Report Card

C: Kansas' offense -- The Jayhawks are averaging only 62 points in their past six games. They've managed to win all six, but three of the past four victories have come by five points or fewer. KU is shooting 48.2 percent from the field on the season, a mark that ranks 19th in the country. But that number dips to 44.8 percent in Big 12 play, which is somewhat concerning considering the Big 12 isn't exactly loaded with strong teams. Leading scorer Ben McLemore attempted only seven shots in Monday's win at West Virginia. KU also went 18-of-34 from the free throw line and committed 16 turnovers. "We're better than that," coach Bill Self told reporters.

…Speaking of first-year players, the race for national freshman of the year is turning into a good one. For a while it seemed as if UNLV's Anthony Bennett would run away with the honor, but Kansas' Ben McLemore and Arizona State's Jahii Carson are working their way into the mix along with Sampson at St. John's, Isaiah Austin of Baylor, Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State, Rasheed Sulaimon of Duke and Shabazz Muhammad of UCLA.

…Love his energy: Kevin Young, Kansas

…Kansas 67, vs. Oklahoma State 59: The Jayhawks' offense is struggling, but their defense has been outstanding. Oklahoma State is one of the Big 12's most talented teams, but the undersized Cowboys don't have anyone who can match up with 7-foot KU center Jeff Withey. Only a fool would pick against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks have won 102 of their past 103 games.
ESPN Jason King


#2 Kansas

There's gonna be a lot of transition talk in these Power Rankings, starting with Kansas guard Travis Releford, whom I consider to be an elite leak-out basket-hunter. Without sacrificing defense (which he's quite good at), Releford frequently manages to make early breaks upcourt after opponents miss shots or Jeff Withey swats them. Releford gets an amazing 35.4 percent of his offense possessions in transition, and he's the country's fourth-most efficient transition scorer, at 1.507 PPP, according to Synergy: (See link for chart)

…There must be something in the Releford blood that makes them instinctually great at getting a jump in transition, because his brother, Trevor, happens to be the ninth-most efficient transition scorer. How crazy is that?

To give you a sense of what I'm talking about -- and this is the last GIF, I promise! -- watch the jump Travis gets on the entire American team after this Withey block on Dec. 29. This is a Releford Special:
SI Luke Winn Power Rankings


1. Kansas

On the rare occasions that Kansas has run into trouble this season, turnovers have usually been the problem, and Saturday's game at West Virginia was no different. The Jayhawks shot 54 percent versus West Virginia's 37 percent, outrebounded the Mountaineers by nine, and shot 19 more free throws, yet they won by only five because they committed 16 turnovers. With West Virginia having a pretty bad season, a game like this might make me wonder about Kansas's legitimacy. But close games have been the norm for the Jayhawks in January. Kansas hasn't been scoring too many style points recently, but what's more important is that their opponents are hardly scoring points at all, as Kansas has held each of their past six opponents to fewer than 60 points. The Jayhawks offense can be uninspiring at times, but Kansas makes up for it by having the best defense in the country, which is why I am still giving them the nod over Michigan — at least for one more week.11 That defense, combined with the Big 12 not being great this year, is why the Jayhawks will probably extend their 18-game winning streak into the 30s and enter the NCAA tournament with a huge target on their backs, which I'm sure doesn't make Kansas fans nervous.
Grantland Mark Titus' Top 12 Power Rankings


“I know we are not scoring quite as much as the past. A lot could be us not executing,” KU coach Bill Self said. Overall, the Jayhawks average 73.9 points a game while allowing 58.7. In Big 12 play, KU averages 67.0 points and allows 57.6.

“I do think defenses are getting better all the time. I do think offenses are getting more sophisticated all the time. I don’t know what the reasons are,” he added of a national trend toward lower scores.

“It may come back to officiating,” Self stated. “Not that the games are being called wrong, but games are maybe being called in a manner in which there is more physical play. My personal opinion ... I think there are less free throws being shot.

“I think there is a little bit of reason for concern. I don’t think it’s like baseball where you juice the ball to get fans interested. I don’t think we’re to that point yet. I’d have to say it’s more how the physical play has kept teams getting free throws, but as long as it’s called the same on both ends, it’s still fair,” Self added.

Self conceded that, “I do think as a coach, it’s much easier to get a team great defensively than great offensively. Maybe there’s a little more emphasis on that. I don’t know. I don’t think we’ll have any problem maintaining the interest level even though fans definitely want to see high-flying scoring plays. I think this is more a phase that can be addressed without any major (rules) changes. Regardless of how you call it and regardless of the rules, it’s still a fabulous game.”

…KU senior center Jeff Withey needs seven blocks in Saturday’s 3 p.m. home game against Oklahoma State to tie Greg Ostertag for No. 1 on KU’s all-time blocked shot list. Withey has 251 blocks, Cole Aldrich 253 and Ostertag 258. Chris Mihm of Texas is the Big 12 record holder at 264.

“It doesn’t matter to me at all,” Withey said, asked if he would like to set the record at home. “As long as I get it, I’m happy.”
LJW


So with a defense so dominant, why has Kansas won three of its past four games by five points or less and not scored 70 points since Jan. 9?

Well for one, free throw shooting has been spotty. Kansas shot only 18-34 from the charity stripe against West Virginia.

“That’s bad,” senior guard Travis Releford said. “Normally as a team we don’t shoot that bad. We just got to keep working on it, get in the gym, get up some free throws. That’s about it.”

The two previous games weren’t much better for Kansas from the free throw line. The Jayhawks swished only 12 of its 19 free throws against Oklahoma, and shot 13-21 from the line at Kansas State.

The other problem is turnovers.

The Jayhawks have turned the ball over more than their opponents in five of the seven conference games, including 16 turnovers Monday night against West Virginia’s nine turnovers. Kansas has committed at least 13 turnovers in six conference games.

The Jayhawks’ three starting guards had three turnovers apiece against West Virginia. Starting point guard Elijah Johnson is averaging 3.9 turnovers per game since conference play began, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.52 is 203rd in the nation.

“Our guard play’s got to get better,” Self said. “Teams that pressure us and get after us, we’ve turned it over here of late. I thought we actually did some good things but we made some bonehead plays.”
UDK


On Monday night, Withey had scored 15 points in Kansas’ 61-56 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown. The Jayhawks had moved to 19-1 — 7-0 in the Big 12 — and improved to 5-0 in true road games this season. And earlier in the day, Kansas had risen to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.

On most days, Withey would have relished the moment and relaxed on the late-night flight back to Lawrence. So why was this any different?

“As a team,” Withey said, “we know we can play better.”

For the fifth time in seven games, Kansas had failed to score at least 65 points and the Jayhawks had committed 16 turnovers during another slop-heavy performance. The victories continue to pile up, but for the last month, the style points have been at a minimum.

“It’s a little frustrating at times,” Withey said, “but at the same time, you’re 7-0, you can’t not be satisfied. You’re obviously doing something right.”

Maybe, of course, the Jayhawks are just victims of their own dominance. A year after another Final Four run, the Jayhawks have won 18 straight, just five victories shy of setting a new single-season KU mark for consecutive victories.

KU coach Bill Self has a phrase he likes to call “Kansas math” — the idea that his program can lose all its best players to graduation and the NBA, and fans still expect to be better the next year.

