Nice weekend away, ready to get back to it with Kansas State tonight. This is a dangerous game and a very key game for this team. I didn't get to watch Saturday but it sounds like the first half was one of those 'if this team plays like that' halves and the second half was a 'what happened' moment. Here's hoping that second half was a wake up call and reminds this group that you can't take the foot off the gas. On to Manhattan.

Kansas Basketball

Jayhawks surpass coach Bill Self’s expectations - KansasCity.com
Surpassed everyone's I would imagine. Would ANYONE have guessed that we would be in the convo for a top seed this year after losing what we did? I know we say it a lot but this is truly one of the better coaching jobs and we've been extremely fortunate to have a NPOY candidate that could lose out on the Big 12 POY award to a teammate.

Stars have come out vs. Kansas, but K-State wants team effort - KansasCity.com
The last two times Kansas State beat Kansas on the basketball court, it had an elite scorer to lean on. K-State is hoping for a similar outcome when Kansas comes to Bramlage Coliseum tonight, but the Wildcats may have to use a different method to get there.

Trying to explain K-State's .500 Big 12 record; plus, two very different predictions for Monday's game | Cram Session | KUsports.com
Roundtable from the KUSports guys.

Spradling ready to step up, lead Wildcats | KUsports.com
Need to keep him from being the guy. That would be relatively tragic.

KU big man gets votes of confidence | KUsports.com
Keep it going

Weekly Watch: Week 10 - ESPN
Kansas: The Jayhawks blitzed Baylor in Waco and crushed Oklahoma State. They are playing like a No. 1 seed and the race between KU and Mizzou should go down to the final weekend.

Kansas Football

Report: Speedy running back commits to KU | KUsports.com
We've sort of known this was coming but now it's official.

College Basketball

Illinois Fighting Illini athletic director will evaluate basketball coach Bruce Weber after season - ESPN Chicago
The time is coming for Bruce Weber to pay the piper.

I'm stepping in for the Saturday edition of News and Notes. I'm sure I'll miss some relevant stories, so feel free to add any good links in the comments section.

Kansas Basketball

1952 Champs Return to KU
The Jayhawks will be rocking some throwback unis today as they honor the '52 Championship team.

Oklahoma State - Kansas Preview
Rivals previews today's game

College Basketball

Baylor - Missouri Preview
No one seems to be giving Baylor much of a chance in this one. A Bears victory would certainly help KU's cause, though.

NCAA Denies Connecticut's Waiver Request
Looks like the NCAA is actually showing some backbone on this. UConn will not be in next year's NCAA Tournament

Three NC State Recruits Named to McDonald's All-American Team
Looks like NC State is making a push for in-state relevance. Reminds me of what K-State started doing in their Bob Huggins year.

Random

Jeremy Lin Pours in 38 Points, Leads Knicks Past Lakers
I'm not buying into this kid long-term yet, but he's certainly made a splash in the last four games.

Kansas Basketball

Slump busted: Kansas’ Conner Teahan regains trey form | KUsports.com
Started in Columbia and carried over to Waco. He doesn't have to shoot a lot but if he's efficient it's a big lift.

Perry Ellis selected as McDonald's All-American | KUsports.com
Congrats to a future Jayhawk.

NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings - NCAA Basketball - ESPN
Up to five after the Baylor win. This tourney seeding race is getting interesting.

Kansas again in control of Big 12 destiny after win over Baylor - NCAA Basketball - SI.com
A day later...Three quick thoughts on Kansas' impressive 68-54 win over Baylor on Wednesday night, which dropped the Bears a game behind both Kansas and Missouri in the Big 12 standings.

Kansas Football

KU football still working on ’12 class | KUsports.com
More on the weekend recruiting activities.

College Basketball

Larry Eustachy making most of his second chance at Southern Miss - Seth Davis - SI.com
Blast from the past, this guy can coach.

