Kansas (17-4, 6-0) remains one of two Big 12 teams undefeated in conference play with Oklahoma at 7-0 as the Jayhawks continue Big 12 play at Baylor (15-6, 3-4) for ESPN’s Big Monday at 8 p.m. Kansas has won six straight and nine of its last 10 games after its 66-61 win against Colorado Saturday; its 36th straight home win, the longest home-court winning streak in the country. KU closed out January with an 8-1 record. Baylor looks to snap a three-game losing streak which includes an 89-72 loss at Missouri Saturday. This will be the second of four ESPN Monday appearances for Kansas. KU defeated Texas A&M 73-53 on Jan. 19 and will play at Missouri Feb. 9 and at Oklahoma Feb. 23. Kansas and Baylor tied for third in the Preseason Big 12 Coaches’ Poll behind #1 Oklahoma and #2 Texas.
Denverjhawks Thoughts...
I think we've all had this on circled on our calendars for a while. Felt pretty good about the first six in conference play and this as a game that could compel this team's confidence into a place where a remarkable 5th straight conference title is possible. First off let me say I hate playing the Saturday to Monday turnaround with the Monday game being on the road. I also hate the fact that we won a far too close game while Baylor got beat on the road at Missouri fairly soundly. All this aside there are some things that are reason for optimism. First, how often will Collins have back to back bad games this year, my guess is rarely and Monday won't be one of them. Secondly the Morris twins showed a lot of life on Saturday as did Cole Alrich, Baylors a guard heavy team and if we can exploit the inside game and control the boards it will help our chances. My personal feeling is this is a game that if we hang around we win it in the end. Baylor has lost three straight and the longer we keep there confidence low the better out chances. Kansas pulls this one out in a barn burner so get ready for a hell of an OGT on Monday night.
Final Score: Kansas 84 Baylor 79
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!
more notes, quotes and preview after the jump...
Kansas is one of 14 teams in NCAA Division I that remains undefeated in conference play. KU takes its longest winning streak of the season, six games, into the Baylor contest. The Jayhawks are averaging 78.0 points per game and giving up 64.7 for a +13.3 scoring margin. KU leads the Big 12 in rebound margin at +6.6 and rebound defense at 31.8. KU has shot 50 percent or better in five of its six Big 12 games for a league-best 52.7 field goal percentage in conference play. Conversely, KU has held five of its last seven and 13 of 21 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting.
Junior guard Sherron Collins leads KU in scoring at 18.3 points per game, which is third most in the Big 12. He has led the team in scoring in 16 of 21 games this season. He has a team-high 45 three-point field goals and 106 assists. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich is next in scoring at 15 points per game and he leads the Big 12 in blocked shots with a 2.5 per game average. He has a team-best 12 double-doubles on the season, second most in the Big 12, following his 15 points and 13 rebounds against Colorado Saturday. He leads the team with 9.9 rebounds per game, which is second in the conference. He is two rebounds shy
of averaging a double-double. Aldrich has 53 of KU's 98 blocked shots in 2008-09 for a conference leading 2.5 per game. Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor is scoring 9.7 points per game and is tied with Collins with a team-high 26 steals. He has been named Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week three times this season. Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar is a starter who is averaging 7.3 points per
game with 56 assists and 22 steals. Freshman forward Marcus Morris has started the last four games for the Jayhawks and is scoring 7.3 points and pulling down 5.0 rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed is a top reserve who is scoring 7.5 points per game. He is second on the team with 33 three pointers. Freshman forward Markieff Morris (5.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg) is coming off his first double-digit scoring game of the season with 10 points against Colorado. Junior guard Mario Little is averaging
12.2 minutes per game with 4.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg. Little is shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 70.8 percent in Big 12 games. He missed the first 12 games of the season due to injuries. Freshmen Travis Releford (2.7 ppg) and Quintrell Thomas (1.7 ppg) are also seeing the floor as of late.
Baylor (15-6, 3-4) is in the unfamiliar territory as the Bears have lost three straight games, its longest losing skein of the season. The Bears have been ranked in seven polls this season and as high as No. 19 by the Associated Press. BU averages 81.7 points per game and is giving up 70.5. The Bears are second in the Big 12 with 8.7 three-point field goals made per contest and even more impressive is they are second in the league in three-point field goal percentage at 38.3 percent. Baylor is outrebounding foes 36.8 to 35.9. BU is a balanced, veteran team with five seniors led by guard Curtis Jerrells who is scoring 16.8 points per game. Besides scoring, Jerrells also leads the Bears with 115 assists. Sophomore guard LaceDarius Dunn is a top reserve who is next in scoring at 16.5 points per contest, including 17.9 ppg in Big 12 play. Senior forward Kevin Rogers is averaging 12.6 points per game and he leads the team with a 53 percent field goal percentage and eight rebounds per game. Rogers has 20 blocked shots. Senior guard Henry Dugat has a team-high 41 steals to go along with his 12.3 scoring average. Junior guard Tweety Carter is the fifth Bear to average double figures with 10.6 ppg. He has made 38 three pointers – second most on the team behind Dunn’s 68. Freshman forward Quincy Acy (7.0 ppg) leads BU with 27 blocked shots. Freshman forward Anthony Jones (2.8 ppg), freshman forward Fred Ellis (2.0 ppg) and senior center Mamadou Diene (1.7 ppg, 13 blocked shots) are each averaging nine-plus minutes per game.