Well, maybe this is a “Kansas funk” — an extended slump that appears much more serious than it really is. For instance, the Jayhawks played some efficient and smooth basketball for the first 15 minutes against West Virginia. A few more free throws would have given them 40 first-half points in a Big 12 road game. And even after struggling in the second half, Self made a clear distinction: There’s a difference between playing good and scoring more points.

“If the score was 74-69,” Self said on Monday, “everybody would be thinking we played really well. Which doesn’t mean we played well, it means we didn’t guard. But we may have played better offense.”

Kansas will put its streak on the line again on Saturday, when it plays host to Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse. And according to advanced statistics, the Jayhawks still fit the profile of a top-ranked team. According to defensive efficiency numbers at KenPom.com, KU’s defense now ranks third in the country. And despite playing its least-efficient offense since the 2005-06 season, KU still ranks in the top 20 nationally on offense.
KC Star


Here’s a look at Kansas’ next five games — and the likelihood of an upset:

Oklahoma State, Saturday

The Cowboys have high-end talent in freshman guard Marcus Smart and sophomore swingman Le’Bryan Nash, two players that Self recruited hard. Oklahoma State, however, has been dogged by a tough Big 12 schedule, and a victory at Allen Fieldhouse seems unlikely. Maybe in Stillwater?

Upset alert: Medium

At TCU, Feb. 6

The biggest question: How many KU fans will fill Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth? The Horned Frogs are 0-7 in Big 12 play and appear destined for a 10th-place finish.

Upset alert: Low

At Oklahoma, Feb. 9

At some point, the Jayhawks are going to drop one on the road, right? KU still has trips to Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Baylor on the schedule. But this trip to Norman could be another fight.

Upset alert: High

Kansas State, Feb. 11

It’s become a K-State tradition: Play KU close in Manhattan, and get run in Lawrence. Bruce Weber will try to change that as the Wildcats battle for second in the Big 12.

Upset alert: Medium

Texas, Feb. 16

Mario Chalmers will be in the building to have his jersey retired — and so will top recruit Julius Randle, a forward from Plano, Texas, and ESPN’s College Game Day crew.

Upset alert: Low
KC Star


Perry Ellis had some good moments for Kansas the other night during its 59-55 win over Kansas State. The Jayhawks’ game against Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse is an important one for Ellis. He needs to build on his performance against the Wildcats. I think Ellis is a big key for KU the rest of the way. Kansas lacks depth and Ellis could go a long way in relieving that issue.

...People always ask me how much I think North senior Conner Frankamp will play for Kansas as a freshman. A lot. He’ll play a bunch because of how young and inexperienced the Jayhawks will be in 2013-14. And I don’t expect Frankamp to have the growing pains Ellis has endured during his freshman season. They’re two different players with completely different personalities. Frankamp has a little attitude in his game, which isn’t a bad thing. He’s good and he knows it. Ellis is good, but he’s a bit reluctant to believe in himself. That’s the biggest difference.
Wichita Eagle Bob Lutz


KUAD: WBB defeats ISU postgame stats, notes, video, photos


Every bit as quick with the basketball and just as electric, it might have been easy to confuse Kansas University point guard Angel Goodrich for a bolt of lightning during Wednesday’s 78-75 overtime victory against Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse.

One problem: Lightning is not supposed to strike twice.

With her team riding a wave of momentum but still trailing by three points with less than a minute remaining, Goodrich buried a top-of-the-key three-pointer with 13.5 seconds to play to force overtime.

It marked the second year in a row that a Goodrich three-pointer forced extra time against the Cyclones and also the second year in a row that the Jayhawks (13-6 overall, 4-4 Big 12) topped ISU when things looked hopeless.

So what is it about the Cyclones (14-5, 5-4) that tends to produce overtime thrillers against the Jayahwks?

“I guess we just love playing them so much that we want an extra five minutes,” said senior forward Carolyn Davis, who scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and overtime.

Last season, the Jayhawks needed two overtimes before winning, and Wednesday’s victory had a very similar feel to that one.
LJW


“We were absolutely a train wreck with no timeouts,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “CeCe was on the wrong side and Angel just dribbled. I’m trying to yell cause it got busted and we had players in the wrong spots. Often it’s not the play you run, it’s about making a play and she made a play.”

After being down 55-37, the Jayhawks found themselves in the improbable situation of a tie ball game and after some tough defense, sent the game into overtime and eventually came up with a 78-75 overtime victory against No. 23 Iowa State. This is the third straight meeting between these teams in Lawrence that went to overtime.

Goodrich finished the night with a double-double going 10-of-18 for 24 points and 10 assists. Goodrich did most of her damage in the second half and overtime as she went 7-of-9 from the field.

Along with Goodrich, the spark to overturn the huge deficit came from sophomore guard Natalie Knight.

Knight started out the game on fire, scoring 10 of the first 12 points for the Jayhawks. But it was the second half that gave the team even more of a surge. Knight had some big steals and buckets on her way to a 21 point night, including 5-of-9 from behind the arc.

Knight came up with a steal and a layup to cut the deficit to three with a 1:46 left in the game. But Knight went down awkwardly and had to leave the game with a leg injury.

Senior forward Carolyn Davis, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, was battling with foul trouble most of the second half and overtime but managed to do most of her work in the stretch when the team went 10-of-13 since they were down 18. She said it was her duty to make sure the team still had faith that they could come back from the huge deficit.
UDK


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The Big 12 Conference has announced a limited number of tickets for the 2013 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship will be available to the public.

The championship is scheduled March 13-16 at the Sprint Center.

Fans may participate in an online drawing process for the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Championship, a press release said.

Fans can visit sprintcenter.com to complete and submit the registration form  to purchase up to four all-session tickets.

There is no fee and no purchase necessary to register and only one entry per person is allowed, the conference said.

Registration begins Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. CT and ends on Feb. 6 at 4:59 p.m. CT.

Registrants will be selected at random on or after Feb. 7 and if you’ve won, you’ll be notified by Feb. 11 via the email you signed up with.

All-session tickets include all six sessions for the four-day Championship and are available for $195, $330 and $350, plus applicable fees.

Best available tickets will be assigned in the order of random selection, a release said.
Link


Kansas State's 83-57 victory over Texas on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum began in the unlikeliest of ways.

Rodney McGruder, the Wildcats' leading scorer and best player, picked up two quick fouls and spent the majority of the first half on the bench. Then, Will Spradling suffered a broken nose and left the floor entirely. Not exactly a recipe for K-State success.
Link


When Iowa State turned the ball over with 0.8 seconds left Wednesday night, trailing 78-76, the Cowboys seemed to finally have control of a key Big 12 win.

Not so fast.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Michael Cobbins fired down the floor, with Le'Bryan Nash called for a foul on ISU's Chris Babb. Initially, officials ruled a 1-and-1 trip to the foul line for Babb, with the opportunity to tie it. And Babb stood there, ready for his first foul shot, when officials gathered and reviewed the play, changing the call to a player-control foul, since the Cyclones never had possession, resulting in an Iowa State inbounds play instead.

“I'm glad they figured it out,” said Cowboys coach Travis Ford. “That's good. What a crazy deal. I guess we were a second away form him shooting free throws. The referees were in their spots.

“One of them said, ‘Wait a second here.'
The Oklahoman


The OU men's basketball team held off a late push to take a 74-71 victory against Baylor in Waco.