2012 McDonald's All-American Game boys' rosters announced - ESPNHS
Full roster breakdown. Not sure how everyone else feels about this but I think it's sort of a nice honor but the game isn't really worthwhile.

Kansas Basketball

Jeff Withey bears down | KUsports.com
“Coach definitely got in my head. He told me I can’t go games where I don’t score. I have to be part of this team and help out,” - Jeff Withey

Coach Self's response is the best

Bill Self: KU rebounds nicely from loss to MU | KUsports.com
“I didn’t think our energy level was very good today (at shootaround). I didn’t think it was great yesterday. I thought we might pout up and feel sorry for ourselves. “We showed some toughness."

Defense polarizes programs | KUsports.com
Kansas is a boot-camp basketball program, Baylor a summer-camp team, replete with a no-cussing policy implemented by coach Scott Drew, a magnificent recruiter and likable face for the once-disgraced program.

Rapid Reaction: Kansas 68, Baylor 54 - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
The Jayhawks have had a stranglehold on the Big 12 for most of the past decade. It doesn't appear as if they are ready to loosen their grip. The win over the Bears put Kansas back into a tie for first with Missouri. The victory also means that KU's chances at grabbing a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament are still alive.

FINAL: Withey's career-high 25 points lead KU to 68-54 comeback victory over No. 6 Baylor | KUsports.com
WITHEY !!!

Withey plays big as KU schools Baylor | CJOnline.com
More Withey props

Jayhawks ice Jones in win | CJOnline.com
Kansas has now done this twice. He shrinks in the big game. I wouldn't touch him if I was an NBA guy, but then again they get caught up in potential.

Kansas pounds Baylor, moves into tie with MU - KansasCity.com
Big win for the league race but a long way to go.

Women's Basketball

KU women crush Texas, 85-61 | KUsports.com
Big win for the women at home.

Kansas Football

Big 12 talents headed for the NFL combine - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
One more than K-State!!! HA! Ok just kidding they were 10-2 and return almost everyone.

College Basketball

With Duke looming, North Carolina can show it’s still elite | Beyond the Arc
I thought this was odd from yesterday. I mean did we really write off UNC to the point where they weren't elite just because they haven't been knocking it out of the park all year? Expectations are a bitch.

Kentucky can be ‘impossible’ to beat — just ask Florida | Beyond the Arc
Not going to lie, I wouldn't mind playing these guys again in the least. You might lose, but who the hell is going to give you a chance anyway so you're playing with nothing to lose. That's always a fun spot to be in and I wouldn't mind seeing Robinson and Tyshawn have another go just to see.

All hope not lost for UConn on road to NCAA tournament - Andy Glockner - SI.com
Another bubble watch. Pac 12 is in trouble.

Tom Brady and Gisele v Brandon Jacobs

New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs says Gisele Bundchen needs to shut up - ESPN New York
Tom Brady still wins.

There are a lot of reasons Kansas lost to Missouri Saturday. Inept offense, poor clock management, referees incapable of grasping the concept that they are not participants in the game...the list can go on. These are all valid points. There is one reason I keep hearing that does give me pause. That's the notion that Missouri just got crazy hot and couldn't miss from beyond the three point line.

It's true, in a 46% 3 point performance, the Tigers hit some wild, contested threes they had no business making. But I'd be more inclined to write it off in the "luck" column if this problem didn't seem to come up so often. Looking at the numbers throughout the season, it actually becomes apparent that this is a real problem for Kansas.

Continue reading this post »

Kansas Basketball

Facing Baylor, KU hopes to avoid second straight loss - KansasCity.com
The two straight loss thing doesn't happen often. I'm hoping this is the beginning of an eight game run to close out the year.

Big battle, part 2: Baylor, Kansas frontcourts prep for rematch, revenge | KUsports.com
This game is going to be a tough one.

Styles of Self, Drew differ | KUsports.com
Yep, Self is awesome, Drew is not.

