Richard Gwin4:28 p.m.
Some final postgame notes:
• KU’s Danielle McCray and Sade Morris both were named to the six-person WNIT All-Tournament team. USF’s Shantia Grace was named the tournament’s MVP.
• KU ended the year 22-14, its best finish since the 1998-99 season.
• The attendance of 16,113 was the largest home crowd in KU women’s basketball history and also the largest single-game crowd in Big 12 women’s history. The game had the second-highest attendance in WNIT history, trailing only the 2001 championship game between Ohio State and New Mexico at New Mexico.
• Danielle McCray set the WNIT single-tournament scoring record with 147 points. The previous record-holder was Wisconsin’s Jolene Anderson, who had 129 points in last year’s WNIT.
• KU set a WNIT record with 31 blocks in its five games.
• The Jayhawks went 9-3 in their final 12 games.
• KU’s 21 offensive rebounds against USF were a season-high.
• The Bulls’ 75 points were the second-most given up by the Jayhawks this season. Oklahoma scored 76 against KU on March 13.
• McCray scored at least 20 points for the 23rd time this season. She is now ninth on the KU scoring list with 1,539 points.
• McCray ended the season with 81 three-pointers made, a new school record.
• Ivana Catic ended her career fourth on KU’s all-time assists list with 406. She had 43 assists and just seven turnovers in her final seven games.
KU scoring
McCray 24 (7-for-25 shooting), Morris 19 (7-for-13 shooting), Sutherland 12, Boogaard 10, Jacobs 4, Catic 2.
KU was 25-for-66 from the floor (37.9 percent), 4-for-12 from three (33.3 percent) and 17-for-21 from the free-throw line (81 percent).
USF was 26-for-58 from the floor (44.8 percent), 5-for-10 from three (50 percent), and 18-for-27 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).
USF had 12 turnovers to KU’s 11. KU outrebounded USF, 41-39.
FINAL: USF defeats KU, 75-71
Sepulveda once again comes through for USF. With the shot clock winding down, she swishes a 12-footer from the side to push USF’s lead back to five. She’s up to a team-high 18 points.
Morris is fouled on her way to the rim on the other end, but she misses her first free throw. She makes the second.
Lawson makes one of two free throws, and McCray misses a guarded three-pointer. KU’s rally will come up short.
Grace puts in two more free throws, and McCray hits a meaningless three before the buzzer. The Bulls come away with a 75-71 victory.
USF 70/KU 67 — 51.4 seconds left in game
Sutherland hits her free throw, and the crowd seems to have gotten to USF. Stokes travels for an unforced turnover. On the other end, with the shot clock running down, Morris hits a huge two from the deep corner.
After a USF miss, McCray drives and drops it to Boogaard, who cuts the USF lead to one with a layup. This atmosphere right now is electric and every bit of what a men’s crowd sounds like.
Following a timeout, Lawson puts in a guarded layup to put USF back up three.
Sutherland misses a jumper, and after a USF rebound, Lawson makes one free throw.
Sutherland answers with one free throw on the other end.
Lawson is fouled but misses both free throws. KU turns it over on the other end when trying to kick it out to Morris. She would have had an open three to tie it.
USF 67/KU 61 — 3:48 left in game
Sutherland rattles in another 15-footer, and she’s hit some big shots lately for KU.
Boogaard is whistled for a questionable call underneath, as she was given a blocking foul when she was the one with inside position on a rebound. That’s her fourth foul.
KU misses an opportunity on the defensive end. Twice, USF lost the ball, and twice the Bulls were able to regain possession. With one left on the shot clock, Stokes drained a scramble three-pointer to put the Bulls up 12.
McCray comes away with a steal, and she fakes a pass before putting in a layup.
KU’s starting to pick up some steam. Catic hits a jumper from the free-throw line. The Jayhawks get another steal, and after two misses underneath, Sutherland puts in a short jumper with a foul. The fans go crazy, as KU has cut the lead to six at 67-61.
The announced crowd of 16,113 is a school and Big 12 women’s basketball record.
USF 58/KU 49 — 7:57 left in game
KU starts to make a move at the free-throw line. McCray hits one of two. Boogaard, after drawing Jessica Lawson’s fourth foul, hits two. McCray is fouled on a layup try, and her two free throws cut the lead to five.
USF scores the next six. Denson drives in for a layup, and after a steal, Sepulveda is fouled and makes two free throws. Grace finishes a quick move with a layup, and the Bulls lead by 11 once again.
With four fouls, Morris will checks back in at the 9:10 mark.
Sutherland lobs a nice pass to Boogaard, who finishes with a left-handed layup.
USF 51/KU 42 — 11:03 left in game
McCray hits a tough three from the top to cut USF’s lead to six, but again the Bulls have an answer. Sepulveda picks off a lazy pass by Jacobs, and she takes it all the way to the other end for two.
The next possession, Sepulveda makes it look easy, driving quickly around Ivana Catic for a layup. USF is back up nine at 49-40, and Henrickson calls timeout.
Out of the break, Sutherland confidently hits a 16-foot baseline jumper, but USF’s Lawson answers with a mid-range shot of her own.
USF 44/KU 36 — 15:13 left in game
The Bulls pick up where they left off in the second half. Grace hits two free throws, and after an offensive rebound, Jessica Lawson goes under the basket and reverses in a layup to increase USF’s lead to 42-30.
Morris puts in a long jumper for KU, then beats USF in transition, getting fouled on her way to the basket. She hits both freebies.
Boogaard keeps getting good position inside, but she can’t get anything inside four feet to go down. She’s just 2-for-8 today.
Morris rattles in another short shot. She has all six KU points this half.
KU scoring
McCray 10 (4-for-15 shooting), Morris 10, Boogaard 4, Jacobs 4, Sutherland 2.
KU was 13-for-38 from the floor (34.2 percent), 2-for-7 from three (28.6 percent) and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
USF was 14-for-28 from the floor (50 percent), 4-for-6 from three (66.7 percent) and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line (75 percent).
Both teams grabbed 20 rebounds. USF had eight turnovers to KU’s six.
Halftime thoughts
• Bad shooting half for McCray. You have to think she’ll heat up in the second 20 minutes. I would expect that she will have 30 shot attempts before this game is over.
• USF seems to be a streaky shooting team. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, the Bulls made quite a few just before the end of the half. USF has made some tough, guarded shots, and I wouldn’t anticipate that it will shoot 50 percent again in the second half.
• On the bright side, KU has done a good job of keeping possession of the basketball. The Jayhawks have had problems with turnovers this year, but they had just six in the first half. USF, meanwhile, had forced 20 turnovers per game coming in. KU had 10 more shot attempts in the first half, but the Jayhawks are going to have to hit a few more of the looks they get.
• Once again, great crowd here today. The only empty spots are way up in each corner. I would anticipate an announced crowd of around 15,000, which might even be enough to set a WNIT record.
USF 38/KU 30 — Halftime
McCray checks back in with just more than three minutes to go in the half. We’ll see if she can make it to the break without picking up her third whistle.
Sepulveda throws in another three, and the Bulls are 4-for-5 from deep (80 percent).
Sutherland puts in a short jumper, but KU has gone cold as of late.
Meanwhile, USF has taken over the boards during this four-minute stretch. Grant gets a two after grabbing an offensive rebound, and USF has rebuilt a 34-30 lead.
USF’s Brittany Denson gets two free throws, and the Bulls score again off an offensive rebound, as Grant gets another two.
KU executes well with two-tenths of a second left, throwing an inbounds pass lob to Sutherland for an alley-oop lay-in. The shot doesn’t count, of course, because with three-tenths of a second or less, players have to tip the ball in.
USF ends the first half on a 12-2 run to take an eight-point halftime lead.
USF 28/KU 28 — 3:27 left in 1st half
McCray goes to the bench, but KU still takes the lead without her. Morris puts in two free throws before bouncing in a 15-footer, giving KU a 24-23 lead.
Jacobs drives down the lane and throws in another quick layup off the glass. Other players like Jacobs are going to have to step up in McCray’s absence.
Morris drives in before hitting a tough, stepback, 15-foot jumper. USF seems to have an answer every time, as the quick-release shot of Shantia Grace swishes through to tie the score back up at 28.
USF 21/KU 20 — 7:32 left in 1st half
Following a nicely run inbounds play, Krysten Boogaard banks a five-footer off the glass and in. The made shot breaks a long KU drought.
Boogaard bounces in another shot on the next possession, and she seems to have jumpstarted KU’s offense. McCray follows with a three, and she screams out in satisfaction. On the other end, Boogaard draws a charge, and the crowd has come back to life.
KU continues to miss a lot of chippies. Sutherland and Boogaard play keep away on the offensive boards, but neither can get a three-footer to go in. Sutherland misses three short ones and Boogaard misses a fourth. On KU’s fifth offensive rebound of the possession, McCray bounces in a shot from the baseline.
McCray follows with an open three, and LaChelda Jacobs drives all the way to the basket to spin in a layup.
Bad news for KU, though, as McCray picked up her second personal foul. We’ll see how long Henrickson sits her.
USF 16/KU 6 — 11:43 left in 1st half
South Florida plays a lot like Missouri’s men’s team, using a full-court press to speed teams up and force them out of their comfort zones. It’s worked well so far. Though the Jayhawks have been able to beat the press, they have rushed themselves into turnovers on offense.
Jessica Lawson gets a layup, and after a USF steal, Janae Stokes puts in a short jumper to give the Bulls an 11-0 run. KU coach Bonnie Henrickson calls timeout.
KU isn’t hitting any open jumpers. Aishah Sutherland clanks a 16-footer. McCray has started 1-for-9. The Jayhawks haven’t scored in the last four minutes, 41 seconds.
USF 8/KU 6 — 15:48 left in 1st half
The decibel meter goes above 102 before the tip. There are easily 13,000 fans here and probably more.
Danielle McCray puts in the first points, hitting an unguarded jumper in the lane. South Florida’s going to have to do a better job defending the honorable mention All-America selection if it wants to stay close.
McCray goes into a mini shooting slump after that, missing her next four shots. She’s getting open looks but hasn’t been hitting them. Lately, though, she’s played better in the second half than the first.
USF’s Jazmine Sepulveda has already drained both of her three-point attempts. She came into the game shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc.
12:49 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas women’s basketball team is getting set to take on the South Florida Bulls in the WNIT championship game.
I think this goes without saying: This is a big day for the future of the KU women’s basketball program.
The Jayhawks will play in front of their biggest crowd of the season. As of now, two sides are full to the top here at the Fieldhouse. The corner sections are about three-fourths full, and there’s still 20 minutes until gametime. I think it’s safe to say there will most likely be a new attendance record set today.
I would guess this will be the first KU women’s basketball game for about half the fans here.
Whether they come back next year has a lot to do with the Jayhawks.
With a victory, KU not only would take tons of momentum into next year, it also would add to its fanbase with an exciting postseason run.
Looking back, being held out of the NCAA Tournament and accepting a spot in the WNIT might be the best thing that could have happened for the Jayhawks.
It definitely will be if they can pull out a win today.
Nick KrugKU scoring
McCray 31 (10-for-18 shooting), Boogaard 18 (6-for-8 shooting), Sutherland 9 (4-for-4 shooting), Morris 8, Smith 7, Catic 2.
KU was 25-for-46 from the floor (54 percent), 1-for-9 from three (11.1 percent) and 24-for-30 from the free-throw line (80 percent).
ISU was 26-for-69 from the floor (38 percent), 3-for-13 from three (23 percent) and 17-for-21 from the line (81 percent).
KU outrebounded ISU, 39-29. KU had 18 turnovers to ISU’s six.
FINAL: KU women defeat ISU, 75-72
ISU’s Brea Banks overthrows the inbounds pass, and LaChelda Jacobs intercepts it in the backcourt. One pass later, time expires.
KU comes away with a 75-72 victory and advances to the WNIT final at 1 p.m. Saturday against South Florida in Allen Fieldhouse.
KU women 75/ISU 72 — 2.9 seconds left in game
Who else but McCray comes through in the clutch for the Jayhawks. She missed a shot inside, but, using second effort, she leaped across the lane to get her own miss before putting it back in with a foul. And, boy, is she pumped. She screams out to the crowd, jumping in the air before yelling, “Let’s go!”
McCray’s free throw pushes KU’s lead to six.
KU plays good perimeter defense on the next possession, as Cirone is forced to go inside and make a two.
After getting fouled, Smith makes two free throws.
The officials keep ISU in it, as Cirone puts in a layup, and Morris is called for her fifth foul when she was simply trying to get out of Cirone’s way. Cirone makes the free throw to cut KU’s lead to 70-67 with 15.7 seconds left.
Smith is perfect on two more free throws, but Cirone goes coast-to-coast for another two with 9.8 seconds left.
Smith makes one of two free throws after getting fouled. The Redbirds sure are picking on her, but she has come through by making seven of eight free throws.
KU is doing everything it can to give this game away. After a timeout, Sutherland fouls Cirone on a three-point attempt with 3.9 seconds left. The senior makes all three to cut KU’s lead to one.
The Jayhawks get the inbounds to McCray (smart play) and she’ll shoot two with 2.9 seconds left. The junior makes both.
KU women 65/ISU 62 — 1:01 left in game
Boogaard fouls out for KU on an away-from-the-ball foul. I didn’t see that one. Smith checks in to take her place.
Nicolle Lewis hits two free throws to trim KU’s advantage to two.
Sutherland comes up with a big offensive rebound for KU, but she follows with a critical error, throwing an elbow into an ISU player on a screen. The illegal pick is KU’s 17th turnover.
Cirone misses a three for the lead, and Morris sprints to the other end in transition. She drops it to Catic under the basket for a layup, and the KU fans are louder than I’ve heard them all night.
Sutherland gets a steal in transition, and for a second, it looks like she has a breakaway. An ISU player slaps the ball away at the last second. Would Sutherland have tried to dunk it? I guess we’ll never know.
Following a Cirone miss, Smith comes up with the defensive rebound and is fouled. She makes both free throws to push KU’s lead to six.
The Jayhawks can’t seem to get the crucial rebounds late. After an ISU offensive board, Bracey throws in a three to cut KU’s lead back to three. The Redbirds have grabbed 14 of the last 21 rebounds.
KU women 60/ISU 57 — 3:44 left in game
After two free throws from Boogaard, Catic comes through with a steal up top for KU. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, Catic misses the front end of a one-and-one after getting fouled.
McCray swishes a 16-footer from the side. Whenever KU needs a big bucket, McCray always seems to come through.
Morris picks up her fourth foul with 7:02 left. She’ll have to sit for a few minutes before coming back in.
ISU’s Ashleen Bracey twirls before knocking in a shot off the glass with a foul. After the free throw, the Redbirds trail just 57-50, and you can hear the fans starting to get anxious at the Fieldhouse.
Boogaard is called for a charge — KU’s 15th turnover — and Henrickson takes a wise timeout.
Cirone dishes out to an open Krick, and she drains another three from the wing. KU’s lead is down to four.
McCray follows with two free throws, then on the other end rips away a defensive rebound after a Cirone miss. She’s coming up big in the clutch for the Jayhawks.
After a Cirone steal, Amanda Clifton forces up a leaner that rolls in. ISU has cut the lead to 60-57.
The official attendance is listed at 8,360, the fifth-largest in Kansas women’s basketball history.
KU women 53/ISU 44 — 7:59 left in game
Krick hits a three in tranisition for ISU, and Cirone follows with a pair of free throws. KU, up 17 at one point, has had its advantage trimmed to nine at 51-42.
Smith still can’t buy a three. She gets a wide-open look on the wing, but her shot bounces away. She’s now 0-for-3 from deep tonight.
KU women 50/ISU 37 — 11:17 left in game
Over the course of this season, McCray has developed from a good player into a great player. She hits another guarded shot, and she doesn’t look fazed no matter how many defenders fly at her. The junior is up to 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
Boogaard misses her first shot of the night, but Sutherland is there to scoop up the offensive rebound and put it back in. At this point, KU has doubled ISU in rebounds (30-15).
The Jayhawks go back to Boogaard, as she banks in another short shot. She’s nearing her season-high (20), as she now has 16 points.
KU women 44/ISU 30 — 15:16 left in game
Nice job by Ivana Catic, who took the ball straight to the rim after breaking the press. With numbers, she bounced the ball to Boogaard in the lane, and the KU forward put it in with a foul.
McCray follows with her own nifty move. After missing a shot, she grabbed the rebound under the basket, then flung her body backwards to throw in the follow with a foul. ISU calls another timeout. KU has taken control with an 11-1 run to make it 44-28.
Krick breaks the ISU drought with a stepback 10-footer. The Redbirds had gone 2 minutes, 59 seconds without a field goal before that.
KU women 36/ISU 27 — 17:39 left in game
KU has forced it inside twice to Boogaard, and twice she’s been able to draw fouls. The forward still could be a little tougher with it once she gets it, but KU won’t complain about her making three of her four free throws.
Nicollette Smith rips away a steal at the 17:54 mark, and it’s the Jayhawks’ first steal of the game.
McCray cashes in on the other end, bouncing in a jumper from 15 feet. ISU takes a timeout, as KU has its largest lead at 36-27.
KU scoring
Danielle McCray 9, Krysten Boogaard 8, Sade Morris 8, Aishah Sutherland 6.
KU was 14-for-24 from the floor (58 percent), 1-for-5 from three (20 percent) and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
ISU was 11-for-31 from the field (35.5 percent), 0-for-6 from three (0 percent) and 3-for-4 from the line (75 percent).
KU outrebounded ISU, 20-10. KU had nine turnovers to ISU’s two.
Halftime thoughts
• A nice start for KU, considering a lot of things could have gone better for the Jayhawks. McCray had nine points, but she was only able to get up five first-half shots. The Jayhawks had quite a few turnovers (nine). KU also forced just two first-half turnovers, so its defense could be better as well.
• Another solid first-half line for Aishah Sutherland, who is emerging as a consistent player for KU. The forward had six points on 3-for-3 shooting with four rebounds in 15 minutes.
•Boogaard also had a perfect first half, going 4-for-4 from the floor. She has been both strong and balanced when taking the ball to the basket, and that aggressiveness has paid off.
In case you were wondering, South Florida won the other WNIT semifinal game against Boston College. The winner of this game will play South Florida on Saturday.
KU women 31/ISU 25 — Halftime
Morris drains a pair of tough pull-up jumpers. She looks much more comfortable with her shot than she was earlier this year. The guard is now tied for the team-high with eight points.
McCray gets bumped going to the basket, and she gets KU’s first free throws with 1:16 left in the half. She swishes both.
The Jayhawks have dominated the boards against the undersized Redbirds. KU is outrebounding ISU, 20-10.
ISU’s Maggie Krick misses a three at the buzzer, and KU takes a 31-25 lead into the break.
KU women 25/ISU 21 — 3:35 left in 1st half
The Jayhawks turn it over on two straight possessions. Those are starting to add up, as KU is up to seven giveaways.
Sade Morris drains a 15-footer from the baseline, and on the next possession, Aishah Sutherland banks a short shot off the glass and in. ISU calls timeout, as the Jayhawks have scored seven straight points to take a 25-19 lead.
KU has made 12 of its 20 field goals (60 percent), but the Jayhawks have no free-throw attempts as of yet. Remember, on Monday against New Mexico, KU had 36 free throws.
ISU women 19/KU 18 — 6:50 left in 1st half
With the shot clock running down, Ivana Catic rifles a pass inside to Boogaard, who lays it in for her eighth point.
ISU has done a nice job of defending McCray so far. The junior hasn’t been able to free herself for many shots, as she only has four shot attempts (making two).
On the defensive end, KU hasn’t been aggressive. The Redbirds, more than 13 minutes in, still do not have a turnover. They average 13.6 giveaways per game.
KU women 12/ISU 11 — 11:57 left in 1st half
KU turns it over, and coach Bonnie Henrickson pushes down both of her palms, telling her team to settle down. The Jayhawks might be hurrying things just a bit early on.
Boogaard puts in another layup inside. She’s now 3-for-3 with six points to lead all scorers.
Nicollette Smith has missed a pair of shots, including a three. The sharpshooter — who led the Big 12 in three-point percentage earlier this year — has now made just one of her last 15 long-range shots.
KU women 8/ISU 5 — 15:55 left in 1st half
KU has shot a good percentage early, but that’s mostly because the Jayhawks have gotten themselves good shots.
Krysten Boogaard scores KU’s first four points, with both baskets coming on layups.
The Jayhawks have made four of their first five field goals through the first media timeout. Sade Morris and Danielle McCray have two points each.
6:56 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas women’s basketball team is getting set to take on the Illinois State Redbirds in the semifinals of the WNIT.
There’s a nice crowd already here at the fieldhouse — I’d guess around 5,000 or so folks already. ISU has brought its band and also about 200 red-shirted fans, but there are many, many more Jayhawk fans. In fact, this is one of the best women’s atmospheres I’ve seen in the years I’ve covered the women.
Illinois State is 27-7 this year and is led by Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Kristi Cirone. The 5-foot-8 senior guard is averaging 18.6 points and 4.0 rebounds pe game, so it should be a good matchup between her and KU’s honorable-mention All-America selection Danielle McCray.
Richard GwinKU scoring
Collins 21, Aldrich 12, Taylor 11, Morningstar 9, Marcus Morris 9 (3-for-3 shooting), Markieff Morris 8, Little 6, Releford 4, Reed 3.
KU was 27-for-54 from the field (50 percent), 6-for-11 from three (54.5 percent) and 23-for-26 from the free-throw line (88.5 percent).
UT was 25-for-59 from the floor (42.4 percent), 3-for-12 from three (25 percent) and 20-for-22 from the line (90.9 percent). UT made just 8 of 29 shots in the second half (27.6 percent).
UT out-rebounded KU, 33-32. UT had 11 turnovers to KU’s 10.
FINAL: KU defeats UT, 83-73
With UT down seven, James misses an open three from the side. The Longhorns really needed that one.