Key stat: 75. Junior forward Amath M'Baye's field goal percentage against the Bears.

Key player: M'Baye paced the Sooners with 20 points and seven rebounds.

Key opponent: Freshman center Isaiah Austin used his 7-foot-1 frame to push OU around all night, finishing with 19 points and 20 rebounds.

What it means: OU moves into second place in the Big 12 and now owns a 5-2 record in conference play.

What's next for the Sooners: OU returns home to take on No. 18 Kansas State, which beat the Sooners in Manhattan two weeks ago, at 4 p.m. Saturday.
OU Daily


So much for that undefeated Pac-12 Conference record.

Carlos Emory scored 12 points and Arsalan Kazemi had six points and nine rebounds in No. 10 Oregon's first league loss this season, a 76-52 rout at new nemesis Stanford on Wednesday night.
AP


In an otherwise dour season, USC players will probably remember nothing more than storming the court at Pauley Pavilion at the end of an overtime victory on Wednesday night.

And why not? The Trojans shocked UCLA 75-71 in front of an equally stunned 12,821 who probably expected a comfortable Bruins victory in the crosstown rivalry.
LA Daily News


All Missouri needed was a basket, something to keep the momentum on its side against the worst team in the Southeastern Conference.

Only, disaster struck — and it was not in an unfamiliar way. Another quick shot, this time by junior point guard Phil Pressey, who hoisted the kind of hurried three that Missouri coach Frank Haith has been trying to wean his team off of for weeks. Another miss.

Another road loss.

“We were driving the ball, and we needed to keep driving the ball,” said Haith, whose team fell to LSU 73-70. “So much time in the game … we said that in the timeout.”

But to Haith, that possession — while clearly distressing — was indicative of a larger problem for the Tigers, who once again took too many quick shots on the road despite their coach’s pleas before a crowd of 8,804 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The loss is Missouri’s third straight on the road in SEC play and follows blowout defeats to Florida (83-52) in Gainesville on Jan. 19 and Mississippi (64-49) in Oxford on Jan. 12, games in which the Tigers also struggled offensively. But while both those teams are ranked, there’s no cushioning the fact the Tigers fell to an LSU team that improved to 11-7 (2-5 in the SEC) but entered the game dead last in the conference standings.
KC Star

Following @Humb1e_Hungry23 footsteps
Can't wait to play for Kansas
https://twitter.com/Mclemore_10


Julius Randle completed his third of five official visits this past weekend.

The Prestonwood Christian (Tex.) power forward is the top available senior not named Andrew Wiggins, and was at North Carolina State last weekend for the Wolfpack’s win against in-state rival North Carolina. The prized recruit, who has previously visited Florida and Kentucky enjoyed his time in Raleigh, according to Eric Bossi of Rivals.com

“I got there late Thursday night and overall I think it was my best visit yet so far as official visits go,” Randle told Bossi on Sunday. “I got to hang out with Rodney (Purvis) a lot and he’s one of my best friends. So that was good.”

Mark Gottfried has already signed two big men for next year’s class, BeeJay Anya (DeMatha Catholic/Germantown, Md.) and Kyle Washington (Brewster Academy/Champlin, Minn.), however Randle likes how the Wolfpack’s style suits his game.

“A lot of schools tell you about how their system fits you or how they will change it to fit you once you get there,” said Randle. “But, their system already fits me without having to change anything and they showed me that on film while I was there.”
NBC Sports


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

One of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders on Kansas University’s basketball bench, Rio Adams is attempting to take that same spirit onto the court during games.

“I’m trying to be the best I can be ... for my teammates, keep that energy going,” said Adams, KU’s 6-foot-3 freshman combo guard from Seattle.

He played two minutes in Monday’s 61-56 victory at West Virginia, three in Saturday’s 67-54 home win over Oklahoma and two minutes the game before that — a 59-55 win over Kansas State on Jan. 22 in Manhattan.

“Giving my all is what I’m trying to do for my team when I’m out there. That’s what I’m doing,” said Adams, who was spotted on camera dancing on the KU bench after Jayhawk threes in both the OU and KSU games.

Adams — he averaged 21.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game his senior season at Class 3A state champion Rainier Beach High (he scored 54 points in a game as a sophomore) — obviously knows his role is not to be a prolific scorer on this year’s KU team. He’s scored 12 points all season off 5-of-17 shooting and 2-of-2 free throwing.

“Right now I’m in position to give coach (Bill Self) what he needs. (Against Oklahoma) I was there specifically to play defense and keep our point spread spread out. We get a lot of wins because of our defense. That’s what we rely on first. Coach didn’t really care about the offense — just don’t turn it over. We are a defensive team for sure, first.”
LJW


West Virginia fans, particularly the rowdy student section, have always been known for their loud and passionate cheering inside Mountaineer venues when top-tier programs come to Morgantown.
Until this point in the WVU men’s basketball season, though, only one ranked team found its way into the Coliseum.

However, this all changed Monday night when No. 1 Kansas came to town, and the Mountaineer faithful didn’t disappoint while providing one of the best atmospheres in recent years.

"That’s the loudest I’ve probably ever seen it," said West Virginia sophomore guard Juwan Staten. "I know I came as a recruit one time against Ohio State, and I saw it get pretty loud in here. But it’s just different playing. That’s the loudest I’ve seen it."

A crowd of 12,402 – the largest of the season – striped the arena with blue and gold and helped energize the Mountaineers on both ends of the floor.

Despite the fact there were more than 1,500 empty seats, the visiting Jayhawks were very impressed by the raucous commotion caused by the ones surrounding the court.

"I thought it was good. The students were great," said Kansas head coach Bill Self. "I don’t know if they get crowds like this every game, but it’s a good home court without question."

Self and his Jayhawks are quite the credible source, considering their home games are housed inside arguably college basketball’s most storied arena – Allen Fieldhouse.

"Pay heed all who enter beware of the Phog" is displayed above the tunnel where the visiting team enters the court. And visitors should approach with caution, since Allen Fieldhouse has had 191 consecutive sellouts of 16,300 screaming Kansas fans painted blue and red.

There was something in particular Self liked about the layout of the Coliseum, something that is different from the layout at Allen Fieldhouse.

"It’s neat how they get all the students down there low on one side. It’s kind of like Cameron (Indoor Stadium), at least from looking at it on TV," he said. "I thought the atmosphere was very good."

Even though West Virginia’s upset attempt fell short, it could be argued Mountaineer Nation had an impact on the game. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 16 times and missed 16 free throws.
The crowd stayed in the game despite the fact the home team fell down by as many as 15 points early in the first half.

"I enjoyed it. I’m sure everyone else on the team did. I like how the crowd is low and we get to see them and hear them," said Kansas guard Travis Releford. "It’s fun when we go to opponents’ places and get the crowd into it then take over the game."
Daily Athenaeum


Kansas exists in a vacuum. The Jayhawks’ most important media market is Kansas City, and none of the television, radio or newspaper guys there gives three hoots whether KU plays Wichita State. So Self and the KU administration is free to go about their business without concern about what’s going on in Wichita.

