**7:19 p.m.**: It was quite the mood outside of the KU locker room following the celebration, which you can catch a glimpse of on the front of our site right now.No one seemed to be in better spirits than Brandon Rush. He was in as happy a mood as we’ve seen him in quite awhile, not that he’s ever really down or anything. But this win relieved the last little bit of pressure that remained for KU following February. I know I for one wasn’t going to be a true believer in the February funk being a thing of the past until seeing what KU did today. Now I’m convinced, and if you’re not at this point, well, wow.Bill Self called it his team’s most complete showing on the road this season, and it surely ranks right up there with the games at Boston College and Iowa State. This one I thought was actually quite reminiscent of the game in Ames, where KU worked the offense through Darrell Arthur early to establish a lead, built a decent advantage and staved off some runs in the second half, ultimately cruising.KU played this game with an added bit of motivation, playing in the wake of strength coach Andrea Hudy’s mother passing after a bout with cancer. Hudy asked the team to win it for her before heading out to be with her family Thursday, and the Jayhawks even collectively chanted ‘Hudy’ in the postgame locker room.In all, the Jayhawks couldn’t have found a better way to head into the Big 12 Tournament. The defense was huge, especially in the post, where the trio of Aggie big men were completely flustered all day. That made things easier for everyone, as Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins piled up numbers off steals in transition.That said, lets get to some final digits of note…-The aforementioned A&M big men (DeAndre Jordan, Joseph Jones, Bryan Davis) combined to shoot 4-of-15 from the floor. Each came in as a 50-percent or better shooter. That attests to the double-teams the posts provided for KU. The guards swooped in for several of the Jayhawks’ 11 steals.-Five Jayhawks scored in double figures yet again. Darrell Arthur put away 12 of his game-high 16 in the first half, while Mario Chalmers (also 16 points) and Sherron Collins went nuts in transition in the second half. Collins scored 13, Russell Robinson 11 and Brandon Rush 10, including a late highlight-reel and-one dunk.-The 3-through-6 seeds were Saturday for the Big 12 Tournament. In order, it goes K-State, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas A&M.-KU only hit two threes in the game, and the stat proved to be moot. They weren’t really needed, as KU outscored A&M 44-12 in the paint and Aggie sharpshooter Josh Carter was just 1-of-11 from the floor (1-of-5 from deep).-KU protected the ball well, turning it over 12 times, but only allowing A&M two steals on the final stat sheet.Well, that closes the book on the regular season. It’ll be a busy week in Kansas City. Stay tuned to KUSports.com for more coverage than you could ever possibly want.Later.**4:57 p.m.**: Well, maybe the explosiveness really is there at this point for Brandon Rush. That dunk is the ideal exclamation point on KU sealing a share of its fourth straight regular season Big 12 title. Be back after postgame interviews with notes, numbers and nuggets.**4:46 p.m.**: A nice x-factor for KU today is the way Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins are working together in the transition game. There may have been no finer example than on Chalmers’ last three-point play. The two had a nice little celebration between them after the bucket dropped. This could be a look at what the Jayhawks’ starting backcourt may consist of next year. The chemistry already appears to be there.**4:35 p.m.**: Credit so far to the Jayhawks’ defensive job on the Aggies’ big men inside. Jordan, Davis and Jones have scored a combined 12 points. All 12 are well-earned, and clean looks are few and far between.**4:30 p.m.**: This second half reminds me quite a bit of the one KU put together in Ames almost two weeks ago. After building a nice, comfy lead in the first half, it came down to responding to mini-runs from the Cyclones. The Aggies are doing the same today. So are the Jayhawks.In large part, it’s because of Sherron Collins. Also, KU’s swagger has helped. Collins has stayed on the floor for much of the second half and is playing a confident brand of ball, especially his little back-and-forth battle a few minutes ago with Dominique Kirk.Mario Chalmers hanging his hand in the air after stroking a three a bit ago showed off some of that swagger. Or it could have charged up the Aggies. I’m leaning away from the latter.**4:00 p.m.**: You can’t really call it a six-point trip that took place towards the end of the first half for KU, but it was a six-point swing without the ball going back across mid-court which put KU firmly in control at halftime. That swing contained everything which made KU’s first half so solid.First, there was Cole Aldrich with a big offensive rebound. He played eight big minutes for KU in the first half with Darnell Jackson playing just eight with two fouls to his credit. Sasha Kaun also had two.Then, after Aldrich missed his second bonus free throw, Darrell Arthur grabbed one of his six first half rebounds. He also had 12 points, playing 17 minutes in the first half, picking up just one foul.Mario Chalmers also hit the Jayhawks’ lone three-pointer of the first half. Don’t let that mislead you, though, as KU was an efficient 16-of-28 from the floor in the first half.Here’s some other numbers of note from the first half…-Texas A&M frosh DeAndre Jordan scored just three points and had only three rebounds in 13 minutes of run. He was also 1-of-4 from the stripe.