hook shots in the last two games.

Collins with a nice move in the lane, splitting two defenders before putting in a scoop shot off the glass.

Nice pass over the top by Tyrel Reed, and Markieff Morris slams it home for the easy two.

KU 7/ OU 0 — 14:54 left in 1st half

KU wins the tip, but Aldrich has a shot on an up-and-under move slapped away. The big man tries to grab it, but he fumbles it out of bounds.

Marcus Morris hits a baseline jumper over a defender for KU’s first points.

The Jayhawks are unselfish with it early. Marcus Morris, Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry all pass up shots before Xavier slashes to the lane and puts in a layup with a foul.

Oklahoma looks rushed on its first few offensive possessions. The Sooners are one of the slowest-tempo teams in the Big 12, but that hasn’t been the case so far.

Cole Aldrich picks up an over-the-back call, and KU coach Bill Self checks him out quickly to try to avoid the big man’s second whistle.

Following a miss by Andrew Fitzgerald, OU has started this game 0-for-8 from the floor with three turnovers.

8:09 p.m.

For a few seconds, the pregame video didn’t appear on the videoboard. It reappeared a few ticks later. The KU fans rejoiced.

7:23 p.m.

Our pregame chat is open. I’ll be talking there until gametime.

Just a reminder to use the “Submit a question” link to post a score prediction, to submit a comment or to ask a question.

Today’s random question: What is your first-team All-Big 12 roster as of today?

7:05 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.

Part of coaching is trying to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses to try to give your team the best chance to win.

So, if you were an opposing coach, how would you attack the Jayhawks’ offense?

It’s an interesting question to think about. Would you use a zone? Would you double-team Aldrich? Would you double-team all KU’s post players? Would you have your players pay special attention to Sherron Collins? Would you try to guard the perimeter well to try to force KU to beat you from the inside?

Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this year’s KU offense is that there really is no correct answer. A quick look at the statistics on KenPom.com back this up.

The Jayhawks score 26.9 percent of their points from the three-point line. The national average is 27.0 percent.

The Jayhawks score 52.2 percent of their points from two-pointers. The national average is 52.0 percent.

The Jayhawks score 20.9 percent of their points from the free-throw line. The national average is 21.0 percent.

What does this tell us? Well, the Jayhawks are extremely balanced in their scoring. There isn’t one strong area (two-pointers, three-pointers or free throws) that you can try to eliminate to take Kansas out of its offensive game.

Just for reference, here are the splits for the other top 10 teams in the AP poll.

National average — 27.0 percent three-pointers, 52.0 percent two-pointers, 21.0 percent free-throws.

Kentucky — 23.4 percent three-pointers, 55.1 percent two-pointers, 21.6 percent free-throws.

 Purdue — 22.6 percent three pointers, 55.1 percent two-pointers, 22.3 percent free throws.

Syracuse — 24.4 percent three pointers, 57.4 percent two-pointers, 18.2 percent free throws.

Duke — 29.4 percent three pointers, 48.7 percent two-pointers, 21.9 percent free throws.

Kansas State — 25.4 percent three pointers, 49.4 percent two-pointers, 25.2 percent free throws.

Villanova — 27.5 percent three pointers, 48.8 percent two-pointers, 23.7 percent free throws.

West Virginia — 29.6 percent three pointers, 49.8 percent two-pointers, 20.6 percent free throws.

Ohio State — 29.5 percent three pointers, 52.3 percent two-pointers, 18.2 percent free throws.

New Mexico — 31.2 percent three pointers, 45.4 percent two-pointers, 23.4 percent free throws.

We’ll have our pregame chat later, but for now, be sure to vote in our poll on the left and also use the hashtag #kubball to have your Tweets show up in our grid on the left.

FINAL: Tyshawn Taylor shines in return to starting lineup; KU rolls, 94-74, over CU

By Jesse Newell     Feb 20, 2010

KU vs. Colorado

Nick Krug
Kansas teammates Tyshawn Taylor (10) and Sherron Collins (4) high-five center Markieff Morris after he got a bucket and a foul from Colorado during the second half, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

‘X’ a factor again

Look who’s listening: Taylor

Collins ties record

CU coach lauds Jayhawks

KU defeats CU, 94-74

Taylor turns it over, and Robinson follows with a hard foul. Self checks in four new players from the bench, including Jeff Withey, Conner Teahan and Johnson.

Robinson scraps for an offensive board, and after losing it for a second, he sticks a layup in. That’s a positive play that he needed badly.

Robinson tries a crazy move inside and ends up forcing it up at the bottom of his jump. He tries to make something happen every single time he touches it, which is sometimes more a curse than a blessing.

Jordan Juenemann checks in for his first action in a long time. His last minute came in the Temple game.

Bzdelik refuses to check out its starters. This final score will be closer than the game actually was.

Johnson drives to the lane and puts in a layup off the glass.

The Jayhawks win by 20, just like a smart guy on the Cram Session predicted.

KU 90/CU 66 — 3:17 left in game

Markieff Morris with a nice move in the post, falling to his back shoulder for a fadeaway off the glass and in.

Aldrich is double-teamed in the post and breaks it to perfection. He takes a couple dribbles back, analyzes the floor, then finds a cutting Xavier Henry for a layup.

Collins with another open three-point attempt, and he puts it in. His line won’t look pretty tomorrow, but his strong finish will make it look better than it was.

Robinson grabs an offensive board, but he blows the layup. On the other end, Xavier Henry has to guard two players on the perimeter, and Levi Knutson puts in a three from the corner. “That’s you!” Aldrich screams at Robinson after the shot goes through. Self drops his head on the sideline, shaking it from side to side. Even though Robinson had flashes earlier in the season, he’s been a liability lately.

KU 81/CU 57 — 7:16 left in game

Reed falls down trying to front his man in the post, but he pops back up quickly to come away with a steal. It turns into three points for KU, as Collins puts in an open three.

Reed forces another steal, this time knocking it away from Higgins. Collins misses a three, but Aldrich goes way above the rim to slam home the follow. Not sure how CU could miss the big man on the box out. Bzdelik calls timeout, perhaps to ask his players that very question.

KU 73/CU 55 — 10:44 left in game

Collins shows good vision on a drive, bouncing a pass to Xavier on a backdoor cut for an easy layup. KU just beat CU at its own game.

Wow, there’s an NBA move from Xavier. He faked his man left, then drove right, driving to put in a left-handed layup with a foul. The CU defender was two steps behind Xavier on that move.

Everything’s going right for Taylor in this one. He confidently spots up from 15 feet in transition and rattles in the jumper.

Another great play by Taylor with the shot clock winding down. He had an open look from three, but instead made one more pass, slinging it to the hot-shooting Xavier Henry for a three-point attempt that swished through. Self even smiled after that one, clapping his hands together and yelling out, “That a way. That a way.”

Higgins tries a drive toward the rim, and Aldrich blocks it into the courtside seats. That’s five blocks for Aldrich.

KU 62/CU 45 — 14:43 left in game

Taylor comes around a screen and recognizes he can beat his man to the basket. He does just that, putting in a layup while also getting bumped by Higgins. Taylor completes the three-point play.

KU breaks the press, and Morningstar lobs to Markieff Morris for an alley-oop lay-in. KU has a chance for 100 points if CU keeps up the frantic pace.

Taylor puts in another leaning layup, and KU steals the inbounds pass. Morningstar dishes to Markieff, who is fouled on a thunder dunk attempt. CU calls timeout, and the KU fans rise to their feet, mostly for the outstanding play of Taylor today (10 points, 4-for-5 shooting, four assists).

KU 55/CU 41 — 15:57 left in game

Nate Tomlinson loses control on a drive, and in frustration, he screams at the official right in front of me. Tomlinson was lucky to avoid a technical for that.

Aldrich elevates and straight-up stuffs Burks on a driving layup attempt. The next time down, though, Aldrich is whistled for a foul as Higgins puts in a bucket, and Aldrich slams the ball to the ground, turning his head to the side before screaming, “Bad [freaking] call!” to himself.

Not much defense to start the second half for either team. Taylor puts in a layup, and Markieff follows with a short shot. Relphorde puts in a jumper for CU. KU’s lead is sticking at either 13 or 15.

Ill-advised shot for Collins, who forces up a double-pump attempt from 14 feet that comes up short. The interesting thing is, a few seconds earlier, he motioned for Taylor to settle down offensively, only to put up a wild shot of his own. Collins’ shooting slump won’t be broken in this game (2-for-8 so far).

KU scoring — X. Henry 12 (4-for-10 shooting), Aldrich 11 (5-for-6 shooting), Collins 7, Taylor 6, Marcus Morris 5, Markieff Morris 4, Reed 3.

KU was 18-for-34 from the floor (52.9 percent), 6-for-11 from three (54.5 percent) and 6-for-10 from the free-throw line (60 percent).

CU was 11-for-28 from the floor (39.3 percent), 3-for-8 from three (37.5 percent) and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line (90 percent).

KU out-rebounded CU, 22-14, in the first half. Both teams had eight first-half turnovers.

Halftime thoughts

I’m not sure Self could have asked for a better line for Taylor. Six points on 2-for-3 shooting, four assists, two rebounds and one block with just one turnover. The guard played in control and within himself. So far, the starting switch has paid off for Self.

A big key for KU has been taking care of business on the boards. In the first game between the two teams, CU was able to bring down a much higher percentage of rebounds than its season average. The rebounding numbers today (22-14 KU) are more in line with what we would expect statistically from the two teams.

KU needs to avoid fouling CU, as the Buffaloes are 76.3 percent from the line this season. One of the only reasons CU has kept it this close was by getting to the free-throw line 10 times (and making nine of its tries there).

That might have been the best we’ve seen Aldrich offensively this year. He looked confident and smooth with his hook shots, and there’s not much CU can do to defend them.

KU 48/CU 34 — Halftime

Aldrich with a block, and it leads to a transition opportunity for KU. Collins rolls in the layup after a defender runs by, and the crowd shows a bit of life after a quiet stretch.

Xavier Henry knocks away a loose ball, and he dives headfirst into the CU bench trying to save it. He can’t keep it from going out of bounds, but Self (and the KU fans) applaud the effort.

Collins picks up his second foul, and he joins Morningstar and Marcus Morris on the bench with two fouls.

KU breaks the press, and Markieff Morris finishes the play, throwing in a violent, one-handed slam. KU definitely looks like it has found its legs today.

Nice execution for KU on the last play of the half, as Markieff Morris hits a cutting Xavier Henry for a layup.

The Jayhawks take a 14-point lead into the break.

KU 41/CU 28 — 3:36 left in 1st half

Marcus Relphorde has a shot goal-tended, and that’s CU’s first field goal in 4 1/2 minutes.

Markieff Morris has shown some bounce in his step on the offensive boards. He grabs a three-point miss from Collins and finishes with a layup over a defender.

With the deficit so large, CU throws a full-court press in against KU. That had to be the last thing that CU coach Jeff Bzdelik wanted to do in this game, especially with the Buffaloes’ ball-control style on offense.

Tyrel Reed gets an open three look, and he buries it. It’s amazing how much better KU’s offense looks when the Jayhawks hit 7 of 11 threes (64 percent).

After opening up a 21-point lead earlier, KU’s lack of focus defensively allows CU to make a run. Dwight Thorne II and Burks hit jumpers, and Casey Crawford follows with an uncontested three. Self calls timeout following CU’s quick 7-0 run.

KU 33/CU 14 — 7:46 left in 1st half

Taylor uses his quickness to drive by his man and get to the lane, and he draws attention before kicking out to Collins for a three that he swishes. That’s a perfect example of where Taylor’s presence in the game (and ability to get to the basket) could potentially help Collins get out of his recent funk.

Cory Higgins fires his pass directly to an official thinking it’s his teammate, but the ref ducks out of the way and lets it go out of bounds. CU has failed at all sorts of funky passes in this one.

Aldrich with another nice hook shot off the glass. That shot has been money for him today over the shorter Buffaloes.

The next possession, Aldrich puts in another hook shot from the baseline. Aldrich now 5-for-6 from the floor.

Taylor slices through two defenders, putting in a leaner with a foul. The crowd gives the up-and-down Jayhawk some extra applause heading into the break, as he’s playing one of his best games of the Big 12 season.

KU is currently on an 11-2 run.

KU 22/CU 13 — 10:52 left in 1st half

Taylor with another assist, this time a lob to Aldrich before the big man puts in a hook shot.

Xavier Henry breaks to the perimeter, and he swishes another three. I don’t remember seeing a KU player better at hitting that kind of three-point shot — one where he runs out to the perimeter to catch a pass before turning all his momentum back to the basket for the long shot.

Colorado calls timeout. Remember, the Buffs fell into a deep hole against KU in Boulder as well.

Xavier misses his first three, but Aldrich breaks to the basket at the correct time, as the offensive rebound falls into his hands. He follows with the stickback, and he’s already up to six points for KU.

KU with mass substitions, subbing in four players — including Elijah Johnson — to the lineup. Bill Self said a couple days ago that he wanted his guys fresh for this game, and it looks like he’s following through to try to make that happen.

Nice execution by KU in the half-court set. Marcus Morris sets screen for Collins. Collins uses the screen, drawing a double-team. Collins zips a pass to Marcus. Marcus puts in short shot with a foul.

Marcus and Markieff Morris accidentally double-team a CU big man up top, leaving Dufault open under the basket for a layup. I heard Self across the court as he punched his first into an open hand: “What are you doing?”

KU 11/CU 7 — 15:50 left in 1st half

Tyshawn Taylor starts strong on KU’s first possession, throwing a nice lob to Cole Aldrich for an easy layup.

Sherron Collins misses his first three, and he passes up his next open look, instead firing to the corner to Xavier Henry, who makes the three-pointer.

Collins gets all the way to the rim, but he stumbles a bit on his shot attempt and misses the layup try.

Xavier Henry puts in his second three, a guarded try from straight on. Aldrich can’t get out to CU’s Austin Dufault on the perimeter, though, and Dufault answers with a three of his own.

Taylor gets an open look from three, and he swishes it. Five points for Taylor already, and KU has made three of its four threes so far.

2:30 p.m.

Our pregame chat is open. I’ll be talking there until gametime.

Just a reminder to use the “Submit a question” link to post a score prediction, to submit a comment or to ask a question.

Today’s random question: Do you watch figure skating?

2:12 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.

Here are some notes about Colorado, which enters with a 12-13 record.

Colorado is getting out-rebounded by an average margin of 39-28 in Big 12 play. Against the Jayhawks in Boulder, though, CU was only out-rebounded 45-41.

In its first game against KU, CU had 14 offensive rebounds, while KU had 13.

CU freshman Alec Burks has scored in double figures in each of the 23 games he’s finished this year.

CU guard Cory Higgins has hit 42 of his 48 free throws (87.5 percent) in his last five games. He also draws 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes, which is 110th nationally.

Colorado’s opponents make 51.8 percent of their two-pointers. The national average for two-point field-goal percentage is 47.6 percent.

We’ll have our pregame chat in a few minutes, but in the meantime, be sure to vote in our poll on the left and also use the hashtag “#kubball” to have your tweets appear in our grid on the left.

FINAL: Self picks up 400th career victory in KU’s 73-59 victory over ISU

By Jesse Newell     Feb 13, 2010

KU vs. Iowa State

Nick Krug
Kansas head coach Bill Self accepts a basketball presented by athletic director Lew Perkins in commemoration of his 400th career win, which came with a 73-59 win over Iowa State Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

FINAL: KU defeats ISU, 73-59

Another missed three for KU, this time from Collins. It’s probably fitting that will be one of KU’s final possessions.

Marcus and Markieff Morris bungle an alley-oop attempt, but that won’t affect the outcome.

KU wins by 14, giving Self his 400th career win.

The coach is awarded a basketball after the game for the milestone.

KU 73/ISU 57 — 1:16 left in game

Aldrich puts in a baseline turn-around over a double-team. A minute later, he cleans up a Taylor miss with a rebound and stickback.

Aldrich has trouble defending Brackins on the perimeter, though, as the ISU forward puts in consecutive threes over KU’s center.

Marcus Morris follows with a hard-to-stop move, dribbling the ball into the lane from the baseline before putting in a fadeaway to his back shoulder. Opponents will need to have a quick and long defender to have a chance against a move like that.

Johnson gets a steal, and KU has some showtime after that. Johnson drops a behind-the-back pass to Reed, who lobs it back to Johnson for a layup.

KU follows with more bricks from three. Markieff, Collins and Reed all miss outside shots, and the Jayhawks are just 7-for-26 from beyond the arc (26.9 percent).

KU 61/ISU 41 — 7:38 left in game

Taylor is heating up, as he races down the court, beats his man to the rim, then puts in a layup with a foul. His free throw gives KU a 12-0 run.

Aldrich with an emphatic block on a Chris Colvin layup attempt, and it leads to an uncontested look for Collins. KU’s senior guard leaves the layup short, but Xavier Henry is there for the rebound before getting fouled. Two more free throws pushes the run to 14-0.

Hamilton puts in a jumper with 9:19 left to break ISU’s drought. The Cyclones went four minutes, 19 seconds without a point.

Collins answers with a quick three on the other end. The Cyclones’ lack of legs might be catching up to them.

Marcus Morris misses a short one, but Aldrich piggy-backs on him for a stickback slam.

Taylor dribbles through two defenders, then puts in a short jumper. This game has gone from close to not close very quickly.

KU 49/ISU 38 — 11:09 left in game

Marcus Morris with nice defense on Diante Garrett, going straight up in the air to block a shot. Reed is fouled on a layup attempt, and he hits both free throws.

KU gets a lift after the second free throw, as Taylor comes up with a steal on the full-court press. He finishes with a leaning layup, and the crowd comes to life.

Hamilton has the ball poked away from underneath, and on the other end, Xavier Henry drains a stepback three.

Reed fakes a three, then rattles in a one-handed runner off the backboard. Timeout ISU, as KU has put together a 9-0 run since the last timeout — and has done so with Collins and Aldrich on the bench.

KU 40/ISU 38 — 13:32 left in game

Brackins finishes an alley-oop with a slam, and Collins and Markieff Morris miss consecutive threes. Morningstar follows with another long-range miss. KU is just 5-for-19 from three (26.3 percent), and most of those looks have been open.

Morningstar pokes a pass away, and he finishes on the other end with a layup.

Brackins gets free on an inbounds pass, though, rattling in a three from the corner. Self calls for timeout, and KU’s lead is down to two.

KU 38/ISU 33 — 15:52 left in game

Gilstrap opens the second half with a three. KU double-teamed the post, and after helping inside, Xavier Henry was late rotating back to his man. Self doesn’t look pleased, slapping his hands together in frustration.

Xavier Henry gets a two to go in with a foul, but Self still isn’t happy. He screams at him about his poor rotation on the defensive end, holding up three fingers. I’m assuming that’s the number of times Henry has been late getting out to his man shooting a three-pointer.

Hamilton follows a miss with a stickback dunk, and KU isn’t getting any separation with its sluggish offensive performance.

KU scoring — X. Henry 8, Collins 8, Marcus Morris 7, Aldrich 5, Reed 3, Markieff Morris 2, Withey 2.

KU was 14-for-32 from the floor (43.8 percent), 5-for-15 from three (33.3 percent) and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line (50 percent).

ISU was 8-for-29 from the floor (27.6 percent), 4-for-10 from three (40 percent) and 6-for-12 from the free-throw line (50 percent).

Craig Brackins had five first-half points on 2-for-9 shooting.

KU out-rebounded ISU, 26-18, in the first half. KU had six turnovers, while ISU had three.

Halftime thoughts

Think it’s tough to shoot from the inside on KU? Consider this: ISU has as many three-point field goals as two-point field goals. The Cyclones made 40 percent of their threes, but just 21 percent of their twos (and Aldrich was on the bench for the final six minutes or so). Aren’t two-pointers supposed to be easier to make?