Before we get any deeper into the blog, I wanted to print Self’s reaction to Katz’s question. So here it is:

“Kansas hasn’t played Wichita State for years, way before I was the coach at Kansas. … Iowa plays Northern Iowa because the state legislature says you have to. If someone were to come and say something that it’s law, then we would have to. But you schedule to benefit your own school, not to benefit others. You have to benefit your own school. I want to play games that benefit us, and, from a financial standpoint, it’s hard to play games away from Allen Fieldhouse since that’s our main source of budget every year.”

I like Self. He’s one of the best guys in coaching. You ask him a question and he’ll give you an answer. And above everything else, I’m not sure there’s a better basketball coach in the world.

But on this issue, we strongly disagree. And he’s wrong about Iowa, whose legislature has never forced Northern Iowa, Drake, Iowa and Iowa State to play one another. They just do because it’s good for the state.

I do not understand how Self could say that playing Wichita State would not be beneficial to KU. Both are basketball schools and have been for decades. Nobody at WSU pretends that the Shockers have nearly the tradition of Kansas, but right now Wichita State is in a pretty good position to compete with the Jayhawks. A battle of wits between Self and WSU coach Gregg Marshall would be worth buying a ticket.

Historically, the Shockers haven’t always been capable of holding their own with KU. In fact, in the last five games between the two, played from 1989-93, the Jayhawks won all of them by an average margin of 32 points.

The teams have met 14 times, with KU holding a 12-2 edge. WSU won a 1989 game at Levitt Arena, 54-49, and beat the Jayhawks in a Sweet 16 game of the 1981 NCAA Tournament in New Orleans, 66-65.

It’s been nearly 20 years now since the two met and that’s ridiculous. Any reason given by Self of those associated with KU sounds ridiculous. (The same holds true for Kansas State, by the way, in case you think I’m giving the Wildcats a pass.)

I have long proposed a three-game series between Wichita State and Kansas that would look like this: One game at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena, one game at Allen Fieldhouse and one game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City).

KU would have a strong fan base at all three venues. And it’s impossible for me to believe that the series wouldn’t make great financial sense for both schools.
Wichita Eagle Bob Lutz


Darrell Arthur scored a season-high 20 points off the bench as the Memphis Grizzlies added to the Los Angeles Lakers' January woes with a 106-93 victory at FedExForum.

Arthur added nine rebounds to help the Grizzlies dominate the glass en route to dealing the reeling Lakers a fourth straight loss and its first seven-game road skid since the 2004-05 season.
Link


KUAD: WBB vs ISU pregame notes


Rebounding, or a lack thereof, has been one of the big weaknesses for the Kansas University women’s basketball team during a stretch in which the Jayhawks have lost four of five Big 12 Conference games after opening the season 2-0 in league play.

As the Jayhawks (12-6 overall, 3-4 Big 12) prepare to welcome No. 23 Iowa State to town for a 7 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday, they do so with the knowledge that the Cyclones (14-4, 5-3) give up the fewest offensive rebounds per game in the Big 12, get the fourth most offensive rebounds per game and feature the top rebounder in the history of the conference in senior forward Chelsea Poppens, who, this season, ranks eighth in the Big 12 with an average of 8.4 rebounds per game.
LJW


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FINAL FOUR-CAST

Enough factoring in the projected return of players from injury (outta here, Duke) or suspension (buh-bye, Syracuse). From this point, teams will be judged solely on the here and now. Which leaves …

Kansas. The Jayhawks’ lone loss was their opener — in the A-T-L. It’s only fitting that they play the season closer here. Given their sticky defense, to paraphrase the President, it’s “Yes, You Kan-Sas.”

Michigan. The Wolverines have a point guard to die for (Trey Burke) and, by most metrics, the nation’s most efficient offense. Props for a 14-point road win at Illinois, no easy feat in the Big (Bad) Ten.

Florida. No more ignoring the Gators, whose average margin in their past eight wins is nearly 25 points. Did they really win by 35 on the road Saturday in the semi-bad SEC, Marv Albert? Yessss.

Indiana. What other team flaunts two first-team All-American candidates? Indiana’s one-two punch is Cody Zeller (see Profilin’) and Victor Olapido. Speaking of pairs in the spotlight: Hey, coach Tom Crean, which of your Harbaugh brothers-in-law will you root for Sunday?
Atlanta JC


In dismissing a motion by the NCAA to prevent football and men's basketball players from legally pursuing a cut of live broadcast revenues, a federal court judge Tuesday raised the stakes for the governing body of college sports as it defends its economic model.

Judge Claudia Wilken issued her ruling Tuesday, rejecting the NCAA's motion that players in the antitrust suit led by former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon should be precluded from advancing their lawsuit on procedural grounds.

"Now the (NCAA and its co-defendants) are facing potential liability that's based on the billions of dollars in revenue instead of tens or hundreds of millions," said Michael Hausfeld, interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs. "It's a more accurate context for what the players deserve."
ESPN


In 1985-86, the year before the three-point shot was implemented, teams made 48 percent of their field-goal attempts; now they’re hitting 43.3 percent, the worst mark since 1964-65, according to NCAA.org. Three-point accuracy is at an all-time low (33.9 percent), according to STATS LLC.
Theories abound for teams’ shooting struggles, everything from larger, more physical players to looser officiating to computer-enhanced scouting.

“Guys are bigger, stronger, faster,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “The 6-7 guys were centers; now they’re small forwards. The 6-4 guys were small forwards; now they’re guards. Athletically, we’ve changed so much, but the size of the court hasn’t changed.”

Texas’ Rick Barnes and Kansas’ Bill Self say the game has become rougher on the perimeter, and officials don’t want contests to become foul-fests.

“Scoring has a lot to do with the way the game is officiated,” Barnes said. “If you’re going to allow pushing, grabbing when guys come off cuts, it’ll slow down offenses. Making calls away from the ball is important. You don’t see a play where there isn’t contact somewhere.”

Self said: “It may come back to officiating. We’re allowing more physical play, even on the outside, and there are fewer free throws.”

Others point to advances in scouting.

“I could go to the office and say I want every underneath out-of-bounds play that Northwestern has run in the last 30 games, and my video guy could get me that in 15 minutes,” Illinois coach John Groce said during a recent media teleconference.

So far this season, hundreds of games have seen teams held in the teens for a half before they failed to climb out of the 40s by the finish. The Big 12 has been involved in 34 games with one team in the 40s.
Austin Statesman


Tony Allen calls Eddie Sutton at least once a month. He has to. Sutton makes him.

But even if he didn't, Allen would gladly dial the number anyway. Just to talk life and basketball with the man he still considers a coach, mentor, friend and father figure.

“Once we get on the phone, we're on there for at least a good solid 25 minutes,” said Allen, now a guard for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. “Like one time, he sent me a picture of him riding a bull. I thought it was funny so I called him right back. Had to make sure he was OK, didn't fall off it or nothing.”

The conversation begins anywhere: women, weather, health or even bull riding. But it always finds its way back to basketball.

That's what brought them together more than 10 years ago, a bond that formed at Oklahoma State after Sutton snatched Allen out of the rough streets of Chicago.

Sutton promised Allen a bright future. He just needed to work hard and keep his nose clean.

They certainly bumped heads (Allen refers to it as Sutton's “tough love”). But the lessons got through, and the pleas from Sutton's late wife Patsy were always received. Go to class and get your degree, you'll be a better man for it.
The Oklahoman


In the middle of the hand-to-hand combat that is typical of a Wisconsin-Ohio State game, Deshaun Thomas took over.