Collins misses a three, but Aldrich gathers the offensive rebound. The Jayhawks wisely pull it back out, and Collins is fouled. The students start the “One more year” chant. Collins makes both free throws.
After two more Collins free throws, Abrams misses a forced-up three, and the ball goes out of bounds to KU.
Collins tries to make something happen on a drive late, and he lands awkwardly with 14 seconds left. He limps off the court but doesn’t look seriously hurt.
Kleinmann and Bechard check back in at the 14-second mark, then out again with seven seconds to receive one last ovation.
Marcus Morris squeezes the ball tight as the seconds run down, but there’s no technical this time. KU claims the outright Big 12 championship with the 10-point victory.
KU 78/UT 71 — 2:44 left in game
The students are counting each second on James’ free throws. They get to 13 on the first free throw and 14 on the second free throw. Though their counting is a little fast, I would say James is flirting somewhere between nine and 11 seconds.
KU executes well to get a shot for Aldrich, as Morningstar throws in a low bounce pass inside and the big man is fouled. Aldrich makes both free throws.
On a James miss, Pittman goes over Aldrich’s back, and that could be a costly whistle. It’s the ninth team foul, meaning Aldrich will shoot one-and-one on the other end. He makes both.
KU misses a great opportunity in transition up four. Collins races up the floor, but he tried to be too perfect, throwing an ill-advised bounce pass that was stolen by UT.
Pittman gets a layup on the other end, and it’s a four-point swing.
With confidence, Taylor drives baseline and puts in a floater off the glass. After a Mason layup, Aldrich bounces in an 18-footer.
Two bad calls right next to us. KU should have had the basketball when it went out of bounds, but the official ruled that Collins touched it when the ball rolled between his legs. On the inbounds, the same official blew a questionable whistle on Morningstar while Abrams was shooting. Abrams makes both freebies.
Huge swing by KU seconds later, though. In transition, Collins scoops back to Morningstar for a three, and he drains it. The next possession, Collins steals the ball from Abrams, then on the break, throws back to Taylor for a one-handed slam. Timeout UT. Collins screams to the crowd, then chest-bumps Aldrich. That could be the sequence that wins the game for KU.
KU 65/UT 63 — 7:31 left in game
There’s the Aldrich we’re used to seeing. He blocks a shot on one end, then fights underneath on the other, finishing inside with a shot off the glass.
Markieff Morris rips away a defensive rebound, and he’s fouled. He hits both shots on a one-and-one opportunity.
With KU down one, Collins misses a layup, but Markieff Morris slams home the follow as KU takes its first lead.
James makes two free throws, but KU takes the lead right back with some luck. Collins scoops back out to Taylor, who banks in a three from straight on. Self flashes a huge grin. That’s two huge shots Taylor has made from long-range this season using the glass.
UT 61/KU 56 — 10:30 left in game
Aldrich gets beat by Pittman on a free-throw block out. Something’s not right with the KU big man. It turns into a valuable three-point possession for UT, as Pittman makes two free throws.
Marcus Morris picks up his fourth foul on an offensive rebound try, and a minute later, UT throws a lob right over Aldrich, and Pittman tomahawks it home. The Jayhawks drop their guard for 45 seconds, and suddenly, they’re down five again.
UT 56/KU 56 — 11:15 left in game
Markieff Morris gets the ball down low and reverses to the baseline for a hook shot off the glass and in. Did Danny Manning teach him that?
Releford gets fouled inside and makes two free throws. Don’t overlook those, as he came into the game as a 50-percent free-throw shooter.
KU is one stop away from having this crowd go bonkers. The Jayhawks keep trimming the lead to two before UT responds.
Finally, KU ties it, as Taylor goes to the basket and lays it softly off the glass. The Jayhawks are being much more aggressive with drives in the second half against UT’s over-aggressive defense.
UT 50/KU 45 — 15:41 left in game
Marcus Morris is playing as aggressively as I’ve seen him play. He takes a ball straight to the basket for two, then on the next possession, screams at Collins to pass him the ball. When Marcus gets it, he goes hard to the rim, forcing Pittman’s third foul.
Little floats in a fadeaway to pull KU within one, and the crowd is recharged.
Clint Chapman puts in a long jumper, and Justin Mason follows with a layup. The Longhorns have done a good job of damage control through the first media timeout of the second half.
KU scoring
Collins 11 (5-for-9 shooting), Marcus Morris 7, Morningstar 6, Reed 3, Releford 2, Little 2, Markieff Morris 2, Taylor 2, Aldrich 2.
KU was 13-for-28 from the floor (46.4 percent), 4-for-6 from three (66.7 percent) and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line (87.5 percent).
UT was 17-for-30 from the floor (56.7 percent), 3-for-5 from three (60 percent) and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line (87.5 percent).
James had 20 first-half points on 8-for-10 shooting. Pittman added 10 points.
UT out-rebounded KU, 18-11. Both teams had six turnovers.
Halftime thoughts
• Poor, poor defensive first half for KU. The Jayhawks have held 69 straight opponents under 50 percent shooting. The last team to shoot over 50 percent against KU was Louisiana-Monroe in the 2007-08 season opener. That streak is in serious jeopardy today.
• Why is it that every time KU plays Texas, both teams score like crazy?
• Where has Aldrich gone offensively? He has just two points on 1-for-6 shooting, and the Jayhawks have actually gotten him the ball quite often.
• KU once again is struggling on the boards, getting out-rebounded by seven in the first half. Aldrich only has four boards, and no one else is stepping up to fill in the gaps. No other Jayhawk had more than one rebound in the first half.
• By the way, the Morris twins are 3-for-3 from the floor.
UT 44/KU 37 — Halftime
The Jayhawks are getting one-dimensional offensively: Throw the ball to Collins, watch him try to make a move, stand around. Not a pretty sight for KU fans.
On the other end, KU is worse, though. Layups by Pittman and Balbay and free throws from James give the Longhorn a 6-0 run. Self uses his third timeout, as UT has made 17 of 28 shots (60.7 percent).
The Jayhawks make a much-needed mini-run out of the break. Marcus Morris uses a quick move to the bucket to get two, and after a steal, Releford glides under the basket and softly puts it off the glass and in.
Pittman doinks a dunk, and KU gets a chance for the last shot. Collins splits two defenders, then passes out to Tyrel Reed for a three that he swishes. The Jayhawks end the half on a 7-0 run, but still trail by seven at the break.
As the officials leave the court, they receive the loudest boos I’ve heard for the zebras all year.
UT 38/KU 30 — 3:34 left in 1st half
KU has switched to a 2-3 zone. It doesn’t work on the first possession, as Dexter Pittman gets the ball near the bucket and is fouled by Markieff. It has to be killing Self as a defensive coach to have to go to a zone so often.
Justin Mason hits a runner in the lane against KU’s man defense, and Self uses another timeout.
The Longhorns are getting whatever shot they want right now. Pittman gets it inside for a layup. He then catches a lob pass over Mario Little and gets fouled on his way up. The last two games have been some of the worst defensive performances we’ve seen from the Jayhawks all year.
The only good news for KU is that Collins is starting to heat up. He hits a pull-up 18-footer and seems to have some swagger back. He’s up to 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting.
UT 28/KU 26 — 7:14 left in 1st half
James hits another 19-footer. It looks like KU is trapping all ball screens so that Abrams can’t get free, and that’s opened James up for quite a few shots. The Jayhawks might need to switch it up at halftime to start worrying more about James.
Bad call right in front of me. A.J. Abrams flew in under the basket and mugged Aldrich, getting him across the arm and face. The official called a jump ball. KU’s fans have reason to be upset.
James and Abrams are taking all the shots for the Longhorns — and deservedly so. The two have combined for 22 of UT’s 28 points on 9-for-12 combined shooting.
UT 15/KU 15 — 11:35 left in 1st half
Morningstar ignites the crowd with a three from the wing. A few seconds later in transition, Tyshawn Taylor scoops a pass to Morningstar for a rhythm three, and he drains it.
Smart play by Markieff Morris in the paint. Gary Johnson backed into him a couple times in the post, and Markieff knew what was coming next. The next time Johnson threw his weight back, Markieff accepted the contact, falling back to pick up the offensive foul.
James has taken over offensively for UT. He hits a fadeaway and a guarded jumper, and he has 12 of his teams 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
UT 11/KU 9 — 15:02 left in 1st half
Brennan Bechard and Matt Kleinmann get a start and 51 seconds of action before KU coach Bill Self puts in subs. The seniors receive a nice ovation as they go back to the bench.
KU’s first four field goals are taken by Sherron Collins or Cole Aldrich. The sophomore center Aldrich is 1-for-2, and the Jayhawks have done a nice job of looking inside so far.
After checking in, Brady Morningstar gets the tough defensive assignment of A.J. Abrams. Morningstar struggled against Texas Tech’s Alan Voskuil, but he has a chance to redeem himself against just as good of a shooter today.
Damion James is already 2-for-2 from three. He came in shooting 29.9 percent. The Jayhawks aren’t getting many breaks lately when it comes to opponents shooting somewhere around their season averages.
3:05 p.m.
I haven’t seen this often. UT coach Rick Barnes completely backed away from his team while the introduction video was playing, letting all his players watch the videoboard. Don’t know if that’s a good idea, but we’ll see how it works out for the Longhorns.
We’re up to 104.8 on the decibel meter. Not too shabby.
2:49 p.m.
Another reason to feel good about today’s game if you are a KU fan: The Jayhawks have won 24 straight Senior Day games (and 25 straight Senior Day games if you count 2007, when the Jayhawks didn’t have a senior).
2:18 p.m.
Here are some notes about today’s game against Texas:
• UT has never won in Allen Fieldhouse. The Longhorns are 0-8 against KU in this building.
• Guard Dogus Balbay entered the starting lineup for UT seven games ago. In those seven games, the Longhorns are 5-2. They also have scored 5.9 points per game more since Balbay has started. In those games, Balbay is averaging 7.1 points and 6.1 assists with a 43-to-12 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Texas is one of just three schools to have advanced at least to the Sweet 16 in five of the last seven years. Can you guess the other two schools that have accomplished that feat?
• A.J. Abrams has made 23 of 55 three-pointers (41.8 percent) in his last seven games.
• Other than Abrams, UT has no true three-point threat. Abrams has made 39.5 percent of his threes this year, but no other Longhorn on the roster is shooting 30 percent or better from deep. To compare, KU has six players that shoot better than 30 percent from the three-point line (Brady Morningstar, 44.1 percent; Marcus Morris, 42.9 percent; Tyrel Reed, 39.3 percent; Sherron Collins, 38.5 percent; Travis Releford, 37.5 percent; and Tyshawn Taylor, 35.6 percent). The next-best long-range shooter for the Longhorns is Damion James, who has made 29.9 percent of his three-point tries. Texas is last in the Big 12, making just 32.0 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
• Six-foot-7 Damion James has five double-doubles in his last six games. During that stretch, he’s averaging 16.7 points and 12.5 rebounds.
1:35 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks are getting to take on the Texas Longhorns.
Today is Senior Day for walk-ons Matt Kleinmann and Brennan Bechard, and both will start in the game against Texas.
With that in mind, I thought I’d bring back some videos of other KU speeches.
To the left are last year’s speeches from Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun, Russell Robinson, Rodrick Stewart and Jeremy Case. I also went ahead and threw up the highlights from last year’s 109-51 blowout on Senior Night over Texas Tech.
I also found some other speeches in the depth of our site. Click on the links for the 2004-05 senior class speeches from Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee.
Nick KrugKU scoring
Collins 25 (8-for-14 shooting), Aldrich 19 (8-for-13 shooting), Taylor 15 (5-for-7 shooting), Reed 9, Markieff Morris 6, Little 5, Marcus Morris 4, Thomas 3, Appleton 2, Morningstar 2.
KU was 33-for-59 from the floor (55.9 percent), 8-for-14 from three (57.1 percent) and 16-for-22 from the free-throw line (72.7 percent).
MU was 25-for-70 from the floor (35.7 percent), 3-for-17 from three (17.6 percent) and 12-for-17 from the free-throw line (70.6 percent).
KU out-rebounded MU, 46-32. KU had 16 turnovers to MU’s eight.
FINAL: KU defeats MU, 90-65
The backups check in with just under two minutes to play. Quintrell Thomas puts in a baseline jumper, and Tyrone Appleton follows with a floater in the lane.
KU closes out a dominating 90-65 victory.
KU 86/MU 60 — 2:19 left in game
KU is killing MU the same way the Tigers killed the Jayhawks in the first game: from the free-throw line. Silly fouls on MU have given KU four free throws, and Taylor and Markieff Morris both knock down a pair from the line.
Taylor finally takes advantage of MU’s over-aggressive defense, throwing a lob to Aldrich for a slam on a two-on-one.
The Jayhawks are winded, but they’re hanging in there. Self calls timeout at the 4:05 mark, obviously seeing the same fatigue in his players.
Taylor has turned into Chris Paul for KU. After getting the defense to commit, he casually throws the ball high toward the side of the backboard. Aldrich slams it down with one hand.
Just like that, the Jayhawks’ lead is back up to 26.
KU 74/MU 54 — 7:00 left in game
An old-school hook shot from Aldrich, who takes two big steps across the lane before dropping in the shot.
Collins lobs an entry pass that just gets over the fingertips of an MU defender. Aldrich lays it in and is fouled, pushing KU’s lead to 27.
Give credit where credit is due: That was a great move underneath the bucket by Zaire Taylor. He seemed to hang in the air forever before floating to the other side of the basket for the reverse lay-in after switching the ball to his left hand.
Carroll gets a fast-break layup, and that’s an 8-2 run for MU. Self calls timeout. MU’s definitely the team on the attack now, as the full-court press has started to speed up KU’s offense once again.
KU 66/MU 41 — 11:41 left in game
After two straight MU baskets, Collins provides the damage control, spinning in the lane before putting in a two. The Jayhawks aren’t letting the Tigers put together an extended run.
Collins goes to the bench at the 12:46 mark. We’ll see how long Self leaves him out.
Aldrich makes the best of a bad situation, taking a low bounce pass and spinning before putting in a tough jumper.
KU 60/MU 35 — 14:18 left in game
Reed knocks down a huge guarded three for KU. The Fieldhouse was dead and needed something to give it life again.
On the break, Collins puts in a wide-open three, and Anderson calls timeout. The Jayhawks have answered a Tiger run nicely.
KU 54/MU 33 — 15:32 left in game
Carroll and Lyons both hit jumpers to start the half. Predictably, the KU fans and players have started the half a little flat.
The Jayhawks go right back to Aldrich, who is fouled and hits two free throws. Collins hits a three on the next possession and pumps his fist afterwards.
After hitting no threes in the first half, MU has come out hot in the second half. Zaire Taylor swishes a long-range shot, and Lyons (who had shot just seven threes all year) puts in a trey of his own.
The Jayhawks’ second half has started much like the second half in the first matchup against the Tigers: with a lot of whistles. KU has four fouls already and needs to be careful to not give MU easy chances for points at the free-throw line. Remember, the Tigers had just four free throws in the first half of the last matchup, then went 17-for-23 from the line in the final 20 minutes.
Kirk Hinrich, summarized:
Wow, thanks a lot Max (Falkenstien). I appreciate all the kind words.
I want to thank my teammates. I grew up believing each individual accolade was the product of teammates. I’d like to thank them for that.
To Coach Williams, you helped me grow up. You taught me so much about basketball and life.
I want to thank my family and friends. Mom and dad — thanks for teaching me about life and putting a basketball in my hands.
To my grandparents, wife and sister: Thanks for always believing in me.
(direct quote) “There’s no place like it. This building in my mind is the greatest basketball venue in the world.”
I’m truly honored. This is humbling. Thank you very much.
KU scoring
Collins 11, Morningstar 7, Aldrich 6, Reed 6, Little 5, Marcus Morris 4, Markieff Morris 4, Morningstar 2.
KU was 18-for-32 from the field (56.3 percent), 5-for-7 from three (71.4 percent) and 4-for-9 from the free-throw line (44.4 percent).
MU was 8-for-39 from the floor (20.5 percent), 0-for-9 from three and 3-for-8 from the free-throw line (37.5 percent).
KU out-rebounded MU, 29-22. The Jayhawks had nine turnovers to the Tigers’ five.
We’ll have some highlights from Kirk Hinrich’s halftime speech coming up (if he speaks).
KU 45/MU 19 — Halftime
Collins misses a layup, but Aldrich dunks the rebound in. By my count, Aldrich’s six points have come on three dunks.
Great sequence to end the half by KU. Aldrich could have forced up a tough shot, but he passed it out so KU could get the final shot.
Collins started to drive, but showed faith in his teammates by quickly passing out to Taylor for an open three that hit nothing but net. The Jayhawks end the half on a 7-0 run.
You couldn’t ask for a much better first half from KU.
KU 38/MU 19 — 2:31 left in 1st half
Reed buries another three. What might be overlooked was that right before that, he saved a turnover by catching a tough pass and dribbling it back out to safety.
As funny as this sounds, KU has sped up MU in this game. The Tigers look rushed on offense and aren’t getting many good shots off.
Collins makes an open three, and the Jayhawks are 4-for-6 from deep (66.7 percent). Keep in mind, MU leads the Big 12 in three-point percentage defense (30.9 percent). KU was just 2-for-15 from deep in the first matchup.
KU 30/MU 12 — 7:42 left in 1st half
Self has made the move to sit Collins for a minute. After a turnover by Tyshawn Taylor on a carry, Self shows his quick trigger finger. Collins gets up to check back in. Self needs to get brave and rest Collins one more time before the end of the half.
Marcus Morris goes over an MU defender for an offensive rebound, then puts in a bank shot with a foul. He punches his fist out in celebration.
Nice drive by Collins, who draws three defenders before dropping the ball to Aldrich for a dunk.
Double-teaming a high ball screen costs MU. Collins lobs to Little, who quickly finds Tyrel Reed in the corner for an open three.
This is the time KU really needs to extend its lead, because the Tigers can come back in a hurry.
KU 21/MU 7 — 11:50 left in 1st half
The body language is not good now for Missouri. Carroll slams the ball after a Collins drive and basket. He lowers his eyes a minute later as he goes to the bench.
Nice effort by Markieff Morris, who extends to tip a missed free throw back to Mario Little. Collins turns the extra possession into a three.
Little gets a layup to roll in, and MU’s Mike Anderson calls timeout. KU has a 14-0 run.
KU 13/MU 5 — 14:19 left in 1st half
The pace in this one has started at a furious pace. Both teams are getting up and down the floor in a hurry. That might favor MU late if the Tigers can stay close.
Six different Jayhawks have already scored. On defense, KU has sagged off the MU guards on the perimeter, and so far, it’s paid off. The Tigers are 0-for-3 from deep.
Cole Aldrich gets the ball on a runout, and he throws in a one-handed tomahawk slam, and the crowd goes nuts. Seconds later, after a miss from DeMarre Carroll, Markieff Morris puts in an athletic layup off a feed from Sherron Collins.
KU has definitely been in attack mode for the first five minutes of this one.
1:06 p.m.
Try 105.6 on the decibel meter before tipoff. I’d say the crowd is ready to go.
12:54 p.m.
Prediction time.
I think this one be close at the end. I see the Jayhawks getting out to an early lead, but I also think Missouri will close the gap quickly in the final eight minutes because of its depth/frantic pressing.
This time, Sherron Collins makes his free throws down the stretch, hitting two shots with under a minute left to seal it.
Prediction: Kansas 81, Missouri 79
Also, give me ten-plus points from Travis Releford.
That should be enough predictions to make me look stupid after the game.
12:37 p.m.
Contrary to some Internet rumors, Eddie Hightower is, in fact, not officiating today’s game.
I do recognize John Higgins and Ted Hillary, though.
12:29 p.m.
It’s 35 minutes before the game, and already the northwest and southwest corners are filled to the top. I’m expecting a different type of energy from the crowd (and a new high mark on the decibel meter, which had a high of 102.1 against Kansas State).
A note for those of you around the Lawrence area: Channel 6 will run a replay of today’s game at 10:30 p.m. tonight.
11:55 a.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the No. 11 Missouri Tigers.
Obviously, turnovers will play a big part in today’s game. The Jayhawks turned it over a season-high 27 times in the first game against the Tigers, and that was a major factor in KU’s 62-60 loss.
Keeping turnovers down also should be a major focus for KU come tournament time. Giveaways have been one of the Jayhawks’ biggest weaknesses this season, as KU averages 14.9 turnovers per game, which is last in the Big 12.
Not surprisingly, the Jayhawks also have a poor turnover percentage* of 22.2 percent, which ranks 261st out of 344 teams. That’s the worst mark of the Bill Self era.
* — Turnover percentage is compiled by dividing the number of turnovers by the number of possessions.
Let’s take a look at KU’s turnovers this year compared to Self’s other years at KU. In parentheses are the turnover percentage from each team, along with the national rank.
KU’s turnovers through the years
2008-09 — 14.9 (22.2 percent, 261st nationally)
2007-08 — 13.2 (19.1 percent, 61st)
2006-07 — 14.2 (20.0 percent, 94th)
2005-06 — 15.6 (22.2 percent, 220th)
2004-05 — 14.4 (20.9 percent, 141st)
2003-04 — 14.7 (20.7 percent, 124th)
One thing of note: Self’s two highest turnover-percentage teams before this season (2005-06, 2004-05) both lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Bradley, Bucknell).
Because I’m a nerd and wanted to look this up for myself, I wondered how Self’s high-turnover teams fared in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I also wondered whether those teams turned the ball over even more in the first round of the tournament based on the pressure of the one-and-done format.
The following list is the number of turnovers KU had against each opponent, followed in parentheses by the number above or below the season average the turnover count was.