Weekly walkthrough: Florida-Kentucky highlights five can't-miss games - NCAA Basketball - Sporting News
Something Fetch brought to everyone's attention yesterday on twitter. Another pro-Kansas viewpoint on the rivalry.

Kansas Football

Ex-KU LB Johnson gets NFL combine invite | KUsports.com
Great news for Johnson.

Big 12

TumblRTC
We’re not sure which is more amazing… that this K-State fan pulled off the marriage proposal trick during the Kiss Cam segment on Saturday… OR, that she agreed to marry him while he was wearing that...

College Basketball

Conference Power Rankings: Big 12 - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
Don't like polls? How about power rankings?

College Basketball Bubble Watch - UConn continues to be a riddle wrapped up in an enigma - NCAA Men's Basketball - ESPN
Bubble watch is fun. How many make it from the Big 12?

Conference Realignment

Source -- Memphis Tigers close to deal to join Big East in 2013 - ESPN
What is the Big East anyway? It's like a goulash of institutions trying to remain relevant.

Kansas Basketball

Despite loss, Jayhawks move up (!) in poll | KUsports.com
Nice little boost

Kansas-Mizzou: One Way to Win, One Way to Lose - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
Does anyone know if this guy has a dog in the fight here or is he just impartially saying that Kansas should have won this game and had it taken from them by an official that let himself get caught up in the moment?

Kansas-Missouri demonstrates pitfalls of conference realignment - Seth Davis - SI.com
H/T to Esteban for this one in the fanshots. It's worth putting in our news and notes today if anyone has some further discussion.

Basketball Prospectus | The Power of Three:
Really good look at the Big 12 race.

Bracketology 2012: Missouri Crashes The Top Line After Kansas Win - SBNation.com
Latest Bracketology. Mizzou earns the no. 1 seed in the Midwest. I know we like to harp on the whole Final Four thing, but they'll have as good of a chance as anyone at getting past that this year. Especially with the draw this one maps out.

Bracketology - NCAA College Basketball Brackets and Predictions - ESPN
Similar to the SBNation viewpoint but this one sends Missouri out West with Ohio State getting the Midwest regional and Kansas as the #2 seed in that situation. Might actually be a better draw for us although Florida would be a tough one and look, is that Bucknell?

Kansas Football

Memphis discussing series with Vanderbilt, has verbals with Kansas & Ole Miss
Home and home with Memphis in '15 and '16.

Big 12

Weekly Watch: Week 9 - ESPN
Big 12 is labeled THE most exciting league race.

Tigers take league lead | KUsports.com
We're going to have to win out if we want this thing outright and we can only lose one of @Baylor and @K-State if we want a share. Missouri isn't losing at home and they've managed to scoot by a few close calls with very little left in terms of challenging road opponents.

Kansas Basketball

KU’s Bill Self: ‘We’ve been here before’ | KUsports.com
This was our game to win. We leave here (Columbia) disappointed, but also knowing we’ve got a good team.”

Kansas Football

KU football coaches: WR Justin McCay waiver-worthy | KUsports.com
“If you read the story and you read the letter and you read about some of the things he’s gone through in his life, I want to meet the NCAA compliance person that says no to him. Because if you say no to him, then obviously you don’t understand what’s so important to this kid and what a great person he is. We’re hoping it all works out.”

College Basketball

Miami (FL) Hurricanes vs. Duke Blue Devils - Recap - February 05, 2012 - ESPN
This is going to be a wild March. Honestly outside of Kentucky who is pretty young, there aren't a lot of teams that don't have some pretty glaring weaknesses. It's going to be about matchups more than ever. Should be fun.

Michigan vs. Michigan State - Recap - February 05, 2012 - College Basketball - SI.com
Our rivalry game made me wonder about all rivalries. Anyone know if these two hate eachother? Seems more like the KU v K-State thing where the two haven't been particularly evenly matched in the varying sports over at the same time over the years.

Super Bowl! No not that one, the football one.

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots - Recap - February 05, 2012 - ESPN
Great game, and how about Eli Manning?