The junior scored 25 points, including 10 during a game-breaking, 15-point second-half run, to lead the 11th-ranked Buckeyes past the Badgers 58-49 on Tuesday night.

“That’s easily the best player we’ve played because of how he can get his own shots,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “Thomas is good. He was tough on the two-point jump shots — real tough — and around the basket. He can attack. He’s so strong.”

The 6-foot-7 junior, averaging 20 points a game, hit 10 of 17 attempts from the field, including a variety of step-back jumpers, slashes through the lane and shots he muscled over defenders.

With Ohio State (16-4, 6-2 Big Ten) trailing 41-39 with 11:26 left, Thomas took over.
AP


Nerlens Noel took only one shot from the field and missed six of eight free throws.

Yet there was no doubt that the big man with the big hair was the most important player on the court as Kentucky beat No. 16 Mississippi 87-74 on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-10 freshman set a school record with 12 blocked shots and altered countless others, leading the Wildcats to their fifth victory in seven games.
CBS


Leading 72-44, the Miami players slapped the floor after the set up on defense, mocking the Duke tradition that dates back several decades. Hurricanes guard Shane Larkin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Warren Sapp, a Miami legend, had told him to do that while he was shooting free throws on the previous possession.

Larkin said the next day that the Hurricanes didn’t mean to be disrespectful. But it was too late for that.

“That was just a slap in the face to the program,” Quinn Cook said after the Maryland win Saturday. “All the tradition that coach has built here, just for them to mock that, it was definitely disrespectful. We definitely took that to heart.”

There wasn’t much Duke could do at the moment because the competitive portion of that game was long over by that point.

“They embarrassed us on the court before they even did that,” Seth Curry said. “We can’t really do anything when we’re down 30.”

Duke will host Miami in Cameron on March 2. Think the Blue Devils will still remember the disrespect from earlier this week?

“Definitely,” Rasheed Sulaimon said.

“They beat the crap out of us,” Cook added. “We will definitely keep that in mind.”
News Observer


Somewhat quietly, Ohio's D.J. Cooper has been putting together one of the most incredible college basketball careers -- ever.

…So what's this record? With at least 12 games left in his college career (barring injury), Cooper is on pace to become the only player in the history of Division I college basketball to have 2,000 points, 900 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals. On the surface, it seems a record that should've been reached at some point in the past 100 years. But no. Stop and think about those numbers, then realize Cooper is listed -- listed -- at 6 feet tall.

It's stupendous.

Cooper is going to crack 2,000 points some time shortly after Valentine's Day; he's sitting at 1,886 as of this post and averages 14.6 points. He needs 45 more assists (approximately six games) to get to 900 and 14 more thefts (seven games; Cooper swipes 2.1 steals per) to reach the top-25 list in all-time steals. Syracuse's Sherman Douglas and Oregon State's Gary Payton are the only players who have ever posted both 2,000 points and 900 dimes. Payton also has more than 300 steals.

It's the rebounding that separates Cooper. And he's already got 581 of those.
CBS


Let the haters hate.

So says Michigan State redshirt sophomore guard Russell Byrd, a highly-recruited prospect from Fort Wayne, Ind., who has yet to live up to the hype that comes with being offered scholarships by such schools as Louisville, Indiana, Ohio State and Kentucky.

In fact, the 6-foot-7 Byrd is struggling just to get on the floor, not seeing any action in the Spartans' 75-70 loss at Indiana on Sunday.

Byrd will likely play when No. 13 Michigan State (17-4, 6-2 Big Ten) plays host to Illinois (15-6, 2-5) at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Breslin Center.

When Byrd gets into the game, they will be the sort of minutes where he's expected to come off the bench, cold, and do what he was recruited to do, shoot the ball.

Many fans will groan, others in the student section will flap their arms and make bird noises — a tribute if Byrd were playing better, perhaps more mocking in nature considering he is not.

And Byrd will endure, looking to make a couple of shots with hopes it will snowball and his sophomore slump will finally be over and he can play like the sharpshooter coach Tom Izzo expected when he won the recruiting war.

"It's hard to sit on the bench for 26 minutes and come in and have to be sharp,'' said Byrd, who after being selected a team captain before the season has averaged just nine minutes a game (4.5 in Big Ten contests).

"But that's what it's all about; when you're in my spot, you've got to make it happen.''

Byrd's spot is a precarious one, so much so that rumors began to swirl that he might be contemplating transferring out of East Lansing.

"No…I'm gonna finish my career here,'' Byrd said. "Too many believe in me here and want me to be successful. I can take the criticism, and I can take the haters.

"What bothers me, why are you hiding behind a computer, man?''

Be it from laptop, I-Pad, or hand-held device, the critics have given Byrd an earful, via Twitter, over his 29.5-percent 3-point shooting and inability to contribute.

"One guy said he wanted to bury me at the bottom of the Red Cedar River,'' Byrd said. "That's laughable, you can't get caught up in stuff like that.''
mlive


Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results


RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator (Fixed Link)

Northwest’s game plan Tuesday night was smothering senior Conner Frankamp defensively.

Two Grizzlies trapped Frankamp as soon as he caught the ball in the first half. In the second half, there was some trapping, but mainly Northwest had one player right up on Frankamp, usually with a hand somewhere on Frankamp’s body.

The physical defense frustrated Frankamp. By the midpoint of the third quarter, he was showing that frustration, and doing some talking at Northwest guard Aaron Nicholson.

At that point, Frankamp began to look more for his shot. He scored 19-second half points to finish with 29 as North won 64-29.

…“It felt good to be back out there,” said Frankamp, who made 8 of 16 shots, 6 of 11 three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws. “Once I started playing, I got the nerves out.”

Midway through the third period, Frankamp finally got free from Northwest’s defense when he got a steal. He immediately dribbled up the court and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key. Later in the period, he also hit three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt, then made two more threes.
Wichita Eagle


Scout.com is out with its list of top high school basketball players in the class of 2013, and Kansas is represented on the list.

Wichita North's Conner Frankamp is ranked 44th on the list released today. Frankamp has the missed the past ten days with a concussion. He has committed to play at the University of Kansas.

Ottawa High School's Semi Ojeleye is ranked as the 26th best player in the country. He will play his college basketball at Duke.
KAKE


KU coach Self visited Huntington (W.Va.) Prep on Tuesday to check in on Andrew Wiggins, a 6-7 small forward, JayhawkSlant.com reported. Wiggins, who is the No. 1 rated player in the Class of 2013, lists KU, Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina and others. KU is also pursuing the No. 2 player in the class, Julius Randle, 6-9 power forward from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas.
LJW


Which college basketball program will you be watching the closest in recruiting the rest of the winter heading into the spring signing period?

