Kansas vs. Baylor
Kansas (18-4, 7-0 Big 12) looks to extend a couple of streaks as it continues conference play against Oklahoma State (14-7, 3-4) at Allen Fieldhouse. KU brings a seven-game winning streak into the contest, which ties for 15th longest in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks have the nation’s longest home-court winning streak at 36 games. With its current winning streak, Kansas moved back into the national polls this week at No. 21 by the Associated Press and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ polls. Oklahoma State snapped a two-game losing streak with a thrilling 81-80 win against Texas Tech on Wednesday.
Denver's Thoughts...
7-0 in the Big 12, coming off a big road win at Baylor and now we get an Oklahoma State team trying to put together some semblance of consistency under first year coach Travis Ford. They can score in bunches but Oklahoma State also gives up some points. Honestly I feel pretty good about this one the important thing is the team can't be caught looking ahead to the next road test at Missouri. Oklahoma State hasn't put together any truly impressive wins on the road and Kansas continues to look more and more comfortable every day. Taking a look at common opponents Oklahoma State gave up 94 to Michigan State, 83 to Washington and 98 to Baylor in losses. Kansas gave up 75, 64 and 65 respectively. Defense will win this one and as you can see Kansas is better at it. I think we win and win fairly easily putting setting up what should be a matchup between two top 25 teams when Kansas heads to Missouri for BIG MONDAY!!
SCORE PREDICTION: Kansas 86 Okie State 71
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!!
more notes, quotes and preview after the jump...
Kansas is one of 11 teams in NCAA Division I that remain undefeated in conference play. KU takes its longest winning streak of the season, seven games, into the Oklahoma State contest.
The Jayhawks are averaging 77.9 points per game and giving up 64.7 for a +13.2 scoring margin. KU leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 48.6 percent, field goal percentage defense at 38.4 percent and rebound defense at 31.7. KU has shot 50 percent or better in five of its seven Big 12 games for a league-best 52.1 field goal percentage in conference play.
Conversely, KU has held six of its last eight and 14 of 22 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting.
Junior guard Sherron Collins leads KU in scoring at 18.2 points per game, which is third most in the Big 12. He has led the team in scoring in 17 of 22 games this season. He has a team-high 45 three-point field goals and 112 assists. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich is next in scoring at 14.7 points per game and leads the Big 12 in blocked shots with a 2.5 per game average. He is tied for the league lead in field goal percentage at 62.6 percent with Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin. He has a team-best 12 double-doubles on the season, second most in the Big 12. Aldrich leads the team with 9.8 rebounds per game, which is second in the conference. He is four rebounds shy of averaging a double-double. Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor is scoring 9.5 points per game and has 26 steals, one behind team leader Collins with 27. He has been named Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week three times this season. Freshman forward Marcus Morris (7.5 ppg) and sophomore guards Tyrel Reed (7.3 ppg) and Brady Morningstar (7.3 ppg) are next in scoring. Marcus Morris has started the last five games and is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per contest which leads the Big 12 freshmen class. Morningstar leads the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 45.9 percent, while Reed is 13th at 40.7 percent. Both have made key threes for the Jayhawks. Junior guard/forward Mario Little is scoring 5.3 points per game in his 10 games played, including 7.1 ppg in Big 12 play. He missed the first 12 games of the season due to injuries. Freshman forward Markieff Morris, twin of Marcus, is scoring 5.2 points per outing with a 4.7 rebound average. He had nine points and nine rebounds at Baylor last Monday. Freshmen Travis Releford (2.7 ppg) and Quintrell Thomas (1.7 ppg) are also seeing the floor as of late.
Oklahoma State is 13-7, including a 3-4 mark in Big 12 play, after its 81-80 win against Texas Tech Wednesday. The Cowboys overcame a 16-point deficit to edge the Red Raiders. The Cowboys are currently ranked 26th in the ratings percentage index according to CollegeRPI.com, with the toughest schedule in the Big 12, which is ranked fifth nationally.
Oklahoma State averages 84 points per game – second in the Big 12 – and is giving up 75.1 for a +8.9 scoring margin. As a team, Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in three-point field goals made per game at 9.9 and three point field goal percentage at 40 percent.
Sophomore guard/forward James Anderson leads all OSU scorers with his 16.8 points per game average and is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor. Junior guard Obi Muonelo is chipping in 14.7 points per game and grabbing a team-leading 8.8 boards per contest. Senior guard Terrel Harris is averaging 14.6 points and shooting a team best 49.5 from the field, including 40 percent from three point range. Senior guard Byron Eaton had a career-high 29 points Wednesday against Texas Tech and is averaging 14.6 points and 5.8 assists per game. Freshman guard Keiton Page is averaging 9.8 points per game off the bench.
Meet the Opposing Coach
Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford is in his first season at OSU with a 14-7 record. Overall, Ford has compiled a 204-153 record as a head coach, including 137-122 at the Division I level. Ford came to Oklahoma State from Massachusetts where he guided the Minutemen to back-to-back 20 win seasons in 2007 (24-9) and 2008 (25-11) before heading to Stillwater. He was 62-35 in three seasons at UMass and also had head coaching stints at Eastern Kentucky, from 2001-05, and Campbellsville from 1998-2000 Ford began his playing career at Missouri in 1989-90 before transferring to Kentucky from 1991-94.
