In his role as Kansas University basketball student assistant, Moulaye Niang is in close contact with the Jayhawk players each and every day.
During the 2005-06 campaign, he’s observed one close-knit unit.
“It’s a special group,” Niang said in his five-minute Senior Night speech Wednesday in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Please stick with these guys,” he told the fans after KU’s 75-54 victory over Colorado. “They are going to do something special. I love them all.”
Winning a Big 12 Conference championship, which is in the Jayhawks’ grasp with one regular-season game remaining, would classify as something “special.”
Three teams – first-place KU and Texas (both 12-3) plus second-place Oklahoma (11-4) – still have a shot at the title entering the final weekend of play.
Kansas can claim at least a tie for the crown by beating Kansas State on Saturday in Manhattan, where the Jayhawks have won 22 straight games.
“This is where we want to be. We want to be where we can control our own destiny,” senior Stephen Vinson said.
A KU victory, coupled with a Texas loss to Oklahoma on Sunday in Austin, Texas, would give the Jayhawks the undisputed crown and No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
A KU loss, coupled with a Texas loss, would result in a three-way tie for first. If KU, OU and Texas all tie for the title at 12-4, KU would claim the No. 1 seed for the Big 12 tourney because in the case of a three-way tie, the league first breaks the deadlock between the teams from the same division that have played each other twice.
OU would win that tiebreaker by virtue of a regular-season sweep of Texas. KU would win the tiebreaker against OU thanks to its 59-58 victory over the Sooners on Feb. 5 in Allen Fieldhouse.
At this point, the Jayhawks prefer to only worry about themselves and take care of business at KSU in Saturday’s 3 p.m. tipoff.
“A&M got a great win (Wednesday vs. Texas). It gives us a chance. We’ve got to beat a team that has already handled us (59-55 on Jan. 14) once. Certainly, we’re in the game,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They (Longhorns) play at home, which will be an advantage for them.”
Big 12 Tourney info
The No. 1-seeded team in the Big 12 Tournament will play either the No. 8 or 9 seed at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 10, at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. The No. 2 seed will play the No. 7 or 10 seed at 6 p.m. March 10. Texas A&M is the only team to have locked up a seed – the Aggies are the No. 4. The top four seeds receive a bye.
Self lauded
KU coach Bill Self, who is the obvious choice for Big 12 Coach of the Year – the team’s top seven scorers are freshmen or sophomores – has received the support of ESPN’s Pat Forde, who writes: “Roy Williams’ replacement had his own Roy-style rebuilding job this year, replacing four key players with a cast of raw rookies. After some early wobbles, the Jayhawks went on a 10-game winning streak that solidified their NCAA bid – and solidified Self as the coach of the year.”
Aldrich honored
Minnesota high school junior forward Cole Aldrich, who has committed to play at KU, has accepted an invitation to play for the U.S. Albert Schweitzer prep all-star basketball team that will compete next month in Germany, the St. Paul newspaper reports. Aldrich is a 6-foot-11, 260-pounder from Bloomington Jefferson High.
This, that
Darnell Jackson, who has been hit hard by the flu bug, practiced Thursday. … KU is 17-0 all-time in Bramlage Coliseum. The Jayhawks won the last five games played in old Ahearn Fieldhouse. … How important is rebounding? The Jayhawks’ victory Wednesday over Colorado was just the team’s second this season when getting outrebounded. The other victory was Feb. 5 against Oklahoma.