Dave Telep: Kansas. The Jayhawks have a lot to sell. Thomas Robinson and Ben McLemore were not lottery picks when they arrived in Lawrence. However, they'll both likely have left the program as such, and that's a powerful message and forceful demonstration of how good Bill Self and his staff are at their jobs. Having said that, I'd be willing to bet Self would rather have an immediate-impact recruit than a player he'll cultivate. In short, KU would love to add a superstar -- an established, elite, no-doubt-about-it NBA prospect. KU, which already owns the No. 2 recruiting class, is still involved with two such players in the 2013 class: small forward Andrew Wiggins and power forward Julius Randle. The Jayhawks are a long, long shot for Wiggins. Meanwhile, most people would tell you Texas is the leader for Randle in the Big 12, and that is reasonable. Yet Randle remains KU's biggest "gettable" target, and that bears watching. Of course, Florida, Kentucky, NC State, Oklahoma and Texas have ideas of their own.
ESPN Insider ($)


COOPER 59, COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 44: It was just another day at the office for coveted recruit Rashad Vaughn, who scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help his Hawks defeat Class 3A, No. 7 Columbia Heights and remain at the top of the North Suburban Conference.
Link


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

The night had dragged on, pushing toward midnight on the East Coast, and Kansas had fought off West Virginia for the better part of the second half. Now, Ben McLemore had scored six straight points, and the Jayhawks led by six, and Releford slipped open one more time.

The release was pure and the shot rippled through the net, and maybe — just maybe — Kansas finally had enough breathing room to escape WVU Coliseum with an 18-game winning streak and its Big 12 lead intact. Was Monday’s 61-56 victory pretty? No. Satisfying? Yes.

“We’re gonna have bad games,” Releford said. “And out of all those bad games, we gotta win them. And the key to winning the Big 12 is winning on the road.

“So, ugly or not … ”

…It was partly the environment, partly Kansas’ own mistakes, and partly the fact McLemore picked up two early fouls. Still, West Virginia, 9-11 and 2-5, looked like a vintage Huggins squad as it turned the game into a 40-minute foul-fest.

“You look across America,” Self said. “There’s a lot of teams out there that would give anything to be 5-0 on the road … hardly anybody in America’s done that. We shouldn’t make any excuses for winning games away from home.”
KC Star


So maybe Kansas wasn’t exactly playing with the weight of the No. 1 ranking in the latest USA Today/coaches poll. According to senior center Jeff Withey, most of KU’s players didn’t even realize the Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 in the poll until a reporter brought it up after Monday’s game. The Jayhawks, apparently, had seen their No. 2 ranking in The Associated Press poll and moved on.

“I thought we were No. 2,” Withey said. “Obviously, I didn’t even know. So there’s not much of a reaction.”

...Kansas sported all-blue, alternate jerseys on Monday that, predictably, caused a bit of a stir. The numbers and names were hard to see, and the immediate reaction in social-media circles swung toward the negative. The players, however, gave them a thumbs up.

“We liked them a lot,” Withey said. “I don’t know if we’re gonna be wearing them too often, but they were pretty cool.”

...West Virginia coach Bob Huggins dropped to 0-5 in his career against the Jayhawks.
KC Star


The Mountaineers carried an .807 winning percentage in WVU Coliseum against opponents visiting for the first time.

In his sixth season as West Virginia coach, Bob Huggins had won eight games against top-10 opponents, a footnote that became extra relevant after the Jayhawks climbed Monday to No. 1 in the coaches poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll.

Also, Huggins has a clause in his West Virginia contract that provides him a $25,000 performance bonus for beating Kansas, even though the Big Monday matchup was the first meeting ever between the two teams.

Turned out, the Jayhawks overcame both Huggy’s reputation and his dry ink, overcoming 16 turnovers and 16 missed free throws to trip West Virginia, 61-56.

Artistic it was not.

“Our guard play has got to get better,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Teams that pressure us and get after us, we’ve turned it over here.

“I thought we did some good things, but we made some bonehead plays and didn’t take care of the ball. We’re better than that. If you make your free throws, it turns out, at least visually, to be a much better game.”

…The uniforms, with names and numbers that were hard to distinguish, even including matching blue shoes.

“We don’t have to burn ‘em since we won, but I don’t know if we’ll wear ‘em again,” Self said.
TCJ

Internet is super slow over here, but my boys are looking nice! #RockChalk
https://twitter.com/dblock_official


Kansas uniforms inspired by Regis Philbin's Who Wants to be a Millionaire wardrobe.
https://twitter.com/tullycorcoran


Just filed Tuesday's new bracket. Kansas No. 1 overall after holding off West Virginia. Slightly better profile than Michigan for that spot.
https://twitter.com/espnlunardi

Withey scored 13 points the first half in his new duds, helping KU to a 38-30 halftime advantage. He also had two of his game-high four blocks in the last 24 seconds, single-handedly making sure West Virginia didn’t cut into KU’s narrow 61-56 margin.

“My teammates did a good job getting me the ball early,” said Withey, who had 10 points as KU jumped to a 22-7 lead. “We didn’t want them to score late. Their guards decided the first time all game really to go inside, and I was able to get a couple blocks.”

Withey missed four of seven free throws on a night KU made 18 of 34.

“My free throws ... I’ve got to work on them more,” Withey said. “I don’t know if I’m rushing it or what. I’ve got to get in the gym and shoot 200 free throws and get it right.”

…Self singled out Releford, who had 15 points off 7-of-9 shooting.

“Travis was terrific the whole game,” Self said. “He guards their leading scorer in Big 12 play, he gets a goose egg from the field, and he (Travis) scores 15 points on eight shots. So he was by far our best player.”

Releford held Eron Harris to two points off 0-for-5 shooting in 25 minutes.

“But we’ve got to be a lot tougher and do some things. But, hey, if you go 22 of 34 if you just shoot your free throws awful, we’re still going to win by 10 or 12. And we would have taken that before the game. We just didn’t shoot them awful tonight,” Self said.

…Andrew White III, who is from Chester, Va., played six minutes in front of about 15 family members, including Andrew White I and II. He missed two shots and three of four free throws but had four boards.
LJW

The students gathered early and were ready to put on their game face for national television, keeping with the “Stripe the Coliseum” theme for the evening they had a blue section between two gold sections.

If Kansas were going to win this one, it would not be the students’ fault as they were ready to rock ‘n roll, some shirtless, some dressed in the zaniest of costumes including Batman and Batgirl, some with blown up pictures not only of basketball coach Bob Huggins head, player Deniz Kilicli’s head, but also of football coach Dana Holgorsen’s.

The town was not quite as excited about the game as the students, tickets being offered on line for $2 just hours before the game.

Kansas had been promoted to No. 1 in the nation in the coaches’ poll earlier in the day, sitting second in the AP poll, making them the kind of basketball royalty that qualified to have Brent Musberger,Fran Fraschilla and Holly Rowe be assigned the Big Monday announcing chores by ESPN.

…Murray’s play carried over into the second half as he hit WVU’s first basket, his second 3 of the night, and then made a steal as the crowd became more jacked up, helped no end by the return of the “YMCA” during the first time out and a fan holding aloft a sign that read:

I STILL HATE PITT
Exponent-Telegram


Considering how dismal a season this one has become for Huggins’ Mountaineers, now 9-11 and losers of four in a row and five of six, the latest game between the two is of far less interest than was the first, for it came at a time when Huggins actually thought he had a shot at taking down a national title.

Self was a young coach then, one who had begun his career at Oral Roberts and won but 55 of 109 games before moving on to Tulsa, where he was in the process of building a winner and a reputation.

Huggins was at Cincinnati and had an overpowering team that rolled over nearly everything in its way, right up until its best player, Kenyon Martin, suffered a broken leg on March 9, 2000.