Meet the Opposing Coach
Scott Drew is in his sixth season at Baylor with a 72-76 record. Overall, Drew is in his seventh season with a 92-97 mark. Last season, Drew guided Baylor to a 21-11 record and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988 and only its second since 1950. Drew coached one season at Valparaiso prior to taking over at Baylor. He guided Valpo to a 20-11 record in 2002-03. Drew is 0-5 against Kansas.
Kansas has won 13 of the 14 meetings with Baylor and has won seven straight in the series. Baylor's lone win versus Kansas came in 2001 when it defeated the then-No. 5 Jayhawks 85-77 in Waco. KU leads the series in Waco 5-1. Since the inception of the Big 12, Kansas is 11-1 against Baylor. The two teams have yet to meet in the conference postseason championship. Last year, Kansas defeated Baylor 100-90, the first 100-point game in the series. The Jayhawks did not make a three-point field goal in the game. Current Jayhawks Sherron Collins (17 points, four assists) and Cole Aldrich (two points, two rebounds) are the only two who played in last year’s game. This series dates back to 1951 when KU defeated BU 57-46 on Dec. 3.; Kansas’ 1951-52 NCAA National Championship season.
Improve Kansas to 18-4 on the season and 7-0 in Big 12 play for first time since the 2004-05 team opened league play 9-0… Give KU its seventh straight win and continue it longest winning streak of the season… Give Kansas its fourth straight road win of the season and make KU 4-2 in true road games and 5-4 away from Allen Fieldhouse this season… Give KU its eighth-straight win against Baylor and
give Kansas a 14-1 series advantage against the Bears… Improve Bill Self to 160-36 while at KU, 367-141 overall and 6-1 against Baylor, 6-0 while at Kansas… Make Kansas 1,961-789 all-time.
A Trip Down Memory Lane: Baylor
My favoite past Baylor Bear opponents and feel free to name a few of yours in the comments:
I'll be honest with Baylor there isn't a lot to remember from the limited times KU has played and the limited time both teams have been in the same conference but a couple of guys do stand out.
Brian Skinner - 1st round pick and a solid player on an otherwise miserable Baylor
Aaron Bruce - this scrappie Aussie earned my respect the first time I saw him play
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)
C Jeff Withey Fr-HS (RS) 6-10 225 San Diego, Calif. (Horizon HS)
Head Coach: Bill Self (Oklahoma State, 1985)
Assistant Coaches: Joe Dooley (George Washington, 1988); Kurtis Townsend (Western Kentucky, 1982); Danny
Manning (Kansas, 1991)
Baylor Bears (*last game starters)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Exp Hometown (Previous School)
*0 Curtis Jerrells G 6-1 201 Sr. Austin, Texas (Del Valle)
1 Kendall Wright G 6-0 180 Fr. Pittsburg, Texas (Pittsburg)
2 Duran Diaz G/F 6-3 201 So. Kennedale, Texas (Grambling State)
3 Fred Ellis F 6-6 210 Fr. Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento)
*4 Quincy Acy F 6-7 215 Fr. Mesquite, Texas (Horn)
*5 Henry Dugat G 6-0 177 Sr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton)
11 Delbert Simpson F 6-8 224 Sr. Tyler, Texas Tyler JC)
15 Mamadou Diene C 7-1 246 Sr. Yeumbeul, Senegal (Jean de la Fontaine)
*23 Kevin Rogers F 6-9 250 Sr. Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff)
24 LaceDarius Dunn G 6-4 201 So. Monroe, La. (Excelsior Christian School)
41 Anthony Jones F 6-10 196 Fr. Houston, Texas (Yates)
*45 Tweety Carter G 5-11 185 Jr. Reserve, La. (Reserve Christian School)
50 Josh Lomers C 7-0 280 Jr. Boerne, Texas (Boerne)
51 Ekpe Udoh F/C 6-10 236 Jr. Edmond, Okla. (Michigan)
Head Coach: Scott Drew (Butler, 1993)
Assistant Coaches: Matthew Driscoll (Slippery Rock, 1992); Mark Morefi eld (Valparaiso, 1998);
Jerome Tang (Charter Oak State, 2007)
Upcoming Games
February
7 *OKLAHOMA STATE (ABC) ...2:30 p.m.
9 *at Missouri (ESPN) ............... 8 p.m.
14 *at Kansas State (ABC) ..... 2:30 p.m.
18 *IOWA STATE (B12) ............. 7 p.m.
21 *NEBRASKA (B12) ............... 3 p.m.
23 *at Oklahoma (ESPN) ............ 8 p.m.
March
1 *MISSOURI (CBS) ................ 1 p.m.
4 *at Texas Tech (ESPN2) .... 8:30 p.m.
7 *TEXAS (CBS) ...................... 3 p.m.