Before we get into full NCAA Tournament mode, lets take one more look back at the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas cemented their place at the top of the conference after winning both the regular season and tournament championships. They also locked up the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament with their performance. So last week turned out to be a productive week, hopefully it's a sign of things to come in the next three weeks. Below you'll find my plus/minus for each game and a few quick comments about the games.
First up, Texas Tech.
| Kansas | MIN | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Morris, F | 20 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 4 |
| Cole Aldrich, C | 29 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 23 |
| Xavier Henry, G | 29 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 |
| Sherron Collins, G | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 10 |
| Tyshawn Taylor, G | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | -2 |
| Thomas Robinson, F | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Conner Teahan, G | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Withey, C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brady Morningstar, G | 20 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| C.J. Henry, G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyrel Reed, G | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Elijah Johnson, G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markieff Morris, F | 24 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| 55 | 9 | 44 | 20 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 80 | 63 | ||
| Texas Tech | MIN | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| D'walyn Roberts, F | 31 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 |
| Mike Singletary, F | 38 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 9 |
| Darko Cohadarevic, F | 33 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | -3 |
| John Roberson, G | 36 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 4 |
| Nick Okorie, G | 33 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| Brad Reese, F | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Mike Davis, G | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| David Tairu, G | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Robert Lewandowski, F | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 65 | 7 | 30 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 68 | 21 |
- For a game that everyone had a cow about, statistically the Jayhawks dominated. Even if you're not a fan of this plus/minus, the cumulative game score for the teams wasn't close either, 70.4 to 45.9.
- The Jayhawks locked down at the end of the 2nd half, stretching a 2 point lead at the 5:55 mark in the 2nd half to a 14 point lead at the one minute mark.
- Cole Aldrich had a monster game, finishing at +23. Sherron Collins and Markieff Morris also played well, earning a +10 and +11 respectively. For Tech, D'walyn Roberts had a +11 and Mike Singletary had a +9. Their 3rd most productive player finished at +4.
Semi-finals vs. Texas A&M
| Kansas | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherron Collins, G | 19 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 12 |
| Xavier Henry, G | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 6 |
| Tyshawn Taylor, G | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 10 |
| Cole Aldrich, C | 4 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 7 |
| C.J. Henry, G | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markieff Morris, F | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| Brady Morningstar, G | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Tyrel Reed, G | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Marcus Morris, F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | -6 |
| Thomas Robinson, F | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Jeff Withey, C | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -1 |
| 50 | 6 | 27 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 19 | 79 | 43 | |
| Texas A&M | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| Donald Sloan, G | 16 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 7 |
| Khris Middleton, F | 11 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 6 |
| B.J. Holmes, G | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 7 |
| David Loubeau, F | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| Bryan Davis, F | 4 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Nathan Walkup, F | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -1 |
| Naji Hibbert, G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ray Turner, F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| James Blasczyk, C | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 53 | 3 | 25 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 66 | 31 |
- Following the "close" Texas Tech game, Kansas came out and kind of laid an egg in the 1st half against Texas A&M. At halftime, I ran the plus/minus numbers and A&M was at +23 while Kansas was at +16. In the game thread, I said A&M's numbers looked like a typical Kansas game. A whole bunch of players at +4 and +5 and on pace for double digits. That's been the key for Kansas this year, the fourth and fifth options have outproduced the opponent.
- The second half was better for the Jayhawks, outshooting A&M from behind the 3 point line by a wide margin (60% to 15%) and taking better care of the ball.
- Markieff Morris led the +/- with a +13, Collins was 2nd at +12 and Tyshawn Taylor was 3rd at +10. Bryan Davis led the Aggies at +10, followed by two others at +7.
- Marcus Morris finished with a -6, yikes. That's what happens when you have 3 turnovers and 4 fouls with zero rebounds.
Finals vs. Kansas State
| Kansas | MIN | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Morris, F | 33 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 8 |
| Cole Aldrich, C | 24 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| Sherron Collins, G | 36 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 11 |
| Tyshawn Taylor, G | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Xavier Henry, G | 27 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Brady Morningstar, G | 13 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Tyrel Reed, G | 20 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 12 |
| Markieff Morris, F | 21 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Thomas Robinson, F | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Conner Teahan, G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | 7 | 39 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 72 | 50 | ||
| Kansas State | MIN | FGA | FtMiss | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| Curtis Kelly, F | 22 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 3 |
| Dominique Sutton, F | 30 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Luis Colon, C | 14 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| Denis Clemente, G | 37 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 6 |
| Jacob Pullen, G | 37 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| Chris Merriewether, G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jamar Samuels, F | 33 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 8 |
| Victor Ojeleye, F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martavious Irving, G | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Wally Judge, F | 9 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Rodney McGruder, G | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 69 | 6 | 33 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 64 | 22 |
- The last time I ran the plus/minus for the entire conference, it really didn't show Kansas State in a favorable light. So, take these numbers with a grain of salt. Basically with the number of fouls they commit, they don't shoot for a great percentage, and have a tendency to turn the ball over it pulls their numbers down.
- The Burlington Bomber led the Jayhawks in the plus/minus at +12 (I believe that's the first time he's led the team this year), Collins was right behind at +11.
- If I had told you that Tyrel Reed was the team leader in plus/minus, how many 3's would you guess Kansas made in the game? I bet it would be a lot more than two.
- Kansas State was led by Jamar Samuels at +8 and Clemente was behind at +6. Jacob Pullen finishing at +0 is always good to see. I'd pull out the little hair I have left if I was forced to cheer for him.
Final Thoughts
- Cumulative +/- leaders for the tournament: Aldrich +34 Collins +33 Mk. Morris +28
- Kansas just won the Big 12 tournament and got very little production out of Xavier Henry. How scary is that for opponents?