KU’s first-round turnovers
2007-08 — 11 vs. Portland State (-2.2 turnovers)
2006-07 — 12 vs. Niagara (-2.2 turnovers)
2005-06 — 18 vs. Bradley (+2.4 turnovers)
2004-05 — 13 vs. Bucknell (-1.4 turnovers)
2003-04 — 25 vs. Illinois-Chicago (+10.3 turnovers)
Overall, KU had 79 turnovers instead of an expected 72.1 turnovers — an increase of 9.5 percent. The stats were skewed by the Illinois-Chicago game, though, as KU turned the ball over less than its season average in three of its five games.
Keep an eye on KU’s turnovers, both today and for the rest of the season.
The stats have shown that March has gone much better when the Jayhawks keep their giveaways to a minimum.
Nick KrugKU scoring
Collins 22 (8-for-12 shooting), Aldrich 18 (7-for-11 shooting, 12 rebounds), Morningstar 8, Markieff Morris 6 (9 rebounds), Taylor 6, Marcus Morris 5, Releford 3, Kleinmann 2.
KU was 27-for-57 from the floor (47.4 percent), 6-for-18 from three (33.3 percent) and 10-for-18 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent).
NU was 21-for-55 from the floor (38.2 percent), 5-for-18 from three (27.8 percent) and 6-for-10 from the free-throw line (60 percent).
KU out-rebounded NU, 46-24. The Jayhawks had 15 turnovers to the Huskers’ 10.
FINAL: KU wins 70-53
Harley takes a fast-break pass off his nose. The fans have to laugh at that one.
Collins and Aldrich check out. They combined for 40 points on 15-for-23 shooting (65.2 percent).
With a 20-point lead, KU clears its bench. The Jayhawks haven’t had many opportunities to get all their players in this year.
On a feed from Brennan Bechard, Matt Kleinmann gets a quasi-dunk, grazing rim with his hand on layup. The bench loves it all the same.
KU comes away with a 17-point victory.
KU 64/NU 48 — 3:27 left in game
Aldrich gets a couple shots in the lane to go down, as KU extends its lead to 18.
Nebraska fights back, though, as Velander and Anderson hit consecutive threes to trim the lead to 13.
Aldrich goes over Anderson for a rebound, and Anderson is (literally) screaming mad. He yells out his frustration, and the KU fans razz him a little bit after his emotional outburst.
KU 56/NU 41 — 6:59 left in game
Wow, Tyrel Reed just had his shot swatted out of bounds by Dagunduro. Hate to bring up bad memories, but Hakim Warrick, anyone?
With the shot clock running down, Collins creates something out of nothing, draining a step-back, fallaway three. The crowd, which has been quiet most of the second half, roars in approval.
This might be Markieff’s breakout game. Following a Thomas miss, Markieff skied over everyone else and slammed home the follow. Self smiled wide while clapping on the sideline. After an NU timeout, Markieff also received a jumping chest-bump from his brother.
Morningstar hits a three, and KU has gone on a nice run to extend its lead.
Collins is feeling it as well. He takes a couple crossovers to clear space, then drains a three from the top.
KU 45/NU 35 — 11:33 left in game
Another block by Markieff Morris. This is some of the best defense we’ve seen from him this year.
He contributes on the other end as well, tipping in a Collins miss.
Marcus Morris picks up his fourth foul after getting tangled up on a loose ball. Quintrell Thomas checks in for his first action today.
KU 41/NU 32 — 15:02 left in game
After scoring just five points on 2-for-8 shooting in his last game against Colorado, NU guard Steve Harley already has eight points this afternoon. He scores NU’s first two baskets of the second half, then scoops a pass inside to Chris Balham for a layup. The Huskers start the half on a 6-1 run, and Self uses his third timeout.
NU has started to press in the second half. I’m a little surprised the Huskers didn’t try that more in the first 20 minutes.
Aldrich makes one of two free throws, and he’s just 4-for-9 from the line today. Maybe he’s learning to shoot again without the mask.
Markieff Morris scoops up a Collins miss and puts it back in for two. He’s quietly having a great game.
KU scoring
Collins 10 (4-for-5 shooting), Aldrich 10, Marcus Morris 5, Taylor 4, Morningstar 3, Releford 2.
KU was 13-for-26 from the floor (50 percent), 3-for-10 from three-point range (30 percent) and 5-for-9 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent).
NU was 10-for-28 from the field (35.7 percent), 2-for-10 from three (20 percent), and 1-for-3 from the line (33.3 percent).
KU out-rebounded NU, 20-13. The Jayhawks had five turnovers to the Huskers’ three.
Quick halftime thoughts
• We haven’t heard much from Cookie Miller this game. No points on 0-for-1 shooting. Even when Aldrich was guarding him, he looked hesitant to take a shot.
• It seems like KU has more than five turnovers. But the stats don’t lie, so first-half kudos to the Jayhawks for taking care of the basketball.
• Nine assists on 13 made baskets is a statistic that Self will like.
• Another tough half for Little, who was 0-for-3 and received just seven minutes. This is the kind of game, with NU’s small lineup, that he should shine.
KU 34/NU 23 — Halftime
Former Jayhawks Dave Robisch and Jeff Boschee are both in attendance, and both received nice ovations when they were shown on the video board.
Smart play by Aldrich, who fired up a shot early in the shot clock with 45 seconds left. He made it, and that also will allow KU to get two possessions at the end of the half instead of one.
That extra possession paid off, as after an airballed three from Taylor, Morningstar tipped the rebound to Aldrich under the basket for a lay-in and foul. It also was significant because it was Anderson’s third foul.
Aldrich’s layup came with 1.9 seconds left. The Jayhawks keep up their reputation as perhaps the best team in the nation in scoring on first-half buzzer-beaters.
KU 27/NU 16 — 3:21 left in 1st half
Two straight playground-ball baskets by Collins. On both possessions, he used his quick crossover to create some space, then buried jumpers from 16-18 feet.
In transition, he didn’t hesitate in pulling up from 15 feet again, and this one swished through as well. Timeout NU, as Collins has the Jayhawks’ last six points.
NU coach Doc Sadler’s timeout didn’t help. Collins was left open from 19 feet again, and he rattled in another jumper. He has eight points on 4-for-4 shooting with three assists and no turnovers.
KU 19/NU 12 — 6:45 left in 1st half
Steve Harley finally gets a jumper in the lane to go down to break an NU scoring drought. The Huskers hadn’t scored in 7 minutes, 5 seconds.
NU finds some rhythm after that, as Ryan Anderson puts in a three and layup for a 7-0 run.
Paul Velander flops again, but again it doesn’t work. Aldrich finishes with a short 4-foot jumper to break NU’s mini run.
KU 13/NU 5 — 11:29 left in 1st half
Mario Little continues to battle a shooting slump. He misses a guarded 17-footer badly, then also shoots too strong on a driving attempt.
Collins penetrates inside, then scoops out a nice pass to Taylor for a three. Good no-call by the officials, as a Nebraska player was trying to sell a charge on Collins when there was little-to-no contact.
Marcus Morris pulls up and swishes a three after a steal from his brother. It’s always funny to hear the crowd’s reaction to a three from a big guy. It starts with groans that turn into hopeful cheers that turn into raucous screaming when it swishes through.
KU’s playing some great man-to-man defense. Markieff Morris blocks an NU shot attempt with one second left on the shot clock, and KU will take over after the violation.
KU 6/NU 5 — 15:57 left in 1st half
KU’s bigs are doing a much better job of passing out of double-teams. Twice, Aldrich has composed himself inside, then looked to the other side of the court to find a teammate for an open three. Brady Morningstar cashes in one of the looks, while Tyshawn Taylor’s three rims out.
3:03 p.m.
No facemask for Cole.
2:59 p.m.
Cookie Miller might be 5-foot-9 today. That’s because he has his afro spiked up about four inches.
2:50 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs play-by-play man Mitch Holthus will be one of the TV guys for this game. It’s interesting to see him back in a college setting.
I’ll go ahead and throw my prediction out there. Obviously, if I’m KU coach Bill Self, turnovers scare me quite a bit. I don’t think it’s a problem that can be fixed in a couple days.
I’ll say KU turns it over 24 times today. That’s a ton, but NU has had problems scoring, so the Jayhawks still manage to eke out a win in a sloppy game.
Prediction: KU 66, NU 59
2:23 p.m.
Here are some quick notes about Nebraska, which comes in with a 16-8 record.
• NU won its last game, 46-41, over Colorado. In that game, NU held CU without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game. Ade Dagunduro led the Huskers with 18 points.
• Nebraska has averaged 51.5 points scored in its last four games. The Huskers have not scored more than 58 points during that stretch.
• Dagunduro is averaging 14.3 points per game in conference play — the exact same scoring average as KU’s Cole Aldrich has in Big 12 action.
• NU’s opponents average 17.6 turnovers per game. The Huskers also average 9.0 steals per outing. In the teams’ first matchup, KU turned the ball over 21 times — its second-highest total of the season.
• The Jayhawks are worst in the conference in turnovers, averaging 16.3 per game in league play.
• If the Big 12 season ended today, NU would be the No. 4 seed and would get a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
• In conference play, NU is last in the league in field-goal percentage (40.5 percent). KU, meanwhile, is tops in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (37.5 percent).
• KU has won 11 straight against Nebraska.
And last but not least …
• The Huskers are 4-1 since receiving a pep talk from former football coach Tom Osborne. How that guy is not the governor of Nebraska is beyond me.
1:55 p.m.
I found this blog from former Husker Jake Muhleisen talking about his experiences at Allen Fieldhouse. It’s a good read if you have some time, as he’s complimentary of both the Fieldhouse and KU’s fans.
1:25 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
I asked KU coach Bill Self yesterday to tell me one team statistic he was happy with and another that he was most concerned about.
Here was his response:
“I think the biggest stat — the two biggest stats just off the top of my head that we can improve on is obviously we turn it over too much, and then our steal level is low. But, as far as field-goal percentages and defensive field-goal percentages, those are all excellent. We can certainly keep improving, but I think in conference play we’re committing over 16 turnovers per game, and we should be committing around that 12-13 range. And that might not seem like a big deal, but three extra possessions in a game, if you score three points on it, that’s the difference in losing a lot of close games.”
There’s much to analyze from the statement above, but we’ll save some of that for another blog.
I also asked him if he was pleasantly surprised with his team’s rebounding this year. Here was his answer:
“That’s a good stat, too. You look at our field-goal percentages, our field-goal defensive percentages and you look at rebound margin. I would have never have thought any of those areas would be as good as they’d be right now. I’m not ecstatic, but I’m pretty pleased. I can’t believe we’re leading the league in rebounding by a fairly substantial margin. I just never would have thought that would happen going into the season. It’s a pretty good stat.”
Coming into the season, Self was worried about his team’s rebounding situation.
Most of his concerns were at the small-forward position, as he had to replace Brandon Rush, who was third on the team last year with a 5.1 rebound-per-game average.
Before we get to some stats, I want you just to think about this for yourself.
Last year’s team had NBA-drafted big men Darnell Jackson, Darrell Arthur, Sasha Kaun along with Rush and also Cole Aldrich.
This year’s team has Aldrich, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris and, well, Brady Morningstar as its fourth-best rebounder.
So my question to you is, how many rebounds per game more did last year’s team have than this year’s team? Quite a few, right?
Try .1 rebound per game. The 2007-08 Jayhawks averaged 38.7 rebounds per game.
This year’s Jayhawks are averaging 38.6 rebounds per game.
Shocking, huh? I was surprised, too.
Just for fun, here are KU’s rebounds per game over the last four seasons. In parentheses is the rebounding margin.
2008-09 38.6 (+7.2)
2007-08 38.7 (+7.9)
2006-07 39.7 (+6.7)
2005-06 39.5 (+5.4)
The Jayhawks, in case you were wondering, are 12th nationally in rebounding margin and have an even better rebounding margin in conference play. The Jayhawks are +8.4 rebounds per game in 11 league contests. Oklahoma is a distant second with a +5.1 rebounding margin.
I know many teams in the Big 12, like today’s opponent Nebraska, are undersized. That could contribute to KU’s high rebounding numbers.
Regardless, I think it’s time to give some credit where credit is due.
For one, Cole Aldrich has been phenomenal on the glass. He’s averaging 10.7 rebounds per game, and no one at KU has averaged 10-plus rebounds a game since Wayne Simien in 2004-05 (11.0 rebounds per game).
Or think about it this way: Last year, Jackson (the team leader in rebounds per game) and Kaun combined for 10.6 rebounds per game. Aldrich is pulling down 10.7 per contest.
He’s literally doing the work of two big men.
And for all the criticism they’ve taken offensively, the Morris twins have been consistent rebounders.
Marcus Morris is averaging 5.1 rebounds per game while averaging 18.5 minutes. Markieff Morris has grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game in 15.4 minutes.
Rebounds should be a major factor today. Nebraska, the shortest team in Division I, is last in the Big 12 in rebounding margin (-6.0).
The Jayhawks might struggle turning the ball over today against the Cornhuskers, but that should be less of a factor if the Jayhawks can dominate the glass like they should.
Nick KrugKU scoring
Aldrich 22 (9-for-12 shooting, 11 rebounds), Collins 22 (six assists, no turnovers), Marcus Morris 8, Morningstar 6, Markieff Morris 4, Taylor 3, Reed 3, Little 2, Appleton 2.
KU was 28-for-56 from the floor (50 percent), 8-for-18 from three (44.4 percent) and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
ISU was 18-for-56 from the floor (32.1 percent), 10-for-26 from three (38.5 percent) and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line (64.3 percent).
KU out-rebounded ISU, 39-29. KU had 18 turnovers to ISU’s 15.
FINAL: KU defeats ISU, 72-55
Vanderbeken airballs a three, and KU breaks the press easily once again. Collins hits a three at the end of the shot clock, and Self pumps his fist in satisfaction.
That shot should seal this one.
Just for fun, Collins hits a stepback three with 31.7 seconds left. Both coaches clear their benches after that. Tyrone Appleton gets a layup in garbage time.
KU comes away with a 17-point victory.
KU 64/ISU 53 — 2:01 left in game
Vanderbeken hits his fifth three (his high for the season was three in a game), giving him a season-high 15 points. Collins responds with a deep three of his own.
KU breaks the press, but doesn’t attack the rim. Morningstar is whistled for a charge, and on the other end, Petersen drains a rhythm three. KU’s lead is down to nine.
After a timeout, KU attacks better offensively, and Aldrich lays one in off a bounce pass from Collins.
KU 59/ISU 47 — 3:59 left in game
The video department put together a “Phantom of the Phog” clip during the timeout, playing some haunting music before showing Aldrich in his mask on the video board. A replay of Aldrich’s dunk followed, and the fans seemed to like the added touch.
ISU won’t go away. Brackins and Vanderbeken hit threes, and Brackins gets two more off an offensive rebound. That’s an 8-2 run, and the lead is back down to nine.
Marcus Morris hits two big free throws, but Aldrich is called for a delayed foul on Brackins. Self smacks the side of the video sign next to him with the back of his fist in frustration.
Aldrich answers again, putting in a guarded 18-foot jumper. He’s up to 20 points and 11 rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting.
KU 51/ISU 38 — 7:43 left in game
After picking up a steal, Aldrich ignites the crowd, throwing down a one-handed, tomahawk slam in the lane.
With the crowd rocking, KU gets the benefit of a bad call, as Justin Hamilton is called for an over-the-back on Collins when there wasn’t much contact at all.
Aldrich puts in an 18-footer, then on the next possession, Collins gives him a sick, no-look feed inside. Aldrich is fouled, but if he would have dunked it, we might have had a new high for volume level this year at the Fieldhouse.
Aldrich hits both free throws, and he has eight straight points for KU.
KU isn’t making many shots, but the Jayhawks are running at their tempo right now. The Cyclones seem a bit sped up.
KU 45/ISU 38 — 11:28 left in game
Collins goes under the basket for a reverse lay-in, but ISU has an answer. Petersen hits a three, and Brackins rattles in a two. The lead is down to 43-38, and Self uses another timeout.
KU has scored 13 points in the last 12 minutes.
After the stoppage, the Jayhawks immediately go back inside to Aldrich, who gets a two to roll in.
Aldrich is guarding Brackins now. Self isn’t messing around with that defensive assignment any more.
KU 41/ISU 31 — 15:52 left in game
KU responds well after the timeout. Following a Brackins free throw, Tyrel Reed (who else?) stops the run with a clutch three. After an ISU turnover, Collins splits two defenders on a drive before getting a finger-roll to crawl in. This game is still closer than it feels like it should be.
KU 36/ISU 30 — 18:07 left in game
It’s a battle of tempos right now. The Jayhawks want to run, run, run, while ISU coach Greg McDermott, with palms up, urges his team to slow down.
Vanderbeken hits a three, and Brackins puts in a short jumper over Taylor. Timeout KU, as it’s a 5-0 run for ISU to start the half.
KU scoring
Collins 9, Aldrich 8, Marcus Morris 6, Morningstar 6, Taylor 3, Markieff Morris 2, Mario Little 2.
KU was 14-for-30 from the floor (46.7 percent), 4-for-11 from three (36.4 percent) and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
ISU was 8-for-28 from the floor (28.6 percent), 4-for-12 from three (33.3 percent) and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line (62.5 percent).
KU out-rebounded ISU, 25-13. KU has 10 turnovers to ISU’s six.
Brackins has nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.
Halftime thoughts
• Better defense by the Jayhawks against Brackins. He looks frustrated and uncomfortable with the double-team KU is throwing at him.
• Another good half from Marcus Morris. He looks to be more confident after the KSU game. He has six points, three rebounds, a steal and two turnovers in 13 minutes.
•Again, way too many turnovers for KU. ISU forces just 11.0 turnovers per game, and KU has 10. The Jayhawks need to make better (and safer) decisions with the ball.
•In four minutes, Mario Little has six rebounds. Just think how many he could have if he played 15 or 16 minutes.
KU 36/ISU 25 — Halftime
ISU cuts the lead before the half. Diante Garrett gets a jumper to go down. Brackins has a shot in the lane roll in. Bryan Petersen and Vanderbeken follow with threes, and ISU has an 8-0 run.
Collins answers with a jumper around a screen, and just before the break, Aldrich puts in a two off an offensive rebound. The Jayhawks have to be leading the nation in made shots right before the first-half buzzer.
KU 30/ISU 13 — 3:54 left in 1st half
Long two by Marcus Morris. A few inches back, and he would have had a three.
Though KU has played well, it still has eight turnovers. That’s too many against ISU, which averages just four steals per game. Most of the errors have been unforced.
KU 26/ISU 13 — 7:18 left in 1st half
Morningstar continues to shadow ISU’s Lucca Staiger around the court. Staiger is 0-for-2 from three after a 1-for-7 shooting effort in the teams’ first matchup.
With Brackins on the bench, ISU goes on a mini run. Sean Haluska and Jamie Vanderbeken hit back-to-back threes. Until that point, Brackins had all the Cyclones’ points.
KU 19/ISU 7 — 10:42 left in 1st half
After three straight KU turnovers, Collins confidently pulls up for a 14-footer and swishes it.
Is it just me, or are the Cyclones hitting back rim with every shot? As I type this, the Cyclones are 1-for-11 from the floor (9.1 percent).
Brackins gets fouled on his way up for a three. That’s already five free throws for him. The Jayhawks can’t seem to keep him off the free-throw line.
The “Ain’t No Seats” guys are back, and they’ve gotten pretty creative on free throws. Using a turned-on-its-side “E”, the guys have spelled out “MISS” in their white block letters on every ISU free throw. So far, the Cyclones (or Brackins, whichever you prefer) are 3-for-5 from the line.
Mario Little can’t get a shot to go down, but he’s hustling all over the place. His 0-for-4 start should knock down his 62-percent field-goal percentage a bit, though.
KU 14/ISU 2 — 15:31 left in 1st half
Good ball movement early by the Jayhawks. Cole Aldrich misses a short look inside, but on the next possession, a post touch by Marcus Morris nets a wide-open three for Brady Morningstar.
Great sight for KU, as Tyshawn Taylor doesn’t hesitate in shooting up a three from the corner that swishes through. It looked like he had lost some confidence in his outside shot in the last few games. He didn’t even attempt a three against Missouri or Kansas State.
Sherron Collins gets a steal, then lays it in with the left hand on the other end. Timeout ISU, as KU has started the game on an 8-0 run.
Brackins shoots a guarded 16-footer in. He’s already 1-for-1 on tough shots tonight.
Marcus Morris has made some great interior passes already. One of them gets Aldrich a dunk opportunity, and he’s fouled on his way to the rim.
Steal by Marcus Morris out top. He takes it to the other end for an easy lay-in.
7:04 p.m.
No surprise here, as Marcus Morris gets the starting nod.
The place has filled in nicely and we’re ready for tip.
6:58 p.m
Random stat while listening to a new song from KU’s band, 25 or 6 to 4 (which is one of my all-time favorite pep band songs).
Craig Brackins had 21 free-throw attempts in his first game this season against KU. He has just 42 combined free-throw attempts in his nine other Big 12 games.
6:47 p.m.
Where are the students/GA folks?
It’s only about 15 minutes before the game, and there are 10-15 empty rows in the northwest corner.
Games: 38 / 25
Scoring: 18.5 ppg / 14.6 ppg
Field-goal percentage: 55.4 % / 61.0 %
Free-throw percentage: 63.5% / 79.0%
Rebounds per game:10.0 / 10.2
Assists per game: 2.2 /1.0
Turnovers per game: 2.4 / 1.5
Steals per game: 1.2/ 0.6
Minutes per game: 32.4 / 29.5
Games: 38 / 25
Scoring: 17.3 ppg / 17.6 ppg
Field-goal percentage: 47.5 % / 42.2 %
Three-point percentage: 40.6 % / 36.4 %
Free-throw percentage: 70.4% / 82.1%
Rebounds per game: 3.8 /2.6
Assists per game: 3.4 / 5.0
Turnovers per game: 2.2 / 3.5
Steals per game: 1.8/ 1.1
Minutes per game: 33.5 / 34.6
Record: 30-8 (2005) / 20-5 (2008)
Scoring: 82.7 ppg / 77.5 ppg
Points allowed: 66.9/ 65.1
Field-goal percentage: 49.4 % / 48.4 %
Opposition FG percentage: 40.2 % / 38.3 %
Three-point percentage: 33.5 % / 38.0 %
Free-throw percentage: 65.6% / 73.0%
Rebounds per game:41.8 / 38.6
Assists per game: 17.2 / 16.4
Turnovers per game: 14.8 / 14.8
Blocks per game: 5.1/ 4.5
6:24 p.m.