-KU outscored Texas A&M in the paint, 26-8. Given the Aggies’ wealth of big men, that’s an accomplishment.-Texas A&M was credited with 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes to KU’s seven. KU scored 10 fast break points with those, and A&M had just two.-Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were a combined 10-of-12 from the floor.-While Texas A&M limited KU to just three looks from beyond the arc, KU was equally solid on the perimeter defensively. Josh Carter, A&M’s top sniper, got just one clean look. It was off, but not by much.**3:41 p.m.**: I’ll give it to Cole, he looked good in those few minutes subbing in, then giving way to Rodrick Stewart as KU goes a little smaller in its lineup. He only produced the one dunk, but played tough and didn’t let A&M get anything easy inside. He also cleared out space on the boards.Unintentional comedy of the afternoon: Some kid just hit a half-court shot during the last TV timeout as part of a contest. What does he win? No, not a trip to Cancun. He wins a $100 gift certificate to Schlotzky’s. Good sandwiches and all, and Chuck Woodling would rejoice with such a gift, but for a half-court shot? I’d be livid.**3:33 p.m.**: Again, KU is showing what it can look like on the road when the offense is flowing through Darrell Arthur. At Iowa State, that meant taking it himself half the time and kicking it out for open perimeter looks the other half. Today, with A&M’s sweltering pressure on the arc, he’s going at the rack himself and succeeding with 10 points so far. His last jumper from the top of the key is going to make Texas A&M need to respect him all over the floor the rest of the afternoon. he’s the MVP of this one so far, not just because of the points but because of what his presence could potentially do to A&M’s defensive psyche.**3:26 p.m.**: Here’s where we see what Cole Aldrich is made of. He hasn’t played a ton of minutes in big road games this year, and with Darnell Jackson picking up his second foul at the 9:30 mark, he’s come in. And who does he get to face? DeAndre Jordan.**3:23 p.m.**: Just as was expected, a defensive grinder through the first 9:34 of this game. It’s hard to say the home crowd has shaken KU much if at all, but rather it’s the defensive aggresssiveness A&M has shown. While KU is successfully collapsing down on Joseph Jones and DeAndre Jordan, A&M is pressuring the perimeter, not giving KU clean looks from the perimeter.Jordan’s resting plenty here in the first half, which means Turgeon could be saving him for big minutes after the break. That’s my guess.**3:03 p.m.**: It’s hard to slam DeAndre Jordan for much, but kissing his biceps in his videoboard headshot used during pregame intros is certainly grounds for that. Yep, he’s a frosh.Positive sign if you’re a KU fan: While A&M dimmed the lights and bumped the sound system (not enough, in my opinion) for its intros, Sherron Collins was walking around, nodding his head, smiling and pumping up his teammates. The swagger is there today, it looks like.**2:58 p.m.**: A&M fans hiss rather than boo when opponents run out onto the floor. That’s different.I still don’t understand what they’re saying in most of the yells and chants, though. And to think, I even attended Midnight Yell Practice in October… **2:49 p.m.**: Well, we’re just about 10 minutes from tip-off here in Reed Arena. Gotta say, I’m a big fan of this place’s layout. It’s almost what I’d imagine the Lied Center would look like if you turned it into a basketball arena.The Aggies are honoring their senior class, including Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk, at the moment in front of an almost-capacity crowd. In the second level above the end zone, which I was told is a student section, it’s only about one-third full. That, though, is because it’s Spring Break here in College Station. Though I was also told this game sold out faster than any in school history. Go figure.The students are all wearing white, which makes for a neat look behind each bucket.I can already tell it’s going to be loud in here, and Senior Day I sense is a big deal here (no speeches, but all the other pageantry is there). That mean’s there’s certainly the presence of emotion.The first 8-10 minutes of this game will be very important for the Jayhawks. Given how good both teams are defensively, there’s no reason to expect KU to get much running and gunning going. If either team scores more than 70-75 points, it’d be a shocker.**10:06 a.m.**: Did anyone watch Texas A&M and Baylor play Wednesday night?Boy did the Aggies need the win. I certainly think that secured A&M’s NCAA Tourney fate, making Mark Turgeon’s club now 8-7 in league play with just KU left. They played a decent non-con slate, too.But today is a true clash from opposite directions in Reed Arena.On one side, with the Jayhawks, you have a team that saw its mid-January magic re-appear, well, magically out of thin air starting last Wednesday in Ames, Iowa. Helped big-time by swelling home crowds against K-State and Texas Tech in a 48-hour stretch, the woes of February _might_ (read further) be long in the past. (It also came out the other day that some [hot wings and a turkey club][1] had something to do with it, too)A&M, despite tipping Baylor 71-57, has lost four of its last six. A lot of the names are the same from the squad that [knuckleballed KU][2] out of Allen Fieldhouse last February, but a very different style is in place. The Aggies have swagger of a different sort, and it seeped out a little too much for some in Waco. Joseph Jones’ screen at midcourt which sidelined Tweety Carter for a bit may have included an excess shoulder throw, and Donald Sloan’s toss-it-to-yourself