Great first half for Collins (8 points, four assists, no turnovers). He’s been directly responsible for about half of KU’s offensive output.

• Another tough half for Tyshawn Taylor (0 points, three assists, two turnovers). Elijah Johnson might get more opportunities if Taylor continues his inconsistent play.

ISU once again has avoided fouls well with its short bench. The Cyclones had just five whistles, and no Cyclone has more than one foul. Consequently, KU had just four first-half free throws.

Only six ISU players logged more than one minute in the first half. I think it’s why Self was urging his players to pick up the pace. We might see some tired Cyclones down the stretch.

KU 35/ISU 26 — Halftime

Withey blocks an ISU shot after a whistle, and ISU coach Greg McDermott believes it’s goal-tending. He motions for an official to come see him, then comes nearly to halfcourt to dispute the call a few seconds later.

Elijah Johnson checks in to a loud ovation at the 1:34 mark. KU has been stagnant offensively as of late, going nearly three minutes without a point.

Marcus Morris misses a short jumper, but he sticks with it, rebounding his own shot before putting in the stickback.

KU holds for the last shot of the half, and Collins breaks Christopherson with a nasty, left-to-right crossover dribble to get to the right side of the rim for an uncontested layup.

The Jayhawks take a nine-point lead into the break.

KU 31/ISU 24 — 3:31 left in 1st half

Aldrich collects a low pass from Collins on an inbounds play, then puts in the layup with a foul. A minute later, though, Aldrich is forced into a bad spot defensively, and he’s forced to foul Justin Hamilton. That’s two fouls for Aldrich, and he’ll sit the rest of the half.

Jeff Withey checks in, and he pulls down a rebound on his first defensive possession.

The 7-footer also shows his offensive touch, taking two steps across the lane before putting in a baby-hook.

Collins follows with a three on the next possession, and it looks like Withey’s entry into the game has given a spark to the crowd and KU.

Brackins hits a tough turn-around over two defenders, and Self yells at Taylor to run the ball up the court, swinging both arms while giving the directions.

Jeff Hawkins and Darnell Jackson both receive nice ovations at the media timeout.

KU 23/ISU 19 — 7:50 left in 1st half

Xavier Henry shows more of the toughness we saw last game against Texas, muscling up a shot through a foul and getting it to go in.

Though the score has been close, KU coach Bill Self has remained relatively calm throughout this one. Even after bad turnovers, he’s mostly stayed seated on the bench.

Taylor with his second turnover, and he flings his hands out in frustration. He knows what’s coming next, as Collins checks back in for the sophomore guard.

Xavier puts in a contested three from the left wing, and Collins finds the hot hand on the next possession, throwing it back to Xavier for a three from a similar spot on the court. The long attempt swishes through, and ISU calls timeout. Collins once again makes a key offensive play for KU without shooting it.

KU gets a steal off its full-court pressure, but Xavier Henry misses the layup in transition.

Marcus Morris tips an ISU pass, but it goes right to Christopherson, who buries a three. The Cyclones are 4-for-7 from three (57.1 percent), and once again, KU is having trouble keeping any Big 12 team from making threes.

KU 15/ISU 14 — 10:59 left in 1st half

Two nice passes net KU four easy points.

Aldrich draws a double-team before finding a cutting Markieff Morris for a slam. The next possession, Collins drives inside before throwing back to Aldrich for a one-handed stuff. Brackins seems a bit miffed at his teammates, smacking the ball especially hard between his hands before inbounding it.

Collins again frees up a teammate, dancing into the lane before tossing a no-look feed to Tyrel Reed for a wide-open three that goes through. Solid game already for Collins, even though most of his contributions haven’t been from scoring (three points).

ISU 7/KU 6 — 14:48 left in 1st half

KU double-teams Brackins, but perhaps not as much as it did last game. The Iowa State forward seems to only be getting a double-team when he receives the ball in the post. He was double-teamed almost every time he touched it last game.

Marquis Gilstrap puts in a three for the first points, but Marcus Morris answers with a turn-around fadeway in the lane.

Brady Morningstar blocks a shot from Scott Christopherson, then on the other end, he uses a flashy crossover dribble to get into the lane before kicking out to Sherron Collins for a three. The nice move might have even surprised Morningstar, who grinned on his way back to the defensive end.

Gilstrap puts in a jumper, and Justin Hamilton follows with a slam to put ISU up one. The Cyclones look less overmatched in the lane tonight than they did in the first matchup.

7:07 p.m.

A few more clips of Wilt Chamberlain were added to the pregame video. Wilt’s sister is attending tonight’s game.

6:21 p.m.

Update: KU officials confirmed that Robinson is sitting out because of a concussion sustained in practice Thursday.

6:15 p.m.

Our pregame chat is open and available by clicking this link or the link in the upper-left corner of this blog. I’ll be talking there until gametime.

Just a reminder to use the “Submit a question” link to post a score prediction, to submit a comment or to ask a question.

Today’s random question: Which Jayhawk deserves All-Big 12 first-team honors the most?

5:59 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Iowa State Cyclones.

First off, the major news: Thomas Robinson is in street clothes during warmups. I’m assuming he has some sort of injury, though I don’t have confirmation of this yet.

We’ll have our pregame chat later, but for now, let’s get to some notes on Iowa State, which enters with a 13-11 record.

Both Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap battled illness in Iowa State’s last game against Missouri.

Since the KU game, Brackins is averaging 20 points and 10.4 rebounds (five games).

Brackins had just 13 points on 5-for-13 shooting in KU’s 84-61 victory over the Cyclones in the teams’ first meeting this year.

ISU coach Greg McDermott commented after his team’s last game against Missouri that his team had put together two of its better defensive performances of the year in a row. The Cyclones allowed 79 points in a high-possession game against Kansas State and 65 at Missouri.

Be sure to vote in our poll on the left, and also use the hashtag #kubball to have your tweets appear in our grid on the left side.

FINAL: Marcus Morris scores 20 as KU holds off Nebraska, 75-64

By Jesse Newell     Feb 6, 2010

KU vs. Nebraska

Nick Krug
Kansas center Jeff Withey (left) and forward Marcus Morris speak after a timeout in the first half, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

Fanning the flames

Marcus Morris old reliable again

Withey gives Jayhawks early lift

Foul disparity frustrates head Husker

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

FINAL: KU defeats NU, 75-64

Taylor makes one of two free throws, right in line with KU’s percentage for the day (12-for-23, 52.2 percent).

The Rock Chalk Chant starts up with 55.9 seconds left, with Collins at the free-throw line. He only makes one of two, and the free-throw curse has officially hit the entire team.

Anderson buries a deep three. He made four of his five three-point attempts today, meaning KU didn’t find anyone who could guard him.

NU throws in the white flag with 30 seconds left, and Collins dribbles out a 75-64 victory.

KU 71/NU 61 — 1:22 left in 2nd half

Aldrich misses the front end of a one-and-one, and Diaz follows a miss with a layup. NU isn’t out of this one yet.

Markieff Morris is fouled (NU now has 10 team fouls to KU’s two), and he does his part, making both of his free throw tries. The crowd gives him a louder-than-normal ovation.

Markieff follows with a straight-on three that falls through, and Sadler calls his final timeout. No one can say the coach didn’t try to break up this KU run.

KU with a steal, and though Xavier Henry misses an alley-oop attempt, Markieff follows with a lay-in. That’s seven straight points for Markieff, who checks out to a nice ovation a few seconds later.

KU’s transition offense is rolling now, as Collins gets a three in rhythm and buries it from the left wing.

Sek Henry hits a three, and the Jayhawks suffer from extremely poor ball-handling on the next two trips. Taylor loses control on the first possession, and Collins dribbles it off his foot on the second. Self drops his head to rub his forehead both times, looking like he needs some Advil.

Anderson drops a three, and Self calls timeout.

Diaz puts in a baseline shot, and an 8-0 NU run has trimmed KU’s lead from 19 to 11.

Taylor misses a three, but Marcus hustles to track down the rebound. He dribbles into the lane to put in a layup to break KU’s drought.

With a double-team on him, Aldrich finds Marcus across the lane. Marcus finishes with a layup off the glass for his 20th point.

Sek Henry nails a three, but time is running out for the ‘Huskers.

KU 56/NU 46 — 7:45 left in 2nd half

Markieff Morris with a block, and it starts the fast break. Collins dishes to Taylor, who feed Marcus under the basket for a layup and foul. Collins once again shows his emotion, yelling out to the students on the baseline. Sadler calls another timeout, as things have turned bad for the Cornhuskers quickly.

Ubel gets an offensive rebound, but Reed rips it away from him. The KU junior dives on the ground to roll the ball to his nearest teammate.

Brandon Richardson picks up his fifth foul at the 9:55 mark. He’s led NU in scoring for 13 straight games, but he won’t today, finishing with just one point.

KU with another missed free throw (the Jayhawks are 6-for-14 from the line for 42.9 percent), but Aldrich muscles away the offensive board. Xavier Henry takes a few dribbles into the lane before hitting the 16-footer. That’s the Xavier Henry we saw earlier this season.

Aldrich has had a huge impact in there defensively in the second half. Diaz tries a baseline shot over him, but it comes up short for an airball. Reed clears the rebound.

Aldrich is fouled, and after making the first free throw, he misses the second. Self buries his head in his hands. Luckily for KU, NU was in the lane early, and Aldrich swishes the second attempt of his second attempt.

KU 50/NU 44 — 11:38 left in 2nd half

Reed misses a three, but Aldrich is right there to snare the board and put back in the easy layup. KU regains the lead.

Another unforced turnover from NU. The building is starting to come to life.

Aldrich is fouled on a turn-around, but even he is missing free throws. He gets the second one to roll in, and KU has a 6-0 run.

Hawkins-Cole gets an offensive rebound, and Aldrich swats him with a whistle. Aldrich, usually mild-mannered, rips out his mouthpiece and turns around before screaming, “That’s terrible.” Aldrich has three fouls, and he needs to avoid his fourth.

Aldrich is fed up now. He gets it on the block, draws a double-team, spins to the baseline, then throws in a one-handed slam with a foul, screaming out to the crowd afterwards. The fans erupt. As an added bonus, Aldrich hits the free throw.

Following a Standhardinger missed three, Aldrich grabs the rebound. On the other end, Standhardinger flops in the lane with no whistle, and Markieff Morris finishes with a layup. NU probably gets that call at home, but not on the road.

Sadler calls timeout, as KU has scored 11 of the last 12 points.

KU forces a shot-clock violation, and Collins is pumped. He screams, “Yeahhhh” out to the crowd, pumping his fists up and down. KU fans scream with him.

NU 43/KU 42 — 15:09 left in 2nd half

Collins hits a three out of the break. No staring at Sek Henry this time.

Standhardinger throws a pass out of bounds, and just as KU grabs some momentum, we have our first media timeout.

NU 43/KU 39 — 15:44 left in 2nd half

Xavier Henry returns with a bandage over his eye. Though my view was blocked before halftime, that must have been the no-call that got Self the technical foul.

Diaz puts in a layup over Aldrich, and on the other end, Morningstar’s alley-oop attempt to Marcus Morris is caught by an NU defender.

Xavier Henry misses a wide-open three from the side, and as slow as NU is playing, those misses hurt.

Sek Henry puts in a long three at the end of the shot clock, and NU takes a 38-37 lead.

Xavier Henry follows with a nice bounce pass to Marcus, who puts in a layup with a foul. Marcus misses the free throw, though, and KU’s poor free-throw shooting seems to have continued right into this game.

Xavier Henry gets caught up on a screen, and Anderson drains a three from straight-on. Self summons Reed to check in for defensive purposes. NU is 6-for-8 from the three-point line (75 percent).

Marcus Morris misses a short shot, and on the other end, Diaz puts in a layup. Timeout Self, as NU has its largest lead of the game (four).

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 12, Collins 8, X. Henry 6, Withey 4, Taylor 3, Robinson 2, Reed 2.

KU was 14-for-30 from the floor (46.7 percent), 5-for-11 from three (45.5 percent) and 4-for-8 from the free-throw line (50 percent).

NU was 11-for-27 from the floor (40.7 percent), 4-for-6 from three (66.7 percent) and 7-for-11 from the free-throw line (63.6 percent).

KU out-rebounded NU, 19-18, in the first half. NU had 11 turnovers, while KU had nine.

Halftime thoughts

I mentioned this already, but 14 points in the paint is too many for tiny Nebraska. KU should get a boost with Aldrich back on the floor in the second half.

Through three halves of this series this year, I think we’ve established that neither team can guard the other from three-point range.

I’m all about getting motivated for a game, but Collins needs to be careful with this little duel with Sek Henry. Collins was just 3-for-9 in the first half and wasn’t getting anything easy from inside the three-point line.

Marcus Morris with 12 points and eight rebounds at halftime. Once the most inconsistent player KU had, he’s become perhaps the most consistent.

KU 37/NU 33 — Halftime

Withey puts in both ends of the one-and-one. The rest of the team takes notes.

Robinson gets beat on a cut to the basket, and NU’s Jorge Brian Diaz puts in an easy two. Fourteen of NU’s 31 points have come from in the paint.

Robinson is like a statue in the lane, and Quincy Hankins-Cole gets the rebound over him. Robinson picks up his second foul, and he heads back to the bench — more for his play than his fouls, I’m guessing.

Ryan Anderson yells “Rebound” from the NU bench on a pair of Withey free throws. It works, as Withey clangs them both. Marcus Morris cleans up the rebound, though, tipping in the follow. KU is getting all the offensive rebounds lately.

Self is upset over a no-call, and on a timeout, he yells “Unbelievable” to the ref across the court. Immediately, he is T’ed up. That’s a bad technical for Self, as with only 19.3 seconds left in the half, it can’t be used to get his team fired up.

Taylor sticks close to Richardson, and he gets a five-second call on the NU guard. Collins misses a floater at the buzzer, and KU takes a four-point lead into the break.

KU 33/NU 29 — 3:13 left in 1st half

Withey squares up and knocks down a 10-foot jumper. Nice touch from the freshman.

Robinson with his second foul. Seven of KU’s eight fouls have been on the big men.

KU has been active defensively. Collins pokes the ball away, but he can’t save it from going out of bounds after a headlong dive. Taylor nearly has a steal, but he can’t keep it from going over the end line. Brandon Ubel ends up beating the shot clock with a three.

Marcus kicks out to Collins, who drains a three. Again, Henry gets the stare down. Ubel answers with his second straight three, though.

Ubel tries to go inside, but Withey blocks his turn-around. After snaring the rebound, Withey is fouled.

KU 28/NU 21 — 6:45 left in 1st half

Brady Morningstar does his patented move on offense, driving under the basket before jumping to feed Marcus Morris for a layup. I’m sure when Morningstar first goes into the air on that move, it scares Self every time.

Robinson is called for a charge, as Ryan Anderson falls to the floor. NU coach Doc Sadler challenged his team after its last game against Kansas State, saying that his players weren’t playing team defense and weren’t willing to sacrifice their bodies for charges. The ‘Huskers must have been listening, as they already have two charges taken today.

Jeff Withey checks in for his first action.

KU is giving up a ton of layups inside. It’s amazing the difference when Aldrich isn’t in there defensively. Following a layup by Lance Jeter, Self uses his second timeout of the first half with KU up 24-21.

Collins puts in a tough, guarded jumper with the shot clock running down.

Standhardinger is blocked by Withey, and the ball caroms off Standhardinger’s shoulder and out of bounds.

Taylor penetrates the lane, then throws a nice lob pass to Marcus for a lay-in. Marcus has 10 points in the first 12 1/2 minutes.

Collins takes a charge on Jeter. It seems like Colilns has taken a lot of charges in recent games.

KU 20/NU 13 — 11:53 left in 1st half

Xavier misses his first three, but Marcus Morris throws his body into the lane, ripping down a board before getting fouled on the way back up. He misses both free throws, making him 2-for-4 from the line today.

Markieff Morris gets called for a cheap offensive foul, and that’s his third whistle. Thomas Robinson will get some early playing time.

Xavier Henry tries to dribble before he grabs an offensive rebound, but he leaves the ball behind. Realizing his mistake, he dives back to recover possession. Great effort from the future pro.

Cole Aldrich is called for a foul from the backside, and that’s two whistles on him. Meanwhile, Christian Standhardinger puts in the layup with the whistle, and he screams into the air with his fists extended. Interesting show of emotion on an opposing team’s court.

Marcus Morris misses a short shot, but Thomas Robinson slams home the rebound with some authority.

NU scores the next four points, though, helped by a Tyshawn Taylor turnover. Self calls timeout, and KU’s interior defense isn’t the same without Markieff and Aldrich in there.

Out of the break, Taylor spots up for three and drains the long shot. KU is now 4-for-6 from three.

Tyrel Reed follows with a one-handed floater on the baseline that falls through. It looks like Reed has some tape on his left wrist, though it doesn’t seem to be affecting him too much.

KU 13/NU 7 — 15:53 left in 1st half

After two made free throws from Marcus Morris, KU immediately goes to its full-court press. Remember, the Jayhawks used this tactic to wear down the Cornhuskers in the last meeting. Ryan Anderson drains a three in NU’s first possession.

Xavier Henry gets an open look from the right wing, and he swishes the shot. That’s good for KU fans, as Henry has struggled mightily with his shot in Big 12 play.

Brady Morningstar draws two defenders, then tosses a crosscourt pass to Henry for another three. Swish. The crowd has been a little extra loud with Xavier’s three-point makes today. He’s already up to six points.

NU must have done some studying, as Sek Henry motions to his teammates what KU’s play is right after KU coach Bill Self relays it to Sherron Collins.

Morningstar with a swipeaway, and he comes away with a steal. After dribbling up the court, he drives to draw two defenders, then pitches to Collins for a three. Collins stares down Sek Henry the whole way back. I think Collins read the quote from Henry in this story.

Maybe Marcus Morris did work on his layups like he said he was going to after the Colorado game. After getting an inbounds pass from Collins, Marcus lays it in over two defenders.

4:10 p.m.

Our pregame chat is open and available by clicking this link or the link in the upper-left corner of this blog. I’ll be talking there until gametime.

Just a reminder to use the “Submit a question” link to post a score prediction, to submit a comment or to ask a question.

Today’s random question: What is the best Nintendo game?

3:57 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

We’ll get to our normal pre-game chat later, but first, here are some notes about Nebraska, which enters with a 13-9 record.

Nebraska has made 39.7 percent of its three-point attempts this year, which is good for 17th nationally. The Cornhuskers made 11 of their 21 three-point attempts (52.4 percent) in their last game against KU.

NU is coming off a poor defensive performance at home in a 76-57 loss to Kansas State. The Wildcats made 49 percent of their shots while out-rebounding the Huskers, 37-28. KSU also had 38 points in the paint to NU’s 22.

NU plays the 293rd-fastest tempo in the NCAA.

Nebraska is 5-13 against ranked teams under coach Doc Sadler.

Guard Brandon Richardson has led NU in scoring for 13 straight games.

• NU averages just 12 turnovers per game, but the Huskers force just 11.7 turnovers per game.

Be sure to vote in our poll on the left, and use the hashtag #kubball to have your Tweets appear in our grid.

FINAL: Strong first half pushes KU to 84-65 victory over MU

By Jesse Newell     Jan 25, 2010

KU vs. Missouri

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Sherron Collins cuts under Missouri forward Laurence Bowers to the bucket during the first half, Monday, Jan. 25, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

Men among boys

Sharp shooting Reed knows all about rivalry

Lopsided loss mystifies MU

History lesson inspires Markieff

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 17, Reed 14, Aldrich 12, X. Henry 9, Morningstar 9, Markieff Morris 9, Taylor 7, Collins 6, Withey 1.

KU was 28-for-57 from the floor (49.1 percent), 9-for-19 from three (47.4 percent) and 19-for-26 from the free-throw line (73.1 percent).