Here are a few surprises, to me, after comparing the two teams:
• Cole Aldrich’s numbers match up better with Nick Collison’s than I would have thought. Part of that, though, has to be attributed to Collison being relied upon more as a scorer. If you take more shots, obviously your field-goal percentage will most likely be lower. I’m still a bit surprised that, as of now, Aldrich has averaged more rebounds than Collison.
• I know he missed two big ones at Missouri, but Collins needs to be commended for his high free-throw percentage. I didn’t remember that Hinrich’s free-throw numbers were so low his senior year.
• Though we’d probably almost all agree that Collison and Hinrich were more valuable, keep in mind, we’re comparing two fourth-year seniors to a sophomore and a junior.
•You can see the coaching philosophies when comparing the two squads’ team stats. Roy Williams always preached transition offense and getting in more possessions, and that is reflected in the higher points-per-game stat. KU coach Bill Self, meanwhile, preaches defense, and that is evident by the lower defensive field-goal percentage numbers. Two different philosophies obviously have resulted in tons of success the last 20 years for KU basketball.
•It’s also worth noting how well KU is shooting threes this season. Keep in mind that this year’s team has a deeper three-point line than the 2002-03 team, and still the 08-09ers are much better from long range.
•The biggest difference, I would say, between the two teams comes after you get past the top two players. Keith Langford averaged 15.9 points per game. Wayne Simien (in the 16 games he was healthy) averaged 14.8 points per game. Though 2008-09 has more guys that can score, it doesn’t have that go-to No. 3 guy like 2002-03 had in Langford.
I would say Mario Little is best suited for that role, but he hasn’t been consistent with his scoring.
5:48 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Iowa State Cyclones.
I saw on a message board the other day that the last time that KU started the season 20-5 was the 2002-03 campaign.
If you remember, that team had a pretty good run in the NCAA Tournament (see video at left), making it all the way to the national championship game.
When I started to think about the two teams, I could think of another big similarity: that team was led by a dominant guard (Kirk Hinrich) and dominant post player (Nick Collison).
This year’s team also is led by a dominant guard (Sherron Collins) and dominant post player (Cole Aldrich).
So how does this year’s 20-5 team stack up to the 2002-03 Kansas Jayhawks, who also started 20-5?
Let’s take a look.
Statistics weren’t available for the first 25 games of the 2002-03 season, so I decided to use the final season statistics (38 games) for our comparison.
On the left, I compared Hinrich to Collins and Collison to Aldrich. After that, I compared the two squads’ team averages in their respective seasons.
I’ll give some analysis on this comparison a little later in this blog.
Nick KrugKU scoring
Little 13, Aldrich 12 (18 rebounds), Collins 12, Taylor 12, Morningstar 9, Marcus Morris 9, Reed 6, Releford 5.
KU was 28-for-61 from the floor (45.9 percent), 11-for-23 from three (47.8 percent) and 11-for-15 from the free-throw line (73.3 percent).
OSU was 23-for-65 from the floor (35.4 percent), 10-for-32 from three (31.3 percent) and 11-for-13 from the line (84.6 percent).
KU out-rebounded OSU, 46-33. The Jayhawks had 17 turnovers to the Cowboys’ 13.
Final: KU defeats OSU, 78-67
KU has trouble with the press late, turning it over twice more, but OSU can’t get is own shots to go.
Collins hits a three with 5.5 seconds left, before Anderson crushes all those people who bet on KU -11.5 with a three from the corner at the buzzer.
The Jayhawks win by 11.
KU 75/OSU 62 — 2:28 left in game
KU has an inbounds pass stolen, and Terrel Harris follows with a three from the corner. KU can’t afford too many more of those.
KU 73/OSU 57 — 2:56 left in game
Collins misses the front end of a one-and-one. His new streak didn’t last long. Fortunately, it looks like this miss won’t hurt the Jayhawks.
Eaton shoots his first free throw with 5:09 left. The Jayhawks have done a great job of avoiding fouls on him.
Aldrich gets a whistle for swiping at Eaton on a drive, and he’s as upset as I’ve seen him all year, yanking at his face mask while swinging around in frustration.
Eaton hits the free throws, and OSU forces a turnover on the inbounds play. Page hits his first three of the game, and you can see how the Cowboys have been able to make a comeback quickly on so many opponents.
Little gets a much-needed basket for KU inside, scooping up a Collins miss and laying it in.
That could be the dagger from Taylor, who hit an off-balanced three with one second left on the shot clock. KU’s lead goes back up to a comfortable 16.
KU 64/OSU 47 — 6:44 left in game
James Anderson misses a three. He’s 2-for-11 from the floor and 1-for-7 from three-point range with five points. He’s the Cowboys’ leading scorer this season, averaging 16.8 points per game.
KU 64/OSU 47 — 7:24 left in game
Taylor throws a nice pass inside to Aldrich, who puts in a short turn-around.
Eaton seems to be passing up a lot of shots inside. He has seven assists but just four shot attempts (1-for-4).
Nice lob from Collins to Releford for a dunk. We haven’t seen that play as much this year as we did last year.
KU 56/OSU 39 — 11:43 left in game
Two straight baskets for Little, including an up-and-under move in the lane. He’s now 5-for-5 from the floor.
Collins drains a three, and the crowd erupts after Tyrel Reed pokes the ball away then puts in a layup with a foul on the other end. After the free throw, KU has increased its lead to 54-35.
Little scrambles to pick up a loose ball, then on his back finds Aldrich for a jam. KU has showed its scrappiness in the last few minutes.
Little finally misses a shot, leaving a 12-footer short.
KU 44/OSU 31 — 15:54 left in game
Two good possessions for Morningstar. He hits a three from the corner, then on the next possession, he zips a pass into Marcus Morris for an easy two.
OSU keeps hanging around but can’t make an outside shot when it needs it. Realistically, the Cowboys are only a couple shots away from making this a game.
KU scoring
Mario Little 7, Sherron Collins 6, Cole Aldrich 6 (with 10 rebounds), Brady Morningstar 6, Tyshawn Taylor 5, Marcus Morris 5, Travis Releford 2.
KU was 13-for-30 from the floor (43.3 percent), 6-for-12 from three (50 percent) and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent).
OSU was 9-for-34 from the floor (26.5 percent), 4-for-16 from three (25 percent) and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
KU out-rebounded OSU, 24-18. The Jayhawks had nine turnovers to Cowboys’ eight.
Halftime thoughts
• Great balanced scoring by KU. The Jayhawks have to be encouraged having six players with at least five points.
• Wasn’t that a quiet 10 rebounds for Aldrich?
• It might sound strange with 37 points, but KU needs to perform better offensively in the second half. The Jayhawks had too many turnovers (forced and unforced) and didn’t take advantage of their size inside as much as they could have.
• The Cowboys missed a lot of open shots from the outside. Don’t expect them to shoot so poorly from three-point range in the second half.
• With so few field goals by OSU, the Jayhawks were able to mostly avoid the Cowboys’ full-court press. Expect OSU to be frantic with the pressure in the second half.
KU 37/OSU 24 — Halftime
KU needs to do a better job of recognizing the hot hand, as an open Muonelo hits his fourth three. He’s 4-for-7 from deep, while his teammates are 0-for-8.
Morningstar hits a three from the corner over Page. That’s an interesting matchup, as I mentioned in my pre-game blog.
OSU coach Travis Ford yells, “Lob, lob, lob” but still KU is able to throw one over the top to Marcus Morris, who is hacked by Anderson. Marcus makes one of two. I don’t remember his last missed free throw before that, as he’s done a nice job of improving that part of his game.
KU gets possession on a jump ball with just .8 of a second left, and coach Bill Self stands on the baseline with Collins, pointing and telling him where to throw it. Don’t know if you could see it on TV, but it was a pretty funny sight.
The Jayhawks take a 13-point lead into the break.
KU 33/OSU 19 — 3:04 left in 1st half
Marshall Moses, who had 18 points and eight rebounds in his last game against Tech, is playing with confidence. He uses a quick move to get around Aldrich for a layup. He’s up to six points and has been the Cowboys’ only inside threat.
Taylor uses a nice move to get himself open, faking a pass on the perimeter before swishing a three from the top.
Little drains another shot in traffic off the glass.
OSU is shooting just 7-for-27 from the field (25.9 percent) and 3-for-12 from three (25 percent). KU has been a bit fortunate the Cowboys have missed open shots.
KU 24/OSU 14 — 7:55 left in 1st half
Tyrone Appleton into the game early for KU. He travels on his first possession. Could this be a sign that KU will try to wear the Cowboys down? OSU has the fourth-lowest percentage of bench minutes in the nation (18.4 percent), and KU has shown one possession of pressing early.
Some sloppy play for KU. The Jayhawks have turned it over on three of their last five possessions.
Eaton picks up his second foul challenging Taylor on a fast break. I don’t think OSU can risk taking Eaton out at this point.
KU 22/OSU 12 — 11:51 left in 1st half
The Cowboys have started to heat up from the outside, as Obi Muonelo puts in a pair of threes.
This is the fastest-paced game KU’s played in quite a while. The Jayhawks are playing at the Cowboys’ tempo, but the Jayhawks have the deeper bench.
An NBA move on the perimeter by Mario Little. Much like Michael Jordan, he pivoted toward the basket, faking a drive twice to clear space before swishing a three. You can tell he’s watched plenty of Jordan videos.
KU 12/OSU 4 — 15:24 left in 1st half
Cole Aldrich starts the KU scoring with a tough turn-around in traffic. For now, it looks like the Cowboys are content with single-teaming him inside.
Sherron Collins drains a guarded three, while OSU’s James Anderson misses a wide-open attempt from beyond the arc. The Cowboys have started out cold from the outside, missing their first four treys.
Collins seems to be enjoying this up-and-down tempo. He’s made two treys and has pushed the break at every opportunity.
Tyshawn Taylor gets his second foul on a charge. He goes to the bench and most likely will be there for a while.
2:29 p.m.
Four quick things to look for from OSU:
• Three-pointers. Just remember the number 40. OSU makes 40 percent of its threes (sixth in the nation), and 40.6 percent of the Cowboys’ shots are from three-point range. That’s usually a good combination for an underdog.
•Mizzou Lite. Much like MU, the Cowboys like to press off a made basket. Because of this, it will be important for KU to play good defense and not allow the initial made basket. The score/full-court press has allowed OSU to make quick runs.
•Never out of it. In four of the last five games, OSU has been down by 14 points and has come back to at least make it a two-point game. In the Cowboys’ last game, they were down 16 and still came back to beat Texas Tech by one.
•Hands off Eaton. Byron Eaton has made 83.9 percent of his free-throw attempts in conference play, which included an 18-for-20 effort last game against Tech. Last year against KU, he went 16-for-18 from the line in a 26-point effort. KU will have to try to avoid fouling him on the drive.
2:16 p.m.
Player A: 9.8 points per game, 68-141 field goals (48.2 percent), 40-95 three-pointers (42.1 percent).
Player B: 7.3 points per game, 53-117 field goals (45.3 percent), 33-72 three-pointers (45.8 percent).
One of these players had the highest scoring average for his career in the last 20 years of high school basketball and has the highest three-point percentage in national high school history.
The other player is Brady Morningstar, a sophomore who by many wasn’t expected to crack KU’s lineup at any point in his career.
Coaches search far and wide to find shooters in today’s world of college basketball. We all remember Jeff Boschee and his value at KU.
Keiton Page, at a very Jesse Newell-like 5-foot-10 and 168 pounds, is that kind of player for OSU.
He averaged 44.4 points per game in high school last year and ended his career with 49.9-percent accuracy from three-point range.
The reason I bring this up is just to show how much value KU is getting from an unexpected place in Morningstar.
He wasn’t recruited to KU as a shooter. In fact, his main strength was supposed to be athleticism.
And in just three short years, he’s made himself into a shooter that, in some areas, is better than arguably the best three-point high-school shooter of all time.
Have you made your guess yet?
Player A is OSU freshman Keiton Page. Player B is Morningstar. So (with fewer attempts) Morningstar is out-shooting him by more than three percent from three-point range.
That’s a credit to Morningstar and his hard work on improving his shot.
1:30 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
I’m not afraid to admit it: OSU’s Byron Eaton is my favorite non-KU player in the Big 12.
After watching him, I think you guys might like him too.
At October’s Big 12 Media Days in Oklahoma City, I had the chance to do a one-on-one interview with the former McDonald’s All-American.
I couldn’t help but want to cheer for the guy afterwards.
He was friendly, humble and, most of all, open during his interviews. That’s not always easy, especially on Media Days when it seems like players are shipped through never-ending interviews.
Here’s the video from the time I spent with him. This clip is him talking about being the last team to beat KU during its national championship season and what that meant to him. Be sure to watch to the end, as he talks about watching last year’s national championship game.
In the bottom clip, he talks about the sacrifices he made to lose weight over the summer. At the time of our interview, he was at 200 pounds. He played at around 240 earlier in his career.
I know Eaton won’t be a popular guy in an hour, and he’ll be even less popular if OSU pulls off a big upset.
But maybe you can find it in your heart to watch the video and like him for the next 50 minutes or so.
Nick KrugKU 41/CU 25 — Halftime
Play is stopped when Aldrich’s facemask comes off. Quintrell Thomas checks in for him.
Thomas keeps an offensive rebound alive, and Markieff Morris eventually comes down with it, putting it in for two.
Higgins just missed a free throw. Bet we don’t see that again today. He was shooting over 92 percent from the line in Big 12 play.
Morningstar buries another three from the same deep corner just before half, and KU takes a safe 16-point lead into the break.
KU 33/CU 23 — 3:57 left in 1st half
Reed anticipates a CU pass and reaches out for a steal. His defense has picked up in the last few games.
Aldrich shows great hands in catching a bullet pass from Reed. The big man drops it in for his 13th point.
Sixteen minutes in, Aldrich is one rebound away from a double-double.
KU 27/CU 19 — 7:06 left in 1st half
Morningstar drains a three from the deep corner. He doesn’t miss that shot much, either.
CU’s trailing by eight, but it could be worse. The Buffaloes have gone 3-for-9 from three-point range, with some of those long shots coming with a hand in the face.
The Jayhawks are settling for outside jumpers early in the shot clock. That’s five straight three-point tries for KU. I can’t say I blame them, as they are wide-open looks. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they’ve missed four in a row.
KU 19/CU 9 — 11:48 left in 1st half
Marcus Morris zips a nice pass inside to Aldrich, who lays it in while drawing a foul.
The Jayhawks have been trying out a full-court, trapping defense early on. I haven’t seen this defensive look from KU this season. It’s a good time to bring it out for two reasons: It speeds up the slow-paced Buffaloes, and this is a game KU will most likely win, so the Jayhawks have more wiggle room to try something new.
Aldrich checks out of the game at the 13-minute mark, but he already has 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks. He’s made three of four shots and five of five free throws.
Another perfect mid-range jumper from Mario Little. I’m beginning to think he can’t miss 15-foot jumpers.
KU 10/CU 4 — 15:47 left in 1st half
Sherron Collins, sporting a new white sleeve on his left arm, drives and lays one off the glass for KU’s first points.
Cole Aldrich gets an offensive rebound early, sticking it back in for two. Colorado forgot to block him out in its zone set.
It takes 3 1/2 minutes, but KU finally gets an entry pass into Aldrich, and he puts in another easy layup. Nice lob pass by Collins.
Aldrich has four rebounds at the first media timeout. The mask doesn’t seem to be affecting him, at least so far.
3:05 p.m.
Marcus Morris will start again. We’ll see if he can stay out there a little longer today.
2:59 p.m.
The KU fans seem a little louder than normal for pre-game. KU hasn’t played at home in 12 days, so that might be part of the reason why.
2:38 p.m.
Here are some quick notes about Colorado, which comes into today’s game with a 9-10 record.
• Colorado is coming off a 55-49 home victory over Iowa State. In that game, Cory Higgins scored a team-high 19 points.
• CU played 11 players against Iowa State. The Buffaloes haven’t gone to their bench much this season, as they rank 323rd out of 344 Division-I teams in percentage of minutes coming from bench players (22.7 percent).
• In Big 12 play, CU’s opponents have made 44.0 percent of their three-pointers. In conference play, KU has made 46.2 percent of its three-pointers.
• CU’s field-goal percentage defense in conference in 52.5 percent.
• The Buffaloes are averaging 17.8 turnovers in conference play, but they tied their season-low with just eight turnovers last game against the Cyclones.
• CU has the third-worst offensive rebounding percentage in the nation, getting offensive boards on just 22.6 percent of its possessions.
• The Buffaloes’ 73.1 percent free-throw percentage in the Big 12 leads the conference. Higgins is 36-for-39 (92.3 percent) from the stripe in Big 12 games. He went 12-for-12 from the line against the Jayhawks in the teams’ first matchup this year.
• Higgins is averaging 3.4 steals per game, which is the top mark in the conference. That’s one full steal more per game than the Big 12’s second-best swiper, Oklahoma State’s Byron Eaton.
2:05 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 Colorado Buffaloes.
The 2008 Insight Bowl champion KU football team will be honored at halftime of this game, with the team’s postseason football awards banquet scheduled for later tonight.
That got me thinking: If you had to match up each KU basketball player with a similar counterpart on the KU football team, who would it be?
Here’s my list of the current KU basketball starters, along with their equals on the KU football team.
Sherron Collins=Todd Reesing
This is the unquestioned leader of his team, someone that has overcome a short stature to become one of the best players in his conference. Sometimes he tries to do to much and makes mistakes, but can you blame him? He knows for his team to be successful, he has to take over a game sometimes. After all, he had the ball and came through in one of the biggest plays in school history. When KU needs to make play, this is guy the Jayhawks turn to.
Tyshawn Taylor=Daymond Patterson
Has already shown great speed, and probably is the fastest player on his team. You can see flashes of greatness from this player, but in some games his frequent mistakes remind you that he is still a freshman. Oftentimes he gives too much cushion on defense, but he should learn better technique in time.
Brady Morningstar=Brandon McAnderson*
* — Sorry, I had to go back to 2007.
A local kid who has done everything his coaches have asked of him. One of the hardest workers (if not the hardest worker) on the team. His rise to prominence was surprising to many fans who didn’t expect a lot from him in the beginning. Knows his role and never tries to do too much. Looked upon as a veteran presence.
Cole Aldrich=Kerry Meier
Old reliable. Oftentimes, it doesn’t seem like he’s having a good game, but the stats show he still has surpassed his season averages. Considered one of the team leaders. So good that sometimes you forget how far he’s come as a player. After initially being buried on the depth chart, he has found success by persevering and waiting his turn to be an all-conference-type player.
Marcus Morris=Jeff Spikes
A raw player, but you can see something there. In a perfect world, he would spend his freshman season learning from veterans, but because of necessity, he must play right away. Probably a year away from showing all his potential.
Any others?
Nick KrugKU scoring
Collins 16, Aldrich 16 (8-for-13 shooting), Little 15 (6-for-6 officially, 6-for-7 if you count his missed layup at the end of the first half), Marcus Morris 10, Taylor 8, Morningstar 3, Markieff Morris 2, Reed 2, Releford 1.
KU was 28-for-55 from the floor (50.9 percent), 5-for-13 from three (38.5 percent) and 12-for-18 from the free-throw line (66.7 percent).
TAMU made 16 of 49 field goals (32.7 percent), 4 of 18 threes (22.2 percent) and 17 of 22 free throws (77.3 percent).
Both teams had 32 rebounds. A&M finished with 20 turnovers, compared to 12 for KU.
FINAL: KU wins 73-53
KU has looked a little sloppy for two straight possessions, but one-third of the alumni section is gone, so maybe it doesn’t count.
A block by Matt Kleinmann highlights the walk-on portion of the game. KU comes away with a 20-point victory.
KU 68/TAMU 43 — 3:50 left in game
Brady Morningstar won’t get the headlines tomorrow, but he’s having a heck of a game. He just penetrated then scooped a pass inside to Aldrich for an easy two.
Morningstar’s line: 31 minutes, three points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals, no turnovers and great defense on Josh Carter, who is just 2-for-6.
KU 62/TAMU 38 — 7:46 left in game
Sweet turnaround baseline jumper for Little. I think we’ve seen tonight exactly what he can give this team offensively.
Unfortunately for Little, he’s given up two consecutive threes to Derrick Roland on the defensive end.
Tyshawn Taylor takes a spill after slapping the ball away on an A&M fast break. It doesn’t look to be serious, but Morningstar checks in for him.
Two more from Little on a layup inside, and Collins gives him a playful shove as he comes back down the court.
KU 56/TAMU 32 — 11:43 left in game
Collins turns down an open three, penetrating to get Aldrich an open two. The big man drains the short jumper.
KU 54/TAMU 30 — 14:34 left in game
Taylor throws a turnover into the crowd. Self almost throws Tyrel Reed to the scorer’s table. Taylor will have a few minutes to think about his high pass.
Marcus Morris rattles in a three. If he can hit those kinds of shots, things should open up inside for Aldrich.
Next possession, same spot, same result for Marcus Morris. He pumps his fist a couple times as he backpedals down the court. Timeout TAMU. Collins waves his arms in the air, asking for the crowd to get loud during the break.
KU 48/TAMU 27 — 15:59 left in game
Morningstar is doing an excellent job defensively chasing down Josh Carter through his maze of screens. Carter’s having trouble getting touches. It’s hard to get shots when you can’t even get open enough to receive the ball.
