Scott McClurgKansas City, Mo. ? Eleven times this season Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has scored 100 or more points. Eight more times the Jayhawks have reached the 90-point plateau.
Not today, though. Not when Kansas tangles with Oklahoma in a classic match of two No. 1 one certain (KU) and the other probable (OU) NCAA Tournament seeds for the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Nine times out of 10 the Big 12 Conference postseason tourney championship means little more than a postgame cut-down-the-nets party. You win, great. You lose, so what? You could probably classify today’s KU-OU clash as one of those nine-timers, yet the confrontation is nevertheless intriguing.
You probably know Kansas scored fewer points against Oklahoma than anyone during this giddy, 31-game gallop back into college basketball’s stratosphere. KU outlasted the Sooners, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
No question Oklahoma plays tenacious defense. Just ask Texas. OU made the Longhorns look like a high school team in Saturday’s 67-51 semifinal drubbing.
But is Oklahoma’s defense good enough to keep Kansas out of its customary 90-point-plus territory this afternoon?
I wonder. That 74-point outing against the Sooners occurred during a three-game stretch when the Jayhawks couldn’t reach the 80-point level. It started with that 87-77 loss to UCLA the Jayhawks’ last defeat, incidentally continued in a 79-61 victory at Oklahoma State and concluded with the OU contest. In the 14 games since, Kansas has scored no fewer than 86 points.
Was Kansas in an offensive funk at that time or did UCLA, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have three of the best defenses the Jayhawks have seen in 2002?
That’s a question that should be answered today.
We do know without question this is one of the best offensive teams Roy Williams has had in his 14 years at Kansas, maybe THE best.
“This team offensively is pretty doggone good,” Williams said following Saturday’s 90-50 semifinal triumph over Texas Tech.
Right, Roy. That’s like saying “Titanic” is a pretty doggone good movie. Or that the Beatles’ music is pretty doggone good. Or that Bill Gates has a pretty doggone good chance of being able to purchase Australia.
Yes, the Jayhawks’ offensive capabilities are no secret. Or as Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said: “You play Kansas, you have to make baskets. You have to score. You go into a two-minute drought against Kansas and the game could be over.”
Sampson didn’t mention the Jayhawks’ defense. Few do. And that, no less a personage than Bob Knight said Saturday, can be fatal. Foes concentrate so hard on stopping KU’s offense, Knight said, that they forget how hard they have to focus on offense as well.
“You forget about moving and getting open,” Knight said. “You’ve really got to work and work. I can’t imagine playing anyone that makes it so hard to get open.”
And yet Williams does not believe this is his best defensive team. Not by a long shot. That honor belongs to the 34-2 team of 1996-97.
“That was the best defensive team,” Williams said Saturday. “No one’s been close. That team shot 25 or 26 percent at Kansas State and we won the game.”
In fact, the Jayhawks shot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) that night in Manhattan and still squeezed out a 62-59 decision.
So in theory if you take this year’s team and merge it with the 1996-97 club you would have the best all-around team Williams has ever had.
That’s just speculation, though. You’ll have to settle for this edition. It is virtually unstoppable on offense and, while it may not measure up to Williams’ best defensive team, you must be playing pretty doggone good defense if Bob Knight is raving about it.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosKansas City, Mo. ? Eleven times this season Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has scored 100 or more points. Eight more times the Jayhawks have reached the 90-point plateau.
Not today, though. Not when Kansas tangles with Oklahoma in a classic match of two No. 1 one certain (KU) and the other probable (OU) NCAA Tournament seeds for the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Nine times out of 10 the Big 12 Conference postseason tourney championship means little more than a postgame cut-down-the-nets party. You win, great. You lose, so what? You could probably classify today’s KU-OU clash as one of those nine-timers, yet the confrontation is nevertheless intriguing.
You probably know Kansas scored fewer points against Oklahoma than anyone during this giddy, 31-game gallop back into college basketball’s stratosphere. KU outlasted the Sooners, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
No question Oklahoma plays tenacious defense. Just ask Texas. OU made the Longhorns look like a high school team in Saturday’s 67-51 semifinal drubbing.
But is Oklahoma’s defense good enough to keep Kansas out of its customary 90-point-plus territory this afternoon?