MU was 19-for-68 from the floor (27.9 percent), 6-for-18 from three (33.3 percent) and 21-for-24 from the free-throw line (87.5 percent).

KU out-rebounded MU, 56-28. KU had 23 turnovers, while MU had five.

FINAL: KU defeats MU, 84-65

MU keeps its press on through the final minute. It’s tough for Self to substitute liberally with the continued pressure.

Elijah Johnson uses a nice spin move to shake a defender, then scoops to Jeff Withey, who is fouled. Withey makes one of two free throws.

Anderson calls a 30-second timeout with 24.9 seconds left, and the KU fans don’t appreciate the stoppage in play, sending some boos his way.

The Jayhawks run out the clock, closing out an 84-65 victory.

KU 83/MU 61 — 3:54 left in game

KU’s defense lets up a bit, as MU scores points on five straight possessions. Nitpicking, I know, but I’m sure it’s something Self won’t be happy with afterwards, especially with the regulars still in.

It’s amazing that KU has built up such a lead with the turnover numbers in this game. KU has 21 turnovers, while MU has just five, yet the Jayhawks lead by 22. Also consider that Collins is 2-for-10 with nine points, one assist and four turnovers.

KU 75/MU 47 — 7:46 left in game

Aldrich gets it inside, and he rattles a shot in over defenders.

Reed keeps his perfect long-range shooting day intact, swishing another three. He’s 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.

That doesn’t stop MU from leaving Reed wide open on the next possession, and the Burlington native swishes another three-pointer. I don’t think he’s hit rim on any of his attempts either.

KU 65/MU 42 — 12:54 left in game

Marcus Morris receives a pass inside, and after no one picks him up, he curls to the rim for a finger-roll.

You can tell Self really doesn’t like Higgins. Every time Higgins comes near the KU bench, Self starts chewing on him for something.

Markieff Morris catches a pass at the top of the key, and with no one guarding him that high, he steps into a three-pointer, putting it through.

KU gives up an offensive rebound and two, but after breaking the press, Morningstar lobs to Markieff for an alley-oop slam. Anderson isn’t happy, and he asks for a timeout.

KU 58/MU 38 — 15:16 left in game

MU starts the second half with two steals in the first two minutes, but following a Xavier Henry three, the Tigers don’t make up any ground.

Kim English hits a three, but Xavier answers with another trey.

The Jayhawks look a bit more timid in the second half against the Tigers’ pressure. Another near-steal from English, but he’s whistled for the foul first. I didn’t see much contact there, so KU catches a bit of a break.

Some weird calls before the media timeout. Aldrich blocks an English shot, but the officials say it’s out of bounds off English. On the other end, Taylor is whistled for a charge when his momentum was taking him out of bounds instead of toward the basket.

I guess the best thing KU can say for the first 4:44 of the second half is that its lead is still at 20.

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 11, Reed 8, Morningstar 7, Taylor 7, Aldrich 6, Collins 4, Markieff Morris 4, X. Henry 3.

KU was 19-for-37 from the floor (51.4 percent), 4-for-9 from three (44.4 percent) and 8-for-12 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).

MU was 10-for-40 from the floor (25 percent), 4-for-9 from three (44.4 percent) and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line (85.7 percent).

Get ready for this: KU out-rebounded MU, 37-15, in the first half.

KU had 11 turnovers, while MU had two.

Aldrich had 12 first-half rebounds, while Markieff Morris had 10. Aldrich also had five blocks.

KU had 28 points in the paint, while MU had six.

KU 50/MU 30 — Halftime

With KU’s success on fast breaks tonight, we shouldn’t overlook Aldrich’s outlet passes. All his tosses have been strong and on the money, and many times, they have pushed KU all the way to mid-court before MU’s defense can get set.

MU is dominating the turnover battle (11-2), but with the Tigers’ cold shooting, it doesn’t matter.

Aldrich gets away with an over-the-back, tipping in a missed free throw for KU. The next possession, Taylor picks up an offensive rebound and lays it in.

KU scraps for a loose ball under its own basket, as Markieff Morris goes flying out of bounds to save it. The ball eventually goes out off of MU. Cole Aldrich helps with the mop duty on the court.

Collins misses a finger-roll, but Markieff Morris gets the stickback.

KU gets a defensive stop, and with three defenders on him, Morningstar puts up a leaning three at the buzzer. It hits off the backboard, then rattles around the rim before falling through. The crowd erupts, and Morningstar backbumps a few of his teammates in the air on the way to the locker room.

KU takes a 50-30 lead into the break.

KU 38/MU 25 — 3:38 left in 1st half

Taylor shows aggressiveness against the slow-rotating MU defense, taking it to the middle of the lane before dropping in a short floater.

Aldrich draws three defenders, then looks crosscourt for Reed, who swishes a three.

Taylor drives to draw some attention, then dishes to Marcus Morris, who finishes with a layup. The Jayhawks have done a good job of using MU’s aggressive defense against it so far.

Morningstar with a bad pass across the lane that’s stolen, and it turns out to be a double whammy for KU, as Marcus Morris picks up his second foul. He’ll have to go to the bench.

Reed with a deep three that, once again, touches nothing but net.

This game is going according to previous trends, as MU is not shooting well on the road (9-for-33, 27.3 percent).

KU 26/MU 18 — 7:23 left in 1st half

After KU beats backcourt pressure, Brady Morningstar cuts through the lane and confidently puts in a layup off the glass for two. A minute later, Morningstar does it again, driving before putting in a short shot high off the glass. MU coach Mike Anderson dials up a timeout with his team struggling most on the offensive end.

It’s Morningstar’s game now, as he catches a tough pass in traffic, looks away a defender, then fires a no-look pass across the lane to Marcus Morris for a layup and foul.

Morningstar with another nice pass in traffic to Marcus Morris, but the big man can’t get a thunder jam to fall.

Collins fakes a pass in transition, then puts in a soft layup himself. For a brief moment, KU opens up an 11-point lead.

KU 17/MU 13 — 11:08 left in 1st half

Tyshawn Taylor is fouled on his way up, and he makes both free throws. KU — not a team that shoots a lot of free throws — is 4-for-5 from the line just 6 1/2 minutes into this one.

Big block from Aldrich, which leads to a 2-on-1 break. Taylor throws a lob pass to Tyrel Reed, who guides it in for two.

Another steal for KU, but Xavier Henry is stripped before he can get his layup attempt up. Official John Higgins makes an emphatic call, saying the ball went off Henry’s knee and out of bounds. Self is furious with the call, and he lets Higgins know about it.

Marcus Morris rips away an offensive board, and he takes a power dribble before putting a layup off the glass and in.

The pace is frantic in this one. I know the Tigers like to play fast, but they’d probably be better suited to hold the ball a little longer on the offensive end before jacking up a shot. You’re asking for trouble in a track meet with KU.

KU 10/MU 10 — 14:42 left in 1st half

Another nice added-on pregame video puts the fans in a frenzy before the tip.

KU immediately goes inside to Cole Aldrich, who is fouled on the way up. The next possession, Xavier throws a low lob to Aldrich, but the big man catches it off his hip and dunks it all in one motion, putting the Jayhawks up 3-0.

Missouri isn’t rattled, though. Keith Ramsey puts in consecutive threes, finishing off an 8-0 run to put the Tigers up five.

We haven’t seen the full-court press from MU so far. That’s a little bit surprising, but perhaps the Tigers are going a little more conservative on the road.

Xavier Henry breaks KU’s drought with a three. KU is missing quite a few short shots inside.

Markieff Morris is immediately double-teamed once getting the ball in the post, but a quick pass gets it to a cutting Marcus Morris, who puts in a layup with a foul.

So far, MU is trying to play just as fast as KU.

8:06 p.m.

One-hundred-five decibels to start this one.

7 p.m.

All right, our chat has been fired up on the left side of this page or by following this link. I’ll be hanging out there until gametime. Remember, use the “Submit a Question” button to comment on a topic, post your score prediction or ask a question.

Today’s random question/debate: What is the best sports movie of all-time?

6:48 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Missouri Tigers in round one of the Border War.

First thing: Eddie Money will be singing tonight’s national anthem. He’s probably best known for his song, “Take Me Home Tonight.” I can’t think of a bigger name that I’ve seen perform the national anthem at Allen Fieldhouse.

We’ll be having another pregame chat starting an hour before the game. Before then, though, here are a few notes about Missouri, which enters with a 15-4 record.

The Tigers force turnovers on 28.4 percent of their opponents’ possessions, which is the best mark in the country. MU’s opponents are averaging 20.9 turnovers per game.

MU doesn’t turn it over much itself, averaging just 13.7 turnovers per game.

Missouri plays the 24th-fastest tempo in Division I.

The Tigers are shooting 45.6 percent from the floor this season.

MU has not shot above 43.3 percent in any of its seven games away from Mizzou Arena. In fact, seven of the Tigers’ eight worst shooting games this year have been away from home.

On average, MU has been out-rebounded by 7.3 in its four true road games.

MU’s opponents average 13.7 offensive rebounds per game.

Thirty percent of MU’s offense comes from three-pointers. The Tigers have made 38.2 percent of their long-range tries this year.

Kim English shoots the ball on 33.4 percent of his team’s possessions when he’s in the game — the 32nd-highest mark in the country.

Be sure to vote in our poll on the left and also use #kubball to have your Tweets show up on the left side of the page.

FINAL: KU survives hot-shooting Baylor, 81-75

By Jesse Newell     Jan 20, 2010

KU vs. Baylor

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Sherron Collins flashes his tongue after hitting a three pointer to boost the Jayhawks late in the second half, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

I don’t remember seeing this at the Fieldhouse: KU fans stood and applauded the Baylor players as they made their way to the locker room.

KU scoring — Collins 28 (9-for-16 shooting), Marcus Morris 22, X. Henry 12, Aldrich 10, Morningstar 5, Markieff Morris 4.

KU was 27-for-62 from the floor (43.5 percent), 8-for-21 from three (38.1 percent) and 19-for-25 from the free-throw line (76 percent).

BU was 25-for-48 from the floor (52.1 percent), 10-for-21 from three (47.6 percent) and 15-for-19 from the free-throw line (78.9 percent).

BU had 20 turnovers to KU’s seven. Baylor out-rebounded KU, 34-29.

FINAL: KU defeats Baylor, 81-75

Three misses in a row for Baylor. I don’t think that happened the rest of the game for the Bears.

Collins throws the ball up toward the scoreboard in celebration at the buzzer, and KU finishes off an 81-75 victory.

KU 81/BU 74 — 17.7 seconds left in 2nd half

Five words: Sherron Collins at his best.

With time getting short on the shot clock, Collins didn’t hesitate in hoisting up a deep three-pointer from the left side that swished through. He stuck his tongue out to the crowd.

Dunn missed a three on the other end, and after a scramble, Collins came up with the rebound. After getting fouled, he waved his arms to the crowd repeatedly, motioning for the fans to get loud and rise to their feet. Collins made one of his two free throws.

A.J. Walton misses a three from the corner, and though it looks like Baylor will come away with the offensive rebound, Morningstar makes a great play, batting it away at the last second. Marcus Morris finally corrals the carom, and he gets fouled before hitting two free throws.

Carter makes two free throws with 30 seconds left, but KU breaks the press, and Xavier Henry answers with two freebies of his own.

Another three for Carter (why not?), but there isn’t enough time for another BU comeback. Collins hits two more free throws, and Self takes timeout with 17.7 seconds left and KU up seven.

KU 71/BU 69 — 1:34 left in 2nd half

After getting fouled, Morningstar hits both ends of his one-and-one.

But Carter answers, getting into the lane before dishing off to Acy for a slam.

Collins puts KU back in front, driving under the basket before putting in a layup.

Finally Baylor misses, as Carter’s three bounces off the back iron. Aldrich with the all-important rebound.

Morningstar misses a floater in the lane, but once again, Marcus is there, grabbing the board before getting hacked. The whistle also is Jones’ fifth foul. Marcus makes both free throws to put KU up four.

Dunn won’t let Baylor die, though, hitting a near-impossible 15-foot shot with three Jayhawks guarding him. I think Morningstar might have fouled him from the back, too, but no whistle was blown. BU takes its final timeout.

KU 65/BU 65 — 3:13 left in 2nd half

Aldrich gets the ball on a snap pass from Taylor, and he reverses to his back shoulder to put in a baseline jumper.

Dunn answers with a three, and he’s now 5-for-6 from deep. Honestly, I don’t remember when he missed his three.

Marcus Morris misses the front end of a one-and-one, but Aldrich skies to grab the offensive board. He throws out to Collins, who knocks down the open three. Collins pounds his chest, and Self pumps his fist and Drew calls timeout following the huge momentum swing.

Baylor just does not miss, though. A shot by Acy bounces high off the rim before falling in, and Carter follows with a runner in the lane to cut KU’s lead to six. Self calls timeout, and Collins, in frustration, pounds the ball into the ground, sending it about 30 feet into the air. He’s lucky to avoid a technical foul, and Drew screams to an official to ask why Collins wasn’t penalized for his spike.

Dunn puts in a fast-break layup, then gets fouled in the lane, putting in his two free throws. He grabbed his hand after getting fouled, though, and he comes out of the game after his free throws.

Jones follows with a dunk over Aldrich, and with a 10-0 run, Baylor has tied the score at 65.

KU 58/BU 50 — 7:27 left in 2nd half

Collins runs flush into a Baylor screen, and Carter takes advantage, draining his second three.

Markieff Morris steps in front of Udoh, picking up the third charge for KU today. That’s huge, as it’s also Udoh’s fourth whistle.

Xavier Henry rolls in a 10-foot jumper. KU takes its largest lead at 56-49.

Markieff gets a clean block right in front of me, but he’s whistled for the foul by Scott Thornley. The KU fans don’t like the call, and they shouldn’t.

Collins follows with a tough, one-handed runner off the glass from 12 feet. KU has methodically extended its advantage to eight points.

KU 50/BU 46 — 11:04 left in 2nd half

Baylor isn’t cooling down. Dunn hits a layup, and Tweety Carter follows with a three.

KU has an answer both times, though. Aldrich drops in a shot in the lane, and Xavier Henry gives an up-fake before tossing in a deep three.

Collins with another deep three. Though KU is only in the mid-40s, it is playing nearly flawless offensively lately to keep a small lead.

The Morris twins are holding their own inside. Marcus puts in a running floater, and on the next possession, Markieff pins an offensive rebound against his shoulder before putting it back up with his left hand for two.

Baylor is still shooting over 50 percent from the floor, but KU leads by four.

KU 37/BU 37 — 15:37 left in 2nd half

After working the ball inside, KU moves it back out, but Morningstar misses an open three. KU can’t afford to keep missing open outside shots.

Xavier Henry gets his sixth steal, but he misses a layup in traffic. BU’s Anthony Jones follows with an 18-footer that swishes through.

Dunn takes it to the rim, and Morningstar is forced to foul him from the backside. Dunn’s free throws extend BU’s lead to four.

KU answers, though. Marcus Morris grabs an offensive rebound before having his shot goal-tended inside. Aldrich goes over Josh Lomers for a defensive rebound, and Morningstar dishes to Collins for a three. Morningstar was so sure the shot was going in that he ran back to play defense before Collins even released the ball.

Xavier Henry gets all the way to the rim, but misses the easy finger-roll. He slaps his hands together in frustration.

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 8, Collins 7, Aldrich 5, X. Henry 5, Morningstar 3, Markieff Morris 2.

KU was 12-for-30 from the floor (40 percent), 3-for-9 from three (33.3 percent) and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line (50 percent).

BU was 10-for-19 from the floor (52.6 percent), 5-for-8 from three (62.5 percent) and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent).

BU had 14 first-half turnovers, while KU had six. The Bears out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 17-12, in the first half.

Some thoughts

This game has played out interestingly so far. It seems like KU is playing pretty well, but the score is still tied. Part of the reason for that has been Baylor’s deliberate play on offense. The extremely low number of possessions thus far obviously favors Baylor.

Nice half for Xavier Henry, who had five points, five steals, two assists and one turnover in 14 minutes.

Can Baylor keep up its shooting? Fifty-three percent from the floor and 63 percent from three seems unsustainable, but the Bears did come in as a good shooting team.

When was the last time KU only had 12 rebounds in a half? It has to have been a while.

KU 30/BU 30 — Halftime

C.J. Henry loses Dunn — how does that happen? — and Dunn cans his fourth three of the game. The BU guard comes up hobbling, though, and he might have a minor ankle injury. Play is stopped to get Dunn out of the game.

Tyshawn Taylor finally checks in with three minutes left in the half.

Aldrich has to check out of the game with two fouls, and his replacement — Robinson — makes another horrible decision inside, trying to go up over two defenders before getting his shot blocked.

Collins with a smart play in the lane, pulling up for a shot to get it over Baylor’s bigs inside. If he’d have gone all the way to the rim, he would have been rejected. Instead, his four-footer gets a friendly bounce and rolls in.

In the final seconds, Collins misses a layup on a drive, but Markieff Morris cleans up with a stickback jam.

The dunk ties the halftime score at 30.

KU 24/BU 24 — 3:43 left in 1st half

Quincy Acy knocks down two free throws to put Baylor up one, but right on cue, Collins answers with a three from the right wing.

After a defensive rebound, KU runs the break, and Xavier Henry makes a nice decision to pitch out to Collins on the perimeter. The execution isn’t great, though, and the poor pass forces KU to reset.

Following an offensive rebound by Aldrich, Collins splits two defenders in the lane with a dribble before putting in a soft shot off the glass for two. Drew again calls timeout after a mini KU run. He doesn’t want this one to get out of control early.

The stoppage seems to work for the Bears. Acy hits a shot, and an awful pass by Robinson is stolen away. Udoh follows with a layup, and with the game tied again, it’s now Self that dials up a timeout.

KU 19/BU 18 — 7:25 left in 1st half

Dunn puts in a three, avoiding the defense of Morningstar. Dunn has to have one of the quickest releases in college basketball. Before you even think he’s going up, the shot is already off.

Elijah Johnson checks in before Tyshawn Taylor. I don’t think Taylor is hurt. He’s in his warmups on the bench right by the coaches, and if he were injured, I’d assume he’d be farther down the bench.

Aldrich draws two consecutive fouls after getting the ball inside. That’s seven team fouls already on Baylor.

Another three for Dunn. He’s a perfect three-for-three from three-point range for nine points. Something about playing against KU seems to bring out the best in him.

Morningstar dishes to Xavier Henry, who knocks in his first three. Marcus Morris follows with a steal, and he takes it all the way to the other end, avoiding a defender underneath the rim to put in a layup. BU coach Scott Drew calls timeout to settle his team.

KU 13/BU 10 — 11:34 left in 1st half

Morningstar hits a three, but LaceDarius Dunn answers with a three on the other end.

Morningstar misses his next attempt, but Xavier Henry skies for the board and is fouled on the way back up. KU coach Bill Self talked about Xavier’s offensive rebounding earlier this week, commenting that the small forward wasn’t as active on the glass as he should be with the physical tools he has. Xavier might have been listening.

Udoh buries a three, and he does a little of everything for Baylor. He’s now 5-for-13 (38.5 percent) from beyond the arc this year.

A few seconds later, Udoh commits a costly foul, going over Thomas Robinson’s back on an offensive rebound attempt. That’s two fouls on Udoh, and he’ll have to go to the bench.

KU with four steals so far, and three of them have come from Xavier Henry. Honestly, it seems like KU should be up by more than three points.

KU 6/BU 4 — 15:59 left in 1st half

Brady Morningstar gets his first start of the year, replacing Tyshawn Taylor.

Well any questions about what Cole Aldrich we’d see tonight were answered quickly. After getting a feed from Collins, the KU big man threw home a ferocious one-handed slam, yelling toward the camera in satisfaction afterwards.