Aldrich gets a turnaround to roll in, and Collins gets two off a steal. It will be interesting to see if KU can maintain its intensity and keep this 20-plus point lead.
KU scoring
Mario Little 11 (4-for-5 shooting), Sherron Collins 10 (4-for-6 shooting), Tyshawn Taylor 8 (4-for-4 shooting), Cole Aldrich 6, Brady Morningstar 3, Marcus Morris 2.
KU was 16-for-27 from the floor (59.3 percent), 3-for-6 from three (50 percent) and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line (62.5 percent).
TAMU made 7 of 18 field goals (38.9 percent), 1 of 5 three-pointers (20 percent) and 8 of 10 free throws (80 percent).
The Aggies out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 15-12, in the first half. KU had just four turnovers compared to TAMU’s 14.
Some thoughts:
• Good defensive half for the Jayhawks, though some of the turnovers were simply mistakes by the Aggies. KU has four steals from TAMU’s 14 turnovers, indicating some of those miscues were unforced errors.
• Guess who’s leading the Jayhawks in rebounding? It’s Morningstar, who’s tied with Aldrich for the team lead with four boards.
• Markieff Morris has two fouls in five minutes. That would be 16 fouls per 40 minutes. The average is heading up.
KU 40/TAMU 23 — Halftime
A drive by Morningstar gets KU two easy points, as he shovels off to Aldrich for a one-handed slam.
Texas A&M ends the half, appropriately, with a turnover. That makes 14, and the Aggies are already above their season average at halftime.
KU 35/TAMU 15 — 3:52 left in 1st half
Little puts in his ninth straight point for the Jayhawks, going up-and-under a defender before swishing the tough, 8-foot leaner.
Already, the Aggies have nine turnovers. That’s uncharacteristic for them, as they average just 12.2 turnovers per game.
Another good stat for KU: TAMU is just 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. The Aggies average 17.6 made free throws per game.
Quick move to the basket for two by Taylor. The Jayhawks are getting free off ball screens up top. Collins and Taylor both have had success getting all the way to the rim.
KU 29/Texas A&M 10 — 7:41 left in 1st half
Good effort by Mario Little, who out-hustles his man to a rebound before putting it in for two. A minute later, he confidently steps up to drain a high-arcing 14-footer. Collins smiles big on the sidelines, standing and cheering while waiting to check in at the scorer’s table.
Elonu picks up his second foul on a 12-whistle foul called by Hightower. Turgeon is forced to take him out.
Little’s showing the repertoire now, as he swishes his first three-pointer as a Jayhawk from the left wing. On the bench, Self can’t hide his smile. Timeout TAMU, as KU’s running away with this one, 29-10.
KU 20/Texas A&M 6 — 11:41 left in 1st half
KU’s offense looks great early. Aldrich hits a jumper. Collins drives baseline for a quick layup. Taylor floats on the baseline for two. That’s an 8-0 run for the Jayhawks.
I know he’s excited, but Collins shows a bit too much flash on consecutive turnovers. The second one, he pulled out every dribble he’s ever learned before charging into his defender. Self pointed both index fingers to his temples, telling Collins to be smarter.
Taylor goes around a screen and takes one all the way to the basket before banking it in. He looks like he’s over his mid-season slump for good.
KU 12/Texas A&M 4 — 15:51 left in 1st half
Three Texas A&M players fist-pump the Aggies’ radio announcers on press row before the game. So much for being unbiased media members, I guess.
Sherron Collins has been the hot hand early, as he drains three-pointers on KU’s first two possessions.
Bryan Davis shows a nifty post move inside, leaning to the basket for a two underneath Marcus Morris. He has A&M’s first four points.
Brady Morningstar continues his recent stretch of hitting the boards hard, tipping in an Aldrich miss with a foul.
Turgeon to his players after fouling Marcus Morris: “Come on, black, we’ve got to play smarter.”
Royals Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies and George Brett are shown on the videoboard, with Brett (obviously) getting the most applause.
8:06 p.m.
You might see some students spelling out “Ain’t no seats” on the north end of the student section. I asked the guys the meaning of the phrase, and one of them told me a story.
Evidently, one of the guys had a class with Sherron Collins during his freshman year, and Collins arrived late to class, slipping into the last row. There were three seats empty in the first row, so the professor asked Sherron why he didn’t sit toward the front.
“Ain’t no seats” is what he said.
Evidently, it was one of the few things he said all year.
Great ovation for Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon. Some students even threw their newspapers up in the air after he was announced. Nice gesture by the KU fans to recognize one of their own.
7:42 p.m.
One word: Hightower.
Seriously, that’s great news for Texas A&M, which has scored a lot of its points via free throws. The high number of whistles that are sure to come should help the Aggies.
What should we put the over/under at for A&M free throws? I’ll set the line at 35.
And say over.
7:25 p.m.
Here are some quick notes about Texas A&M, which comes in with a 15-3 record.
• Senior Josh Carter leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. More than anything, he’s known as a shooter. His sophomore year, he made exactly 50 percent of his threes, draining 86 of his 172 long-range attempts. This year, he’s making 38.3 percent of his threes (36-for-94). He’s also tops in the Big 12 in free-throw shooting, putting in 88.1 percent of his foul shots.
• Six-foot-nine Bryan Davis is second on the team in scoring with a 10.6-point average. Tom Keegan correctly noted in today’s Cram Session that is seems like Davis has been at A&M for at least 10 years. And he’s only a junior.
• Look out for Chinemelu Elonu, who has come on strong late. He had a streak of six straight games scoring in double figures snapped in his last game against Oklahoma when he scored just seven points. In his first two Big 12 games against Oklahoma State and Baylor, he averaged 18.5 points and 14 rebounds. He’s third in the Big 12 in blocks (1.6 per game) and seventh in rebounds (7.6).
• Texas A&M has scored 24.5 percent of its points from the free-throw line (that’s 21st in the nation). The Aggies have made 317 free throws, while their opponents have only shot 289. Texas A&M is shooting 70.9 percent from the charity stripe. KU, meanwhile, has had trouble with fouls lately, allowing an average of 26.7 free throws in its last three games.
• The Aggies only have the ball stolen on 7.3 percent of their offensive possessions, which is good for fifth in the country. With that in mind, KU might not have many fast-break opportunities available tonight.
• Texas A&M’s opponents have made 36.2 percent of their threes. That’s the worst three-point percentage defense in the Big 12.
6:50 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 Texas A&M Aggies.
Markieff Morris has fouled a lot during his freshman year. But how does he rank against the nation’s top foulers?
It’s a question I wondered after discovering a cool new stat on Kenpom.com: fouls committed per 40 minutes.
To get in the rankings, a player has to have played in 40 percent of his team’s minutes. Markieff Morris happens to qualify.
Out of 71 players eligible in the Big 12, Markieff Morris, at least statistically, is the most foul-prone.
The KU freshman averages 7.22 fouls per 40 minutes* (meaning that, on average, if KU coach Bill Self let him play continuously, he would foul out in 27.7 minutes). Baylor’s Quincy Acy is second-worst in the conference, averaging 7.00 fouls per 40 minutes.
* — Keep in mind also that Markieff only had one personal foul in 18 minutes against Colorado, meaning his foul average was even higher a few days ago.
I explored the statistic further: How does Markieff Morris stack up to players on all 344 Division-I teams?
Turns out pretty well.
After researching all the conferences, Markieff is fifth in the NCAA in fouls per 40 minutes. In fact, only six players average 7 or more fouls per 40 minutes:
NCAA’s top foulers
Antwan Carter, Longwood, 8.21 fouls/40 minutes
Mobolaji Ajayi, South Florida, 8.00
Montarrio Haddock, Middle Tennessee State, 7.72
Otis Polk, Bowling Green, 7.25
Markieff Morris, KU, 7.22
Dario Hunt, Nevada, 7.20
Not surprisingly, three of the players on the previous list were freshmen, while another was a junior-college transfer.
What can we take from this? Most players learn with experience how the college game is played, and thus, foul less later in their careers.
Is it any wonder, then, that Self is trying to teach Mario Little some of the four? He needs another body there, and Little could steal some minutes if he is able to defend and get rebounds next to Cole Aldrich.
Before we get off the topic, props go to Brady Morningstar, who leads the Jayhawks by averaging only 2.28 fouls per 40 minutes (that’s 10th in the Big 12). Not only is Morningstar arguably KU’s best defender, he’s also locked down on opponents without sending them to the free-throw line.
Texas A&M has two of the top three foul-avoiders in the conference: Donald Sloan (1st, 1.22) and Josh Carter (3rd, 1.68). I’m sure that’s one of the reasons the Aggies have shot 28 more free throws that their opponents have even attempted.
Richard GwinKansas scoring
Sade Morris 20 (6-for-9 shooting), Nicollette Smith 16 (6-for-7 shooting, 4-for-5 threes), Danielle McCray 12, Krysten Boogaard 9, LaChelda Jacobs 7, Kelly Kohn 7, Porscha Weddington 4.
KU was 22-for-38 from the floor (54.5 percent), 7-for-11 from three (63.6 percent) and 24-for-29 from the free-throw line (82.8 percent).
MU made 18 of 61 shots (29.5 percent), 4 of 15 from three-point range (26.7 percent) and 18 of 25 from the free-throw line (72 percent).
KU out-rebounded MU, 38-28. The Jayhawks had 20 turnovers to the Tigers’ 11.
FINAL: KU defeats MU, 75-58
Though she came in as MU’s leading scorer, Jessra Johnson hasn’t played like a bigwig tonight. The forward has just six points on 2-for-16 shooting.
KU has done a good job of keeping its focus in the second half. The Jayhawks built their lead and never let the Tigers get back into the game.
Jacobs puts in two free throws. That gives her seven points (with 2-for-2 shooting from the floor) in the second half.
A minute later, the Jayhawks come away with their first Big 12 victory, winning by 17.
KU women 64/MU 51 — 3:39 left in game
I might have spoke too soon about the Tigers. After a free throw, steal and three-pointer, KU’s lead is down to 13.
KU women 64/MU 47 — 3:58 left in game
Smith is KU’s MVP tonight. With the shot clock running down, she hoisted up a fallaway second just before the buzzer, swishing her fourth trey in five tries.
McCray gets an easy two after making a cut to the basket. Nice look inside by Boogaard.
A wishing well and 1,000 pennies might not be enough for MU to overcome a 17-point deficit this late.
KU women 59/MU 45 — 6:32 left in game
Kohn shows some nice anticipation, sticking an arm out to deflect a pass before getting fouled on the other end. She makes both free throws. The junior has given KU some solid minutes tonight.
Jacobs uses a nasty crossover to get past Hollins. The defender slips as if she’s just stepped on a banana peel, and Jacobs finishes with an easy layup.
There are three good numbers for KU juxtaposed on the stat monitor next to me: 57 (KU’s field-goal percentage), 60 (KU’s three-point percentage) and 76 (KU’s free-throw percentage).
KU women 52/MU 38 — 11:56 left in game
Jacobs finally gets her first points, making a quick move to the baseline before putting in a layup. KU is 5-for-5 this half and 17-for-27 (63 percent) overall.
McCray is left open, and she drains a three. That makes 6-for-6. MU needs to get up closer to McCray on the defensive end.
Following a dribble drive from Jacobs, Smith gets a wide-open look at a three. She misses it, ending her perfect shooting night.
KU women 43/MU 34 — 15:51 left in game
Ask and you shall receive. Smith shoots her fourth field goal just 47 seconds into the second half, making a layup. She’s now 4-for-4 from the floor.
Kelly Kohn gives KU some instant offense off the bench, putting in a three from the side before pumping her fist in the air.
Smith puts in a runner off the glass. Five-for-five.
Kansas scoring
Sade Morris 12 (6-for-8 shooting), Nicollette Smith 9 (3-for-3 three-pointers), Krysten Boogaard 7, Danielle McCray 4, Porscha Weddington 4.
KU made 12 of its 22 shots (55 percent) from the field, 3 of 4 three-pointers (75 percent) and 9 of 12 free throws (75 percent).
MU was 11-for-27 from the floor (41 percent), 2-for-5 from three (40 percent) and 5-for-8 from the free-throw line (63 percent).
KU is out-rebounding MU, 19-10. The Jayhawks have 10 turnovers to the Tigers’ five.
Some thoughts:
• KU started to play some pretty good half-court defense midway through the first half. The Tigers had just three field goals in the final 10 1/2 minutes, and that’s a credit to the Jayhawks defense.
• If I were Henrickson, I would be frustrated that Smith only shot three times in the first half. After making her first three three-pointers, Smith did not even get a shot up in the final 15:53. When a shooter is hot, you’ve got a find a way to get her the basketball.
• KU needs better production from LaChelda Jacobs in the second half. The junior point guard scored no points with an assist and turnover in five minutes. KU needs her quickness on both ends of the floor, both today and also for the rest of the season.
KU women 36/MU 29 — Halftime
Morris gives KU a boost going into halftime, as in 6 seconds, she goes from baseline to baseline before banking in a tough shot over two defenders. KU takes a seven-point lead into the break.
KU women 30/MU 23 — 3:34 left in 1st half
KU fails to get the ball into Boogaard, who had a much smaller player on her in the post. KU coach Bonnie Henrickson yells out her frustration.
“That’s a mismatch,” she says. She’s right, too.
Sade Morris drives to the lane before stopping on a dime and putting in a short jumper. She and LaChelda Jacobs are the two Jayhawks that are best at creating offense for themselves.
Boogaard has to get tougher. She’s getting pushed around inside and she’s losing rebounds because of it. Even the KU fans behind me are taking notice, urging her to play stronger.
Morris again drives baseline, coming to a jump-stop before rolling in a layup. That’s a 9-0 run for KU.
Hollins gets a short jumper to stop MU’s drought, but KU has opened up a seven-point lead.
KU women 21/MU 18 — 7:42 left in 1st half
Danielle McCray hits a 14-footer from the side. She doesn’t miss many open mid-range jumpers.
KU’s half-court offense has been stale so far. Boogaard has looked a step slow against ShaKara Jones and some of the other quicker MU forwards.
Another shot from the elbow by McCray. KU’s lead is up to three.
KU women 15/MU 14 — 11:55 left in 1st half
Krysten Boogaard puts in a nice left-handed shot in the lane, but she looks winded. Porscha Weddington checks in for her at the dead ball.
KU has five turnovers already. Not a good sign early for the Jayhawks, as turnovers have been a problem for them all year.
KU women 11/MU 9 — 14:54 left in 1st half
Missouri has pressed the Jayhawks from the outset. Ivana Catic has struggled some with the pressure, as she’s getting double-teamed just as she crosses midcourt.
Nicolette Smith has carried KU’s offense so far. The sophomore has hit three treys — all from the same spot on the floor — to score nine of the Jayhawks’ first 11 points.
6:40 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas women’s basketball team is getting set to take on Missouri.
Here are a few notes before tipoff:
• KU has made 40.8 percent of its three-pointers this year. That ranks first in the Big 12 and second in the NCAA. The Jayhawks have 82 threes this season, which is almost twice the number of their opponents (42).
• The Jayhawks’ 46.6-percent field-goal percentage ranks eighth in the nation.
• KU junior Danielle McCray has scored in double figures in 12 of her last 14 games. McCray is averaging 18.1 points per game.
• MU started the season 2-4 before rattling off eight straight victories. The Tigers lost their last game, a 62-56 setback against Texas A&M.
• MU coach Cindy Stein is in her 11th season at MU. She came to the Tigers after coaching at Emporia State.
• Six-foot-one forward Jessra Johnson leads MU in scoring with 13.9 points per game. Five-foot-11 guard Alyssa Hollins is right behind Johnson, averaging 13.6 points per game.
• KU is 18-12 all-time against MU in games played in Lawrence.
Nick KrugKansas scoring
Collins 24 (7-for-11 shooting), Taylor 20, Aldrich 15 (5-for-6 shooting), Little 8, Morningstar 6, Reed 6, Markieff Morris 5, Marcus Morris 3.
KU made 28 of 48 shots (58.3 percent), 5 of 12 threes (41.7 percent) and 26 of 37 free throws (70.3 percent).
KSU was 25-for-64 from the field (39.1 percent), 5-for-16 from three (31.3 percent) and 16-for-22 from the free-throw line (72.7 percent).
The Wildcats out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 37-34.
KU had just 11 turnovers. KSU had forced at least 15 turnovers against its last eight opponents.
FINAL: KU defeats KSU, 87-71
A “Start the tractors” chant begins from the student section with just over a minute left.
Taylor puts in a left-handed layup with 24 seconds left to cap his bounceback performance. That gives him an even 20 points to go with three assists, four rebounds and two steals.
KU comes away with an impressive 16-point victory.
KU 81/KSU 68 — 1:45 left in game
KU’s end-game free-throw shooting should seal this one. By my count, the Jayhawks have made their last eight foul shots.
KU 77/KSU 64 — 3:54 left in game
It’s a battle of tempos right now. KSU wants to speed things up, while KU wants to slow them down, especially with Aldrich and Collins both sitting with four fouls.
KU survives 3 1/2 minutes and keeps its lead at 13 before Self checks Collins back in.
Collins immediately makes his presence known, driving in for a two off the glass.
Self wanted his other players to help Collins and Aldrich out more. He saw that in the last four minutes, when a make-shift lineup was able to maintain the Jayhawks’ 13-point lead.
KU 69/KSU 56 — 7:58 left in game
Taylor certainly seems to have his groove back.
He put in a high layup off the glass, drawing a foul before yelling out in celebration toward the students. Right now, he has 14 points, three assists and just one turnover.
KU’s triangle-and-two defense seems to be confusing KSU a bit. Pullen forces up a tough shot, but Sutton elevates for the offensive rebound before getting two and a foul. The foul is on Aldrich, and that’s his fourth whistle. Both he and Collins have four personals.
KU 58/KSU 46 — 11:45 left in game
KU is playing at K-State’s tempo right now. Because of the KSU traps, the Jayhawks are hoisting up quick shots. That’s probably a good thing for the Wildcats.
Clemente’s three-point play cut the KU lead to 45-42, but again the Jayhawks responded. Morningstar hit his first three, and Reed followed with a fast-break layup.
Aldrich picked up Colon’s fourth foul on a three-point play, and a minute later, Colon picked up his fifth foul on a whistle inside. It’s a big loss for KSU, as Colon had 12 points and six rebounds after not scoring in his last three games.
Collins has started to take over. He hits a deep three, then goes into the lane for a one-handed floater. KU’s lead is back up to 12.
KU 45/KSU 37 — 15:20 left in game
Markieff Morris gets KU’s first basket of the second half at the 17:28 mark, knuckle-balling in a 7-foot jumper.
The pace has picked up quite a bit. Collins and Taylor both get layups, but KU will need to step up defensively (and on the defensive boards) to keep this lead.
KU 39/KSU 33 — 17:59 left in game
This one looks like it’s going to be a game. KSU opens the second half with a 9-2 run, capped by a three from Pullen. Timeout KU.
The Wildcats have also started to trap on defense, while KU is struggling with its half-court offense. The Jayhawks are still looking for their first field goal of the second half.
Kansas scoring
Cole Aldrich 10 (4-for-4 shooting), Tyshawn Taylor 9, Mario Little 6, Sherron Collins 5, Marcus Morris 3, Tyrel Reed 2, Markieff Morris 2.
KU made 14 of 26 shots (53.8 percent), 2 of 8 threes (25 percent) and 7 of 13 free throws (53.8 percent). KU out-rebounded KSU, 18-17, in the first half.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, were 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) from the floor, 3-for-9 (33 percent) from three and 3-for-4 (75 percent) from the free-throw line.
Some halftime thoughts:
• KSU is going to have to force more turnovers if it wants to make a run at the Jayhawks. The Wildcats had just two steals in the first half, and KU had just six turnovers overall. I would expect we see both trapping and pressing from the ‘Cats in the second half.
• Aldrich was 4-for-4 in the first half, so the Jayhawks can’t forget about him inside. KSU doesn’t look to be doubling him, so KU needs to make more of an effort to look his way.
• Little showed what he could bring this team in the first half. Six points in eight minutes is the kind of production Self wants and needs from his small forward.
KU 37/KSU 24 — Halftime
Marcus Morris cleans up a Collins miss, grabbing the offensive board and putting it back in for two.
Frank Martin has been relatively calm all game, but he doesn’t hesitate to rip into Pullen after he picked up a reach-in foul on Morningstar 30 feet from the basket.
Self screams some, too, on a KSU free throw. He yelled at both Aldrich and Marcus Morris, telling them to look at him as he signaled the defensive call.
Great spot defense by Tyrone Appleton in the last 10 seconds of the half. He was subbed in for the Wildcats’ last possession, and he briefly knocked the ball away from Pullen before forcing the KSU guard to change his shot in mid-air. The three-pointer bounced off, and a pumped-up Collins gave Appleton congratulations as he left the court.
KU 30/KSU 20 — 3:34 left in 1st half
One side of Brady’s hair is sticking up, and the other side is laying flat. Wonder if he just got up.
Dominique Sutton hits a three for KSU. He was 3-for-14 from three (21.4 percent) coming in.
KU 28/KSU 16 — 5:14 left in 1st half
Collins gets his second whistle on an offensive foul. Self springs off the bench with his hands raised. I didn’t see the contact there. Taylor checks in.
For a second, we saw a flash of Travis Releford’s explosiveness. With his back to the rim, he spun quickly to the basket and was at the rim two steps later. Unfortunately for KU, he missed the easy finger-roll.
Little shows a bit of his repertoire inside, pivoting in the post before rattling in a tough mid-range shot.
KSU shows some of its defensive pressure out of a timeout, trapping Collins in the corner. Fred Brown gets a steal and puts in a layup at the other end. Colon gets a two on the next possession, and KSU has a 9-0 run.
KU answers, though. Collins dishes to Aldrich for a dunk, and Little drains a baseline jumper to get four points right back.
