Four-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas, 11-4, opens conference play hosting state rival Kansas State (11-4, 0-1) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the Big 12 Network. Kansas is looking to rebound from a 75-62 loss at No. 8/12 Michigan State Saturday. The Jayhawks have won 17 straight conference openers and have a 33-game home court winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse, the nation’s second longest. KU has won eight of the Big 12 Conference’s 12 regular-season titles and an NCAA Division I-leading 51 conference crowns. Kansas State is looking to bounce back from a 61-53 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games.
Denverjhawks Thoughts...
Before you read any further go back to the top of this page and read the first sentance of the preview. Yes, that's right, the one that says "Four time defending Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas." Has a nice ring to it and it's time to start the drive for five. While our chances are certainly slimmer than years past I won't count Bill Self out until it's over.
With regards to the game at hand, I'm rebuilding, your rebuilding we're all rebuilding. Sure Kansas lost a lot but so did Kansas State. So with the youth and inexperience on these two teams it boils down to two things in my mind. Coaching and home court. Kansas State will be walking into a fired up Kansas crowd, students back in session and a team coming off a loss. That combined with the obvious coaching advantage means the Jayhawks pull this one out and start the conference slate 1-0 and push their in state rivals to 0-2.
Final Score...Kansas 81 Kansas State 72
Rock Chalk Jayhawk
More notes, quotes and roster info after the jump...and if you don't have plans for the game please join us here for the open game thread.
Kansas is 11-4 on the season after its 75-62 loss at No. 8/12 Michigan State Saturday. The Jayhawks are averaging 79.3 points per game and giving up 65.9 for a +13.4 scoring margin. KU has been solid at the line with six games of 80 percent or better. Kansas has held nine of 15 opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field and have shot 50 percent or better six times this season with five of those in Allen Fieldhouse. Two of KU's four losses have been by one point to UMass (61-60) and in overtime to Syracuse (89-81), i.e. two possessions. Junior guard Sherron Collins leads KU in scoring at 18.1 points per game and is coming off 25 points at Michigan State. Collins has led the team in scoring in 11 of 15 games this season and has a team high 32 three-point field goals and 78 assists. He has 21 assists in his last three games. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich is next in scoring at 15.3 points per game and has scored 80 points in his last four games, including three 20-point efforts. He leads the team with 9.9 rebounds per game and is one rebound shy of averaging a double-double. Aldrich has led Kansas in rebounding in 12 of the 15 games this season. He also has nine double-doubles, the second most in the Big 12. Aldrich has 42 of KU's 75 blocked shots for a Big 12-leading 2.8 per game. Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor is scoring 9.5 points per game and leads Kansas with 22 steals. Freshman forward Marcus Morris comes off the bench and is scoring 7.9 ppg. He is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds, tops among
Big 12 freshmen. Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar is scoring 7.5 points per outing and ranks third in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 46.2 percent. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed, 7.6 ppg, has scored 44 points in his last four games. Freshman forward Markieff Morris has started the last six contests and is third on the team with a 4.8 rebound average. Markieff is scoring 5.3 ppg. Freshman guard Travis Releford (3.3 ppg) and freshman forward Quintrell Thomas (2.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) are each averaging more than seven minutes per contest. Junior guard Mario Little (1.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg) is also logging seven-plus minutes per game in his three outings. Little missed the first 12 contests due to injuries.
Kansas State is looking to rebound from a 61-53 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma in its Big 12 opener Saturday. The Wildcats are 10-1 at home this season, 1-1 away and 0-2 in neutral contests. Kansas State leads the Big 12 in rebounding at 41.1 per game and rebound margin at +8.1. K-State is scoring 79.6 points per game and giving up 61 for a +18.6 scoring margin. The Wildcats average seven three-pointers per game and have a +5.3 turnover margin. K-State is balanced as six Wildcats average
between 8.5 points and 14.3 points per outing. Sophomore guard Jacob Pullen leads the team with a 14.3 scoring average. He has a team-best 35 three-point field goals and also leads the team with 53 assists and 26 steals. Junior guard Denis Clemente is next in scoring at 12.6 points per contest and he is second in assists with 43. Sophomore guard Fred Brown has made 32 threepointers to complement his 10.2 scoring average. Freshman forward Jamar Samuels leads the team with 16 blocked shots to go along with his 9.6 scoring average. Senior forward Darren Kent is averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. He is scoring 8.9 ppg, while sophomore forward Dominique Sutton is at 8.5 ppg and 5.1 rpg. Sophomore forward Ron Anderson is a top reserve who is second on the team with six rebounds per game. His is scoring 5.7 ppg. Junior center Luis Colon (5.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Pullen, Sutton, Kent and Clemente are K-State’s starters.