KU has done a great job of attacking the inside of Baylor’s zone so far. Afte some fancy dribbling up top, Collins delivered a nice no-look pass across the lane to Marcus Morris for a slam. KU’s first six points have all come in the lane.

Baylor has seemed content to slow it down offensively, and that’s not a surprise. The Bears, according to KenPom, play with the 226th-fastest tempo in the NCAA, which puts them at a slightly slower pace than the average NCAA team.

7:05 p.m.

Like I said earlier, I wanted to try something a little different for tonight’s game.

On the left side, you’ll notice there’s a link to a chat with yours truly. For pre-game, I’ll be hanging out there to talk about all sorts of topics.

Though it says to “Submit a question,” really you can use that form to simply post a comment as well.

For one, I’ll use it as a place for predictions on the game. The closest person to the correct score will receive a Kream Keegan T-shirt. Entries must be received inside the chat before 8:05 p.m. Tiebreaker will be the person who is closest to KU’s final score.

Also, feel free to ask me a question, or comment about what song is currently stuck in your head at the moment.

Hopefully, this will have more of a conversation feel, rather than a “Jesse is talking but not listening to me” feel.

So, if you have some time, head on over to the chat. And be sure to post your score prediction there as well.

6:55 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the No. 25 Baylor Bears.

We’re going to try something a little different as we get closer to gametime, but for now, here are some notes about Baylor, which enters with a 14-2 record.

Baylor, which plays primarily a 2-3 zone, holds its opponents to 38.5 percent shooting from inside the three-point line. That’s the fourth-best mark in the country. The Bears also block 19.5 percent of their opponents’ two-point attempts — the third-best percentage nationally.

Baylor’s defense doesn’t force many turnovers, as opponents average just 12.3 turnovers per game.

Baylor’s opponents score 34.9 percent of their points from three-pointers.

Six-foot-10 forward Ekpe Udoh (Epp-Ay You-Doe) is one of only three Big 12 players (along with Kansas’ Cole Aldrich and Texas’ Damion James) to average a double-double, posting 14.1 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He also is averaging 4.4 blocks and 4.4 offensive rebounds per contest.

Baylor is a great shooting team, making 40.1 percent of its three-pointers (22nd nationally) and 53.3 percent of its twos (21st nationally). Additionally, both LaceDarius Dunn (41.2 percent) and Tweety Carter (42.2 percent) have made more than 40 percent of their three-pointers this year.

• The Bears are strong on the offensive boards, picking up the rebound on 41.6 percent of their misses (sixth nationally).

Be sure to vote in our poll on the left and also use #kubball to have your tweets appear on the left side of this page.

Also, no guarantees, but most of the time, http://justin.tv/sremlahc10, password: phog is a link that is useful on gamedays.

FINAL: Balanced Jayhawks take care of Texas Tech, 89-63

By Jesse Newell     Jan 16, 2010

KU vs. Texas Tech

Richard Gwin
Kansas guard Brady Morningstar pushes the ball up the court against against Texas Tech Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

Motivated force

Brilliance, frustration in equal measure

Tech gagged, handcuffed

Morningstar, Reed rise to occasion

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 20, X. Henry 14, Aldrich 14, Collins 9, Morningstar 8, Markieff Morris 7, Reed 5, Taylor 4, Robinson 4, Withey 2, Johnson 2.

KU was 29-for-67 from the floor (43.3 percent), 7-for-23 from three (30.4 percent) and 24-for-27 from the free-throw line (88.9 percent).

TTU was 21-for-64 from the floor (32.8 percent), 5-for-18 from three (27.8 percent) and 16-for-19 from the free-throw line (84.2 percent).

KU out-rebounded TTU, 48-37. KU had 17 turnovers to TTU’s 16.

FINAL: KU defeats TTU, 89-63

One of the highlights of the final few minutes for KU is Jeff Withey, who puts in two free throws and also registers a block.

The final highlight, though, belongs to Elijah Johnson, who takes off from about eight feet away for a one-handed slam over a defender. That one might make SportsCenter. Johnson puts on a big smile as he returns to the defensive end.

The Jayhawks wrap up the 26-point victory.

KU 83/TTU 57 — 3:14 left in game

Nice entry pass from Collins, and unlike me in pickup games, Marcus Morris hits his uncontested layup.

Mike Singletary misses a shot, and Tech’s leading scorer (15.4 points per game) has yet to score in this one (0-for-4 shooting). Give credit to Marcus Morris for that.

KU is showing its athleticism late. Aldrich skies for an offensive board, then lays in the follow. The next possession, Xavier Henry lobs to Robinson for an emphatic dunk over a defender. KU’s starters should be out of the game before too long.

KU 70/TTU 46 — 7:36 left in game

Aldrich screens two different defenders in a matter of a couple seconds, freeing Morningstar for a wide-open three that he drains. Aldrich’s work inside was the key.

What a weird sequence. Self is frustrated by a call on KU, but as he’s ripping into Steve Welmer, TTU coach Pat Knight marches onto the floor and gets a technical foul himself. So, while Self continues screaming at one ref, another one is busy T’ing up the Red Raiders’ coach. I’m blocked by the foundation of the basket on this end, so I’m not sure what Knight was upset about.

Aldrich shows a bit more aggressiveness when getting the ball inside, taking a drop step toward the rim to put in a short shot with a foul. No fading away that time.

For the third straight possession, KU looks Aldrich’s way, and for the third straight time, the big man draws a foul on a shot. With two free throws, Aldrich hits double figures for the first time in the last three games.

KU 56/TTU 38 — 11:23 left in game

Roberson puts in another three. There haven’t been many negatives for KU, but Collins’ perimeter defense on Roberson has been one of them. The guard has 13 of Tech’s first 28 points.

After an offensive rebound scramble, Roberson is left alone again, and he cans another three. A disgusted Self signals for timeout following an 8-0 TTU run.

Roberson again beats KU on the dribble, dropping to Cohadarevic for a two. Taylor’s shot is blocked on the other end, and Cohadarevic gets his second straight bucket, this time on a tip-in following an offensive rebound. Self calls his second timeout in a minute, as TTU has reeled off 12 straight points.

KU 54/TTU 26 — 15:51 left in game

Morningstar starts the second half over Taylor.

Marcus Morris has come out fired up to start the second half. The first two possessions, he rips down offensive rebounds and follows with stickbacks — drawing a foul on the second one.

Collins swishes his first three, but gives up one defensively to Roberson on the other end.

Aldrich rattles in a long hook shot on the baseline. We haven’t seen too many of those go in for Aldrich lately.

Aldrich misses a slingshot 18-footer, but Xavier Henry goes way above the rim for a one-handed stickback. I’m not sure if it should have been offensive goal-tending or not, but it was impressive regardless.

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 11, X. Henry 7, Morningstar 5, Reed 5, Taylor 4, Markieff Morris 4, Aldrich 2, Collins 2, Robinson 2.

KU was 14-for-31 from the floor (45.2 percent), 3-for-9 from three (33.3 percent) and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line (91.7 percent).

TTU was 5-for-24 from the floor (20.8 percent), 0-for-5 from three (0 percent) and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line (80 percent).

KU out-rebounded TTU, 23-15. TTU had 14 turnovers, while KU had 10.

Halftime thoughts

KU’s two All-America candidates combined for four first-half points, and KU leads by 24. I think that says volumes about what can happen when KU shares the wealth offensively and plays well defensively.

KU had nine first-half steals, so I guess my pre-game blog was a bit premature.

Reed (3 steals) and Morningstar (2 steals) were as active on both ends in the first half as I’ve seen them during their three years at KU.

KU 42/TTU 18 — Halftime

C.J. Henry has a three partially blocked from the corner, but Morningstar hustles to tip it back to Reed. Robinson finishes the play with a strong move inside, dumping the ball over the rim for two.

Robinson swats away a shot and comes away with the basketball, but he tries to do a bit too much. After dribbling it all the way up the court, he throws it out of bounds on a pass intended for Marcus.

Xavier Henry puts in a three from the wing, and that’s his first field goal of the game.

What an amazing pass from Morningstar, who tossed a no-look pass to Marcus Morris on the break under the basket. Marcus put it in for two with a foul, and it might have been most surprising because KU’s least flashy player (Morningstar) made perhaps the flashiest pass of his career.

Following a steal, Marcus is all alone, and he cups the ball in his right hand for a thunder jam. KU’s fans rise to their feet and boost the noise level after that one, as the Jayhawks are playing their best basketball in a while.

KU 29/TTU 14 — 3:30 left in 1st half

Texas Tech has followed through with its trends so far. With two free throws from Robert Lewandowski, seven of Tech’s 13 points have come from the free-throw line (where the Red Raiders are 7-for-8).

How impressive is it that, after a switch on a screen, Marcus Morris can cut off TTU’s John Roberson defensively? The big man does a great job of shuffling to stop the penetration, then after a miss, comes down with the defensive rebound as well.

After penetrating to the lane, Reed drops a nice bounce pass to Markieff Morris, who finishes strong with a left-handed layup. Timeout TTU, but it’s the offensive end — the Red Raiders have made just 3 of 17 shots — where Knight needs to find some answers.

Risky wrap-around pass by Robinson, but Markieff does a great job of snatching it with a defender on his shoulder before putting it in for two.

Another nice post feed by Reed, and Marcus Morris puts in the layup. The Jayhawks have made it look easy offensively in the last few possessions.

KU 19/TTU 11 — 7:59 left in 1st half

Morningstar steps in to poke the ball away from Cohadarevic, and he’s fouled by the big man on a layup. Cohadarevic has a few choice words for Morningstar, who leans toward the big man’s ear to deliver a few words back.

Tyrel Reed nearly gets a steal with the full-court pressure, but Texas Tech dives to corral it. Reed leaps high a few seconds later, this time coming away with the steal. His long outlet pass is stolen, though.

Things gets sloppy from both teams after that. Though the pace is frantic, KU doesn’t value the ball, as Robinson and Taylor commit consecutive turnovers. KU assistant coach Joe Dooley seems to permanently have his head buried in his hands. An upset Self goes down the bench and nearly throws Collins and Xavier Henry back into the game.

Collins runs the break, but he turns it over, too. TTU has nine turnovers, while TTU has eight.

KU 17/TTU 6 — 11:53 left in 1st half

Once again, a post touch immediately leads to two points for KU. Aldrich gets it inside and is immediately double-teamed before passing it out to Taylor, who then puts up a shot fake before driving to the lane for a short, one-handed jumper.

Maybe the Jayhawks just needed to be home again to turn up the defensive intensity. TTU is up to five turnovers already, with two of those the result of KU steals.

Brady Morningstar finds Tyrel Reed on the wing, and the Burlington native drains the three.

After a timeout, KU’s full-court press produces another steal, as Morningstar pokes the ball away from Darko Cohadarevic. If KU keeps producing a steal every time it presses, Self might have to keep facing questions about why it’s not a greater part of the Jayhawks’ gameplan.

KU 8/TTU 4 — 15:26 left in 1st half

KU gets an immediate post touch to Marcus Morris, and he rewards the Jayhawks by swishing a turn-around on the baseline.

After two made free throws by Marcus, KU goes to its full-court pressure, and a sped-up Red Raiders team turns it over under its own basket. The fans clap a bit too loud for the turnover, perhaps trying to send the message that KU should full-court press more.

Sherron Collins curls around a screen and sinks an 18-footer for KU. It’s 6-0 KU.

After getting their first four points from going inside, the Jayhawks forgot about their big men. KU settles for long jumpers early in the shot clock, and all of them bounce away.

Taylor beats TTU down the court after a defensive stop, and after getting a pass from Collins, he puts in a finger-roll to extend KU’s lead.

12:45 p.m.

The fans are a bit more fired up here after a nice rendition of the National Anthem by Paige Padgett, who couldn’t be more than about six years old.

In other news, the “Ain’t No Seats” sign guys are back in the student section.

Also, Self and TTU coach Pat Knight shared an extended handshake before the game. The two guys are buds, as Eric Sorrentino mentioned in his column on our site.

And Marcus Morris is back in the starting lineup for KU.

12:35 p.m.

Here are some notes about Texas Tech, which comes into the game with a 12-4 record.

Texas Tech doesn’t shoot nearly the same number of three-pointers as it did a year ago. The Red Raiders have shot just 13.9 three-pointers per game this year, making 35 percent of their attempts. In last year’s game against KU, TTU made 15 of its 27 three-point attempts. On Wednesday against Missouri, TTU made 12 of its 27 three-pointers.

The Red Raiders shoot a ton of free throws. They average 28 free throws per game, and also shoot an impressive 72 percent from the line.

Six-foot-6 forward Mike Singletary leads the Red Raiders with a 15.4 point-per-game scoring average. He has made 54 percent of his two-point attempts this year. He scored 18 against KU last year in TTU’s 84-65 victory.

Six-foot-1 guard Nick Okorie averages just 8.8 points per game this year, but he had 17 against the Jayhawks last year.

Defensively, Texas Tech has been poor as of late, giving up at least 75 points to seven straight opponents.

According to KenPom.com, Texas Tech plays the 17th-fastest of all NCAA teams. To win against KU, the Red Raiders will most likely have to score in the 80s and 90s.

11:35 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 3-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

I think it will be important for the Jayhawks today to get back to what they do best defensively, which is pressuring the ball to force teams into turnovers.

A look at the last four games reveals a troubling trend for KU’s defense, as the Jayhawks aren’t getting the steals they’re accustomed to.

In the last four games, here are KU’s steal totals: five against Temple, eight against Cornell, three against Tennessee and four against Nebraska.

For reference, this season, KU is averaging 8.8 steals per game.

That indicates to me that KU’s guards lately aren’t pressuring as well as they did early in the season.

Another problem could be this: KU doesn’t have any defensive specialists at the guard positions this year.

Looking back to past teams, Aaron Miles, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers all provided the Jayhawks with defenders on the perimeter that also had a knack for picking up steals by anticipating passes.

But who is that player on this year’s team? Brady Morningstar is good at following him man like a shadow, but he’s not a big steals guy.

Looking down the Jayhawks’ roster, the “perimeter defensive that can get lots of steals” label really could only be achieved by one player: Tyshawn Taylor.

Sherron Collins, with his scoring prowess, will always simply be a complementary player on defense (though his steals are way up this year, but that’s for another blog).

Xavier Henry is a wing player, and asking him to guard shorter, quicker players would probably be asking too much. He still leads the team in steals this year, but his opportunities will be limited because he is defending players off the ball. Tyrel Reed has improved his defense immensely, but he still just has 12 steals this season.

Taylor, despite playing 390 minutes this season, has just 20 steals. That’s too few for an athletic and quick guy like him.

I didn’t see anything wrong with Taylor last week wondering aloud about his role. What he said was true: Guys are constantly trying to find their place on a team as new people shuffle in and out of the rotation.

However, if Taylor looks at the situation a little closer, I think he’d find that he’s the only player in the regular rotation with the athleticism and tools to be a lockdown perimeter defender and also a “steals guy” for KU.

And, to me, that’s about as important of a role as there is.

We’ll have more analysis as we get closer to gametime. In the meantime, be sure to vote in our poll on the left and use the hashtag #kubball to have your Tweets appear on the left side of the screen.

Also, no guarantees, but http://justin.tv/sremlahc10, password: phog could be of help to those folks surfing the Internet looking for the game.

FINAL: KU uses late surge to top Cornell, 71-66

By Jesse Newell     Jan 6, 2010

KU vs. Cornell

Nick Krug
The Fieldhouse crowd watches as Sherron Collins penetrates the Cornell defense for a bucket to give the Jayhawks the lead late in the second half, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

KU scoring — Collins 33 (career high), Xavier Henry 14, Aldrich 13, Markieff Morris 4, Reed 3, Morningstar 3, Marcus Morris 1.

KU was 18-for-49 from the floor (36.7 percent), 7-for-15 from three (46.7 percent) and 28-for-36 from the free-throw line (77.8 percent).

Cornell was 24-for-55 from the floor (43.6 percent), 9-for-26 from three (34.6 percent) and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line (64.3 percent).

KU out-rebounded Cornell, 35-34. Cornell had 16 turnovers to KU’s 10.

FINAL: KU defeats Cornell, 71-66

Wittman misses a three from the top. Morningstar was all over him, and Wittman had to double-pump on the shot. Xavier Henry gets the rebound and is fouled with 5.7 seconds left. He makes both free throws.

Louis Dale misses a last-second three, Collins tosses the ball high in the air in celebration, and the Jayhawks escape with a five-point win.

KU 69/Cornell 66 — 12.8 seconds left in 2nd half

Collins takes the ball straight to the rim, putting in a layup with a phantom foul. Cornell’s Reeves was so upset with the call that he was nearly T’d up by Steve Welmer. Collins free throw gives KU a two-point lead.

Wittman gets a semi-open look but his three bounces off. Collins gets the rebound, but misses the first free throw. He makes the second to put KU up, 67-64, with 25.2 seconds to go.

Taylor is called for a foul for being in the wrong place on a loose ball scenario, as Wittman falls to the floor in a scramble. Wittman makes both ends of the one-and-one to trim KU’s lead to one with 16.8 seconds left.

Collins is fouled immediately with 15.5 seconds left. He makes both free throws to put KU up three.

Cornell calls timeout with 12.8 seconds left.

Cornell 64/KU 63 — 49 seconds left in 2nd half

Wittman, with a double-team, is forced to pass with the shot clock winding down, and Foote misses a short shot off the glass. KU clears the board.

Collins misses a finger-roll, but again, KU gets the benefit of the whistle, as an official says the guard was hit on the head.

Louis Dale cuts to the basket and gets a layup to fall. Collins misses a deep shot on the other end.

Cornell calls timeout with 8 seconds left on the shot clock. After the break, Wroblewski misses a leaner, and Aldrich clears the board.

Xavier Henry misses a shot inside, and he complains to a nearby official. On the other end, Foote puts in a layup as Cornell regains the lead. Timeout KU.

KU 61/Cornell 60 — 3:28 left in 2nd half

Xavier Henry misses another layup. Aldrich misses the follow jam. KU can’t get anything to go in.

Collins squirts to the rim, drawing a foul before making two free throws.

Collins, on a drive, has it stripped, but the official calls a cheapie foul from the backside. Two free throws later, and KU is only down two.

Big swing of momentum for Cornell. Foote missed the front end of a one-and-one, but KU couldn’t grab the defensive board. Two passes later, a driving Foote put in a layup.

Collins, on a drive, has the ball go off his hands out of bounds. Self calls timeout.

Morningstar defends Wittman well, as his three falls off. On the other end, Collins finds Aldrich, and the big man puts in his second turn-around.

After a Cornell travel, Collins drives before pitching to Reed for a three that gives KU a 61-60 lead. Reed pumps his arm in the air in celebration.

Cornell 58/KU 52 — 7:52 left in 2nd half

Taylor drives and picks up an all-important foul: Cornell’s seventh of the half. KU will shoot free throws on each foul the rest of the way.

It won’t help, though, if KU can’t make the freebies, as Taylor and Xavier Henry both miss the front of one-and-ones.

After getting fouled in the backcourt, Aldrich hits one free throw, but not two. Nothing is coming easy for the Jayhawks tonight.

A flurry of scoring after that. Two twos by Wittman. A three from Collins.

An interesting turn of events after that, as Self told Taylor to switch with Morningstar to guard Wittman. Morningstar wouldn’t give up the defensive assignment, and Taylor yelled at him to play defense. The next break in action, Self had words with Morningstar, and Morningstar yelled something at Self, throwing his arms up while backing away. Whatever happened, Morningstar stayed on Wittman after the timeout.

Cornell 51/KU 46 — 11:41 left in 2nd half

Xavier Henry steals an alley-oop attempt, and much like the Jayhawks have been playing all night, he doesn’t hesitate to go one-on-two without looking at a teammate. Xavier draws a foul, but misses both free throws.