KU 20/KSU 5 — 11:54 left in 1st half
How long will this run go? Collins hits a floater in the lane then a three to make it 16-0.
Tyrel Reed, who is in mostly for his offense, gets a steal up top and finishes on the other end with a layup. Timeout KSU, as it’s 18-0 KU with 14:04 left in the half.
Darren Kent finally breaks the KSU drought with a three from the top. It comes at the 13:49 mark, meaning that the Wildcats went more than six minutes to start the game without scoring.
KU 11/KSU 0 — 15:50 left in 1st half
The decibel meter reaches 102.1 before tipoff. That’s by far the highest it’s been before a game this year.
KU seems to be feeding off the energy. Aldrich hits a shot, and Taylor steps confidently into a three to make it 5-0.
Aldrich has been a presence inside already. He was fouled going to the rim, and after hitting the two free throws, he elevated on the next possession to get an offensive rebound and stickback on a Morningstar miss.
No glove for Little in this game. Looks like the hand might be healing.
Speaking of Little, he gets his first field goal as a Jayhawk, putting in a layup off a nice no-look pass from Collins. Timeout KSU, as KU has started the game on an 11-0 run.
7:04 p.m.
A change in the starting lineup: Mario Little will start along with Cole Aldrich, Tyshawn Taylor, Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar.
6:58 p.m.
Bad news for KU fans? John Higgins is officiating tonight. Remember the UMass game? And KU coach Bill Self’s technical?
6:50 p.m.
Here are some quick things you need to know about Kansas State, which comes in with an 11-4 record.
• The Wildcats offense starts with its defense. KSU’s ball-pressure defense has forced at least 15 turnovers in eight straight games. During that stretch, opponents have averaged 19.8 turnovers per outing. Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor will need to take care of the basketball.
• When KSU has lost, it has often been because of turnover problems itself. The Wildcats had 20 turnovers in their 61-53 loss against Oklahoma on Saturday.
• KSU comes in with two of the quickest guards in the country. Jacob Pullen (fast) is averaging 14.3 points per game and Denis Clemente (faster) is posting 12.2 points per contest. Both of those guards are shooting above 35 percent from three this season. Sixth man Fred Brown is third on the team in scoring (10.2 points per game) has made 43.2 percent of his three-pointers this year.
• The Wildcats have depth inside, but their big men have been inconsistent. Perfect example: Six-foot-10 forward Luis Colon scored 18 against Southern Miss. In his last three games, he has been held scoreless.
• Despite not having a dominant big man, KSU has been spectacular on the glass this season. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 in rebounding margin (plus-8.1), rebounds (41.1) and offensive rebounds per game (16.8).
• Dominique Sutton, at 6-foot-5, is the Wildcats’ defensive stopper. Though he’s listed as a small forward, I’ve been told he will guard Sherron Collins at times tonight.
6:10 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 Kansas State Wildcats.
I’m sure you’ve heard the news by now: Mario Little will play in tonight’s game and will not take a medical red-shirt.
So far, KU fans’ reaction to this has been mixed. Just look at this poll we put up today: the yeses and nos seem pretty close.
In my mind, Little absolutely did the right thing for this team.
Here’s why:
1. KU needs him this year*. KU lost nine players from last year’s team. The Jayhawks needed a quick fix. Little was supposed to be that quick fix.
Junior-college guys aren’t brought in unless you need help right now (just ask former Kansas State football coach Ron Prince). KU needed him now. Little provides that, whether he’s at 100 percent or not.
Which brings me to my next point.
2. Even in Little isn’t 100 percent now, that doesn’t mean he won’t be 100 percent by March.
Fans and media alike seem to only remember what happened last (Remember any details from the Temple game? It was less than a month ago). Though KU is about halfway through its schedule, all the important games are still remaining. No one will remember UMass if KU sweeps Missouri. Nobody will complain about the Arizona game if the Jayhawks make a run to the Sweet 16.
If Little can be healthy for the last month of the season, it’s worth bringing him back this year.
3. With two years to plan, KU coach Bill Self can recruit to find someone to take Little’s place when he graduates. However, Self can’t do that now. The Jayhawks don’t have many other options if they can’t get Little on the court.
4. KU needs scoring from the small-forward position. And this isn’t a criticism of Brady Morningstar.
Let’s look at some stats from www.kenpom.com.
• KU is 293rd out of 344 Division-I teams in percentage of scoring from the small-forward position. Only 16.7 percent of the Jayhawks’ points have come from their small forwards. That ranks 11th in the Big 12 (K-State is 12th with 14 percent of its scoring coming from the small-forward position). KU needs more scoring from that spot, especially because Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich aren’t getting much scoring help from anyone else right now.
• KU’s small-forward effective height is 243rd in the country. Essentially, this means KU is giving up size at that position to two-thirds of the teams it plays.
• Still, Morningstar has been a good offensive player by not trying to do too much. In fact, his offensive rating on kenpom.com, which is “the measure of personal offensive efficiency,” is 126.0, which is 41st out of all Division-I players. Generally, a 110 rating is considered good, and a 120 rating is considered excellent.
What can we take from this? Morningstar is helping the Jayhawks by not hurting them. He isn’t taking too many shots, and he’s making a lot of the few shots he’s taking.
Little, though, can help this team by bringing offensive ability (and height) that Morningstar can’t. If he can do that this year with a team desperately needing offensive production from a small forward, he should do that.
Now, he’s decided he will.
Nick Krug11:25 p.m.
Some final notes:
• KU’s 51 first-half points were the most scored since the Jayhawks had 51 first-half points against Texas Tech on March 3, 2008.
• Siena’s 38 first-half points were the most scored by a KU opponent in the first half all season.
• Cole Aldrich’s 24 points were a career-high. Aldrich also had 13 rebounds, which gave him his eighth double-double of the year.
• Tyrel Reed’s 14 points set a new career best. He had 12 points in three other games this season.
• Reed went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and is 20-for-21 (95 percent) from the stripe this year.
• KU had only 12 turnovers — the third-lowest total for the team this season.
• Bill Self coached in his 500th collegiate game. His record is now 360-140 overall.
KU scoring
Aldrich 24 (9-for-13 shooting), Collins 18, Reed 14, Taylor 8, Marcus Morris 8, Morningstar 7, Releford 5, Markieff Morris 4, Little 3.
KU was 29-for-61 from the floor (47.5 percent), 7-for-19 from three-point range (36.8 percent) and 26-for-32 from the free-throw line (81.3 percent).
FINAL: KU defeats Siena, 91-84
Ubiles gets a two and a foul, but misses the free throw. Downey bear-hugs Reed, then can’t believe he’s whistled for a foul. Reed makes both free throws.
The refs are keeping Siena in this one. That’s two straight phantom whistles on KU, as Morningstar is called for breathing on Rossiter. The big man completes the three-point play with a free throw to cut KU’s lead to five.
Collins gets a pair of free throws, and the Jayhawks finally get the defensive stop they need to clinch the game. Collins hits two more freebies, and Siena backs off, conceding KU’s 91-84 victory.
KU 84/Siena 77 — 1:06 left in game
Morningstar hits a big pair of free throws, but Franklin follows with a jumper. It’s been hard for KU to build any sort of a lead with its inconsistent defense.
Two more free throws by Reed (KU is 18-for-22 tonight), but Ubiles follows with an easy two in the lane. KU just can’t get a stop.
The Jayhawks execute well against Siena’s trapping defense, and after running 33 seconds off the clock, Collins passes to Aldrich, who’s fouled in the lane. Aldrich makes one of two.
Moore follows with another tough 16-footer, and Siena won’t go away.
KU 79/Siena 71 — 3:24 left in game
Collins hits a big three, then swings his fist in celebration.
The crowd is going crazy. So much for the fans being quiet after an emotional win against Tennessee. They’ve brought their strong voices tonight.
Collins misses a three, but Aldrich gets the board and puts it back in. The noise level goes even higher.
Taylor misses a finger-roll that could have put KU up 12, and Moore comes back in transition with a jumper. That could have been a big turning point for the Jayhawks. Siena calls timeout, and Collins spikes the ball to the floor in frustration.
Collins rolls in a jumper with 30 seconds still left on the shot clock. That’s one of those shots that’s only good if you make it.
KU 69/Siena 63 — 7:58 left in game
Another three from Moore. Siena trims the lead to six.
KU 67/Siena 60 — 9:13 left in game
Josh Duell is helped off the court after hurting his leg. The Saints are forced to go to an even smaller lineup.
The one time KU plays some good defense, it gets burned for a three. Ronald Moore jacks up a long three over the outstretched arm of Taylor, and Taylor can only roll his eyes in disgust as it swishes through.
It’s amazing to see Siena burying so many threes. Coming in, the Saints were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the nation, making only 29.9 percent of their long-range tries. With Kyle Downey’s trey, Siena is 9-for-15 (60 percent) from deep tonight.
KU 65/Siena 54 — 11:48 left in game
KU’s defense has been pretty lethargic. Morningstar, on two straight trips, gives Clarence Jackson open looks from three (he makes one). Aldrich gets a dunk, but then gets beat down the floor as Rossiter puts in a layup.
Self makes his message clear: he substitutes five new players into the lineup. The Jayhawks are scoring nearly at will, but Siena is pulling closer just because it is keeping up on the other end.
KU 55/Siena 43 — 15:36 left in game
KU, as we might have guessed, has made more of an effort to get to get the ball into Aldrich in the second half. A nice pass in by Markieff gets rewarded, as Aldrich rattles in a short shot.
After a sloppy pass by Taylor, Self puts both hands behind his head in frustration. Honestly, I don’t believe he’s been pleased at all with his team’s effort tonight.
Halftime thoughts
Knowing coach Self, he is an angry guy right now. He will always be a defensive-minded coach, and the Jayhawks (at least statistically) played one of their worst defensive halves of the year. He’s already jumped on a couple of his players and burned two timeouts after being frustrated with his team’s effort.
Still, KU has more than made up for its defensive miscues with offensive execution. From my vantage point, it looks like tonight, more than any other game, each Jayhawk looks like he knows exactly where he’s supposed to be on the floor at all times. Add good ball movement and unselfish play, and KU earned a 51-point first half. No one has been able to stop Aldrich inside, and Siena’s zone late in the half looked to slow down KU just a bit. I would expect the Saints to start with that for half two.
And, now the moment you’ve all been waiting for.
Quiz answers
Player A: Marcus Morris; Player B: Julian Wright; Player C: Travis Releford; Player D: Mike Lee; Player E: Quintrell Thomas; Player F: Darnell Jackson; Player G: Wayne Simien; Player H: Markieff Morris; Player I: Sherron Collins; Player J: Mario Chalmers; Player K: Keith Langford; Player L: Tyshawn Taylor; Player M: Cole Aldrich; Player N: C.J. Giles.
KU 51/Siena 38 — Halftime
Marcus Morris makes another great decision on the break, as instead of forcing up a shot and risking a charge, he quickly snaps a pass back out to Reed for a three-pointer. Three assists now for Marcus, which is tied for the team lead.
KU survives a sloppy last couple minutes without surrendering much of its lead. The Saints score the half’s final four points, but the Jayhawks still enter halftime with a comfortable 13-point advantage.
KU 44/Siena 31 — 3:53 left in 1st half
Hasbrouck puts in a jumper, and Self fires off the bench to use his second timeout. He’s furious with Taylor’s defense, and he meets the freshman guard before he can make it over to the bench.
Wow, Collins is quick. He just made a move to the basket when he didn’t have an angle to the rim, as Rossiter was lurking inside. Collins still beat him to the spot, then spun up a layup before Rossiter could even attempt a block.
Nice stretch for Tyrel Reed. He banks in a 14-footer from the side, then fires in an open three off a pass from Collins. Reed’s a better shooter than we’ve seen so far this year.
The twins work with each other again, as Markieff lobs a nice pass into brother, Marcus, for an easy two. From a few feet away, it looked like Marcus was fouled, too.
KU 32/Siena 18 — 7:57 left in 1st half
Another nice pass from Marcus Morris, who feeds Aldrich for a dunk. This team looks like it’s beginning to figure out how to utilize Aldrich better on the offensive end.
Releford drains a rainbow three from the wing. He’s now 3-for-4 from deep this year.
A three from Taylor gives KU an 18-0 run.
Collins misses a three, but the offensive rebound is gathered easily by Aldrich inside. No one on Siena can come close to matching up with him.
Mario Little will have a chance for his first points as a Jayhawk, as he will get a pair of free throws after the media timeout.
KU 18/Siena 10 — 11:54 left in 1st half
Two jumpers by Marcus Morris, followed by a three from Morningstar, and KU has a quick 7-0 run.
The Morris twins, to me, have been better when they’ve been on the court together. That’s been the case so far tonight. Markieff adds a nice block off the backboard on a shot by Alex Franklin.
Collins makes something out of nothing, forcing up a three with the shot clock expiring. It rattles home to give KU a 15-10 edge.
Great court awareness by Marcus Morris. While getting hounded by a double-team, he was alert enough to find a cutting Travis Releford on the baseline for an easy layup. KU has recovered nicely from a slow start.
Siena 9/KU 5 — 15:58 left in 1st half
Cole Aldrich gets a quick offensive rebound and stickback for two, drawing a foul. This is his game to take over with Siena’s lack of tall players.
Right after I type that, Aldrich picks up his first foul. He needs to avoid his second at all costs.
KU’s giving Siena too many second chances right now. Siena has been out-rebounded by 1.2 rebounds per game so far this year, but in the early going, the Saints have six rebounds to KU’s three.
7:03 p.m.
Starters: Markieff Morris, Brady Morningstar, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor.
6:59 p.m.
Might have some empties for this one. Looks like the top corners have about 5-10 unoccupied rows with just a few minutes left before the game.
6:33 p.m.
Here are some things to look for from Siena, which comes in with a 10-4 record.
• The Saints have won eight of their last nine games, with the only loss in that stretch coming to this week’s No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh (79-66).
• Siena has made only 30 percent of its three-point attempts this year. However, the Saints have made 51 percent of their two-point field-goal attempts.
• Edwin Ubiles, a 6-foot-7 forward, leads Siena, averaging 14.5 points per game. Six-foot-five forward Alex Franklin is second on the team with a 13.8-point-per-game average. Both players were named preseason first-team all-conference.
• Kenny Hasbrouck, the MAAC preseason player of the year, is averaging 11.9 points per game. He has started to heat up as of late, though, as he is averaging 16.7 points in his last three games. In those contests, he has combined to make 19 of his 39 field-goal attempts (49 percent).
• Siena’s tallest player is Ryan Rossiter at 6-9.
• Rossiter and 6-7 forward Josh Duell both missed Sunday’s game against St. Peter’s with the flu. Siena coach Fran McCaffery said only four players on his team have been able to avoid the flu in the last week.
• McCaffery on Allen Fieldhouse: “In terms of an environment that can intimidate you, it’s probably the most intimidating place in the country because of how loud it is.”
6 p.m.
How well do you remember the freshmen years of KU’s recent basketball players?
Before we get to analysis of KU’s game tonight against Siena, let’s start with a quick quiz to test your KU knowledge.
I thought it would be interesting to examine how this year’s freshmen, through 13 games, stack up against some other former Jayhawks.
The rules here are simple: I’ll give you two Jayhawks and their statistics through the first 13 games of their freshman seasons (I only counted the first 13 games they actually stepped on the court; if a player was injured/benched for a whole game, I did not count that as one of their first 13 games).
Your job is to figure out which Jayhawk is which. You can vote for your choice on the left. I’ll give the answers out at halftime.
Oh, and this’ll go much better if everyone doesn’t cheat and then blurt out the answers in the comments section. If you must look up each player’s statistics, please keep the answers to yourself.
Good luck.
Your two choices are Marcus Morris and Julian Wright
Player A: 8.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 19.9 minutes, 43-91 field goals (47.3 percent).
Player B: 8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 17.4 minutes, 45-84 field goals (53.5 percent).
Your two choices are Mike Lee and Travis Releford
Player C: 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 7.6 minutes, 19-35 field goals (54.3 percent), 66.7 percent three-point percentage.
Player D: 2.0 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 4.2 minutes, 11-23 field goals (47.8 percent), 44.4 percent three-point percentage.
Your two choices are Darnell Jackson and Quintrell Thomas
Player E: 2.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.5 minutes, 8-18 field goals (44.4 percent).
Player F: 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 7.9 minutes, 13-21 field goals (61.9 percent).
Your two choices are Wayne Simien and Markieff Morris
Player G: 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 14.5 minutes, 43-76 field goals (56.6 percent).
Player H: 5.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 17.5 minutes, 24-47 field goals (51.1 percent)
Your two choices are Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers
Player I: 7.1 points, 2.0 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 17.8 minutes, 33-71 field goals (46.5 percent), 16-38 three-pointers (42 percent).
Player J: 6.8 points, 3.1 assists, 1.2 rebounds, 19.0 minutes, 30-80 field goals (37.5 percent), 8-36 three-pointers (22.2 percent).
Your two choices are Tyshawn Taylor and Keith Langford
Player K: 8.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 38-78 field goals (48.7 percent).
Player L: 10.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 49-101 field goals (48.5 percent).
Your two choices are Cole Aldrich and C.J. Giles (this one is tough)
Player M: 3.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 9.5 minutes, 19-30 field goals (63.3 percent).
Player N: 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 10.2 minutes, 21-39 field goals (53.8 percent).
Nick Krug8:25 p.m.
Some final notes:
• Collins’ 26 points were a career-high and also the highest for a KU player this year.
• Collins went 10-for-14 from the free-throw line. Those were career-highs in both free throws made and free throws attempted.
• Aldrich tied a career-high with six blocks. He also had six blocks against Washington earlier this year. The six blocks were the most for a Jayhawk since Nick Collison had seven blocks against Oklahoma State on March 1, 2003.
• Aldrich’s ten field goals made were a career-high and also were a team-high this season for KU.
• The Jayhawks’ 25 assists tied a season-high (Jackson State, Dec. 6).
• The last time an unranked KU team defeated a ranked team was Feb. 5, 2006, when KU beat No. 18 Oklahoma, 59-58.
• KU’s 32-game home winning streak is the fourth-longest current streak in Division I.
Kansas scoring
Collins 26 (7-for-14 shooting), Aldrich 22 (10-for-14 shooting), Morningstar 12, Taylor 12, Reed 8, Marcus Morris 7, Markieff Morris 4, Releford 1.
KU made 34 of 66 shots (52 percent). UT was 26-for-66 (39 percent). KU out-rebounded UT, 44-38.
Also of note, KU had 50 points in the paint.
FINAL: KU defeats Tennessee, 92-85
Morningstar misses a shot, but he hustles to poke the ball away from a Vol. He then goes under the basket to put in a layup.
Aldrich follows with a block — his sixth. He and Collins have played like NBA guys today.
Hopson and Chism both put in desperation three-pointers, but it’s too late. KU comes away with the signature win it was looking for, winning 92-85.
KU 87/UT 77 — 1:34 left in game
Collins makes two free throws to give KU some breathing room.
Tatum misses a deep three, and KU comes away with a big rebound.
The Vols defense breaks down underneath its own basket, and Collins inbounds to Aldrich for an easy slam.
Taylor penetrates on the next possession, scooping to Aldrich for another slam. KU holding on to an 11-point advantage.
Collins hits two free throws, but Marcus Morris fouls out on a questionable-at-best call inside.
A baseball pass to Taylor gets him an easy two, but Smith hits a three to keep UT within 10.
KU 77/UT 70 — 3:52 left in game
J.P. Prince fouls out for Tennessee, which can only help KU. Collins makes two free throws.
The Vols are starting to heat up from deep, though, as Hopson and Wayne Chism put in consecutive threes.
Tyler Smith makes a huge block inside on Marcus Morris, and Cameron Tatum buries another three as UT pulls within seven at 77-70.
Morningstar turns it over, but Chism forces up a guarded, deep three that bounces off. Marcus Morris clears the rebound.
KU 72/UT 55 — 7:01 left in game
KU finds a way to break UT’s press, as Taylor makes a cut to the basket and puts in a one-handed stuff. He was late getting back on D, though, and Maze put in a two and also forced Taylor’s fourth foul. Releford checks in.
After a turnover, Collins raises his hands, urging the crowd to get loud. Unfortunately for him, he turned it over on the other end trying to throw in a tough entry pass to Aldrich.
Smith picks up a technical after reaching over the baseline on an inbounds pass from Morningstar. Collins, though, bricks both free throws.
KU is totally lost with Tennessee’s inbounds pressure. The Jayhawks aren’t moving or screening to get open. Another turnover as Morningstar’s pass sails out of bounds.
Markieff Morris fouls out on a blocking call with 8:41 left. Aldrich and Marcus Morris have three fouls apiece, so they’ll have to be careful the rest of the way.
The Jayhawks grab some momentum, as Aldrich barrels down the lane for a stuff with a foul. As bad as KU’s inbounds plays have been, the Jayhawks are still up 15.
Marcus Morris throws a lob to Aldrich, who slams it home. It seems like both of the Morris twins are learning how to utilize Aldrich better each game.
Marcus picks up his fourth foul with 7:01 left. KU needs him to avoid his fifth.
KU 59/UT 44 — 11:30 left in game
Collins once again hurts UT on the dribble drive, drawing two defenders before dishing to Marcus Morris for a two and foul.
UT’s Brian Williams picks up his fourth foul trying to double-team Collins on the perimeter.
Collins’ penetration causes problems again, as he takes a few dribbles to the basket before finding an open Reed on the perimeter for three. A lot was made of Collins not trusting his teammates. It looks like this might be his breakthrough game in that regard.
Off a steal, Taylor flies to the basket for a layup. KU has done a good job of maintaining a comfortable lead so far this half.
KU 50/UT 37 — 15:42 left in game
Marcus Morris follows his own miss with a layup, and on the other end, he draws his second charge of the year.
After the media timeout, Pearl starts to rip into the officials. As of now, the fouls are KU 13, UT 11.