At the time, Huggins was under some fire in Cincinnati, for he had lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament three consecutive times, the second of which came about in 1998 when Jarrod West made his miracle shot at the buzzer to beat Huggins and his Bearcats.

With Martin out, the NCAA seeding committee dropped UC to a No. 2 seed, something Huggins protested vehemently about, claiming the committee showed his team “a lack of respect,” but in the end the move proved justified as Self’s Tulsa team, a No. 7 seed, eliminated the Martin-less Bearcats, 69-61, in Nashville.

Could Self and Tulsa have beaten Cincinnati with Martin there?

Huggins would never admit so and could point to his team shooting just 35 percent from the field with 19 of 54 baskets made, but also being outrebounded, 44-39, without the muscular, athletic All-American.

"We obviously had to change a lot of things without Kenyon, but I thought we could advance," Huggins said. "Give Tulsa a lot of credit. That's a very balanced, well-coached team."

Little did Huggins know that midway through the 2013 season he still would be trying to figure out a way to beat Self.
Exponent-Telegram


In his postgame comments, Self lamented the 16 points his team left on the free-throw line, and how it was minus-seven in turnover margin.

But what if red-hot freshman Eron Harris doesn't go 0-for-5 for WVU? What if he makes one or two of his four shots from beyond the arc? What if Deniz Kilicli had shown any semblance of being a reliable player on either end of the court?

What if WVU had a little more "wow" ... instead of 15 very good minutes sandwiched by frustration?
Daily Mail


West Virginia head basketball coach Bob Huggins has berated his team all season for its inability to compete.

The Mountaineers managed to finally do that Monday night against No. 1 Kansas at the WVU Coliseum but still couldn’t pick up the all-important win, as WVU dropped its sixth game in its last eight contests, falling 61-56 to the Jayhawks in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Junior center Aaric Murray led all scorers with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 27 minutes off the bench for WVU, while sophomore point guard Juwan Staten returned to the starting lineup with 10 points of his own for the Mountaineers, but it still wasn’t enough.

"I guess we just lost our focus and stopped running our plays," Murray said after the game.

…Monday’s recorded attendance of 12,402 marked the best crowd at a home WVU game this year.
Daily Athenaeum


Kansas came out of a timeout with 23 seconds left, and Johnson took the ball past halfcourt, killed clock with his dribble and started to make his move with about eight seconds left. Then something made him think it was a good idea to throw a one-handed pass off the dribble to the right wing.

Jabarie Hinds had no trouble picking it off and taking it all the way in for a buzzer-beating layup as KU coach Bill Self put his hands to the sides of his head and counted to 10.

And so it goes for a Kansas basketball team ranked second in the nation, behind only Michigan in the Associated Press poll. The Jayhawks (19-1) pushed their national-best winning streak to 18 games with a 61-56 victory Monday night at West Virginia. But it’s a streak fraught with moments such as Johnson’s blunder to end the half. The Jayhawks keep winning, but make it so much more stressful than it would be if they didn’t make so many sloppy plays on the perimeter.

Hearing later that freshman Andrew White III wasn’t exactly where he was supposed to be didn’t make Johnson’s turnover any easier to stomach. It looked as if Johnson didn’t believe he could get around his man. He didn’t look like the confident player who made so many big shots in big games last March.

What happened on the play that prevented Kansas from taking a double-digit lead into halftime?

“Elijah just made a bad play,” Self said. “The whole play was for him to drive it. The lane was open. Andrew didn’t relocate right, and we just threw it to them for a layup. That happened two or three times in the first half. We’ve got to do better with that. You can’t close halves out like that. The worse you can be is be up by 10, the worst, when you’re playing for one shot and to do that is ridiculous. We’ve got to get better in that area.”
LJW


LJW Rankings: Releford takes top honor


“Kansas is good,” Huggins said. “It’s not like they’re one of those teams that plays nobody in the preseason and gets ranked. They play people in the preseason. Bill (Self) does a great job. They’re playing three fifth-year seniors. They’re playing a sophomore (red-shirt freshman Ben McLemore) that played with them in practice every day (of second semester), wasn’t allowed to participate, but practiced with them, and from what I hear may be a top-five pick in the draft.

“You’ve got a guy who can really coach, and then you’ve got all that experience. They’ve got the best of both worlds. They’ve got experience, and then they have youthful enthusiasm. Sometimes when you have fifth-year guys, it gets a little, you know, mundane, when you do the same thing all the time. When you have an influx of youth, it kind of rejuvenates them. So I think they’ve got a great combination.”
LJW


Huggins, who is a graduate of West Virginia, sensed no big-time buzz around the game against No. 1/2 KU.

“Honestly, there hasn’t been the kind of hoopla you’d think there would be around town. The paper sure didn’t blow it up today as being a huge, huge, game,” Huggins said. “I’m sure we have a lot to do with it with our play.”

There was a “stripe the coliseum” promotion for the KU-West Virginia game. Fans were asked to wear either gold or blue depending on where their seats were located. A detailed map of the arena was available prior to the game on the university website so the fans could coordinate.
LJW

SI Seth Davis Q&A with Coach Self


What have you learned since you took over the job in 2003 about yourself and the program?
"You have to embrace the expectations. That's something I've learned. I think I've learned that the best players don't necessarily make the best teams, but you can't win the biggest games without good players. Having guys that understand their roles and buying in and understanding who the best players are on the court is a pretty fun way to play. We've had so many guys that have been great players for us that have come in and understood their role that the first-rounders need to get their touches, but they got better. When those guys left, they were ready to take over.''

What does the Big 12 regular-season title streak of eight straight mean to you?
"It's something we talk about every day. We end every huddle saying 'Big 12 champs.' It's something that we start to engrave in their mind even though some people here take it for granted. Whenever you're the best team in a really competitive league, you're going to play for the highest stakes. I've always said why be concerned about being the best team in the country if you can't be the best team within the league you're trying to win and compete for. I want to be the best. But I always think there are stages. For us to be the best in the country we have to be the best in this league.''

What makes Phog Allen the best home court in the country?
"There are other places that get amped up for a game and sell out. But the thing about here is that it doesn't make any difference if we're playing Texas, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Ohio State, American, Belmont or Richmond. You're going to have the exact same number of people at the game. The consistency of their participation is unequal to anywhere I've seen night in and night out.''

What would be your next move and who would you lean on for advice?
"If we're ever going to move again, which I certainly don't see, want or anticipate because we love it here, I would lean on my dad and my wife. And then maybe some experts in the field. I haven't looked at another situation seriously since I've been here. A lot was made of the Oklahoma State situation five years ago, but that was one that the timing was not right and I don't see the timing being right any time in the near future.''

What about the NBA?
" I don't feel it. I can't say never because there have been a lot of people tell me that it would be an unbelievable situation to get into, and coaches yearn for that, but I think I've got a better job than a lot of guys in the league.''
Andy Katz Q&A with Coach Self


Don't panic. Baylor shows up at No. 1 here simply because they've already played both their games against TCU. Kansas will get to play two of those as well, and will presumably get to ride the same statistical booster rocket.

On paper KU's unusually one-dimensional, and by "unusually" I mean by Jayhawk standards. The success they've achieved thus far in Big 12 play is largely attributable to the fact that conference opponents are making just 38 percent of their twos. (Now why would that be?) That, plus a big surplus in attempted free throws, has propelled Kansas to a 7-0 start.