Xavier forces up another shot in the lane that misses. He’s now 3-for-10. The Collins/Xavier and no one else offense isn’t working recently.

Aldrich comes away with a block and steal in the lane, and he tosses ahead to Collins, who gets fouled. The senior makes both free throws to end a KU drought.

The crowd comes to its feet, and forced into a corner, a Cornell player calls timeout.

Following the break, Alex Tyler calmly sinks an open 18-footer to quiet the crowd.

KU keeps getting steals but can’t convert. Marcus Morris gets the ball underneath but turns back into his freshman self, falling away from a missed layup instead of going strong into the contact.

The good news for KU is the pace has picked up dramatically. A faster pace should mean tired Cornell players down the stretch.

Cornell 49/KU 43 — 15:58 left in 2nd half

Collins makes a tough shot, then misses a tough shot. It appears he’s going to win or lose this game for Kansas, and his teammates might not even get a chance to help him offensively.

Cornell 49/KU 41 — 17:19 left in 2nd half

Not a good possession to start the second half for the Jayhawks. Blown assignment on a screen leads to open three. Three misses. Cornell gets offensive rebound. KU double-teams post. Cornell finds open man. Easy layup.

Meanwhile, Xavier Henry tries to shoot his way out of a cold streak, clanking an 18-foot baseline shot with a hand in his face.

KU gets the idea on the next possession offensively. Aldrich gets it inside, draws a crowd, then finds Xavier Henry alone on the perimeter for a wide-open three that swishes through.

Marcus Morris steals a crosscourt pass, but Aldrich misses a turnaround that would have tied it. Geoff Reeves breaks open for another three, and he buries it.

Wittman follows with an off-balance three, and Cornell has opened up an eight-point lead. Timeout KU, and it’s officially danger time for the undefeated Jayhawks.

KU scoring — Collins 14 (6-for-10 shooting), Xavier Henry 9, Aldrich 8, Markieff Morris 4, Morningstar 3.

KU was 11-for-27 from the floor (40.7 percent), 4-for-8 from three (50 percent) and 12-for-13 from the free-throw line (92.3 percent).

Cornell was 14-for-26 from the floor (53.8 percent), 6-for-13 from three (46.2 percent) and 7-for-11 from the free-throw line (63.6 percent).

Both teams had 15 rebounds at the break. Cornell had eight turnovers to KU’s six.

Some thoughts

Where would KU be in this game if it hadn’t made 92 percent of its free throws?

Getting Aldrich back in at the beginning of the second half should help KU. He had eight points in just six first-half minutes before picking up two fouls.

KU has held 87 straight opponents to under 50-percent shooting. The Big Red made 53.8 percent of its shots in the first half. With the limited first-half possessions, the Jayhawks had to play especially poor defensively to give up 41 points.

Who can KU stick on Ryan Wittman? He’s up to 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three. KU needs to find an answer quickly, whether it’s Xavier Henry or Morningstar.

Cornell 41/KU 38 — Halftime

Out of the timeout, Collins hits a big three for KU, with the assist coming from Xavier Henry. Both guys yell at each other to try to pump each other up.

Collins finishes a tough drive with a layup and foul, and he admires the play afterwards, putting his arms around his knees while sitting and bobbing his head a few times.

Cornell’s Alex Tyler gets called for an offensive foul on a rebound, and in anger, he throws an elbow at one of the Morris twins. Self leaps up, demanding a technical foul on the Big Red big man. The coach is going to have to be careful, or he’s going to get himself kicked out of this game.

Markieff Morris hits two free throws to put KU up one, but with the fans all standing, Louis Dale answers with a three over Morningstar.

Collins rolls in another tough shot in the lane, but KU is trading twos for threes. Wittman knocks down a deep three to extend Cornell’s lead.

Collins once again answers, using some fancy dribbling before hitting a tough, stepback, fadeaway jumper at the buzzer.

Still, KU trails 41-38 at the break.

Cornell 30/KU 26 — 3:05 left in 1st half

If Self wants his team to win ugly, he’s getting a glimpse of it here.

Collins misses a forced three, but Xavier Henry picks off two offensive boards before getting fouled. Markieff Morris hit the floor while banging inside for the ball. Self stands to applaud the effort.

C.J. Henry checks in at the 6:25 mark of the first half. Perhaps he can give KU an offensive spark.

Following a three from Wittman, Collins shows some razzle-dazzle, going behind his back with the dribble before putting in a left-handed floater off the glass.

Cornell responds, though, as Chris Wroblewski puts in a three without anyone around him.

The ball is sticking quite a bit for KU right now. Xavier and Collins are trying to take over offensively themselves, shooting early in the possession without looking to teammates.

Xavier Henry puts in another three — this time a wide open one on a crosscourt feed — and Cornell calls a quick timeout to regroup while still up one at 27-26.

Another three for Wittman. KU has to do a better job of getting out to him.

Self once again is hot this timeout. Official Steve Welmer is trying to settle him down, walking him back toward the bench.

Cornell 18/KU 16 — 7:24 left in 1st half

Foote makes two free throws out of the break, and he follows with a layup to push Cornell’s lead to three.

Thomas Robinson attempts a move inside and loses the handle, turning it over. Self bangs his hand loudly against the Chipotle sign next to him. That’s KU’s fifth turnover already, and Cornell’s defense isn’t known as one that forces a lot of turnovers.

Aldrich breaks KU’s slump with two free throws, and in transition, Morningstar dumps a nice pass over the top to Aldrich for an easy two. Self, who hasn’t been happy for most of this one, even stands to applaud the play.

Aldrich picks up his second foul with 8:46 left. He’ll most likely sit the rest of the half.

Self is really getting on the official near the bench, and his temper boils over after Cornell puts in a layup. The coach calls timeout, then marches over to the official on the other side, saying, “That’s a travel right in front of you,” motioning a travel with his hands. The outburst earns Self a quick technical foul, but maybe that will be something that gets the team and fans fired up.

Collins gets to the rim on a drive for two, and predictably, the crowd is as loud as its been all night.

KU 10/Cornell 9 — 11:35 left in 1st half

Cornell goes to a zone (What was wrong with holding KU to four points in 4 1/2 minutes?) and immediately, Xavier drains an open three. Cornell wisely switches back to its man defense after that.

Markieff Morris tries to dump a pass into his brother, Marcus, but the pass is intercepted in traffic. The bad play seems to affect Markieff defensively, as he commits a foul that contributes to a three-point play on the other end. Self quickly checks him out.

It’s no secret that Cornell’s gameplan is to limit possessions as much as possible. The Big Red is taking almost all the time off the shot clock each possession.

Brady Morningstar throws home a three, and KU has regained the lead at 10-9.

An early nomination for KU student sign of the year: “I’ve got 99 problems but Aldrich ain’t one.” I got a chuckle out of that one.

KU 4/Cornell 4 — 15:43 left in 1st half

So far, the offense for Cornell hasn’t been from the guards, but instead from seven-footer Jeff Foote inside. The big man gets the ball in the lane the first two possessions and takes it right at Cole Aldrich, putting in a short turnaround then a longer hook shot off the glass.

Meanwhile, after a layup 10 seconds in by Aldrich, KU goes cold offensively. Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins miss tough shots, and Xavier and Tyshawn Taylor also give away unforced turnovers on poor passes.

KU allows three straight offensive rebounds before a Cornell player has the ball slip out of his hands and out of bounds. Self stands up from the bench to scream at Markieff Morris before the media timeout begins.

7:03 p.m.

I have to admit, I underestimated the KU fans a bit.

Though we’re not full, people have filled in nicely into the empty spots. There are still some gaps in the upper northwest corner, the upper southwest corner and in the south end zone, but we’re not talking about more than four or five rows.

6:55 p.m.

Here are some last-minute notes about Cornell, which enters with a 12-2 record.

Cornell’s opponents have made 39.4 percent of their three-point attempts this year. The NCAA average for three-point percentage is 34.2 percent.

The Big Red has made 45.6 percent of its three-pointers in true road games.

• Cornell has a 10-game winning streak and is 9-1 away from home this year.

6:37 p.m.

I’ll go ahead and say it now so folks won’t freak out when they turn on the TV tonight: This isn’t going to be a full Allen Fieldhouse.

It’s as empty right now as I’ve ever seen it 23 minutes before a game. Not only is the dreaded northwest corner empty, but the other three corners and both end zones have plenty of empties as well.

Looks like the snow and poor road conditions have kept many of the out-of-town travelers at home tonight.

5:53 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from snowy Lawrence and Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Cornell Big Red.

So what’s the most important thing about tonight’s game for KU, other than the Jayhawks getting the victory?

I’ll be most interested in watching the Jayhawks’ perimeter defense against Cornell’s sharp-shooters.

The Big Red comes in with perhaps the most impressive collection of three-point shooters statistically that I’ve seen in a college game.

Let’s go over the numbers.

Cornell is shooting 43.3 percent as a team from three, good for third nationally.

• The Big Red have shot 305 three-pointers this year — an average of 21.8 per game.

The three players that have shot the most threes for Cornell this year are all shooting above 43 percent from beyond the arc. Ryan Wittman (181 attempted) is shooting 43.8 percent, Chris Wroblewski (56 attempted) is shooting 44.6 percent and Burlington native Geoff Reeves (46 attempted) is shooting 47.8 percent.

To KU’s credit, it has been a good three-point defensive team so far this season. Opponents have made 26.5 percent of their threes against the Jayhawks, which is the fifth-best mark nationally.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

When KU coach Bill Self was asked about his team’s three-point defense against Temple (the Owls were 5-for-29 for 17.2 percent), Self commented that he wasn’t particularly happy with his team’s effort, saying that teams don’t shoot 29 threes if they’re not getting open looks.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how KU matches up tonight. I’m guessing Tyshawn Taylor will start on Wittman (18.9 points per game), though I’d expect to also see Brady Morningstar on him some as well.

One perimeter defender isn’t enough against Cornell, though. KU will need contributions from Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry and Tyrel Reed (who I thought played great defensively against Temple) tonight.

Self won’t be able to hide a weak perimeter defender. If someone is late around a screen or slow getting out to the arc, we should see Cornell cash in with three points.

Be sure to vote in the poll on the left, and also use #kubball to have your tweets show up on the left side of this page.

http://justin.tv/sremlahc10, password: phog also is the answer that many of you will be looking for.

FINAL: Sade Morris scores 22 points; KU women run past Pepperdine, 82-63

By Jesse Newell     Dec 30, 2009

Nick Krug
Kansas forward Aishah Sutherland goes up for a bucket over Pepperdine forward Keyah Shealy during the first half, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU scoring — Morris 22 (10-for-17 shooting), McCray 15 (7-for-13 shooting), Boogaard 10, Goodrich 9, Sutherland 8 (12 rebounds), Engelman 7, Carolyn Davis 5, Kohn 3, Jacobs 2, Smith 1.

KU was 36-for-69 from the floor (52.2 percent), 4-for-12 from three (33.3 percent) and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line (75 percent).

Pepperdine was 24-for-64 from the floor (37.5 percent), 5-for-16 from three (31.3 percent) and 10-for-18 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent).

Pepperdine had 20 turnovers to KU’s 16. KU out-rebounded Pepperdine, 44-36.

FINAL: KU women defeat Pepperdine, 82-63

Kohn gets her first points, draining a three from the corner. Carolyn Davis adds her second basket with a layup inside. Finally, Pepperdine clears its bench.

Rhea Codio checks in for KU and she continues her early-season struggles. Her first three times touching the basketball, she turns it over, leading to some easy points for Pepperdine.

KU closes out a 19-point victory.

KU 77/Pepperdine 58 — 3:44 left in game

Carolyn Davis checks in and puts in her first two, getting a leaning layup to go in with a foul. Give the assist to Kohn. Davis finishes the three-point play with a free throw.

Pepperdine continues to play its regulars against KU’s second team hoping for a comeback. Ayim hits a jumper, but the Waves are still down 19.

KU 72/Pepperdine 52 — 7:10 left in game

KU isn’t having many problems with the zone that Pepperdine has thrown at it. McCray drives to draw attention to the middle of the zone, then kicks out to Engelman for a three.

Engleman comes away with a steal, but her reverse layup try falls off the rim.

Following a layup by Jazmine Jackson, KU coach Bonnie Henrickson signals for a timeout. KU doesn’t have the best offensive grouping out there right now with Kelly Kohn, Marisha Brown, Jacobs, Smith and Engelman.

KU 67/Pepperdine 44 — 11:12 left in game

Another assist for Goodrich, and another baseline jumper for Morris. The senior guard’s career high is 26 points, and she has 20 right now.

Nice pass across the lane from Smith, who finds Boogaard for an uncotested layup.

KU has three starters in double figures (Morris, McCray, Boogaard) and two more that will probably get there (Goodrich 9, Sutherland 8).

KU 59/Pepperdine 37 — 15:22 left in game

Morris fakes to the baseline before driving right by her defender for a quick left-handed layup.

KU’s defense hasn’t been as sharp out of the break. Pepperdine opens by making three of its first five shots to cut into KU’s lead.

Morris puts in a jumper, then cuts on the baseline to receive a pass from Goodrich for a lay-in. Morris already is up to 18 points.

KU scoring — Morris 12, McCray 11 (5-for-7 shooting), Sutherland 8 (3-for-3 shooting), Boogaard 8, Goodrich 5, Engelman 4, Smith 1.

KU was 22-for-37 from the floor (59.5 percent), 2-for-5 from three (40 percent) and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line (60 percent).

Pepperdine was 10-for-30 from the floor (33.3 percent), 2-for-8 from three (25 percent) and 5-for-8 from three (62.5 percent).

KU out-rebounded Pepperdine, 24-15, in the first half. The Waves had 12 turnovers to the Jayhawks’ six.

Pepperdine’s leading scorer, Miranda Ayim, finished the first half with eight points on 4-for-7 shooting.

KU 49/Pepperdine 27 — Halftime

I guess the hot streak couldn’t last forever.

KU puts in only one field goal in the final four minutes of the half, as Morris drives in for a two with 7 seconds left. The Jayhawks also added three free throws from Nicollette Smith and Sutherland.

The scoring slowdown shouldn’t affect the outcome, though, as KU still takes a 22-point lead into the break.

KU 44/Pepperdine 21 — 3:57 left in 1st half

McCray makes another near-impossible shot, double-pumping to avoid a defender before draining a 12-foot shot. Credit that shot to instinct and sheer talent, as it’s not an attempt you’ll ever practice during the week.

Boogaard cleans up a miss by Goodrich, and she puts the follow back in for two with a foul.

On the fast break, Goodrich shows more of her magic with the basketball, dropping a no-look, two-handed bounce pass on the perimeter to McCray, who steps back to swish the open three. McCray could only laugh when pointing to Goodrich to acknowledge her for the pass, as I’m pretty sure that McCray had no idea that pass was coming until it was already to her.

Sutherland puts in a jumper, and Morris follows with a two of her own.

Morris nearly comes up with a steal, and she spills onto the scorer’s table with the effort. While getting up, she makes sure to straighten back up a TV monitor that she had knocked over right in front of Journal-World sports editor Tom Keegan. That brought a smile and laugh from Tom.

KU is keeping up its good shooting, as the Jayhawks are 21-for-34 from the floor (61.8 percent).

KU 34/Pepperdine 17 — 7:52 left in 1st half

McCray knocks in her first three, and she’s made two of her first three shots.

Morris follows up with a shot from the elbow, and the Jayhawks are off to a good shooting start (10-for-17, 58.8 percent).

Another pull-up jumper swishes through for McCray. She doesn’t miss many open shots.

KU has been able to extend its lead with Goodrich taking a break. LaChelda Jacobs has checked in for her, but KU’s offense hasn’t cooled down, thanks mostly to Morris. She drives in the lane to draw two defenders, then floats a pass across the lane to Boogaard for an easy layup. Two possessions later, Morris takes it all the way to the rim for two more.

McCray adds a steal, and she finds the just-checked in Goodrich on a bounce pass. The freshman swishes the three from a step behind the men’s three-point line, and Pepperdine uses another timeout to try to halt a 14-2 KU run.

At the media timeout, KU is a blazing 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the floor.

KU 20/Pepperdine 13 — 11:50 left in 1st half

McCray puts in her first field goal, and this one has a high degree of difficulty. After faking a shot, she leans into the defender and puts in a shot off the glass and in.

Monica Engelman, who isn’t bashful about shooting, puts in jumpshots on her second and third possessions after checking in. On her second bucket, she used an upfake to clear a defender before swishing a 16-footer. Pepperdine calls timeout following the freshman’s consecutive baskets.

Turnovers already have been a problem for Pepperdine, as the Waves have four giveaways in the first eight minutes.

KU 10/Pepperdine 6 — 15:55 left in 1st half

Sade Morris opens the scoring for KU with a mid-range jumper. The next possession, Morris finds Aishah Sutherland underneath, and the sophomore puts in an easy layup.

Pepperdine has tried some full-court pressure, but so far, KU’s Angel Goodrich has been able to get out of it pretty easily. After dribbling past a double-team, Goodrich took it all the way to the rim for a layup to put KU up 6-1.

Jazmine Jackson hits an open three for Pepperdine’s first field goal. The Waves started the game 0-for-5 from the field.

KU’s Krysten Boogaard follows with a left-handed layup, and Morris gets a shot in the lane to bounce in.

1:02 p.m.

A pretty good crowd has shuffled in here, considering the awkward start time and also the less-than-ideal weather conditions. I’d say about 3,000 fans have shown up for this afternoon game.

12:40 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the 21st-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team (9-2) is getting set to take on Pepperdine (9-4).

So why the early start time for today’s game? Chuck Woodling explains it well in this piece, but to make a long story short, the afternoon tip saves road teams on expenses.

Today’s game should be a good test for KU, as Pepperdine has won four straight games, including victories over San Diego State and Nevada.

Meanwhile, KU’s All-American candidate Danielle McCray is coming off her best performance of the season. She scored 37 points on 17-for-22 shooting on Dec. 22 against Houston. The senior also scored 30 points in her previous game against UC Riverside. Her scoring average is up to 21.7 points per game, which is even better than her 21.6 points per game from a year ago.

KU’s inside players will get a test today, as Pepperdine’s 6-foot-3 center Miranda Ayim leads her team with 14.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Check back for more updates as we get closer to gametime.

FINAL: Aldrich’s defensive effort helps KU to 81-51 victory over Belmont

By Jesse Newell     Dec 29, 2009

KU vs. Belmont

Nick Krug
Kansas center Cole Aldrich covers Belmont guard Jordan Campbell during the first half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

Kansas yucks it up

Withey makes debut

Bruins laud Alrdich inside

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

Self blasts ‘lackluster,’ ‘soft’ play by Jayhawks

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 14, Aldrich 11, Collins 9, X. Henry 8, C.J. Henry 8, Taylor 7, Johnson 7, Robinson 5, Reed 5, Morningstar 3, Withey 2, Markieff Morris 2.

KU was 32-for-57 from the floor (56.1 percent), 6-for-17 from three (35.3 percent) and 11-for-21 from the free-throw line (52.4 percent).

Belmont was 20-for-65 from the floor (30.8 percent), 8-for-27 from three (29.6 percent) and 3-for-8 from the free-throw line (37.5 percent).

Belmont had 23 turnovers to KU’s 15. KU out-rebounded Belmont, 40-39.

FINAL: KU defeats Belmont, 81-51

Aldrich gets a left-handed layup to go down to give him a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Self immediately summons Withey from the bench after Aldrich hits the milestone.

Withey gets his first points as a Jayhawks, slamming home a dunk with 46 seconds left on a feed from Johnson.

C.J. Henry adds a steal and layup before cashing another three.

KU finishes off an 81-51 victory.