This series dates back to 1926 and Kansas leads Oklahoma State 101-52, including a 55-10 lead in games played in Lawrence (40-8 in Allen Fieldhouse). Kansas has won three of the last four and seven of the last 10 games in the series with OSU dating back to 2001. Since the inception of the Big 12, KU holds a 12-5 advantage – 9-3 in regular season and 3-2 in Big 12 Championship action. The five KU-OSU meetings in the Big 12 tourney makes OSU the second-most team Kansas has faced in the event – 6-0 vs. Kansas State. The winner of the last two KU-OSU meetings in the Big 12 Championship has gone on to win the event – OSU 78-75 in 2005 in Kansas City and KU 78-75 in Dallas in 2006. Expect a close battle
as four of the seven KU-OSU meetings under KU coach Bill Self have been decided by three points or less. Last year, current Cowboy senior Byron Eaton scored 26 points to lead OSU to a 61-60 win in Stillwater. Current Jayhawk Sherron Collins played 11 minutes with no points, while Cole Aldrich had two points in nine minutes. During its 37-3 NCAA national championship run, the OSU loss was the only KU loss that was not later avenged on the season, yet Kansas did not have the opportunity. On Feb. 12, KU lost at Texas 72-69 and later defeated the Longhorns 84-74 in the finals of the Big 12 Championship on March 16. On Jan. 30 Kansas lost at Kansas State, 84-75, and the Jayhawks later defeated Wildcats 88-74 in Allen Fieldhouse on March 1.
Improve Kansas to 19-4 on the season and 8-0 in Big 12 play for first time since the 2004-05 team opened league play 9-0…
Give KU its eighth straight win and continue it longest winning streak of the season…
Extend Kansas’ home court winning streak to 37 games, the NCAA Division I longest active streak…
Makethe all-time series with Oklahoma State 102-52 in favor of the Jayhawks, 41-8 in Allen Fieldhouse and 13-5 during the Big 12 era…
Make Kansas 629-106 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse, including 91-6 under head
coach Bill Self…
Improve Bill Self to 161-36 while at KU, 368-141 overall and 6-6 against his alma mater, 5-3 while at Kansas… Make Kansas 1,962-789 all-time.
On Thursday, Kansas junior Sherron Collins was named one of 17 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award honoring the nation’s top point guard. Collins is the only Big 12 point guard on the list which consists of 13 NCAA Division I student-athletes, two NCAA Division II and two NCAA Division III players. Fan voting for the Bob Cousy Award starts Feb. 5 and ends March 15 via the award’s web site at www.cousyaward.com. The last Kansas player named a Bob Cousy Award finalist was Russell Robinson during the 2006-07 season.
Kansas (7-0) and Oklahoma (8-0) of the Big 12 are two of the 11 teams that undefeated in conference play through games of Feb. 5. The others include – Xavier (7-0, A10), Marquette (9-0, Big East), Davidson (12-0, Southern), Memphis (8-0, CUSA), Gonzaga (7-0, WCC), Cornell (4-0, Ivy), Princeton (2-0, Ivy), Utah State (9-0, WAC) and Siena (12-0, MAAC). Kansas defeated Siena 91-84 on Jan. 6.
A Trip Down Memory Lane: Okie State
A look at my favorite players in my own history with Oklahoma State, feel free to share you memories of players or games in the comments.
Bill Self - A little before my time but for obvious reasons he's got to be on the list.
Bryant "Big Country" Reeves - Reeves and Ostertag had an epic battle in the Fieldhouse their senior years
Randy Rutherford - Deadly from outside
Byron Houston
Tony Allen
Scott Pierce - Random yes but I liked him as part of the 95' final four team
Eddie Sutton - all problems aside the guy was one of my favorite opponents.
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 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)
Oklahoma State Cowboys
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl-Exp Hometown (Previous School)
*00 Byron Eaton G 5-11 210 Sr. Dallas, Texas (Lincoln)
*1 Terrel Harris G 6-5 200 Sr. Dallas, Texas (South Garland)
*2 Obi Muonelo G 6-5 215 Jr. Edmond, Okla. (Santa Fe)
4 Anthony Brown F 6-6 225 Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y. (Carl Albert State College)
12 Keiton Page G 5-10 168 Fr. Pawnee, Okla. (Pawnee)
15 Nick Sidorakis G 6-4 185 So. Jenks, Okla. (Jenks)
21 Ibrahima Thomas F/C 6-11 230 So. Dakar, Senegal (Stoneridge Prepatory)
*23 James Anderson G 6-6 205 So. Junction City, Ark. (Junction City)
25 Garrett Thomas G 6-2 180 So. Edmond, Okla. (Edmond Memorial)
31 Blaine Booher G 6-4 180 Sr. Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City West)
32 Brad Garrett G 6-5 188 Jr. St. George, Utah (College of Southern Idaho)
*33 Marshall Moses F 6-6 235 So. Aiken, S.C. (The Patterson School)
44 Malcoln Kirkland F 6-8 240 So. Madison, Miss. (Arkansas-Fort Smith)
45 Greg Hughes F 6-8 225 Sr. Forney, Texas (Forney High School)
53 Nolan Cox F 6-6 200 Sr. Highland Village, Texas (Marcus)
55 Scott Warner C 6-11 220 So. Berryhill, Okla. (Berryhill)
Head Coach: Travis Ford (Kentucky, 1994)
Assistant Coaches: Chris Ferguson (Cumberland (Ky.) College, 1981);
Steve Middleton (Southern Illinois, 1989); Butch Pierre (Mississippi State, 1984)
Remaining 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.