**Jesse Newell:** Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Illinois on Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in Tulsa, Okla.
Tom, Illinois comes in as the tallest team in the nation, according to KenPom.com. How much do you think the Illini’s length will affect the Jayhawks’ talented frontcourt players?
**Tom Keegan:** My guess is it will bother them a lot at first, but they’ll get around to figuring out the best way to go about it. The twins have so many ways to make things happen and are such smart players, they’ll figure out what works and get on a roll. Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis are very different type big men and they both have talent and a lot of experience, so it’s not going to be easy.
**JN:** Interestingly, KU is the 36th-best team in the nation at not getting its two-pointers blocked, while Illinois is the 36th-best team at blocking two-pointers. At 7-foot-1, Tisdale is the player that KU’s frontcourt players need to worry about most, as he has more than double the blocks (53) of anyone else on Illinois’ roster.
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2011/mar/19/34288/
Speaking of KU, do you think the jitters are gone, or do you expect the Jayhawks will be tight once again to start Sunday’s game?
**TK:** That’s a great question, but if I had to guess I’d say the jitters are gone. That doesn’t mean they won’t get off to a slow start. Illinois is a talented basketball team and the fact the Illini haven’t won back-to-back games since Jan. 2-Jan. 6 qualifies as one of the most amazing statistics in college basketball this year.
**JN:** The Jayhawks’ locker room was extremely loose on Saturday, with players even rapping in front of TV cameras.
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2011/mar/19/34284/
Still, the Round of 32 game is the one that tripped up the Jayhawks last year, so you have to wonder if any of the players will be trying extra hard to get past this game.
All right, Tom, what’s your prediction?
**TK:** Kansas 72, Illinois 61.
This could get ugly for long stretches with a lot of banging in the paint, but Kansas is so fast it’s tough to make it play ugly for 40 minutes.
**JN:** I’ll take KU by two.
Going by the KenPom rankings, KU has the toughest matchup in the Round of 32 of any No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 seed. In fact, at last check, Pomeroy’s projections had KU with a 69-percent chance of winning — hardly the percentage you’d expect in a Round of 32 game for the No. 2 overall seed.
Illinois is ranked 16th in the KenPom rankings, and KU has only played one team ranked higher than that this season: Texas (sixth), which it went 1-1 against.
Illinois is just 2-8 in games decided by seven points or fewer this year. The Jayhawks need to hope that pattern continues, because I think we’re going to see a game that comes down to the last few possessions.
Luckily for KU, if it can get by Illinois, the draw would get easier against Richmond in the Sweet 16.
OK, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?
**TK:** Tyrel Reed.
Senior is so locked in and determined to partake in what he sat on the bench and watched as a freshman he seems as if he’s going to have a tremendous tournament.
**JN:** I’ll go with Tyshawn Taylor.
Illinois has a tendency to foul opposing guards, and Taylor is KU’s best bet to make something happen off the dribble.
Illinois also ranks 265th nationally in defensive turnover percentage, meaning Taylor should be able to have a low-turnover game. Be sure to pay attention to the Jayhawks’ turnover numbers; high-turnover counts against teams that didn’t force many turnovers led to the Jayhawks’ last two NCAA Tournament losses.
KU can’t afford to give away possessions against Illinois on Sunday.
Tracking the picks
——————
**Predictions tally (through 35 games)**
Tom: 30-5 record, 373 points off (10.7 points off/game)
Jesse: 33-2 record, 389 points off (11.1 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)
Oklahoma State: Josh Selby (7th)
Colorado: Thomas Robinson (7th)
Texas: Marcus Morris (2nd)
Boston: Thomas Robinson: (6th)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.4th 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)
Oklahoma State: Tyshawn Taylor (4th)
Colorado: Marcus Morris (1st)
Texas: Brady Morningstar (4th)
Boston: Markieff Morris (3rd)
**Average Hawk to Rock: 4.3rd in Keegan ratings**