KU 72/Belmont 44 — 3:19 left in game

Johnson continues to impress in his limited minutes, as he puts in another layup high off the glass.

C.J. Henry pulls up for an open three. He’s had a mixed bag of a night with a rebound and two steals but also a turnover.

KU gets one more transition basket with its starters, as Xavier lofts a lob for Johnson. The freshman elevates way above the rim to slam it home.

KU 62/Belmont 39 — 6:55 left in game

Reed with a nice play in transition, moving quickly back to the ball to gather a pass from Marcus Morris that was deflected. Reed wasted no time in transition, taking it straight at the defender and to the basket for a tough layup off the glass.

Withey isn’t having the best go of it in there right now. He commits two fouls — including one on an and-one — and also allows an offensive rebound that turns into two points for Belmont. He also bricks the front end of a one-and-one.

Aldrich with another steal, and he throws a long outlet pass that eventually opens up Elijah Johnson for a layup.

Johnson with another nice read inside, throwing a lob to a cutting Xavier Henry for an alley-oop slam.

KU 52/Belmont 30 — 11:57 left in game

Nice decision by Xavier Henry, who’s having a much better second half. He faked a pass to the outside to bait a defender, then drove to the lane before shoveling to Marcus Morris for a layup inside. Xavier’s done a better job of looking to his teammates since his first-half benching.

Keaton Belcher gets Belmont’s first points of the second half at the 14:50 mark, dropping in a lay-in after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Marcus Morris answers a few seconds later, putting in a long jumpshot.

Tyrel Reed has a lazy pass stolen, but he stands strong on the defensive end, forcing a layup miss and clearing away the rebound.

It leads to numbers for KU, and Taylor scoops to a cutting Robinson for a layup with a foul. Robinson misses the free throw, though.

Jeff Withey checks in to a standing ovation at the 12:02 mark. It takes him five seconds to grab his first defensive rebound.

KU 44/Belmont 26 — 15:45 left in game

Xavier Henry’s defender falls down, and the freshman takes advantage, taking a few dribbles into the lane before knocking down a short jumper. The Jayhawks extend their run to 8-0 to start this half.

KU 42/Belmont 26 — 16:37 left in game

Taylor draws two players before dishing to Aldrich, who finishes with a hard slam.

Taylor pushes a pass intended for Collins out of bounds, but he makes up for it on the next possession, pulling up and draining a 17-footer.

Belmont calls timeout following a 6-0 KU run to start the half.

KU scoring — Aldrich 7 (2-for-2 shooting, nine rebounds, five blocks), Marcus Morris 6 (3-for-4 shooting), Collins 5, Taylor 4, X. Henry 3 (1-for-6 shooting), Morningstar 3, Robinson 3, Reed 3, Markieff Morris 2.

KU was 13-for-28 from the floor (46.4 percent), 4-for-10 from three (40 percent) and 6-for-9 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).

Belmont was 10-for-33 from the floor (30.3 percent), 5-for-12 from three (41.7 percent), and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line (33.3 percent).

Belmont had 20 rebounds to KU’s 19. Belmont had 11 turnovers to KU’s seven.

KU had eight first-half blocks, while Belmont had one.

Here’s an interesting stat: Xavier Henry, Markieff Morris and Brady Morningstar combined to go 3-for-15 in the first half. The rest of the team combined to go 10-for-13.

KU 36/Belmont 26 — Halftime

Robinson gets beat inside, and Jordan Campbell puts in a two while drawing a foul.

On the other end, Markieff Morris once again finds the soft spot in the zone, but he hurls a wild, 18-foot shot that only hits the backboard.

Xavier Henry drives to find a teammate, pitching to Tyrel Reed for an open three that swishes. That’s the best play of the night so far for KU’s talented freshman.

Aldrich with another defensive rebound, and it leads to a fast break for KU. Marcus Morris corrals a long pass from Collins, then lays it off the glass for two.

Collins misses a stepback three before the buzzer, and KU takes a 10-point lead into the break.

KU 29/Belmont 21 — 3:42 left in 1st half

Tyshawn Taylor just earned himself some bench time.

Out of the timeout, KU had just four players on the court. Collins, while getting double-teamed, motioned toward the KU bench to Taylor, who immediately sprinted off the bench and into the game. Taylor managed a nice pass inside to Aldrich (who was fouled) before getting the call back to the sideline.

Hedgepeth drains a three over Aldrich, and that’s a tough matchup for KU’s big man on the perimeter. Hedgepeth was just 0-for-1 from three coming into this game.

Collins drives before finding Morningstar on the perimeter for an open three that falls through.

Morningstar gets caught up on a screen, and that’s something you don’t see often. Ian Clark hits the open three, and KU’s lead is down to four.

Markieff Morris fights for good position on the post, and he puts in a layup. The next possession, Markieff finds a soft spot in Belmont’s zone, then feeds Robinson underneath the basket for a slam.

KU 21/Belmont 15 — 7:50 left in 1st half

Marcus Morris gets beat on a backdoor cut, and Keaton Belcher throws in a two-handed slam. The crowd — which has been pretty dead tonight — tries to make some noise to get the Jayhawks going.

Aldrich checks in and immediately makes his presence felt, gathering an offensive rebound before getting fouled on the way back up. He makes both freebies.

Collins fails to fight through a screen defensively, and Ian Clark knocks down a wide-, wide-open three from the corner.

Another three, another miss for Xavier. He’s on pace for 20 shots but only five makes.

A turnover for Xavier, and Jordan Campbell turns it into a three in transition. Timeout Self, as Belmont has turned an 11-0 deficit into a 15-14 lead.

KU goes back to what works, as Aldrich drops in a short shot in the lane. The big man also swats away another block on the defensive end.

The Jayhawks run in transition, and Morningstar draws attention on a drive before pitching out to Collins for an open three that swishes through.

Aldrich could be on the verge of another triple-double tonight. He has four points, seven rebounds and five blocks right now, and we still have nearly eight minutes to go in the half.

KU 12/Belmont 7 — 11:43 left in 1st half

Thomas Robinson checks in, and he gets fouled after gathering in an offensive rebound. He makes one of two free-throw attempts, which actually helps his season average (42.9 percent coming in).

After getting double-teamed, Robinson drops a nice bounce pass to a cutting Markieff Morris, but the big man can’t get the layup to go down.

KU goes to a small lineup with Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar on the floor at the same time, but the two guards don’t take care of their rebounding responsibilities. Jon House gets a weakside rebound and puts in a layup, and a furious Self motions for timeout.

Xavier Henry checks in, but he’s been out of it offensively. He’s hoisting up three-pointers every time he sees the rim, and this guarded trey comes up well short. Xavier is just 1-for-4 to start this game.

KU 11/Belmont 3 — 14:30 left in 1st half

KU tries an alley-oop on its first possession, but a pass from Sherron Collins goes through the hands of Tyshawn Taylor. Collins shoots it himself on the next possession, canning a three.

Already, Cole Aldrich is causing problems for Belmont inside. Aldrich steps up to stop penetration, and his presence in the lane forces a Belmont player to make his pass a bit quicker. The throw ends up sailing out of bounds. The next possession, Aldrich registers a block, and he also pulls down two consecutive defensive rebounds.

Belmont tries a sagging 2-3 zone, and Xavier Henry shoots over the top of it, draining a three from the left side.

Already, the mismatch in this game has been exposed. Aldrich comes down for a vicious block on Mick Hedgepeth, and that’s not the only time, as he adds two more swats inside. In the Cram Session on the left, I predicted five blocks for Aldrich. In the first five minutes of this one, he already has four.

Marcus Morris wiggles free for a layup, then on the next possession drives for a slam, and Belmont calls timeout immediately in an 11-0 hole.

Drew Hanlen finally hits a three from the corner to break the Bruins’ drought. They had started the game 0-for-9.

8:07 p.m.

Tyshawn Taylor was introduced in the starting lineup as from Hoboken, N.J. instead of Jersey City, N.J. Not sure why his hometown changed in the starting lineup, but I’m sure we might hear why after the game.

7:48 p.m.

Here are some notes about Belmont, which enters today’s game with a 7-4 record.

Six-foot-9 center Mick Hedgepeth leads Belmont in scoring (13.0 points per game) and rebounding (5.5 rebounds per game). Interestingly, he averages 13 points despite averaging fewer than seven field-goal attempts per game. He’s also shooting an unheard-of 66 percent from the field this season.

Three of Belmont’s top scorers are 6-foot-9 or taller.

The Bruins are a good shooting team. They have made 35 percent of their three-pointers and an impressive 56 percent of their two-pointers this season.

Keep an ear out for the whistles, as Belmont usually gets to the free-throw line often. The Bruins average more than 25 free-throw attempts per game.

• Belmont averages 16.3 turnovers per game. Because of the high turnover total (and because of less-than-stellar rebounding), the Bruins have averaged seven fewer field-goal attempts than their opponents in games this year.

6:22 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Belmont Bruins.

One impressive statistic that not many people are talking about with this year’s KU basketball team is its decreased turnovers.

So far this season, KU’s turnover percentage (percentage of possessions in which it commits turnovers) is 17.6 percent. Not only is that 34th nationally according to KenPom.com, that’s by far the lowest percentage put up by a Bill Self-coached KU squad.

Let’s take a look. With help from Excel, I made up a line graph on the left side of this page showing KU’s turnover percentages (in blue) from the Self era. Just for fun, I included KU’s opponents’ turnover percentages each year (in red).

See a larger version of the line graph

After looking at the graph, one thing stood out most to me.

If you look, KU has only had two seasons under Self when it has kept its turnover percentage under 20 percent. One of those instances is this year.

The other is 2007-08 — which also was the national championship season.

Of course, KU’s schedule will get more difficult this season, and the turnover percentage is sure to rise a bit as the Jayhawks face tougher defenses.

Still, it can’t be a bad sign for KU fans to see that this year’s team is following the same route to offensive success as the national title team two years ago.

Be sure to vote in our poll on the left and to use #kubball with your tweets to get them to appear on the left side of this blog.

And http://justin.tv/sremlahc10, password: phog is the answer a few of you are desiring.

FINAL: Collins’ 17 points lead KU in 84-69 victory over Cal

By Jesse Newell     Dec 22, 2009

KU vs. California

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Sherron Collins roars after knocking down a bucket late in the second half to increase the Jayhawks' lead against California, Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box score

Making merry

Taylor continues his hot streak

Lie inspires Marcus

California comes close

Gary Bedore’s KU basketball notebook

KU scoring — Collins 17, Marcus Morris 14, Taylor 13, X. Henry 12, Aldrich 10, Morningstar 7, Markieff Morris 6, Reed 3, Robinson 2.

KU was 33-for-60 from the floor (55 percent), 7-for-17 from three (41.2 percent) and 11-for-17 from three (64.7 percent).

Cal was 25-for-64 from the floor (39.1 percent), 6-for-18 from three (33.3 percent) and 13-for-18 from the free-throw line (72.2 percent).

KU had 39 rebounds to Cal’s 33. The Jayhawks had 18 turnovers to the Bears’ 17.

FINAL: KU defeats Cal, 84-69

Taylor puts in a one-handed slam, and Morningstar adds a three from the corner for the exclamation point. KU pull away late for the 15-point victory.

KU 79/Cal 67 — 1:51 left in 2nd half

Taylor with another nifty move in the lane, going around a defender before putting in a left-handed layup. By my count, that’s four good games in a row for Taylor, who has nine points, seven assists and no turnovers tonight.

KU 77/Cal 65 — 3:50 left in 2nd half

Collins curls off a screen, putting in a short, left-handed, floating shot in the lane.

Christopher must have the foot-on-the-line, fallaway jumper patented, because he hits another.

KU executes offensively, though, as Taylor hits Marcus Morris on a baseline pass that nets the big man a layup.

Another horrible fadeaway by Christopher falls off, and KU runs with it, as Marcus Morris brings in a tough bounce pass from Taylor and quickly throws it off the glass for two.

Taylor follows with a steal, and he feeds Collins for a three from the left wing that he drains. Collins runs down the court, arms stretched out like a bird, with three fingers extended on each hand. Cal calls timeout, and the Bears look like they’ve about run out of gas.

Christopher gets a shot to go down, but Morningstar answers with a tough floater on the baseline. KU’s junior guard also comes up with a defensive stop on the other end, stepping in front of Randle on a drive to pick up a charge.

KU 66/Cal 61 — 7:54 left in 2nd half

I’ll have to give this to Robinson: For a freshman, he shows no fear. After getting it in the post, he immediately takes it to the rim, putting in a left-handed hook off the glass that falls through. With the score and situation, I’m sure that’s not the shot that Self wanted, but hey, it went in, and that’s what matters most I guess.

KU answers every score with one of its own. Aldrich rips down a pass and has his shot goal-tended with a foul. The next possession, Collins pulls up in transition for a three that swishes through. Cal uses a timeout down nine.

I’ve got to be honest: With 13 days to prepare for the Jayhawks, I’m surprised that Cal coach Mike Montgomery didn’t work on implementing some kind of zone defense. KU has struggled against the zone this year, but we’ve only seen straight man-to-man from the Bears tonight.

Aldrich picks up his fourth foul, and he’ll have to go to the bench with 9:27 left. Robinson checks back in.

Robinson’s free-throw woes continue. He misses the front end of a one-and-one, and after a lane violation on Cal, he misses the front end of the one-and-one again.

Randle makes two more free throws, and Cal isn’t going away.

KU 57/Cal 52 — 11:41 left in 2nd half

Collins uses a nice behind-the-back dribble to clear space, but his 16-foot fadeaway from the baseline is strong by about three feet.

Xavier Henry hits a long two, but Randle answers quickly with a three on the other end. The Cal backcourt hasn’t disappointed tonight.

KU 55/Cal 48 — 13:43 left in 2nd half

Nice lob pass inside by Morningstar, who finds Markieff for a slam.

Morningstar whistles in another dandy pass on the next possession, once again finding Markieff. The big man makes a nice catch, corraling it with one hand before dropping it in for two.

And just like that, Morningstar has taken the KU offense on his back. He rolls around a screen and, without hesitation, hoists up a long two from the top that swishes through. Timeout Cal, and thanks to three good offensive possessions in a row by Morningstar, KU has its largest lead at seven.

KU 49/Cal 46 — 15:51 left in 2nd half

After a 1-for-4 first half, Xavier Henry starts the second half with a tough layup. Self had him post up inside, and we haven’t seen that much from the small forward so far this season.

Patrick Christopher can’t miss, though. He throws in a long jumper, then a stepback two, then a ridiculous fadeaway three. His 7-0 run puts Cal up four.

Taylor answers with a drive and short shot for two, and KU needed that to bust some of the Bears’ momentum.

Christopher tries a drive, and that’s not the best decision, as Aldrich swats his shot inside. The block leads to a three-on-one break, and Xavier Henry puts in a finger-roll to tie the score at 46.

Hey, Christopher can miss, as his fallaway three bounces away. Xavier Henry answers with his own three from the corner — one that swishes through — and KU has survived Cal’s hot shooting to start the second half.

KU 40/Cal 39 — Halftime

KU halftime scoring — Collins 9, Marcus Morris 9, Aldrich 8, Taylor 7, Reed 3, Markieff Morris 2, X. Henry 2.

KU was 14-for-34 from the floor (41.2 percent), 3-for-10 from three (30 percent) and 9-for-12 from the free-throw line (75 percent).

Cal was 15-for-35 from the floor (42.9 percent), 4-for-11 from three (36.4 percent) and 5-for-9 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent).

KU has 23 rebounds to Cal’s 21. KU had eight turnovers, while Cal had nine.

Cal 34/KU 34 — 3:23 left in 1st half

Collins rattles in a floater in the lane, and once again, KU has pulled even, this time at 26.

Collins swishes an 18-footer, but it’s negated by a moving screen by Markieff Morris. That’s his second foul, and he’ll most likely sit the rest of the half.

Randle has been jacking up a shot every time he can see the basket, and to Collins’ credit, he hasn’t followed suit yet. KU’s senior guard has played within himself even though sometimes in the past, we’ve seen him try to get in one-on-one duels when he has an opponent like Randle.

Marcus Morris swishes two free throws, and KU has its first lead.

Randle runs head down into Aldrich, and the guard gets rewarded with a blocking call on Aldrich. He was 43-for-46 from the free-throw line before these two attempts, and his two tries this time hit nothing but net.

Marcus Morris battles for an offensive rebound off a Collins miss, and he draws Sanders-Frison’s second foul. Marcus makes both tries.

Morningstar has checked back in, and I noticed today that he’s playing without his traditional baggy white T-shirt underneath his jersey.

Xavier Henry with a swipe for a steal, and he finds Marcus Morris for an uncontested, two-handed jam.

Robinson clears out a defensive rebound, and after sticking out his elbows to clear room, he’s whistled for an offensive foul even though he didn’t make contact with a defender. That’s a call you don’t see often, and the fans (understandably) are upset.

Marcus Morris with a double-pump layup under the glass, but Christopher follows with a wild, long two-pointer that goes in. The Bears aren’t missing many tough shots early.

Cal 26/KU 24 — 7:58 left in 1st half

After a steal, Taylor wiggles his body around a defender — much like a play he had last game against Michigan — to put in a transition layup.

The offense gets sloppy for both teams. Brady Morningstar tries to save a ball under his own basket, but Xavier Henry can’t corral it. Instead, Jamal Boykin grabs the loose ball and puts in a layup.

Morningstar gets a steal, but Thomas Robinson turns it over when attempting a pass underneath.

Theo Robertson follows with a three, and KU coach Bill Self calls timeout.

KU’s offense recovers a bit after that. Aldrich gets a layup, and Taylor confidently swishes an open three. The sophomore guard has seven points so far on 3-for-4 shooting.

Cal 17/KU 15 — 11:25 left in 1st half

After falling behind 14-8, Collins answers with a drive and layup, and on the next possession, Tyshawn Taylor finds Tyrel Reed on the perimeter for an open three that swishes through.

The pace has picked up in this one, and that favors KU. Cal might want to consider trying to play at less of a frantic pace.

Tonight, Aldrich looks like the big man offensively that we saw last season. He puts down another turnaround over a defender, and he leads KU with six points.

Randle answers with a three, though, and these Cal guards aren’t afraid to take difficult shots.

Cal 8/KU 6 — 15:17 left in 1st half

Markieff Morris misses a short shot on an up-and-under move, but he makes up for it with a big block on a Cal shot on the other end. Following a Cal foul, we have a media timeout.

Cal 8/KU 6 — 16:01 left in 1st half

KU finally gets a transition opportunity, and Xavier Henry takes it coast-to-coast for a layup over a defender.

Markhuri Sanders-Frison is fouled on a shot on the other end and makes one of two free throws.

Cal 7/KU 4 — 17:00 left in 1st half

Aldrich misses a reverse layup. KU still without a field goal.

Christopher is fouled on a shot by Tyshawn Taylor, but misses both free throws.

Markieff Morris gets KU’s first field goal, driving on the right side of the rim before putting in a shot high off the glass and in with a whistle. He misses the free throw.

Cal 7/KU 2 — 18:10 left in 1st half

Both teams exchange misses before Theo Robertson puts in a short runner in the lane.

Cal 5/KU 2 — 19:05 left in 1st half

Aldrich makes both free throws, but Jerome Randle answers with a three.

Aldrich draws 7-foot-3 Max Zhang’s second foul inside.

Cal 2/KU 0 — 19:23 left in 1st half

Cal wins the tip. Patrick Christopher starts with an 18-footer that swishes through from the baseline.

Cole Aldrich is fouled on a two-point try in the lane on KU’s ensuing possession.

8:04 p.m.

Keep your eyes here early in the game, as we’ll keep the updates fast and furious (more Twitter-like) for those of you still waiting for ESPN to switch the game from Michigan State-Texas to KU-Cal.

7:50 p.m.

