**Jesse Newell:** Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Oklahoma State on Thursday morning at the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Tom, if you were Oklahoma State big men Marshall Moses and Matt Pilgrim, would you try the same trash-talk strategy that didn’t seem to work against the Morris twins in OSU’s 92-65 loss on Feb. 21?
**Tom Keegan:** In a word, no.
**JN:** Ha. Fair enough.
Moses was a good sport when I spoke with him Wednesday about his team’s trash talk in its first game against KU.
“We’re going to have to come up with some different lines or something, because it didn’t work last time,” he said with a grin.
OSU’s Matt Pilgrim said Wednesday that he was going to play the same aggressive way he played against KU the first time.
I’m with you, though: I’m still expecting a little less talking from the Cowboys in this game.
Switching to KU, if you were coach Bill Self, how much would you play Tyrel Reed against OSU with his foot injury?
**TK:** I’d keep doing what Self’s been doing because it seems to be working. Reed’s played great with a bad foot.
**JN:** It does make for an interesting dilemma, though. Self said this week that Reed has only been practicing on the day before games, meaning that the coach has been trying to protect Reed a bit.
KU almost certainly is locked into a No. 1 seed, so the Big 12 tournament doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Then again, like you said, Reed has been playing OK with the injury, so sitting him too many minutes could take him out of rhythm before the biggest games of the year.
I’ll be interested to see how Self handles the situation Thursday.
All right, Tom, what’s your prediction for this game?
**TK:** Kansas 88, Oklahoma State 74.
The Cowboys were embarrassed in Allen Fieldhouse and have a ton to play for, so they’ll bring everything they have and it won’t be good enough. Two Morris twins are better than one Moses.
**JN:** I’ll go KU by six.
The Jayhawks might have problems getting motivated for this one. Not only is it a morning game, it’s a matchup against a team that KU thoroughly dominated a couple weeks ago. Though the Jayhawks will have more support than the Cowboys in Sprint Center, the Kansas City fans, for some reason, usually like to sit and watch more than they like to make noise, making it less of a home-court advantage than it could be.
I’ll still pick KU, but I definitely could see the Jayhawks playing sloppy early in this one.
OK, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?
**TK:** Josh Selby.
The open jumpers will be there for KU and Selby’s due to get hot.
**JN:** Love the bold pick, as Selby has just 26 points since Feb. 14.
I’ll go with Tyshawn Taylor. I tried to pick him in the first KU-OSU game, but he was suspended before the game.
I still think Taylor’s quickness makes him a mismatch against Oklahoma State’s Keiton Page on the perimeter. The Cowboys also are one of the most foul-prone teams in the Big 12, so there’s a possibility that Taylor makes an impact at the free-throw line as well.
Tracking the picks
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**Predictions tally (through 31 games)**
Tom: 26-5 record, 342 points off (11.0 points off/game)
Jesse: 29-2 record, 364 points off (11.7 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)
Oklahoma State: Marcus Morris (1st)
Oklahoma: Tyrel Reed (3rd)
Texas A&M: Tyrel Reed (1st)
Missouri: Tyrel Reed (3rd)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.3rd 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)
Oklahoma State: Elijah Johnson (2nd)
Oklahoma: Markieff Morris (2nd)
Texas A&M: Thomas Robinson (7th)
Missouri: Markieff Morris (6th)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.4th in Keegan ratings**