KU 46/UT 37 — 16:40 left in game
Morningstar opens the second half with a three from the corner. He just doesn’t miss open shots, does he?
Reed hits an open three from the top to push KU’s lead back up to 11.
Tennessee looks to have committed itself to getting the ball inside more in the second half, and a nice pass gets an easy look for Hopson.
Kansas scoring
Collins 14 (6-for-10 shooting), Aldrich 11, Morningstar 6, Taylor 4, Marcus Morris 3, Markieff Morris 2.
• Collins also had five rebounds, five assists and no turnovers.
• KU made 17 of 36 shots (47 percent) and went 4-for-8 (50 percent) from three-point range.
• UT made 11 of 37 shots (30 percent) and went 1-for-11 (9 percent) from three-point range.
• KU outrebounded UT in the first half, 27-21.
General thoughts
Tennessee will not shoot as poorly in the second half as it did in the first. Until the Volunteers show some ability to hit outside shots, though, KU might continue to play 2-3 zone and take its chances letting the Vols try to beat them from the outside.
The Jayhawks, meanwhile, need to limit their turnovers. The Vols have scored 17 of their 31 points off KU turnovers. KU has done a good job of defending in the half-court, but it needs to limit Tennessee’s transition opportunities if it wants to pull away.
Also, I think this was easily Collins’ best half of the year. He looks motivated and energized, and he has made good decisions without turning it over. Don’t want to jinx it, but he’s also halfway to a triple-double.
KU 40/UT 31 — Halftime
Maybe Self’s tirade will help get some calls the rest of the game. UT picks up two quick ones out of the media timeout, and Aldrich takes advantage with a basket and foul.
The officials look scared to call fouls now, as Collins charges in without a call. Aldrich gets an uncontested dunk on the play, and Pearl raises his hands in frustration wondering where the call was.
Little makes a mistake on defense, as he rotates late in KU’s 2-3 zone and fouls Scotty Hopson on a three-point attempt. Hopson puts in all three.
Hopson gets another shot in the lane to go in late, and KU takes a nine-point advantage into the break.
KU 35/UT 26 — 3:38 left in 1st half
Collins does a nice job of drawing defenders, then kicking out to an open Morningstar for a three. Is Morningstar’s outside shooting not one of the biggest surprises this year?
Collins continues his best half of the season, juking his man and getting all the way to the basket for two.
Self took a chance by putting Markieff Morris back in with two fouls. Sure enough, Markieff picked up his third foul on an offensive rebound. KU is forced to play with Aldrich and Quintrell Thomas in there.
Thomas is called for a bogus moving screen, and Self blows a gasket. He marches out on the court, and even the assistant coaches can’t keep him from getting a technical. It’s interesting how much more vocal he’s been with officials this year than he has been in years past. Honestly, I’m not sure why.
After the two technical free throws by Tyler Smith, Smith puts in a one-handed jam, and some of the momentum has shifted the Volunteers’ way.
KU 30/UT 16 — 7:15 left in 1st half
Marcus Morris picks up his second foul, then he gives a Tennessee player a shove on his way to the bench. He’s lucky to not come away with his third foul there.
Taylor tries to take a charge, but he doesn’t sell it very well and instead gets a blocking call. That’s two on him, and three KU freshmen have two fouls each.
Tennessee is feasting on KU turnovers. The latest one comes on an inbounds play (we knew a few of those were coming) and Bobby Maze finishes with an uncontested layup. The Volunteers are on a 7-0 run, as KU hasn’t scored in four minutes.
Collins helps KU get out of its funk, as he hits a three from the wing then goes 1-on-3 to finish a layup in transition.
KU 25/UT 9 — 11:19 left in 1st half
Releford and Little are the first ones off the bench for KU. Little gets a standing ovation from the crowd.
KU continues its hot shooting, as Collins bounces a three in from the corner.
Little gets in the action early, as he has two rebounds in his first minute.
Aldrich hits an 18-footer in transition, and Collins throws an alley-oop to Taylor. UT needs a timeout, but coach Bruce Pearl refuses to call one.
We start to see what I was talking about with the officials. Because the crowd is going nuts, an out-of-bounds call by Tennessee produces an emphatic point the other direction by a ref.
Morningstar hits an open three from the top, and KU is 11-for-16 (69 percent) from the floor. The Jayhawks enter the TV timeout still on an 11-0 run.
KU 14/UT 7 — 15:28 left in 1st half
The decibel meter hits the high 94s before tipoff.
Markieff Morris gets the crowd going early with a dunk for the first two points.
Aldrich gets a dunk on a stickback, and Collins spins in the lane to make it 6-0. Tennessee’s young players look rattled by the raucous crowd.
Markieff Morris picks up his second foul on a cheap hand-check. Aldrich and Marcus Morris will have to be especially careful now.
After an easy layup by Marcus Morris, Taylor cuts to the basket for a lay-in. Timeout Tennessee. KU has gotten a lot of easy points right through the middle of the Tennessee defense early. I believe all 14 of KU’s points have come off layups or dunks.
1:03 p.m.
KU starters: Brady Morningstar, Markieff Morris, Tyshawn Taylor, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins.
12:55 p.m.
There’s a much better energy in the Fieldhouse today. The “Let’s go Jayhawks” chants have started early. The video department put together another solid video, showing highlights with some loud music. At the end, the video urged KU fans to make some noise. They did.
Much like a lot of football games, the videoboard then showed the door to the locker room. After a few seconds, the door opened with the Jayhawks emerging, and the KU supporters went nuts. To be honest, it was probably the loudest sound I’ve heard in this building since the championship banner was raised at Late Night.
12:48 p.m.
Former KU basketball player Patrick Richey just passed by me in a red sweatshirt on the way to his seat. He’s sporting the shaved-head look now.
Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
12:37 p.m.
An update: Mario Little is shooting with the team with a heavy brace/wrap/splint on his left hand. I’d say there’s a good chance we see him in there today.
12:13 p.m.
Here are some quick-hitting notes about the Volunteers, who are ranked No. 14 in the AP poll with a 9-2 record.
• Tyler Smith is the team’s leading scorer. He averages a team-high 16.9 points (interestingly, the same scoring average that Sherron Collins has right now). He had Tennessee’s first triple-double in school history this season, posting 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Dec. 3 against UNC-Asheville. UT coach Bruce Pearl has called him “the most productive player I’ve ever coached.”
• Wayne Chism, a 6-foot-9 forward, is second on the team with 11.8 points. He is fifth in the SEC with 8.5 rebounds per game. In his last contest against Lousiana, he left the court on a stretcher after falling hard on his back. He was diagnosed with elbow and spine contusions, but he is expected to play today.
• UT’s third-leading scorer, J.P. Prince, is averaging 10.9 points per game. He’s also coming off an injury, as he missed three games with an ankle injury before playing last game against Louisiana.
• One of Tennessee’s greatest strengths is its depth. Only two players play more than 22 minutes per game (that’s pretty amazing if you think about it). Still, nine players play at least 16 minutes per game.
• UT’s bench has outscored its opponent in every game. The Volunteers’ bench averages 32.7 points per game — which is 14.9 more points than its opponents’ bench scorers.
• In UT’s last game against Louisiana, ten players scored. Each of those players scored at least five points.
• Tennessee leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 84.5 points per game. The Volunteers also average 42.7 rebounds per game to their opponents’ 32.8. KU is averaging 79.4 points per game and is out-rebounding opponents, 40.0-32.7.
• The Volunteers have built a reputation with their pressure defense. In the last three years (82 games), they have forced 316 turnovers on inbounds plays alone.
• KU is 28-29 all-time against teams from the SEC. The Jayhawks have never faced the Volunteers.
11:40 a.m.
Now is the time for KU fans to break their silence.
After starting 9-3, the Kansas men’s basketball team continues a tough non-conference schedule today at home against Tennessee.
Here’s the simple fact of the matter: KU, as it stands now, is on the bubble. A couple more losses in non-conference, and the Jayhawks will be looking at a very real possibility that they will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1989.
That scenario won’t happen if KU holds serve at home. If the Jayhawks can manage to go 10-0 or 9-1 at the Fieldhouse the rest of the way, they would be all but assured of clinching a spot in the Dance.
It’ll be a lot easier if they start getting more help from those in the seats.
I can’t speak for the Albany game, but so far, the noise level at Allen Fieldhouse has been underwhelming. And to me, that’s puzzling.
To be honest, the loudest four KU games I remember this season have been the road game at Arizona and the three games at the Sprint Center. Kind of sad, really.
This should be the kind of team that Jayhawk fans are loudest for. This is the kind of team that needs the crowd noise the most.
Teams with Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce or Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich might not need fan help every single night.
This team, filled with inexperienced (but talented) players, needs it.
One only has to look to the Arizona game to see how much a crowd can affect the outcome.
KU led early, but in the second half, Arizona’s fans simply took over the game by turning up the volume. Arizona’s players fed off the energy, going on a 29-6 run, and by then, the game was all but over.
Perhaps the biggest benefit for the Wildcats was getting extra calls. Hey, officials are human, too. They get caught up in the emotion of the game just like anyone else (if not, Ed Hightower would only blow his whistle once on foul calls instead of seven or eight times). During one stretch, Arizona shot free throws on five of six possessions. At one point in the second half, KU had 10 fouls compared to Arizona’s four.
Is that bad officiating? Is it unfair? No and no. That’s the advantage a home team gets when it has a good crowd.
Today, the Jayhawks need that kind of help. They need to get caught up in the atmosphere. They need to get the extra foul calls. They need Tennessee to get rattled in a tough environment.
They need Allen Fieldhouse to be at its best.
And then they need Allen Fieldhouse’s best for the 10 games after that.
Nick KrugFINAL: KU wins, 71-59
Sherron Collins scored 19 points to go with six assists, helping Kansas pull away late in a 71-59 victory over Temple on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Collins went 8-for-18 from the floor and 3-for-7 from three-point range, leading the Jayhawks in scoring for the eighth time this season.
The Jayhawks made 29 of 55 shots (53 percent) and went 7-for-17 from three-point range (41 percent). KU also hit 16 of its 25 shots in the first half (64 percent).
“We were pretty efficient offensively other than a few possessions in the first half,” KU coach Bill Self said. “I am not going to say that we were great offensively today but we certainly played better than we have been playing lately. They cut into our lead in the second half but we executed when there was pressure. There were a lot of things that we did very well today.”
Cole Aldrich, who was battling the stomach flu, had 13 points and 11 assists in 26 minutes. He played only eight minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.
Tyshawn Taylor had a well-rounded stat line, contributing 11 points, eight assists and four steals in 37 minutes.
Brady Morningstar added 11 points, hitting three of his four attempts from behind the arc.
Morningstar also played a key role on the defensive end, as he held the Atlantic-10’s leading scorer, Dionte Christmas, to just three first-half points on 1-for-4 shooting.
“You have to be there on the catch and even if you are, he’s shown he can shoot,” Morningstar said. “You just have to keep a hand up and try not to get too much separation. That’s about all you can do.”
Christmas heated up in the second half, nailing five three-pointers before ending with 21 points. He was 6-for-14 from the floor and 6-for-12 from three-point range.
After a three from Christmas, Temple trailed just 48-46 with 11:44 remaining, but KU used a 15-2 run to pull away for good. Markieff Morris had six points during that stretch for KU.
Only six players scored for KU: Collins, Aldrich, Taylor, Morningstar, Marcus Morris (nine) and Markieff Morris (eight).
Lavoy Allen added 10 points for Temple (5-4).
The Jayhawks (8-2) will play their first road game at 9:30 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, taking on Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.
Kansas scoring
Sherron Collins 19, Cole Aldrich 13, Brady Morningstar 11, Tyshawn Taylor 11, Marcus Morris 9, Markieff Morris 8.
Taylor added eight assists and four steals, while Collins had six assists.
KU made 29 of 55 shots (53 percent) and went 7-for-17 from three-point range (41 percent). Temple, meanwhile, was 19-for-47 from the floor (40 percent) and 10 of 20 from long range (50 percent).
Dionte Christmas lit it up in the second half, scoring 18 of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes. He also hit five three-pointers after halftime.
KU 71/TU 59 — FINAL
After a missed three from Reed, Christmas misses a long shot, and KU comes away with the ball. Temple concedes after that, taking the pressure defense off KU. The Jayhawks come away with a 12-point victory.
KU 71/TU 59 — 1:46 left in game
Taylor drives inside an twists his body to free himself for a short shot that goes in.
Christmas hits a free throw, then on the next possession, buries a deep three-pointer with Morningstar right in his face.
KU 69/TU 53 — 3:28 left in game
Travis Releford, who has checked in to make life difficult on Christmas, does his job. Christmas misses a tough 16-footer, and KU comes away with the board.
With the shot clock winding down, Collins drives to his left and gets all the way to the rim for a layup.
Taylor dribbles to the basket, and he dishes to a cutting Markieff Morris for an easy bucket.
Following a steal by Taylor, Marcus Morris gets the ball on a breakaway, and he is fouled while going up. He makes one of two.
Marcus Morris hustles to pick a pocket on defense, then runs full speed to save the ball before it rolls out of bounds. A few quick passes later, Taylor lays in a two in transition.
Morningstar saves a ball going out of bounds for KU, then a few seconds later, he drains an open three from the corner. Even Self reaches out to slap him on the backside after the shot.
On the defensive end, Morningstar hustles back and knocks the ball away from Christmas on a three-point attempt. Pretty good one-minute stretch for the Lawrence native.
KU 59/TU 48 — 7:46 left in game
Reed has a three rim out, and KU has gone cold from the outside.
On a feed inside from Taylor, Aldrich hits a turn-around to increase KU’s lead to six.
After a TU miss, Taylor sprints out on the break, kicking it out to Collins for a three. Collins, after falling back from the contact, celebrates for a second on the floor before getting back on defense. Timeout Temple, as this run has put KU up, 55-46.
Inge breaks the Temple drought with a jumper, but KU once again beats the Owls down the floor, as Markieff Morris is fouled on a layup attempt. He makes one of two free throws.
Collins looks for a teammate, lobbing a nice pass inside to Markieff for a basket and foul. Markieff rattles in the free throw, and KU has a double-digit lead at 59-48.
KU 50/TU 46 — 10:44 left in game
Markieff Morris picks up his third foul on a cheap call inside. For a while, both twins were playing pretty well on the floor together. Aldrich subs in for Markieff.
KU’s tough defense forces another shot-clock violation, and many of the alumni stand to cheer the effort.
Christmas is left alone again after a double-team inside, and he hits his fourth straight three (by my count).
Taylor gets a runner inside, and finally Christmas misses from the outside, this time on a guarded try from 23 feet.
KU 48/TU 43 — 14:46 left in game
Sergio Olmos beats the shot clock with a turnaround hook shot. On the next TU possession, Morningstar locks up on Christmas, but it doesn’t matter. The 6-foot-5 guard gets enough separation to get his three up, and the ball hits nothing but net.
Morningstar answers with a long two on the other end, and later, Aldrich follows a Collins miss with an athletic stickback of his own.
KU 44/TU 38 — 16:26 left in game
Collins misses a mid-range jumper, but Aldrich cleans up with an offensive rebound and basket for KU.
Christmas gets free from the outside, and he hits another three. Not good news for KU fans.
After looking so confident on chippies early, Marcus Morris misses a layup inside.
Christmas open again, and he hits another three from the corner. KU has to start figuring out where he is on the court.
Aldrich is fouled on a shot inside, and he makes one of two free throws.
Morningstar drives inside before kicking it out to a wide-open Collins, who drains the three. Collins gives Morningstar an emphatic high-five on the way back down the court.
KU scoring
Sherron Collins 11 (5-for-8 shooting), Marcus Morris 8 (4-for-5 shooting), Brady Morningstar 6, Cole Aldrich 6, Tyshawn Taylor 5, Markieff Morris 2.
KU is shooting 64 percent, making 16 of its 25 shots. The Jayhawks have also gone 4-for-6 from three-point range (67 percent).
Temple has made 11 of 25 shots (44 percent), but five of its nine shots from three-point range (56 percent). Temple had five different players hit threes in the first half.
Dionte Christmas, who came in averaging 21 points per game, has just three points on 1-for-4 shooting.
The Jayhawks were able to make a run late despite having both Aldrich and Thomas out with two fouls. The key for KU in the second half once again should be containing Christmas. He can take over a game if left alone, and he’s the best option for the Owls if they want to get back in this one.
Offensively, the Jayhawks have done a much better job getting easy points in transition. That was definitely an area that was lacking against UMass.
KU 38/TU 30 — Halftime
Tyshawn Taylor delivers a bounce pass in transition, and Marcus Morris finishes with a layup.
Allen gets an over-the-back call to put Kleinmann on the line for a one-and-one. He hits back iron on the first try.
After a Kleinmann defensive rebound, Collins leads the break, kicking out to Morningstar for a three. The Fieldhouse erupts, as almost all the fans rise to their feet.
With the seconds winding down, Collins drives to the lane, getting off a shot from 7 feet that bounced off. He jumped a few times and yelled to the sky in disgust. KU goes to the break up eight.
KU 33/TU 30 — 1:31 left in 1st half
On a nice feed inside from Taylor, Morris gets an easy layup. Allen answers with a jumper.
Quintrell Thomas gets his second moving screen call, and Self checks in Matt Kleinmann off the bench. KU’s struggling to find big bodies to put in there.
Taylor hits a three over a defender. Good thing he did, because KU had five guys standing doing nothing on the offensive end.
Collins misses a layup in transition, but a hustling Marcus Morris sprints to get the tip-in.
Christmas finally gets on the board with a fadeaway three, but Collins beats everyone back down the floor, getting an uncontested layup in transition.
KU 24/TU 21 — 6:20 left in 1st half
Luis Guzman hits a three for Temple, and quickly, Self subs to get Travis Releford and Quintrell Thomas out of the game.
Morningstar hits an open three from the wing, but Brooks follows with a layup and foul inside. More importantly, he picked up Aldrich’s second foul inside. The big man will go to the bench.
Lavoy Allen hits an open three, and Self calls timeout. Temple has dwindled the lead down to two at 20-18, and Dionte Christmas hasn’t even scored yet.
After the break, Collins comes off a screen and gets a tough, 12-foot fadeaway to rattle in.
Ramone Moore is left open in the corner, and he hits a three. TU is 4-for-7 from the outside. All four treys have come from different Owls.
Marcus Morris gets two inside, and KU has gone to a 2-3 zone on the defensive end.
KU 17/TU 10 — 11:18 left in 1st half
Collins, coming off a screen, pulls up from 16 feet and swishes another jumper. KU has hit six of its first nine shots (67 percent).
KU forces a shot-clock violation. Afterward, Temple’s Semaj Inge throws his arms out, trying to explain to a pair of his teammates what they should have done after he called out the play, “Nose.”
Collins penetrates all the way under the basket, then flips the ball off the glass for a reverse lay-in. He’s 3-for-3 with two assists and seven points.
Temple throws a full-court press at KU, and after breaking it, Marcus Morris misses a jumper short. Brooks hits a three at the other end, and Marcus throws it out-of-bounds on the ensuing possession.
KU 11/TU 2 — 15:36 left in 1st half
KU wins the tip, and Cole Aldrich scores the first two, reversing to his back shoulder before putting in an 8-foot, baseline jumper.
After a block by Aldrich, Collins beats the shot clock with a long three that hits nothing but net. Aldrich follows with a long jumper from 18 feet, and KU takes a quick 7-0 lead.
Ryan Brooks hits a jumper for Temple, but later, Collins threads the needle on the break, finding a sprinting Markieff Morris for a layup. Timeout Temple, as KU has pulled ahead 9-2.
Aldrich hits another long jumper. It’s nearly impossible to block, as he brings the ball all the way behind his head before shooting it.
Morningstar makes a mistake in transition, trying to pass back to Aldrich instead of taking it up himself. Perhaps too unselfish a play from the sophomore.
Taylor comes up with a steal, and he gets hacked when going up for a transition layup. He’ll shoot free throws after the break.
1:30 p.m.
Starters: Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar, Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Markieff Morris. KU coach Bill Self did say earlier in the week that he’d seen progress in practice from Markieff. We’ll see if the switch pays off.
1:24 p.m.
Mark Mangino, in black leather coat, gets some applause as he walks across the floor to talk to Lew Perkins. Behind me in the student section, three rows of football recruits are starting to file in.
Mario Little is shown on the video board, and he gets a nice round of cheering as well. He looks up to see what is causing the claps, but because he’s standing at mid-court, he can’t see any of the four videoboards above him. Guess he’ll never know the encouragement was for him.
1:09 p.m.
Jay Bilas is in the Fieldhouse, as he’ll be the color guy for ESPN2’s broadcast.
The Jayhawks are shooting around a few feet in front of me, and a Travis Releford miss caroms hard off the rim and hits Sherron Collins in the knee. Collins looks over and scowls at Releford, who flashes a big grin back before pointing at him.
Just noticed that a lot of the Jayhawks, like Quintrell Thomas and Tyshawn Taylor, are wearing two pairs of adidas socks, one pair coming up further than the other. Is this a new fashion trend? Is there another benefit?
12:15 p.m.
Welcome back to The Newell Post Live, coming to you live from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Temple Owls.
To get everyone a little more familiar with KU’s opponent, here are some facts about Temple University.
• Temple originally adopted the Owl as its mascot because the university began as a night school.
• Temple was the first school in the United States to use the owl as its school symbol.
• Temple’s mascot name is “Hooter the Owl.”
• The school colors are cherry and white.
• Notable alumni from Temple include Bill Cosby and Bob Saget.
• The Temple basketball program started in 1894.
Now, let’s get to some notes about this year’s Temple basketball team.
• Dionte Christmas is tied for 19th in the nation with his 21.0 scoring average. He also led the Atlantic-10 in scoring the last two seasons. The A-10 has never had a player lead the conference in scoring three straight years.