Here are some notes about California, which comes in with a 6-3 record with a sparkly No. 10 Pomeroy ranking.

• Cal’s three losses have come to teams with a combined 32-2 record (Syracuse, Ohio State, New Mexico). Syracuse and New Mexico are still unbeaten.

Cal has scored at least 70 points in each game this season.

The Golden Bears have not played in 13 days. The last game for Cal was Dec. 9, a 79-54 victory over Pacific.

Five-foot-10 point guard Jerome Randle averages 19.6 points and 5.1 assists per game. He has made 39 percent of his threes and 93.5 percent of his free throws (43-for-46).

Six-foot-6 forward Theo Robertson, who is just back from a foot injury, averages 14.7 points per game. Cal has not lost in the games he has played this season.

Cal shoots 38.1 percent from three as a team. The Bears also are an impressive 75.1 percent from the free-throw line as a team this season.

Cal center Max Zhang is listed at 7-foot-3. That’s tall.

Cal out-rebounds its opponents by an average of 7.1 rebounds per game.

The Bears average only 12.4 turnovers per game. They aren’t very good at taking the ball away on defense, though, as their opponents average just 12.8 turnovers per game.

According to KenPom.com, this is KU’s toughest home game on the schedule this season.

6:52 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence where the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Cal Bears.

I’ve started to notice a trend this year for KU with the addition of sharpshooter Xavier Henry: The Jayhawks are relying more on the three-point shot than they did last season.

There are two advanced stats that measure this well: percentage of shots attempted that are three-pointers (calculated by dividing three-point field goals attempted by the total number of field goals attempted) and percentage of scoring from a team that comes from three-pointers.

Last season, 30.7 percent of KU’s shot attempts were three-point tries. This year, it’s up to 32.7 percent.

Also last season, 25.0 percent of KU’s scoring came from three-pointers. This year, it’s up to 29.1 percent.

There are pros and cons to shooting a higher number of three-pointers. The biggest advantage, obviously, is that you have the potential to score more points per possession with a three-point shot than a two-point shot.

The disadvantage, at least from what I’ve observed in college basketball, is that teams that rely on three-pointers seem to be less consistent and more susceptible to losses because of a bad shooting night. KU hasn’t had many bad shooting nights from three this season, but a 6-for-19 effort (31.6 percent) against Michigan on Saturday shows that poor shooting sometimes allows less-talented teams to stay in games.

When a team’s goal is to win six straight games in March/April, I would guess that you would want your team to be more consistent and less susceptible to a possible poor shooting night. After all, one loss in the NCAA Tournament means your season is over.

I decided to test the numbers to see if my guess was accurate. Here are the three-point statistics for the last six national championship teams, followed by the averages of those title teams and then KU’s statistics the last two years.

Percentage of shots attempted that are three-pointers (3PA/FGA)

  • 2008-09 North Carolina — 27.2 percent (300th)
  • 2007-08 Kansas — 29.3 percent (287th)
  • 2006-07 Florida — 34.8 percent (126th)
  • 2005-06 Florida — 35.8 percent (93rd)
  • 2004-05 North Carolina — 30.4 percent (230th)
  • 2003-04 UConn — 25.8 percent (301st)
  • Average — 30.55 percent (average 223rd in NCAA)
  • 2009-10 Kansas — 32.7 percent (160th in NCAA)
  • 2008-09 Kansas — 30.7 percent (230th)

Percentage of total points that are three-pointers

  • 2008-09 North Carolina — 23.1 percent (285th)
  • 2007-08 Kansas — 25.1 percent (259th)
  • 2006-07 Florida — 28.4 percent (149th)
  • 2005-06 Florida — 30.0 percent (116th)
  • 2004-05 North Carolina — 25.5 percent (219th)
  • 2003-04 UConn — 24.3 percent (245th)
  • Average — 26.07 percent (average 212th in NCAA)
  • 2009-10 Kansas — 29.1 percent (124th in NCAA)
  • 2008-09 Kansas — 25.0 percent (249th)

Again, I’m not suggesting three-pointers are bad. KU won’t have to worry if Xavier Henry continues to shoot 49.1 percent from three while Sherron Collins makes 41.7 percent of his long-range tries.

But it is something to keep an eye on.

Partly, I assume, because of Cole Aldrich’s early offensive struggles, KU is relying much more on the outside shot.

As you can see, it’s not a route that many NCAA championship teams have taken in the past six years to win their respective titles.

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FINAL: Despite a sloppy second half, KU holds off Michigan, 75-64

By Staff     Dec 19, 2009

KU vs. Michigan

Nick Krug
Kansas forward Xavier Henry soars in for a dunk over the Michigan defense during the second half, Saturday, Dec. 18, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

KU scoring — Marcus Morris 23 (career high), Collins 19, X. Henry 15, Reed 6, Aldrich 5, Taylor 2, Morningstar 2, Robinson 2, Markieff Morris 1.

KU was 25-for-48 from the floor (52.1 percent), 6-for-19 from three (31.6 percent) and 19-for-26 from the free-throw line (73.1 percent).

UM was 24-for-67 from the floor (35.8 percent), 5-for-28 from three (17.9 percent) and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line (84.6 percent).

KU out-rebounded UM, 37-34. KU had 14 turnovers to Michigan’s 10.

FINAL: KU defeats UM, 75-64

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but despite a lackluster second half, KU closes out a 75-64 victory.

KU 71/UM 58 — 1:24 left in 2nd half

Collins swishes a tough, stepback jumper, and it should be a free-throw contest for KU the rest of the way.

Markieff Morris picks up his fifth foul in only nine minutes. Just one point, one rebound, one assist and one turnover for him today.

KU once again can’t seem to find an opening in the 1-3-1 zone, but Marcus Morris bails the Jayhawks out with a no-elevation three that swishes through from the deep corner.

After a missed three from Xavier Henry, Sims adds a layup in transition, and Michigan uses its final timeout.

KU 66/UM 55 — 3:09 left in 2nd half

Aldrich’s cross-court pass is stolen. The big man still doesn’t have a field goal (0-for-3) today.

Morningstar helps KU with its first successful lob that I can remember today, as his pass to Marcus Morris is dunked home.

Taylor is called for a questionable charge, and that’s his first turnover in a long, long time. Remember, he had six assists and no turnovers last game, and before that play, he had five assists and no turnovers today.

Aldrich can’t rip away a defensive rebound, and after a jump ball is called, Self shakes his head in frustration. I can’t tell for sure, but that looked to me like a “We need to be tougher” head shake.

Collins splits two defenders to get into the lane before hitting a short jumper. That’s only KU’s eighth field goal this half.

Morningstar somehow gets the ball away after getting double-teamed up high, and two passes later, Xavier Henry has an easy layup.

KU 60/UM 47 — 7:49 left in 2nd half

KU tries a lob pass against the 1-3-1, but Morningstar’s pass clangs off the front rim. The Jayhawks have been stymied by the defensive set.

Xavier Henry gets KU a much-needed bucket, hitting a three over a defender. I should point out that because KU had an inbounds pass under the basket, UM had to switch back to its man defense.

KU leaves Zack Gibson alone on an inbounds pass, and he puts in an uncontested layup under the basket. Self probably doesn’t have as many timeouts in this game as he’d like to have.

Robinson misses the front end of a one-and-one, but Marcus Morris tips in the putback. That, or he knocked a Michigan defender into the ball, which gave KU the two points.

Xavier Henry is fouled on a drive to the basket, and KU finally musters some offense against the 1-3-1 zone. Xavier makes just one of his two free-throw tries, though.

KU 52/UM 41 — 11:30 left in 2nd half

Collins stays in, but the turnovers continue to follow him. A bounce pass to Xavier Henry is stolen away (though it looked like Xavier Henry might have been fouled inside). That’s five turnovers for KU’s All-America candidate.

Manny Harris is left alone in the corner, and he swishes his third three. Self calls another timeout after the blown defensive assignment.

True to form, Michigan has hitched up a ton of threes (21) but hasn’t made a ton of them (five, 23.8 percent). The Wolverines came in making under 30 percent of their threes, but that didn’t stop them from attempting 25.4 per game.

Reed airballs a three, and after two Michigan offensive rebounds, the Fieldhouse is in its first “scared cheering mode” of the year. The fans are getting increasingly tense about this one, even with KU still up by 11.

KU 51/UM 36 — 15:10 left in 2nd half

Marcus Morris leaves a high-low lob well short of Aldrich, and the pass is stolen. KU’s assistants — along with Self — aren’t happy on the bench.

The ball sticks in Collins’ hands when Taylor would have had an open three attempt, and Collins instead drives the lane and picks up a charge for his fourth turnover. From the way Self jumped off the bench, it appears Collins might be coming out of the game again.

KU 49/UM 36 — 17:01 left in 2nd half

Michigan goes back to its man defense in transition, and Collins slices between two defenders for a short jumper.

After a made jumper by Michigan, though, the Wolverines set back up in their 1-3-1 trapping zone. Marcus Morris has a pass stolen, and KU can’t stop turning it over against the trap.

Aldrich does a good job of seeing players through a double-team, finding a cutting Xavier Henry for a slam.

KU’s best two ways of countering UM’s zone right now are to 1) don’t allow a Michigan made basket; or 2) sprint the ball up the court after a made basket to beat the Wolverines zone down the court. The Jayhawks certainly haven’t executed against it well so far.

• New KU football coach Turner Gill’s comments were brief but strong.

“You know that the basketball team has a great dynasty,” Gill said. “Our football staff is here to build another great dynasty.”

KU scoring — Collins 11, Marcus Morris 9, Reed 6, X. Henry 5, Aldrich 5, Taylor 2, Robinson 2, Morningstar 2.

KU was 13-for-27 from the floor (48.1 percent), 4-for-9 from three (44.4 percent) and 12-for-15 from the free-throw line (80 percent).

UM was 11-for-33 from the floor (33.3 percent), 3-for-13 from three (23.1 percent) and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line (100 percent).

Both KU and UM had five turnovers in the first half. KU out-rebounded UM, 21-16, in the first half.

KU 42/UM 31 — Halftime

Michigan finally gives its customary 1-3-1 zone a look, and Collins turns it over against a trap, as his bounce pass is knocked away and stolen.

Morningstar is guarding Harris now, and the UM guard is having trouble even getting the ball.

Another turnover by Collins against the 1-3-1 zone, as his pass is intercepted on the perimeter by Zack Novak. Aldrich goaltends a shot by DeShawn Sims, and Self catches the blocked ball in the air. Before letting go of the basketball, a perturbed Self asks for a timeout.

Collins can’t figure out this 1-3-1 zone. Again he lobs a horrible pass, and again it’s stolen. Darius Morris follows with an uncontested layup.

Collins hitches up a quick three that hits back iron, and on the other end, Morris swishes a three from the corner. Self calls his second timeout in 45 seconds to get Collins out of there.

Xavier Henry misses a three, and the late surge by Michigan has the Wolverines down only 11 at the half.

KU 41/UM 20 — 3:18 left in 1st half

Michigan comes out of the break with its first zone of the day, as the Wolverines set up in a 2-3 zone. Collins is fouled on a reach-in, and his two free throws push KU’s lead to 15.

Collins with a steal, and he puts in a quick layup in transition. Both Collins and Robinson wave their arms in the air, and many of the alums rise to their feet.

KU breaks the zone by getting the defense to collapse on Aldrich in the middle. Two quick passes later, Reed has an open three, and he swishes it through.

What a play by Taylor, who looked like a running back giving a shoulder fake left before dribbling around Laval Lucas-Perry to the right. Taylor finished with a scoop layup on his way back down from a jump, and the ball falls off the glass and through, drawing many “oohs” from the crowd. UM needs another timeout, this time down 20.

Reed with another zone-busting three. Give the assist to Taylor.

KU 27/UM 16 — 7:20 left in 1st half

Robinson with another great pass off the high-low, lobbing over the top to Marcus Morris for an easy lay-in.

Robinson has brought some energy to the defensive end as well, knocking the ball away for a steal up top before finishing with an uncontested, one-handed slam. Robinson screams out in delight, and KU has an 8-0 run.

Xavier Henry finally gets a left-handed layup in traffic to go down. He had started the game by missing his first four shots.

Marcus Morris with a quick baseline move, creating contact before putting in a shot high off the glass with a whistle. His free throw finishes off the three-point play, and Marcus is KU’s leading scorer with nine points.

After an Aldrich defensive rebound, KU runs in transition, with Taylor finding Xavier Henry on the wing. Though Collins was calling out for a skip pass, the senior can’t argue with the final result, as Xavier rises above a defender to rattle in a three. UM coach John Beilein calls timeout with his team down double digits for the first time today.

KU 14/UM 11 — 11:57 left in 1st half

Brady Morningstar checks in to a nice ovation at the 15:09 mark for his first action of the year. Self still elects to keep Xavier Henry on Michigan’s most dangerous offensive player Manny Harris.

KU has gotten to the free-throw line six times already against Michigan, and that’s a rare feat against the Wolverines. Opponents average just 11.8 free throws against Michigan this season. KU has started just 2-for-10 from the floor, though.

Xavier Henry hesitates a few times before finally getting the ball in the post to Thomas Robinson. The big man turns the touch into two points, driving before dumping the ball over the defense to Marcus Morris for a slam.

Morningstar follows with a long, pull-up jumper off the dribble, and after falling behind, 11-10, KU has regained a three-point edge.

KU 7/UM 7 — 15:31 left in 1st half

Two good plays by Tyshawn Taylor on KU’s second possession. In transition, he thought about taking it one-on-two toward the basket, but instead wisely backed it out. After Marcus Morris drew a double-team inside, Taylor quickly passed on the perimeter to Sherron Collins, who drained the three.

Collins penetrates into the lane and hits a short jumper. He starts today 2-for-2, and his 1-for-12 effort against La Salle seems like a distant memory.

Already, Cole Aldrich has three rebounds and one block. Michigan — with its tallest starter at 6-foot-8 — has no one to match up with him.

11:05 a.m.

KU coach Bill Self with a green tie for the green game. Nice.

The crowd is juiced for this one. It’s loud in here already.

11:02 a.m.

New KU football coach Turner Gill is on the front row of the south student section with about eight recruits and their families.

Gill will be officially introduced as KU’s new football coach at halftime.

10:56 a.m.

Here’s a quick note about Michigan’s 6-foot-5 guard Manny Harris, who comes in leading the Wolverines with 22.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Though Harris has struggled for the most part from three this season (13-for-45, 28.9 percent), he’s made nine of 16 three-pointers in his last three games (56.2 percent).

10:50 a.m.

KU has installed a “WaveCam” that hangs from the west side of the Allen Fieldhouse rafters.

I’m not sure exactly what kind of shots the camera will be used for yet, but the release on it says this: The WaveCam is a 25-pound camera that is suspended beneath a trolley that travels the length of the west side of the Fieldhouse.

The WaveCam at KU is only the second at a basketball facility; there also is one at Villanova’s home court.

It’s going to take some getting used to, for sure. It’s just kind of weird to see a trolley run along the top of the Fieldhouse and also a floating camera supported by some wires. I would expect some fans on the west side — whose views might be obstructed by the camera — might not like it as well.

10:10 a.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 1-ranked Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Michigan Wolverines.

Today marks the return of KU guard Brady Morningstar to the Jayhawks’ lineup after a first-semester suspension. I think most KU fans believe this might lead to a significant decrease in playing time for Tyrel Reed.

But the people saying that I don’t believe have taken a good look at Reed’s numbers so far this year.

Sure, Reed might not be KU’s best defender. He also isn’t the team’s most prolific scorer.

Still, so far this season, he’s been an excellent role player on a team that doesn’t really need to have five superstar scorers on the court at the same time.

To get a feel for Reed’s improvement, let’s compare his 2009 stats to last year’s stats. (Remember with these stats, Reed played 20.7 minutes per game last year and has played 16.1 minutes per game this year).

Tyrel Reed

2008 turnover percentage — 19.8 percent

2009 turnover percentage — 9.6 percent

2008 steals percentage — 1.8 percent (40th in Big 12)

2009 steals percentage — 3.0 percent (17th in Big 12)

2008 assist percentage — 8.7 percent

2009 assist percentage — 13.8 percent

2008 assist-to-turnover ratio — 1.0 (35th in Big 12)

2009 assist-to-turnover ratio — 4.7 (1st in Big 12; 5th in nation)

2008 three-point percentage — 38.9 percent

2009 three-point percentage — 35.7 percent

So, it you look at the stats, Reed has seen a significant increase in his assists and steals while also combining that with a significant decrease in his turnovers. Though he hasn’t made as high of a percentage of threes so far this year, the percentage is close to what he shot a year ago.

As long as KU has scorers like Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry on the floor, you can bet that KU coach Bill Self also is going to make room for a guy that leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, grabs some steals and hits the occasional three-pointer.

Make sure to vote in the poll at the left, and also use the hashtag #kubball to have your tweets appear in our grid on the left.

Oh, and www.justin.tv/sremlahc10, password: phog.

FINAL: KU scores 63 points in second half of 99-64 victory over Radford

By Jesse Newell     Dec 9, 2009

KU vs. Radford

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Tyrel Reed looks to pass out to the wing as he moves past Radford center Artsiom Parakhouski during the second half, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

FINAL: KU defeats RU, 99-64

Taylor penetrates with the shot clock winding down, drawing two defenders before pitching out to C.J. Henry for a three. C.J. rattles it home, but give the credit to Taylor for opening up the shot.

C.J. uses a nifty drive to get to the rim for a layup, and he follows the next possession with a three over a defender. He gives a quick fist pump, as the oft-injured guard has KU’s last eight points.

Another nice post move by Robinson, who makes a move toward the basket before spinning to his back shoulder for an eight-foot fadeaway.

C.J. Henry continues his hot stretch, putting in another three from the right wing. He adds a block on defense for good measure, and Jordan Juenemann puts in a layup in transition.

KU uses a 63-point second half to pull away in a 35-point victory.

KU 84/RU 55 — 3:44 left in game

Marcus Morris rattles in a three from the right wing, and that’s only his second field goal.

Xavier Henry checks in and immediately shows his post-up game, sealing off Trifunovic before putting in a layup over him.

Xavier has a sloppy turnover, trying to dribble his way out of trouble instead of passing it to a teammate. He makes up for it two possessions later, driving down the middle of the lane before putting in a layup with a foul.

Johnson lands funny on his foot while defending, and he hobbles around a bit. It looks like he might have twisted his ankle, but it doesn’t appear serious, as he stays in the game for a possession before getting subbed out.

KU 71/RU 41 — 7:38 left in game

Aldrich steps in front of Parakhouski for a steal, and Taylor turns it into two in transition with a one-handed slam. He hasn’t been posing for the cameras after his dunks tonight, and I’m not sure if that’s a conscious decision or not.

C.J. Henry has checked in, and he misses his first three-point attempt, but Aldrich follows with a putback slam.

Reed swishes a three from the corner, and that breaks an 0-for-3 skid for him.

KU 62/RU 36 — 11:01 left in game

Before the media timeout, we establish one thing: neither Parakhouski nor Robinson can defend each other.

Parakhouski throws in a dunk, but Robinson follows with a quick move across the lane and left-handed layup. Parakhouski answers with a short turn-around in the lane, but Robinson follows with a 16-footer that swishes through.

KU 58/RU 32 — 12:16 left in game

Xavier Henry with a tough shot in the lane, forcing it up and in over a defender with his right hand (and, of course, Xavier is left-handed).

Tyshawn Taylor takes a few dribbles inside the arc before putting up a wild 18-footer that misses. It never looked like he got his feet set on that one. He just looks lost out there right now offensively.

Another quick move from Robinson, who fakes a shot at the top of the key before driving around a defender and putting in a left-handed layup with a foul.

Taylor with another wild shot early in the shot clock that misses, but this time, he corrals his miss and puts it back in off the glass for two. Timeout RU.