I wonder. That 74-point outing against the Sooners occurred during a three-game stretch when the Jayhawks couldn’t reach the 80-point level. It started with that 87-77 loss to UCLA the Jayhawks’ last defeat, incidentally continued in a 79-61 victory at Oklahoma State and concluded with the OU contest. In the 14 games since, Kansas has scored no fewer than 86 points.
Was Kansas in an offensive funk at that time or did UCLA, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have three of the best defenses the Jayhawks have seen in 2002?
That’s a question that should be answered today.
We do know without question this is one of the best offensive teams Roy Williams has had in his 14 years at Kansas, maybe THE best.
“This team offensively is pretty doggone good,” Williams said following Saturday’s 90-50 semifinal triumph over Texas Tech.
Right, Roy. That’s like saying “Titanic” is a pretty doggone good movie. Or that the Beatles’ music is pretty doggone good. Or that Bill Gates has a pretty doggone good chance of being able to purchase Australia.
Yes, the Jayhawks’ offensive capabilities are no secret. Or as Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said: “You play Kansas, you have to make baskets. You have to score. You go into a two-minute drought against Kansas and the game could be over.”
Sampson didn’t mention the Jayhawks’ defense. Few do. And that, no less a personage than Bob Knight said Saturday, can be fatal. Foes concentrate so hard on stopping KU’s offense, Knight said, that they forget how hard they have to focus on offense as well.
“You forget about moving and getting open,” Knight said. “You’ve really got to work and work. I can’t imagine playing anyone that makes it so hard to get open.”
And yet Williams does not believe this is his best defensive team. Not by a long shot. That honor belongs to the 34-2 team of 1996-97.
“That was the best defensive team,” Williams said Saturday. “No one’s been close. That team shot 25 or 26 percent at Kansas State and we won the game.”
In fact, the Jayhawks shot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) that night in Manhattan and still squeezed out a 62-59 decision.
So in theory if you take this year’s team and merge it with the 1996-97 club you would have the best all-around team Williams has ever had.
That’s just speculation, though. You’ll have to settle for this edition. It is virtually unstoppable on offense and, while it may not measure up to Williams’ best defensive team, you must be playing pretty doggone good defense if Bob Knight is raving about it.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosKansas City, Mo. ? Eleven times this season Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has scored 100 or more points. Eight more times the Jayhawks have reached the 90-point plateau.
Not today, though. Not when Kansas tangles with Oklahoma in a classic match of two No. 1 one certain (KU) and the other probable (OU) NCAA Tournament seeds for the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Nine times out of 10 the Big 12 Conference postseason tourney championship means little more than a postgame cut-down-the-nets party. You win, great. You lose, so what? You could probably classify today’s KU-OU clash as one of those nine-timers, yet the confrontation is nevertheless intriguing.
You probably know Kansas scored fewer points against Oklahoma than anyone during this giddy, 31-game gallop back into college basketball’s stratosphere. KU outlasted the Sooners, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
No question Oklahoma plays tenacious defense. Just ask Texas. OU made the Longhorns look like a high school team in Saturday’s 67-51 semifinal drubbing.
But is Oklahoma’s defense good enough to keep Kansas out of its customary 90-point-plus territory this afternoon?
I wonder. That 74-point outing against the Sooners occurred during a three-game stretch when the Jayhawks couldn’t reach the 80-point level. It started with that 87-77 loss to UCLA the Jayhawks’ last defeat, incidentally continued in a 79-61 victory at Oklahoma State and concluded with the OU contest. In the 14 games since, Kansas has scored no fewer than 86 points.
Was Kansas in an offensive funk at that time or did UCLA, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have three of the best defenses the Jayhawks have seen in 2002?
That’s a question that should be answered today.
We do know without question this is one of the best offensive teams Roy Williams has had in his 14 years at Kansas, maybe THE best.
“This team offensively is pretty doggone good,” Williams said following Saturday’s 90-50 semifinal triumph over Texas Tech.
Right, Roy. That’s like saying “Titanic” is a pretty doggone good movie. Or that the Beatles’ music is pretty doggone good. Or that Bill Gates has a pretty doggone good chance of being able to purchase Australia.
Yes, the Jayhawks’ offensive capabilities are no secret. Or as Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said: “You play Kansas, you have to make baskets. You have to score. You go into a two-minute drought against Kansas and the game could be over.”