Kansas has won 36 of the last 38 meetings with Kansas State dating back to the 1994 season. The Jayhawks hold a 175-90 all-time series advantage over the Wildcats, including a 79-35 mark in games played in Lawrence and a 38-18 record in Allen Fieldhouse. From Feb. 2, 1994, Kansas won 31 straight against Kansas State before the Wildcats halted the streak with a 59-55 victory in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 14, 2006. Since the inception of the Big 12, KU holds a 28-2 record against Kansas State – 22-2 in league play and 6-0 in Big 12 Championships. The Jayhawks won the first-ever meeting with K-State, 54-39, on Jan. 25, 1907, in Lawrence. Last season the teams each won home games with Kansas State defeating Kansas 84-75, ending a mind-boggling 24-game KU win streak in the
series in Manhattan, and Kansas defeating K-State 88-74 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas has won eight of the 12 Big 12 regular-season titles (includes ties), including the last four Big 12 championships. Kansas' 51 conference titles are the most in NCAA Division I. Amazingly, last season Kansas won its fourth straight league title for the sixth time in school history - five straight from 1908-12, six straight from 1922-27, four straight from 1931-34, four straight from 1940-43, four straight from 1995-98 and four straight from 2005-08.
2008-09 Kansas Roster (*last game starters)
No. Pos. Name Cl.-Exp. Ht. Wt. Hometown (Previous School)
2 G Conner Teahan So.-1L 6-5 215 Leawood, Kan. (Rockhurst HS)
*4 G Sherron Collins Jr.-2L 5-11 200 Chicago, Ill. (Crane HS)
10 G Brennan Bechard Sr-2L (TR) 6-0 185 Lawrence, Kan. (Lawrence HS/Barton Co. [Kan.] CC)
11 F Quintrell Thomas Fr.-HS 6-7 240 Newark, N.J. (Saint Patrick HS)
*12 G Brady Morningstar So.-1L(RS) 6-3 180 Lawrence, Kan. (Free State HS/New Hampton [N.H.] Prep)
14 G Tyrel Reed So.-1L 6-3 185 Burlington, Kan. (Burlington HS)
*15 G Tyshawn Taylor Fr.-HS 6-3 180 Hoboken, N.J. (St. Anthony HS)
*21 F Markieff Morris Fr.-HS 6-9 232 Philadelphia, Pa. (Prep Charter HS/APEX Academy [N.J.])
22 F Marcus Morris Fr.-HS 6-8 225 Philadelphia, Pa. (Prep Charter HS/APEX Academy [N.J.])
23 G Mario Little Jr.-TR 6-5 210 Chicago, Ill. (Washington HS/Chipola [Fla.] CC)
24 G Travis Releford Fr.-HS 6-5 200 Kansas City, Mo. (Bishop Miege HS)
32 G Tyrone Appleton Jr.-TR 6-2 203 Gary, Ind. (Harmony Prep/Midland [Texas] College)
40 G Jordan Juenemann Fr.-HS 6-4 195 Hays, Kan. (Hays HS)
41 G Chase Buford So.-1L 6-3 210 San Antonio, Texas (Alamo Heights HS)
*45 C Cole Aldrich So.-1L 6-11 245 Bloomington, Minn. (Jefferson HS)
54 C Matt Kleinmann Sr-3L (RS) 6-10 250 Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley West HS)
Head Coach: Bill Self (Oklahoma State, 1985)
Assistant Coaches: Joe Dooley (George Washington, 1988); Kurtis Townsend (Western Kentucky, 1982); Danny
Manning (Kansas, 1991)
Kansas State Wildcats (*last game starters)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Exp Hometown (Previous School)
*0 Jacob Pullen G 6-0 200 So. Maywood, Ill. (Proviso East)
1 Fred Brown G 6-2 190 So. West Palm Beach, Fla. (Dwyer)
3 Anthony Downing G 5-11 160 Fr. Atchison, Kan. (Atchison)
13 Justin Werner G 6-3 190 Fr. Topeka, Kan. (Washburn Rural)
*15 Luis Colon C 6-10 265 Jr. Carolina, Puerto Rico (Krop (Miami, Fla.))
*21 Denis Clemente G 6-1 175 Jr. Bayamon, Puerto Rico (Univ. of Miami)
*23 Dominique Sutton F 6-5 210 So. Durham, N.C. (The Patterson School)
24 Curtis Kelly F 6-8 250 Jr. Queens, N.Y. (Univ. of Connecticut)
25 Buchi Awaji G 6-3 185 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif. (Citrus College)
31 Chris Merriewether G 6-3 210 Jr. Jacksonville, Fla. (Arlington Country Day)
32 Jamar Samuels F 6-7 215 RS-Fr. Washington, D.C. (The Patterson School)
33 Victor Ojeleye F 6-6 225 Fr. Ottawa, Kan. (The Patterson School)
40 Ron Anderson F 6-8 255 So. Upper Marlboro, Md. (McCallie (Tenn.) School)
*42 Darren Kent F 6-11 230 Sr. Apple Valley, Minn. (Eastview)
54 Abdul Herrera C 6-10 265 Jr. Miami, Fla. (Hutchinson (Kan.) CC)
Head Coach: Frank Martin (Florida International, 1993)
Associate Head Coach: Delonte Hill (Charlotte, 2001)
Assistant Coaches: Matt Figger (Eastern Kentucky, 1995); Brad Underwood (Kansas State, 1986)
Upcoming Games
January
17 *at Colorado (ABC) ........... 2:30 p.m.
19 *TEXAS A&M (ESPN) .......... 8 p.m.
24 *at Iowa State (ESPN) ............ 1 p.m.
28 *at Nebraska (ESPN2) ....... 6:30 p.m.
31 *COLORADO (ESPNU) ........ 3 p.m.
February
2 *at Baylor (ESPN) .................. 8 p.m.