KU 49/RU 27 — 15:10 left in game

KU opens the second half with a set play, and Collins lob finds Johnson for an alley-oop slam.

Lynch-Flohr with another hook shot that goes in. He’s single-handedly making that shot relevant again in college basketball.

RU coach Brad Greenberg doesn’t like two early whistles against his team. “Come on, give us a chance!” he pleads to the nearest official.

Parakhouski puts in his first basket, putting in a layup over Aldrich with a foul. That seems to have gotten him going, as he goes to the other side of the basket for another jumper with a foul, again putting it ove Aldrich.

Nice hustle play for Johnson, who sprints around a defender to track down an offensive board. The freshman kicks out to Collins, who swishes the open three.

KU scoring — Johnson 9, Collins 8, X. Henry 7, Aldrich 7, Markieff Morris 2, Taylor 2, Robinson 1.

KU was 12-for-32 from the floor (37.5 percent), 3-for-6 from three (50 percent) and 9-for-13 from the free-throw line (69.2 percent).

RU was 8-for-26 from the floor (30.8 percent), 1-for-4 from three (25 percent) and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line (33.3 percent).

Parakhouski had no points on 0-for-2 shooting with six rebounds.

RU had 10 turnovers to KU’s five. KU out-rebounded RU, 25-17.

KU 36/RU 18 — Halftime

On the fast break, Collins throws ahead to Johnson, who puts in an uncontested layup.

Trifunovic throws a hook shot off the side of the backboard. Told you RU wasn’t a good shooting team. The Highlanders are just 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) so far.

Xavier Henry gets his arm slapped on a three-point attempt, and he makes two of his three free throws. Nobody can seem to hit all their attempts, though.

Johnson drains another three from the corner. He’s two-for-two from deep. KU, though, has only shot six three-pointers so far. Remember, all of the Highlanders’ opponents have shot at least 20 threes against them.

Collins tries to hold for the last shot, but his pass to Reed on the outside is fumbled out of bounds.

KU gets away with one before the buzzer, as Trifunovic’s shot is blocked by Xavier Henry. The ball was clearly on its way down toward the rim, but the officials get together before deciding that no goaltending will be called.

KU takes an 18-point lead into the break.

KU 27/RU 15 — 3:14 left in 1st half

Parakhouski checks out. I’m still guessing it’s not the last we’ll see of him this half.

Aldrich makes one of two free throws. Seems to be the pattern lately for KU players.

Collins misses a short shot in the lane, and he claps his hands together in frustration.

Radford seems to be having the same problem that KU had against UCLA with a different basketball. The Highlanders’ guards are having all sorts of trouble simply keeping their dribble. RU also has nine turnovers already.

Collins finds Johnson in the corner for a three, but Lynch-Flohr answers with a three of his own from straight on.

Funny thing happened right in front of me. On RU’s seventh foul, Johnson went under the basket to take the inbounds pass. But there was no inbounds pass, as KU was shooting free throws.

On a fast break the next possession, Johnson drives to the basket and draws a blocking foul. So where does he go? Back under the basket to try to throw the ball inbounds. The official kindly tells him that he will be shooting free throws instead.

Collins misses a guarded shot, but Xavier throws back in the miss with two hands.

Lynch-Flohr puts in another jump hook, and KU coach Bill Self calls timeout. He’s hot at Johnson, standing up to yell at him on the court.

KU 18/RU 10 — 7:56 left in 1st half

Thomas Robinson uses a quick move to the rim, and he’s fouled on the way up. He makes one of two free throws, as the second one rattles out.

Nice defensive possession by Tyrel Reed, as he was up in the face of Blake Smith for nearly half the shot clock. Trifunovic still ends the possession with points, as he puts in a short jump hook.

Xavier Henry answers with a three from the corner, and Taylor follows with a steal. He doesn’t blow the dunk attempt, as he times his steps right and throws in a one-handed slam. RU calls timeout with KU taking its largest lead at 18-10.

Aldrich uses an up-fake to get Parakhouski in the air before drawing a foul. That’s Parakhouski’s second whistle, so we’ll see if Radford decides to leave him in there. Parakhouski has no points so far, but he does have six rebounds.

KU 12/RU 8 — 11:32 left in 1st half

Joey Lynch-Flohr throws in a tough hook shot from 12 feet on the baseline, and he has RU’s first six points. He averaged 13.2 points coming into the contest.

Markieff Morris drains a baseline jumper, and that looks to be a soft spot in the zone if KU can exploit it.

Collins bursts to the basket to put in a layup, and on the next possession, he fakes a three before swishing a long two.

The two teams are struggling to find their ways offensively. Tyrel Reed checks in but misses a three. Aldrich clanks a jump-hook off the glass. KU even misses an easy one, as Markieff Morris gets a breakaway steal before taking his two steps too early. He doesn’t have enough juice to get to the basket, and his dunk attempt rattles off the rim before Radford clears the rebound.

KU 6/RU 4 — 15:57 left in 1st half

Good sign for KU, as Cole Aldrich tears the ball away from Lazar Trifunovich on an offensive rebound and slams it home with one hand. The next possession, Aldrich gets it inside and puts in for a reverse layup, and he has KU’s first four points.

RU comes out in an uncommon 1-3-1 trapping zone. The set looks like its main purpose is to put pressure on the guards up top.

Aldrich gets a block inside, and Collins uses a nasty crossover to get to the lane before taking two steps and putting in a short floater.

Parakhouski returns the favor to Aldrich, as he stuffs the KU big man on a baby-hook attempt. KU fans gasp a bit, as they’re not used to seeing the junior getting blocked.

Elijah Johnson steers too close to an RU player on his way up the court, and Johnson is whistled for his second foul. Taylor checks in off the bench.

7 p.m.

Elijah Johnson starting over Tyshawn Taylor. And Marcus Morris starting over his brother, Markieff.

6:53 p.m.

Here are some notes about Radford, which enters with a 4-2 record.

Three players in the Highlanders’ starting lineup (Lazar Trifunovic, Joey Lynch-Flohr, Art Parakhouski) are 6-foot-8 or taller. That’s actually better size than KU in the starting lineup, as Xavier Henry, KU’s small forward, is only 6-6.

Radford might be, statistically, the worst-shooting team KU faces all year. The Highlanders are just 25.8 percent from three-point range, 43-percent from two-point range and 62 percent from the free-throw line. Fifty-nine percent of their points come from two-pointers.

Radford has shot 158 free throws in six games this season. Its opponents have only shot 96 free throws. That means, on average, the Highlanders shoot 10 more free throws than their opponents each game.

Radford hasn’t done a good job so far this season of avoiding turnovers, as one out of about every seven possessions for Radford ends in a steal for the opposition. The Highlanders have had at least 15 turnovers in every game.

Every opponent has shot at least 20 three-pointers against Radford this year.

Six-foot-11 center Art Parakhouski is the Big South’s preseason player of the year. So far, he’s averaged 22.3 points and a nation-leading 14.8 rebounds this season. He also had 24 points and 14 rebounds in an earlier game against Duke.

6:15 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Radford Highlanders.

I’ve heard a lot of talk about the recent offensive struggles of both Cole Aldrich and Tyshawn Taylor.

I think a lot of times, we tend to forget that even though shots aren’t going in, basketball players can still be effective if they’re productive on the defensive end.

Make no mistake: Both Aldrich and Taylor have been two of the biggest highlights for KU defensively so far this season.

So far this season, KU is the top team in the nation in two-point field-goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting just 35.1 percent from inside the arc against the Jayhawks, and the No. 2 team nationally (Texas) isn’t all that close (37.3 percent).

There’s one main reason for teams’ struggles inside against KU: That would be Cole Aldrich.

Not only does the 6-foot-11 big man block shots, he also gives opponents a presence to think about when they are entering the lane. Though the statistic can’t be measured, I would guess Aldrich alters about as many shots as he blocks.

And though his offensive numbers aren’t better this season, his defensive numbers are so far — especially in blocks. He has more blocks per game this year than last year (3.6 this year, 2.7 last year) despite playing four fewer minutes per game this year. He also has blocks on 12.9 percent of the opposing team’s two-point shots as compared to 9.5 percent last year (both marks lead/led the Big 12).

As far as Taylor goes, his steal numbers are up from a year ago. He averaged 1.1 steals in 26.5 minutes per game last season, stealing the ball on 2.3 percent of his defensive possessions.

This year, Taylor is averaging 1.9 steals per game while averaging just 23.9 minutes. He also has stolen the ball on 4.3 percent of his defensive possessions, which is good for sixth in the Big 12.

So even if you believe that Aldrich and Taylor are struggling offensively, make sure to remember that offense is only half the reason those guys are on the court.

Make sure to vote in our poll on the left and also use #kubball with your tweets to get them to appear in this blog.

FINAL: Robinson posts first double-double in KU’s 98-31 thrashing of Alcorn State

By Jesse Newell     Dec 2, 2009

KU vs. Alcorn State

Nick Krug
Kansas players Marcus Morris and Xavier Henry close in on Alcorn State forward Ian Francis during the first half, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse. At right is Kansas center Cole Aldrich.

Box Score

9:55 p.m.

A quick update: C.J. Henry did not play in tonight’s game because of a sore knee.

FINAL: KU defeats ASU, 98-31

Robinson slams home a rebound dunk, and KU is threatening 100 (but not 120).

Robinson gets fouled and makes one of two free throws to push KU to 98.

ASU forces an Elijah Johnson turnover on the last KU possession to keep the Jayhawks under 100.

KU still comes away with a 67-point win.

KU 93/ASU 29 — 3:47 left in game

KU finally forces it into the paint against the zone, and Teahan cuts to the glass for a layup.

Johnson shows some handles with a spin move in transition, and he feeds Collins on the outside for another three. At this point, KU has 33 three-point tries and 29 two-point attempts.

Teahan with another bucket, as he goes under the basket for a reverse layup that hangs suspended on the rim for a second before falling in.

Robinson’s hustle gets rewarded again, as he receives a pass on the run and goes above the rim before slamming it home with one hand.

Reed responds well after his benching. He grabs a couple loose-ball rebounds, drains a three from the right wing, and puts in a layup under the basket.

KU 77/ASU 28 — 7:36 left in game

Two bad possessions in a row by Tyrel Reed. He had an outlet pass stolen, then fouled Alex Savannah to give him a chance at a three-point play.

The next KU possession, Reed’s pass sailed way high of its intended target and out of bounds, and Self walked over to Taylor on the bench to tell him to re-enter the game for Reed.

Taylor lobs a pass to Xavier, who throws in the alley-oop with one hand before hanging on the rim a second.

Xavier Henry misses a three, but Conner Teahan brings down the offensive rebound. Two passes later, Collins drains a three of his own. Xavier and Sherron aren’t turning down many three-point attempts tonight.

KU 69/ASU 19 — 11:25 left in game

Jonathan Boyd puts in ASU’s first three-pointer, a shot from the corner over Collins. Xavier Henry answers on the other end with a three of his own.

Nice bounce pass inside from Elijah Johnson, and Aldrich finishes with a two-handed slam.

Johnson feeds Marcus Morris on the break, and he throws home a violent slam. The steals are coming too easily for KU, as ASU is up to 27 turnovers (while KU has 19 steals).

KU 59/ASU 12 — 15:53 left in game

Both teams start the second half like they ended the first half — with some sluggishness on both ends.

Aldrich puts in a pair of free throws, but Marcus Morris follows by missing his two attempts.

Keith Searcy picks up two quick whistles, and he fouls out before the first media timeout of the second half.

Xavier Henry bricks a three from the corner, and KU has missed its first three long-range shots of the second half. I guess the Jayhawks at least picked the correct game to have a poor shooting night from the outside (6-for-23, 26.1 percent).

KU scoring — X. Henry 10, Collins 10, Robinson 9, Aldrich 7, Markieff Morris 6, Marcus Morris 5, Taylor 4, Reed 2.

KU was 18-for-40 from the floor (45 percent), 6-for-20 from three (30 percent) and 11-for-20 from the free-throw line (55 percent).

ASU was 5-for-27 from the floor (18.5 percent), 0-for-3 from three (0 percent) and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).

ASU had 15 turnovers, while KU had six. KU out-rebounded ASU, 33-16.

Some thoughts

What would the score be if KU shot well?

I know it doesn’t matter much in this game, but 20 three-point attempts is probably too many. Yes, the ASU zone is sagging way inside to try to take away KU’s inside game, but the Jayhawks still should at least attempt to move the ball inside before settling for a three outside (a shot they can always get).

Collins finished the first half 3-for-11 after not shooting more than seven times in any of his last four games. That’s a bit weird. I can’t guarantee it’s because of his early exchange with ASU coach Larry Smith, but I will say he looked a bit more fired up after that point.

Markieff Morris was just 2-for-4 in the first half. That drops his shooting percentage all the way down to 84.2 percent (16-for-19).

KU 53/ASU 12 — Halftime

It’s almost like Robinson is teleporting himself from one side of the floor to the other. He follows a block on one end with an offensive rebound on the other. In limited minutes, the freshman already has seven rebounds, and most of those have come because of hustle.

His only shortcoming tonight has been free throws. Robinson misses his first four freebies before getting some positive encouragement from the crowd. He makes his next attempt.

Aldrich puts in just one of his two free-throw attempts, and if you want to really nitpick, KU has made just 10 of its 19 free throws tonight (52.6 percent).

A sloppy final 3 1/2 minutes for KU doesn’t mean much on the scoreboard, as the Jayhawks still take a 41-point lead into the break.

KU 51/ASU 12 — 3:29 left in 1st half

Shaunvanta Ingram hits a 14-footer from the baseline, and KU fans let out a mock cheer. The bucket comes with 7:12 remaining, meaning that ASU went 11 minutes, 46 seconds without a point.

On the next ASU possession, Holt puts in another jumper, and the KU fans gasp as if they’ve seen a ghost.

Collins follows with a three, and Markieff Morris takes advantage of an ASU turnover with a one-handed powerslam on the other end.

Nice high-low pass from the top of the key by Markieff Morris, who put the lob where only Aldrich could get it. The junior finishes the play with a dunk.

Markieff Morris is doing all the little things for KU. He dives into a pile to help strip the ball away from a pair of ASU players, and the hustle leads to three points, as Collins pours in another three.

Another offensive rebound for Robinson, who muscles it back up for two with a foul. One-hundred-twenty isn’t looking like it’s out of the question.

KU 34/ASU 4 — 7:49 left in 1st half

Robinson out-hustles an ASU player for an offensive rebound, and that effort results in a three-pointer for Xavier Henry. That’s a 24-0 run for KU, as ASU hasn’t scored since the 18:58 mark.

Nice pass inside by Marcus Morris, and Robinson finishes with a spin and layup. Robinson is so much better inside when he takes his time and doesn’t rush things.

Robinson is going to work on both ends. He swats a shot away by Brandon Rogers, then after corraling a KU miss, he slams the follow home with one hand before yelling to the crowd.

Collins dives to save a ball from going out of bounds on the defensive end. Even with the lopsided score, the Jayhawks are still playing hard defensively.

It’s getting ridiculous now. Xavier Henry puts in a pair of uncontested three-pointers, and KU has made it a 34-0 run. ASU has not scored in over 11 minutes.

KU 21/ASU 4 — 11:57 left in 1st half

Marcus Morris hits a tough turn-around in traffic, and that continues a run for KU. Aldrich adds a layup, and on a run-out, Reed gets an easy lay-in. Aldrich puts in another two after stealing an offensive rebound away from his teammate, Marcus Morris.

ASU, as predicted, is having trouble holding on to the ball. ASU turns it over for the seventh time in less than seven minutes, and the steal by Tyshawn Taylor turns into a dunk on the other end for Thomas Robinson.

The Braves’ 2-3 defense has given the Jayhawks’ some fits, but the problem for them is, they can’t get back to get set in it. Following steals and misses, KU is easily out-running ASU down the court.

ASU’s Ian Francis goes up for a shot in the lane, and he’s met by three sets of Jayhawk arms. Robinson gets the official block.

It leads to a fast-break opportunity on the other end, and Markieff Morris puts in a layup with a foul. Smith gripes to a nearby official, telling the ref that even though KU is No. 1 in the land, the calls should go both ways.

KU 6/ASU 4 — 15:59 left in 1st half

Alcorn State opens in a 2-3 zone, and Cole Aldrich bricks a jumper from six feet. On the other end, JaMarkus Holt makes a jumper to give ASU the early lead.

Another miss by Xavier Henry, and Holt follows with another jumper. He screams to the bench in satisfaction, and the Braves are 1/20th of the way to the biggest upset in college basketball history.

KU is content to take open threes against the 2-3 zone, but perhaps the Jayhawks still should try to work it around inside before settling on the outside shot.

Sherron Collins finally gets KU on the board, making a three from the left side. After a steal from KU, Collins takes it all the way to the rim and misses, but Marcus Morris is fouled after getting the offensive rebound.

Collins needed help getting up after the drive, but ASU coach Larry Smith told one of his players not to help Collins up. Collins took offense to the remark, and he has some words for Smith right in front of me. Tyshawn Taylor has to grab Collins to restrain him, as the guard is hot.

On defense, Xavier Henry leaps over an ASU player who attempted a shot-fake in the lane. The fans oohed over than, as Xavier had to get way up to get over the top of the ASU player.

Collins’ jawing seems to have taken him out of his game. He has jacked up two more quick threes, with both falling off the rim. Reminds me a bit of what happened in last year’s game when Collins and Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn had their own little battle going on within the game.

7:03 p.m.

No change in the starters. KU goes with Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus Morris, Xavier Henry, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins.

6:48 p.m.

Not to rag on the Braves, but their Kenpom team page tells you pretty much all you need to know about their struggles this year. All that red on their page is not good.

Alcorn State ranks 341st out of 347 teams in the KenPom rankings.

Not only that, the Braves are in the bottom 50 nationally in the following statistics:

• Turnover percentage (On 26.7 percent of its possessions, ASU turns it over)

• Three-point percentage defense (43.1 percent)

• Block percentage (The Braves get blocked on 12.7 percent of their two-point shots attempted)

• Steal percentage (The Braves get the ball stolen on 12.8 percent of their offensive possessions)

6:27 p.m.

If you watched the GameDay Cram Session that Tom Keegan and I did for this game (It’s not too late if you haven’t; the video is on the left), you know that I made a somewhat absurd prediction for this game.

I came out on the record and said that KU would score 120 points tonight.

It’s not as crazy as you might think. Alcorn State, in addition to not staying within 15 points of any of its nine opponents, also has had a tendency to play somewhat recklessly, averaging 76.7 possessions per game. To put it in perspective, KU’s average is 70 possessions per game.

Against Arkansas, Alcorn State racked up 89 possessions — and subsequently lost, 130-68.

So there you have it: My prediction is KU will score 120 points and also win by 60 (Let’s go with 120-60, and please ignore all of this if KU has a 35-point first half).

Any other crazy predictions for this game? Think Thomas Robinson will lead KU in scoring? Or that Xavier Henry will score 30?

Be sure to go on record now in the comments section below.

5:56 p.m.

Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Alcorn State Braves.

This will go down as a blowout victory for KU, but I think it’s worth knowing a little bit more about Alcorn State before we get into breaking down this game.

On our message board, kufan80 posted a link to a great story by ESPN’s Dana O’Neil about Alcorn State and the difficulties its men’s basketball team faces. The story was written last year, but obviously, most of the problems brought up in the story continue on this season.

After reading it, I had a bit of a better appreciation for what the Braves go through when they take on these crazy non-conference schedules.

We’ll have more analysis later. Be sure to vote in the poll on the left and also check out our GameDay Cram Session if you haven’t yet. Also, use #kubball on your tweets to get them to show up in the grid on the left.

And the answer is: justin.tv/sremlahc10, password phog.

I promise we will get at least one question about it in the comments section below.

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