**Jesse Newell:** Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Oklahoma State on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Tom, what sticks out in your mind from last year’s game in Stillwater, Okla., when OSU defeated KU, 85-77?
**Tom Keegan:** I remember how tough James Anderson was, Keiton Page getting hot and the students storming the court. And, of course, the cheese fries from Eskimo Joe’s.
**JN:** How did you make it to Eskimo Joe’s without me? I’ve always wanted to check that place out. Oh well, I guess there’s always next year.
Statistically, though, the OSU game was KU’s worst defensive game last year. The Cowboys scored the most points against the Jayhawks last season (85) and also made 60.4 percent of their shots.
Oklahoma State lost some offensive firepower this offseason with Anderson and Obi Muonelo moving on. The Jayhawks won’t need to worry as much about the Cowboys’ outside shooters this year, as after shooting 34.9 percent from three last year, OSU has made just 29.9 percent of its threes this year.
Switching to KU, in Big 12 play, KU guard Brady Morningstar has made 22 of 42 three-pointers (52.4 percent) and has a 49-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Even after his slow start, do you think he’s deserving of making an All-Big 12 team (first-, second- or third-team)? And do you think he will make one?
**TK:** Funny you should ask that. Watching him out-play Alec Burks on Saturday that thought popped into my head. He’s definitely worthy of at least third-team consideration. The guy’s been amazing at both ends of the floor.
**JN:** Morningstar’s numbers in Big 12 play really are astounding. In conference play, the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big 12 is 3-to-1 (and somewhat surprisingly, that’s teammate Mario Little). Morningstar also is tops in the Big 12 in effective field-goal percentage (72.1 percent), which gives extra credit to a shooter for making three-pointers because they are worth more points (Markieff Morris is second in that category).
If you’re only taking conference stats into consideration, Morningstar has an argument as being one of the best 10 players in the Big 12.
All right, Tom, what’s your prediction for this game?
**TK:** Kansas 80, Oklahoma State 66.
This is one of those games KU could really miss Thomas Robinson, whose help on Marshall Moses certainly would come in handy, but still, this is a bit of an off year for the Cowboys and the K-State loss is still too fresh to anticipate a letdown from KU.
**JN:** I’ll go KU by 15. Oklahoma State’s big men Moses and J.P. Olukemi are pretty good at drawing fouls, so the potential is there for KU to get off to a slow start if the Morris twins get into foul trouble.
Honestly, though, the Cowboys aren’t scary at all offensively if you keep them away from the free-throw line, where they shoot 72.4 percent. If KU doesn’t rack up fouls defensively, there’s no reason to think the Jayhawks shouldn’t pull away for an easy win at home.
OK, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?
**TK:** Marcus Morris.
While Markieff battles Moses, Marcus has a free path to the mountain top.
**JN:** Nice. Though this is the last time I’m going to let you pick Marcus for consecutive games …
Before he was suspended, I would have gone with Tyshawn Taylor.
OSU guard Keiton Page has been a great player for the Cowboys, but he’s not a good matchup against the quicker Taylor. The KU point guard would probably have been able to get to the lane to either score or dish out for open threes.
Oklahoma State’s other guards besides Page have had issues with fouling too much, so even if Page wasn’t Taylor’s main defender, KU would have had the edge.
With Taylor’s suspension, though, I’ll go with Elijah Johnson, who needs to be more aggressive offensively while still taking care of the basketball.
Tracking the picks
——————
**Predictions tally (through 27 games)**
Tom: 23-4 record, 314 points off (11.6 points off/game)
Jesse: 25-2 record, 334 points off (12.4 points off/game)
Hawk to Rock
————
**Tom Keegan**
Longwood: Tyrel Reed (6th in Keegan ratings)
Valparaiso: Marcus Morris (1st)
North Texas: Tyrel Reed (6th)
Texas A&M-CC: Marcus Morris (5th)
Ohio: Markieff Morris (3rd)
Arizona: Marcus Morris (1st)
UCLA: Tyshawn Taylor (1st)
Memphis: Markieff Morris (4th)
Colorado State: Tyshawn Taylor (2nd)
USC: Tyrel Reed (6th)
Cal: Marcus Morris (6th)
UT Arlington: Tyrel Reed (8th)
Miami: Marcus Morris (3rd)
UMKC: Markieff Morris (9th)
Michigan: Thomas Robinson (8th)
Iowa State: Tyshawn Taylor (7th)
Nebraska: Josh Selby (9th)
Baylor: Josh Selby (3rd)
Texas: Marcus Morris (3rd)
Colorado: Markieff Morris (5th)
Kansas State: Marcus Morris (4th)
Texas Tech: Markieff Morris (4th)
Nebraska: Mario Little (7th)
Missouri: Tyrel Reed (7th)
Iowa State: Markieff Morris (2nd)
Kansas State: Brady Morningstar (2nd)
Colorado: Marcus Morris (3rd)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.6th in Keegan ratings**
**Jesse Newell**
Longwood: Markieff Morris (1st in Keegan ratings)
Valparaiso: Brady Morningstar (8th)
North Texas: Tyrel Reed (6th)
Texas A&M-CC: Thomas Robinson (2nd)
Ohio: Tyshawn Taylor (4th)
Arizona: Brady Morningstar (8th)
UCLA: Markieff Morris (6th)
Memphis: Thomas Robinson (1st)
Colorado State: Markieff Morris (1st)
USC: Thomas Robinson (2nd)
Cal: Markieff Morris (2nd)
UT Arlington: Brady Morningstar (10th)
Miami: Tyshawn Taylor (8th)
UMKC: Josh Selby (1st)
Michigan: Tyrel Reed (4th)
Iowa State: Marcus Morris (1st)
Nebraska: Thomas Robinson (3rd)
Baylor: Tyshawn Taylor (6th)
Texas: Josh Selby (8th)
Colorado: Jeff Withey (7th)
Kansas State: Tyrel Reed (8th)
Texas Tech: Thomas Robinson (1st)
Nebraska: Tyrel Reed (5th)
Missouri: Markieff Morris (3rd)
Iowa State: Brady Morningstar (4th)
Kansas State: Marcus Morris (4th)
Colorado: Josh Selby (6th)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.4th in Keegan ratings**