• Christmas also was ESPN.com’s National Player of the Week last week after putting up 35 points in the Owls’ 88-72 victory over No. 8 Tennessee.
• Christmas has scored 30 points in nine games at Temple. Interestingly, the Owls are just 4-5 in those games.
• Though Christmas is the leading scorer, I heard TU coach Fran Dunphy say Friday on a Kansas City radio station that junior guard Ryan Brooks (13.5 point per game) is the team’s most clutch shooter. Keep that in mind if this game is close late.
• Sophomore Lavoy Allen (9.4 ppg) is playing despite having a fractured left thumb.
• The Owls average 7.3 three-pointers made per game. KU averages 6.1.
• Temple’s three losses have come against Clemson, Buffalo and Miami (OH). The Owls are 3-1 in true road games.
Nick KrugFinal: KU defeats JSU, 86-62
Sherron Collins posted 17 points and five assists, helping to lead Kansas to an 86-62 victory over Jackson State on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
Collins, who started the game 0-for-7 and picked up his first points with 2:06 left in the first half, made six of his final 10 shots and also went 5-for-10 from beyond the three-point line.
KU struggled to pull away early.
Jackson State took a 10-4 lead in the opening minutes, and after a 17-0 KU run, the Tigers responded with a rally of their own to a 26-25 advantage with 4:10 left in the first half.
The Jayhawks, meanwhile, struggled some against JSU’s 2-3 zone.
“They did a good job of getting out and pressuring, but we didn’t make shots,” Collins said. “We just have to make shots early in the game.”
KU still managed to take a 36-31 lead into halftime before a strong second half.
In the final 20 minutes, KU made 7 of 14 three-pointers on its way to a 50-point stanza.
The biggest treys came from Tyrel Reed, who hit back-to-back shots from the corner to cap an 8-0 run that put KU up 56-42.
The Jayhawks, who were out-rebounded in the first half, 22-17, managed to out-rebound the Tigers, 39-38.
Cole Aldrich and Marcus Morris both contributed 13 points, while Reed had 11 on 3-for-6 shooting from the outside.
Tyshawn Taylor added 10 points to go along with a career-high 11 assists.
Matt Kleinmann had his first career start, playing the first 2 minutes, 1 second. After the game, KU coach Bill Self said he was rewarding Kleinmann for his work in practice.
Grant Maxey led Jackson State (1-8) with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
KU won its 30th straight game at Allen Fieldhouse, the fourth time in school history that a home win streak has reached 30 games.
The Jayhawks (7-1) will take on Massachusetts at 1 p.m. next Saturday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas scoring
Sherron Collins 17, Cole Aldrich 13, Marcus Morris 13, Tyrel Reed 11, Tyshawn Taylor 10, Markieff Morris 8, Brady Morningstar 6, Quintrell Thomas 3, Travis Releford 2, Chase Buford 2, Tyrone Appleton 1.
Taylor also added 11 assists.
KU was 30-for-64 from the floor (47 percent) and 12 of 27 from three-point range (44 percent).
JSU finished 19-for-54 (35 percent). KU was able to out-rebound JSU, 39-38. It’s the first time this season that the Tigers have been out-rebounded.
KU 86/JSU 62 — FINAL
Thomas puts a move on his man at the top of the key, faking one way before taking two steps to the rim and finishing with a layup. He also was fouled and hit the free throw.
Walk-ons check in at the 1:19 mark.
Chase Buford puts in a 16-foot jumper with 28 seconds left. KU comes away with a 24-point victory.
KU 76/JSU 54 — 3:11 left in game
Another assist from Taylor, who lobs it into Aldrich for an and-one.
KU uses quick passes to beat the 2-3 zone again, as Marcus Morris puts in a lay-in with a foul. He makes the free throw and is 3-for-3 from the line today.
Travis Releford, who quietly checked in, gets two after sticking back an offensive rebound.
Pretty good defense by Reed on Kay Martinez, who is a legitimate 6-foot-6. Martinez tried to post up Reed, but after getting the ball, the taller Martinez missed a guarded jumper from 10 feet. Reed also sealed off Martinez on the box out, which helped the Jayhawks get the rebound.
KU 68/JSU 49 — 7:39 left in game
Markieff Morris beats his man to a loose ball, then feeds Aldrich inside for a slam.
Morningstar hits another three from the top. He’s done a great job this year of not forcing things on the offensive end.
Dixon answers with a three, and KU can’t seem to pull away.
Taylor throws a pass away, and KU’s guards have had a high number of turnovers today. That’s four for Taylor, while Collins has three.
By the way, just looked down, and Taylor also has 10 assists already. Guess he listened last game when Self said he wanted more assists from his point guard.
Marcus Morris shows some anger inside, tomahawking a dunk in off a feed from his brother, Markieff.
Collins rattles in a three from the top. KU has shown much better ball movement as of late against that zone.
KU 56/JSU 42 — 12:58 left in game
JSU switches back to a man defense, and KU isn’t having much success against it, either. Reed finally breaks a drought with two free throws.
KU gets a solid defensive possession, forcing a tough shot by JSU. On the other end, Reed hits a three from the corner.
The Jayhawks get a steal, and Reed finds his same spot in the left corner, draining his second consecutive trey. Timeout Jackson State, as KU has quickly gone up 56-42 with the help of an 8-0 run.
KU 48/JSU 42 — 15:32 left in game
Collins forces up a three against the zone that misses. He’s now 2-for-10.
Aldrich gets a pair of free throws, then later lays in a two after getting a lob from Taylor.
Weird thing is, JSU isn’t playing all that well. The Tigers have 12 turnovers, are shooting just 35 percent and are still just down five.
Collins hits consecutive threes. Maybe that will get him going.
Taylor dribbles through an opening in the zone for a short floater, but KU gets beat down the court on the other end as Caldwell gets an easy two. The Jayhawks aren’t playing well on the defensive end this half.
Halftime scoring
Taylor 8, Mk. Morris 7, Mc. Morris 6, Collins 5, Aldrich 4, Morningstar 3, Reed 3.
KU made 14 of 32 shots (44 percent), while JSU was 9-for-26 (35 percent).
JSU is out-rebounding KU, 22-17.
KU 36/JSU 31 — Halftime
After two free throws from Caldwell, JSU is 12-for-17 from the line. The much bigger Jayhawks have shot just three free throws. The Tigers also are out-rebounding KU, 22-15.
Two straight turnovers for KU. Collins finally gets to the rim, putting in a layup in transition.
Taylor uses a quick baseline drive to get to the basket, putting in a layup while getting bumped. His free throw puts KU back up, 33-29.
Collins hits a three against the zone, but Darrion Griffin gets a layup at the other end just before the buzzer. The Jayhawks lead by just five at half.
KU 28/JSU 26 — 3:13 left in 1st half
KU is struggling with the zone today. Taylor misses an open three, and Maxey hits a guarded one on the other end to tie it at 23.
Taylor gets away with a charge inside, and Aldrich slams home the offensive rebound.
A shorter-haired Conner Teahan checks in. He’s having to play the four with Quintrell Thomas at the five.
Check that — KU’s really struggling against the zone. Collins forces up a shot in the lane, and Thomas is called for over-the-back on the rebound. De’Suan Dixon hits a free throw to put JSU up, 26-25.
Reed gets KU out of its funk, hitting a three from the right wing. Collins bricks an open three on the next possession, though.
KU 23/JSU 19 — 7:21 left in 1st half
Markieff takes one strong to the basket, laying it off the glass for two.
Tyrel Reed gets tied up on a drive to the basket for a turnover. KU coach Bill Self says, “What are you doing?” when Reed wanders close to him. Reed slaps his hands together in disgust.
Maxey hits a free throw to end KU’s 17-0 run, then gets a steal in the backcourt off full-court pressure. He makes both free throws after getting fouled by Collins.
Markieff Morris shows an athletic move inside, avoiding defenders with his arms before putting in a layup with a foul. He misses the free throw, one of the few negatives from either Morris twin today.
Maxey gets another shot to roll in, and Self calls timeout. He’s talking to Aldrich, who switched for too long on a ball screen at the top. The JSU guard easily went around Aldrich, then dished to the open Maxey.
Aldrich gets his second foul at the 8:05 mark. I guess that’s progress. Self isn’t subbing him out.
Marcus Morris gets his second foul on a hand-check 27 feet from the basket. Self talks to him about it. No need to even go out that far to defend a big man.
KU 19/JSU 10 — 11:52 left in 1st half
That didn’t take long. Already, the football team has been honored on the video board, receiving a loud ovation from the crowd afterwards.
Taylor hits a three on the outside on a feed from Collins. That’s two quick assists for Sherron.
Set play off a dead ball, and Marcus Morris gets his first dunk off a lob from Collins.
Markieff Morris hits a rhythm three on the secondary break. The twins have come to play today. Another assist to Collins. KU on a 15-0 run.
KU 11/JSU 10 — 13:45 left in 1st half
A set play off the tip. KU gets possession, and Kleinmann sets a screen on Cole Aldrich’s man. After getting a lob, Aldrich airballs a short shot inside.
Jackson State gets the first four points on a short jumper and two free throws. Tyshawn Taylor misses a three, and Aldrich bricks an easy stickback on the rebound.
Aldrich finally gets KU’s first points at the 18:29 mark, draining a pair of free throws.
Kleinmann comes out to a nice round of applause at the 17:59 mark. Quintrell Thomas comes in.
Off a steal, Taylor gets an easy two on a dropback pass from Sherron Collins.
So we’ve already learned the Jackson State media guide stretches the truth. The “6-foot-6” Garrison Johnson is standing eye-to-eye with his defender, the 6-foot-3 Morningstar.
JSU’s already gone to a zone. I don’t get it. The Jayhawks have beaten the zone pretty well all season, but teams seem to always keep trying it.
Grant Maxey makes a jumper off a loose ball, and JSU has taken an 8-4 lead.
The Tigers are getting a ton of offensive rebounds, and Jeremy Caldwell gets the latest stickback for two.
Collins forces up a shot early in a possession, and it airballs. Morningstar follows with a three from the top.
The next two possessions we see a new Marcus Morris. Twice he gets it in the post, and twice he takes it aggressively to the bucket, finishing both shots after using an up-and-under move. Self’s message seems to have been received.
1:04 p.m.
I feel bad for these opposing players. They try really hard to not watch the intro video, but they just have to. I would be a bit intimidated afterwards.
Matt Kleinmann in the starting lineup for KU. I think that’s a clear message to the KU bigs to be tougher inside.
1:02 p.m.
The Fieldhouse is filled to the top today. Professors must be handing out extra homework on campus during the week.
12:57 p.m.
The notes also say KU has given up just six dunks this year (giving KU a 23:6 dunk ratio). I wonder what a good ratio would be.
12:39 p.m.
In case you were wondering about KU’s dunks (see the poll question to the left), here are the Jayhawks’ current standings, according the game notes:
Cole Aldrich 14, Tyshawn Taylor 3, Quintrell Thomas 2, Markieff Morris 2, Travis Releford 2.
Marcus Morris does not have a dunk yet in the regular season.
12:25 p.m.
There are a couple rows reserved in the front of the student section on the south side, probably for football recruits. Therefore, I would say it’s likely that the football team is honored for its Insight Bowl berth at some time during today’s festivities.
12:10 p.m.
Welcome to The Newell Post Live, coming to you live from Allen Fieldhouse where the Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the Jackson State Tigers.
Here are a few notes about Jackson State, which comes into today’s game with a 1-7 record.
• Jackson State is led by the Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason player of the year in Grant Maxey (doesn’t it seem like KU’s played a lot of conference players of the year so far?). He does a little bit of everything for the Tigers, averaging a team-high 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds. He also leads the team in three-pointers (12), blocks (8) and free-throw percentage (23 of 25, 92 percent). The 6-foot-6 forward plays the four, meaning he will probably be guarded by whichever Morris twin is in.
• Perhaps this game’s most intriguing matchup will be at the three position. Garrison Johnson, at 6-foot-6, has come on strong lately, as he scored 21 points (7-for-10 shooting) against No. 19 Arizona State and also had a team-high 13 points in the Tigers’ previous game against Stephen F. Austin. He would appear to be the kind of player that many KU fans believe that an undersized Brady Morningstar will have trouble guarding at the small forward position. We’ll see how Morningstar handles the defensive assignment today.
• At 1-7, Jackson State still is fourth in its conference of 10 teams. Six SWAC teams are still winless. The Tigers were the preseason pick to win their league.
• Jackson State has out-rebounded its opponents so far. On average, JSU pulls down 35.4 boards per game, while allowing 34.2 rebounds to its opponent.
• The Tigers have had only one loss of more than 20 points this season: an 81-60 loss to No. 19 Arizona State on Thursday.
• Jackson State only trailed KU by eight with about 12 minutes to go when the teams met in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1997. KU went on to take a 78-64 victory before losing in the Sweet 16 to Arizona.
John HenryFINAL: KU women defeat Iowa, 76-55
LaChelda Jacobs tied her career highs in points and assists, leading the Kansas women’s basketball team to a 76-55 victory over Iowa on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Jacobs finished with 18 points, six assists and just one turnover in 30 minutes.
“I thought she controlled us offensively, even in the zone defense, and made some great decisions,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said of Jacobs.
Sade Morris added 17 points — all coming in the second half. After going 0-for-6 in the opening 20 minutes, Morris was 7-for-10 from the field after the break.
Danielle McCray posted 15 points, which included a 3-for-6 effort from three-point range.
Playing in front of 5,186 fans (about half of which were elementary school children from the area), the Jayhawks put together one of their best defensive showings of the Henrickson era. Iowa made just 17 of 45 shots (38 percent) and committed 23 turnovers. Only four Hawkeyes scored field goals, with center Megan Skouby accounting for 60 percent of the Iowa offense (33 points, 10-for-17 shooting).
“This wasn’t a very good performance, but a lot of it was that Kansas played excellent defense,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “They disrupted our offense and did a super job of that.”
KU (2-0) also held its own on the boards against a much taller Iowa squad. The two teams both finished with 35 rebounds, with the Jayhawks pulling down 18 offensive boards.
The Jayhawks’ next game will be on the road against St. Louis on Sunday.
“I’m just excited for our kids and for our fans,” Henrickson said. “It was a great environment, and there was great energy. It was clear early if we could be as good as the crowd was going to be, we had a chance to be successful.”
KU’s scoring totals
LaChelda Jacobs 18, Sade Morris 17, Danielle McCray 15, Nicollette Smith 8, Kelly Kohn 6, Krysten Boogaard 5, Porscha Weddington 3, Ivana Catic 2, Marija Zinic 2.
FINAL: KU women defeat Iowa, 76-55
KU empties the bench for the final two minutes, and the elementary school kids do their best to get a steady “Rock Chalk” chant going. They actually do pretty well considering some have already had to get on the buses to leave.
The Jayhawks don’t have a field goal in the final 5:33, but it doesn’t matter. KU picks up a strong non-conference victory in convincing fashion.
KU 72/Iowa 50 — 3:49 left in game
Jacobs drives to the basket for two more. That ties her career high in scoring (18).
Skouby puts in four more free throws, giving her 33 points, but her teammates haven’t done much to help her.
KU 64/Iowa 40 — 7:48 left in game
Skouby hits another shot inside, giving her 27 points. But Nicollette Smith knocks in another three for KU, and suddenly the lead is up to 60-40.
Jacobs picks up a steal and gets an easy two at the other end, and after an Iowa turnover, Jacobs gets a hoop and a foul at the other end before screaming out to the crowd.
KU 56/Iowa 38 — 9:55 left in game
Alexander hits a pair for free throws for Iowa with 11:03 left. She’s the first player to score other than Skouby this half for the Hawkeyes.
McCray shows her long-range shooting touch again, knocking in another three from the wing. She’s now 3-for-6 from the outside.
Morris follows with a three from the corner, and she gets some slaps on the back from her teammates as she runs back down the court. After going 0-for-6 in the first half, Morris is 6-for-7 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Timeout Iowa.
KU 48/Iowa 34 — 11:44 left in game
Skouby gets another basket inside, but Morris works around her defender and pulls up for a jumper.
Skouby drains another turnaround (she has 23 of her team’s 34 points), but Kohn beats the shot clock with a three from the deep corner to give the Jayhawks their biggest lead at 48-34.
KU 43/Iowa 30 — 15:45 left in game
KU’s having a real problem stopping Megan Skouby inside. After a turnaround, she has 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. The good news for the Jayhawks is that they’ve stopped everyone else, as only three Hawkeyes have scored.
Sade Morris has awakened for KU, putting in consecutive baskets to bump KU’s lead to 41-30.
Alexander just picked up her fourth foul for Iowa, so we’ll see if McCray can break open a little bit more.
Morris hits another floater in the lane, and she’s on a personal 6-0 run.
KU’s scoring leaders
Danielle McCray 10, LaChelda Jacobs 10, Nicollette Smith 5, Krysten Boogaard 4, Kelly Kohn 3, Marija Zinic 2, Porscha Weddington 1.
The first-half standout for KU was guard LaChelda Jacobs. A few times, she broke down the Iowa defense one-on-one and was able to get her shot to go down inside. She was 4-for-7 from the floor with three assists and just one turnover in 17 minutes. Jacobs also was a reliable second scoring option for a team that will need all the offensive help it can get.
Another interesting statistic: KU out-rebounded Iowa, 17-15, in the first half. The Jayhawks have neutralized the Hawkeyes’ greatest strength (inside play), and that’s part of the reason KU finds itself up eight at the break.
KU 35/Iowa 27 — Halftime
Smith out-hustles an Iowa player for an offensive rebound, and Kelly Kohn makes the Hawkeyes pay with a three-pointer. These kids are going bonkers — there are some serious, high-pitched screams bouncing off the Allen Fieldhouse walls.
Iowa’s Kristi Smith gets free for a jumper, but Smith follows with a pair of free throws to give KU an eight-point halftime lead.
KU 30/Iowa 25 — 2:33 left in 1st half
Iowa is starting to flex its muscle inside, as former K-State player JoAnn Hamlin makes a layup inside and Megan Skouby rolls in a jumper to force a KU timeout.
After two more offensive rebounds for KU, McCray knocks in a layup to tie the score at 21.
Skouby out-battles Zinic for a rebound, and she makes a jumper before a quick drive and two from Jacobs on the other end.
Skouby rattles in an 18-footer, then pumps her fist in celebration. Zinic follows with hook shot, and the scoring is starting to pick up.
McCray hits a three-pointer from the left wing in transition, making it 28-25 KU, and she screams out in jubilation.
The 5-foot-10 Jacobs follows with a mid-range jumpshot, and KU has a 7-0 run.
KU 19/Iowa 17 — 7:52 left in 1st half
Jacobs hits both free throws, and Nicollette Smith hits a three (even while wearing a bulky face guard) to build KU’s biggest lead at 17-12.
Iowa follows with a pair of baskets, but KU scraps underneath for a pair of offensive rebounds before McCray is fouled. She hits both free throws.
Marija Zinic gets another offensive rebound on the next possession, and KU has four offensive boards in the first 12 minutes against a taller Iowa team.
Iowa 12/KU 12 — 11:34 left in 1st half
So far, Kachine Alexander is doing a great job of shadowing McCray. KU’s best scoring option didn’t even attempt a shot until 5 ½ minutes in, and she’s having trouble creating any space for herself.
Boogaard puts in a shot in the lane to tie the score, but after getting three offensive rebounds, Iowa puts in a layup. The Hawkeyes’ superior size has made a difference early, as of now, they have out-rebounded the Jayhawks, 6-4.
McCray gives KU its first lead, putting in a three from the left wing to make it 9-8 Jayhawks.
KU has done a good job of forcing turnovers early, as Iowa has had six turnovers in the first seven minutes.
Jacobs gives KU a spark, hitting a jumper, then getting a steal before getting fouled on the way to the rim. She has two free throws coming after the timeout.
Iowa 6/KU 4 — 15:59 left in 1st half
Danielle McCray gets a steal on the first possession, but LaChelda Jacobs misses on the other end. Iowa’s Kristi Smith hits a baseline jumper, and KU throws away a pass on the other end for an unforced turnover.
The Jayhawks finally get on the board 2 minutes, 7 seconds in, as Boogaard grabs an offensive rebound and lays it off the glass for two.
After a Megan Skouby basket, Jacobs ties it back up with a dribble drive and six-foot shot of the glass. Skouby follows with two free throws.
10:53 a.m.
It’s quite a sight here at Allen Fieldhouse, as around 2,000 elementary school children have been ushered in to watch the game. Thus, the screams for the Jayhawks have been a noticeably higher pitch.
10:45 a.m.
Welcome to the Newell Post Live, coming to you live from Allen Fieldhouse where the KU women are getting set to take on Iowa in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
We hope you are enjoying the changes to KUSports.com that were implemented today. Also included in the Web site redesign is a new format for live game updates, so we hope you will like this change as well.
On to today’s game, which is the only women’s basketball game being shown on ESPN today during its college basketball marathon. Iowa comes in as a strong program, finishing 21-11 last year while sharing the Big Ten championship with Ohio State.
Here are a couple things to look for:
Big and tall
Iowa enters the game with a definite height advantage inside. The Hawkeyes have three starters 6 feet, 2 inches or taller (Megan Skouby, 6-foot-5; JoAnn Hamlin, 6-3; Wendy Ausdemore, 6-2) while the Jayhawks have just one (Krysten Boogaard, 6-5). The Jayhawks will have to box out well, and Boogaard will have to grab every board close to her inside. The sophomore had 11 points and four rebounds in the season-opener against Sacred Heart.
McCray all the way
Folllowing the season-ending injury to freshman point guard Angel Goodrich, there was little doubt that Danielle McCray would have to be the Jayhawks’ leader this season. In the first game, she was exactly that. McCray scored 29 points and showed more confidence than she had in the past. The junior guard made her first six shots, drained five of seven three-pointers and finished 12-for-16 from the floor. KU will need her to shoulder the scoring load today as it takes on a high-powered Iowa squad.