alley-oop off the backcourt when he should have been draining the clock probably left enough bad blood on the floor (and garbage from the Baylor fans) to carry over into next year’s meetings.But there’s no denying that with former [KU guard Mark Turgeon][3] at the helm, Texas A&M’s veteran-laden ball blub has shown solid defensive principles (allowing just 61.6 ppg to KU’s 61.4 surrendered).This matchup pits not only the league’s top two teams in field goal percentage defense (KU is No. 1 at 38.1, A&M secoond at 38.8), but also the top two rankings in field goal percentage on the other end of the floor (KU at 50.6, A&M at 47.2).That said, I’m going to go out on a not-too-risky branch and predict a low-scoring, close game for a couple of reasons.1) I promised myself I wouldn’t set it in stone that KU is completely out of its February funk until I’ve seen them do it on the road after last weekend. Looking back on KU’s road resume this year, the most impressive moments have been at Boston College, the second half at Colorado and the first half at Iowa State. Aside from those four halves of hoops, it’s been very up-and-down. Hence the caution at the start of today’s episode.2) Just as seemingly everything thrown up went in somehow in Monday’s Senior Night extravaganza in Allen Fieldhouse, don’t forget that today is Senior Day in Reed Arena. The Aggies bid farewell to two starters in Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk. Jones, whose scoring numbers have gradually fallen off since his sophomore year (15.3 to 13.4 to 10.7), is still one of the league’s best bruisers, and has always played well against KU, dating back to his freshman season. Kirk leads the Aggies with 104 assists to just 42 turnovers. He scores 7.8 points a game and shoots 41.5 percent from deep. A very solid, very experienced player. Don’t be surprised it A&M benefits from some of the magic today that KU did Monday night.3) Even though he’s flown under the radar a bit during conference season, 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan can change a game with the best of them. In league play, he’s averaging just 7.5 points and 6.1 boards a game, but he is fourth in the Big 12 during the conference season with, registering 1.67 blocks per game. He’s athletic, too. But in a late game situation, if you’re looking to foul someone to play catchup, Jordan’s your guy. Not that the Aggies are stellar free-throw shooters (63.2 as a team to KU’s 76.0), but Jordan is the least efficient of the regulars, firing at just 43.2 percent.**Prediction time…**: I’m not ready to predict a KU setback given how the Jayhawks looked in their last three outings, but I am a firm believer in this being a close game in one of the rowdiest environments they’ll see all year. Plus, I believe in the power of the Henry T’s wings. I say **KU 71, A&M 64**. (Seriously, though, if a players-only meeting last year helped them win a neutral court game with the eventual National Champs, I think it can carry over this year a couple weeks later for a road Big 12 contest)**Now, before hitting the road for College Station…**Two travel observations so far from this trip, since last time I made a couple plenty of folks seemed to agree…- A new pet peeve for when flying. If you fall asleep, doesn’t it drive you nuts when a flight attendant wakes you up to make you tilt your seat back to its full upright position just before landing? I know there’s some FAA law probably involved, but what’s the point? I guess to me it’s just the principle. Then after complaining about this to Keegan I realized that I’d wake up 10 minutes later anyway once we’ve landed, so the whole argument is moot. But still…- Do you ever feel like you never go bowling enough? I think about this every Tuesday when some co-workers and I go grub on some italian beef sandwiches at Wayne & Larry’s. For you non-Lawrence residents, it’s attached to the bowling alley near 9th and Iowa.Last night, after grabbing dinner at this mexican restaurant named Chacho’s (we’re staying in Houston, keep in mind), I went ‘Extreme Bowling’ with three KU alums who live down here – Natalie, Nick and Brock. (Extreme Bowling = Bowling with blacklights, neon balls, lit up lanes, huge screens at the end playing rap videos while the bass bumps throughout the alley)I’m not claiming to be a stellar roller by any means, and if I ever tried to throw a ball with curve on it I’d probably need Tommy John surgery worse than Albert Pujols, but my proudest moment of the night was in our fifth and final game, starting around 1:30 a.m. with a few beverages having already been consumed. We decided to play ‘trick bowling.’ That meant each frame, we rotated and one person dictated how you had to roll your ball. For example, one frame you’d have to jump-stop and then throw. Another (Natalie’s call) you’d have to do some weird one-legged ballerina twirl right before throwing. Or one, you’d have to throw the ball from right where you pick up your ball on the rack.I rolled a 99, and that included two strikes. Blew my mind. Maybe there’s some kind of future in this, sort of like that unicyclist bowl-flipping lady who provided the halftime entertainment at Senior Night on Monday. Who knows.Talk to you from College Station in a couple hours. Hopefully a [Whataburger][4] stop is included in that trip. [1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/mar/07/ku_basketball_reaps_benefits_players_meeting/?mens_basketball [2]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/feb/04/oh_agony/?mens_basketball [3]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2008/mar/08/turgeons_long_road_ku_m/?mens_basketball [4]: http://www.whataburger.com/