Sampson didn’t mention the Jayhawks’ defense. Few do. And that, no less a personage than Bob Knight said Saturday, can be fatal. Foes concentrate so hard on stopping KU’s offense, Knight said, that they forget how hard they have to focus on offense as well.
“You forget about moving and getting open,” Knight said. “You’ve really got to work and work. I can’t imagine playing anyone that makes it so hard to get open.”
And yet Williams does not believe this is his best defensive team. Not by a long shot. That honor belongs to the 34-2 team of 1996-97.
“That was the best defensive team,” Williams said Saturday. “No one’s been close. That team shot 25 or 26 percent at Kansas State and we won the game.”
In fact, the Jayhawks shot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) that night in Manhattan and still squeezed out a 62-59 decision.
So in theory if you take this year’s team and merge it with the 1996-97 club you would have the best all-around team Williams has ever had.
That’s just speculation, though. You’ll have to settle for this edition. It is virtually unstoppable on offense and, while it may not measure up to Williams’ best defensive team, you must be playing pretty doggone good defense if Bob Knight is raving about it.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotosKansas City, Mo. ? Eleven times this season Kansas University’s men’s basketball team has scored 100 or more points. Eight more times the Jayhawks have reached the 90-point plateau.
Not today, though. Not when Kansas tangles with Oklahoma in a classic match of two No. 1 one certain (KU) and the other probable (OU) NCAA Tournament seeds for the championship of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Nine times out of 10 the Big 12 Conference postseason tourney championship means little more than a postgame cut-down-the-nets party. You win, great. You lose, so what? You could probably classify today’s KU-OU clash as one of those nine-timers, yet the confrontation is nevertheless intriguing.
You probably know Kansas scored fewer points against Oklahoma than anyone during this giddy, 31-game gallop back into college basketball’s stratosphere. KU outlasted the Sooners, 74-67, on Jan. 19 in Allen Fieldhouse.
No question Oklahoma plays tenacious defense. Just ask Texas. OU made the Longhorns look like a high school team in Saturday’s 67-51 semifinal drubbing.
But is Oklahoma’s defense good enough to keep Kansas out of its customary 90-point-plus territory this afternoon?
I wonder. That 74-point outing against the Sooners occurred during a three-game stretch when the Jayhawks couldn’t reach the 80-point level. It started with that 87-77 loss to UCLA the Jayhawks’ last defeat, incidentally continued in a 79-61 victory at Oklahoma State and concluded with the OU contest. In the 14 games since, Kansas has scored no fewer than 86 points.
Was Kansas in an offensive funk at that time or did UCLA, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have three of the best defenses the Jayhawks have seen in 2002?
That’s a question that should be answered today.
We do know without question this is one of the best offensive teams Roy Williams has had in his 14 years at Kansas, maybe THE best.
“This team offensively is pretty doggone good,” Williams said following Saturday’s 90-50 semifinal triumph over Texas Tech.
Right, Roy. That’s like saying “Titanic” is a pretty doggone good movie. Or that the Beatles’ music is pretty doggone good. Or that Bill Gates has a pretty doggone good chance of being able to purchase Australia.
Yes, the Jayhawks’ offensive capabilities are no secret. Or as Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said: “You play Kansas, you have to make baskets. You have to score. You go into a two-minute drought against Kansas and the game could be over.”
Sampson didn’t mention the Jayhawks’ defense. Few do. And that, no less a personage than Bob Knight said Saturday, can be fatal. Foes concentrate so hard on stopping KU’s offense, Knight said, that they forget how hard they have to focus on offense as well.
“You forget about moving and getting open,” Knight said. “You’ve really got to work and work. I can’t imagine playing anyone that makes it so hard to get open.”
And yet Williams does not believe this is his best defensive team. Not by a long shot. That honor belongs to the 34-2 team of 1996-97.
“That was the best defensive team,” Williams said Saturday. “No one’s been close. That team shot 25 or 26 percent at Kansas State and we won the game.”
In fact, the Jayhawks shot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) that night in Manhattan and still squeezed out a 62-59 decision.
So in theory if you take this year’s team and merge it with the 1996-97 club you would have the best all-around team Williams has ever had.
That’s just speculation, though. You’ll have to settle for this edition. It is virtually unstoppable on offense and, while it may not measure up to Williams’ best defensive team, you must be playing pretty doggone good defense if Bob Knight is raving about it.