Off paper we know something closer to the truth. Bill Self may have the nation's best defensive player in Jeff Withey, and he definitely has a lottery pick-to-be in Ben McLemore. Most coaches would take that foundation gladly.

McLemore has been so good so fast I'm not sure we've had the proper "Hey wait a minute, this is amazing" moment yet. He's hitting 54 percent of his twos and 46 percent of his threes, and he's doing it as a freshman who's the featured scorer for a team that expects to win the national championship. The standard expectation with elite freshmen is that they get even better as the season progresses. If that expectation is fulfilled with this freshman on this team with this defense, mercy.
Basketball Prospectus


Michigan is a slightly better offensive team than Kansas, but the Jayhawks are better on defense and on the glass. Because of Withey, the Jayhawks have had a knack for inducing opponents to settle for 3-pointers, but when the Wolverines take a 3 it hardly can be considered settling. They shoot 40.8 percent from behind the arc as a team.

I think Michigan's A-game is better than Kansas' A-game. Although the Jayhawks are pretty good at getting opponents to play their B-minus game, I do think Michigan would be a little bit more likely to win this matchup, should we get to see it.

…Six schools could kill the NCAA, and by that I mean "end its existence forever." Kill it. Those six schools are Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana and UCLA.

And it probably wouldn't take all six.

The NCAA gets approximately 90 percent of its revenue from television rights fees. According to the NCAA, it got $680 million of its total $777 million in revenue from the NCAA tournament rights agreement with CBS and Turner. That's 87.5 percent. And that's not including the money it makes from the championship events themselves, the overwhelming majority of which comes from the NCAA Tournament.

This is a commonly misunderstood relationship. Major-college football is not paying the NCAA's bills at all. The NCAA owes much of its power and, indeed, much of its very existence, to the popularity of its men's basketball tournament.

So can you imagine what would happen to the NCAA tournament if Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana and UCLA decided they were going to do their own thing? You think the nation is getting all fired up to see Northern Iowa "upset" San Diego State? You think anybody is going to take Gonzaga's national title seriously when Duke and Kentucky are playing each other the same weekend?

You think other schools wouldn't want to go play in the thing that has all the bluebloods in it? It wouldn't be five years before the NCAA tournament was the NIT (which used to be the NCAA tournament, if that makes sense).
Tully Corcoran

We have a lot in common with Holly Durst and Blake Julian. A love for roller derby, an appreciation for Chris Harrison's innovative hair care, and an addiction to tanning. But guys? Apparently these two are into something called "sports," and they recently hit up University of Kansas for a Jayhawks basketball game!

We're not sure how basketball works (unless shirts and skins are involved), but Holly and Blake are all about getting into the team spirit. "Rock chalk Jayhawk! #GoKu" Holly tweeted along with an adorable photo of her and Blake cheesin' for the camera. 

Turns out "rock chalk Jayhawk" is some kind of epic siren cry for people who are into Kansas-style basket ball, which makes sense considering that Blake went to University of Kansas (and then University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry). Way to root for the home team, you two!
Wet Paint


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VOTE for Kansas players, team, and moment in NCAA 75th Anniversary of March Madness (Vote for Wilt, Clyde, Danny, 51-52 Kansas, Mario's Miracle)


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Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule


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Wichita Eagle Big 12 Report


Bowlsby confirmed to CBSSports.com that the league is in the exploratory stage about an alliance with the ACC and perhaps some other leagues. That could involve a scheduling agreement, marketing, anything to enrich both conferences.

“I think he is doing something that is very smart,” said a person with knowledge of the process. “He's looking at a way to enhance the value of the Big 12 without having split his money up any further.”

In other words, no expansion. Such an arrangement might quash speculation about Clemson and Florida State eventually coming to the Big 12. It's still a debate whether those schools add value to the Big 12. And the discussion doesn't start unless, say, Jim Delany raids the ACC again.

…A scheduling alliance helps both leagues. Miami and Florida State available to the Big 12. Oklahoma and Texas matriculating through the ACC. Remember, the ACC already has Notre Dame. This might be what Bowlsby meant by being “proactive” in expansion.

The ACC and Big 12 both make about the same amount per year in TV revenue -- $19.8 million for the Big 12, $19.5 million for the ACC. (That is strictly TV revenue and does not include other payouts.)

“Bob doesn't want to expand, doesn't believe in it,” said a source. “Doesn't believe it's good for the student-athlete.”

Bowlsby has basically said that publicly, but the decision might not be his. If Delany gets that itchy trigger finger, there might be a decision to be made. But if you're partners, then a midnight raid from the Big Ten becomes less likely. There's strength in numbers. Those numbers start with “$”.

Instead of expansion, “I'd go the other way,” said an industry source, “really own the fact that they're (Big 12) 10 teams, they're the only true conference champion, the annual tour [conference schedule] doesn't skip a town.”
CBS


A big donor for the University of Kentucky athletics is in trouble with the federal government after being accused of making his money by running a pyramid scheme.

The Lexington offices of Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing, where Paul Orberson is president, were raided Monday by the Federal Trade Commission and the office of Kentucky's Attorney General.

…While members know him as their president, Orberson is also known around Kentucky for his donations to University of Kentucky athletics. Conway's office says Orberson donated $100,000 for Coach John Calipari's Hoops for Haiti. He also has an office named for him at the Nutter Field House on UK's campus after donating $1.6 million for the expansion.

"I'm aware Mr. Orberson's been a donor to UK Athletics. I don't foresee, I don't want to rule anything in or out, but I don't foresee going and taking away back the football offices at the Nutter center or anything like that."

Conway does say he and the FTC are going to do everything they can to recover the money lost through the company and get it back to those who thought they were signing up to do legitimate marketing.
Link


North Carolina says it is resuming its men's basketball series with Kentucky.

UNC said Monday that the two schools will play next season in Chapel Hill. They played for 12 straight seasons but did not meet this year.

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams calls it "a great series for both schools and our fans as well as college basketball fans period.''

North Carolina will host the Wildcats on Dec. 14, and will return the trip to Lexington in 2014-15. UNC leads the series 22-13 and has won six of the past nine.
AP


The Big East conference is looking to add another school and may sign a TV package that includes multiple networks, commissioner Mike Aresco said Monday.

…Aresco dismissed talk that the Big East might reconsider its postseason ban for Connecticut's men's basketball team, allowing the Huskies play in this year's Big East tournament.

UConn was barred from the postseason by the NCAA due to previous low Academic Progress Rate scores, and the Big East followed suit. School officials have been lobbying against the ban, noting the team has improved those scores and no current players were involved in the previous problems.

"They've got a terrific APR now, they're doing much better," Aresco said. "This is just one of those things. It happened, and it's something they're going to have to get through."
ESPN


Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results


RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator

Just 11 days after suffering a mild concussion and 12 stitches, North senior Conner Frankamp will return to the lineup tonight, after missing the last two games. Frankamp was injured in a 67-63 overtime battle with 3A power Scott City in the Dodge City Tournament of Champions second round semifinal.
Link


Nike brass on same page as me that Joel Embiid will b n draft after couple years @ Kansas
https://twitter.com/jerrymeyer247


Senior center Joel Embiid has been invited to play in the 2103 Jordan Brand All-Star game April 13th in NYC. Congratulations Joel!
https://twitter.com/therockhoops


Thirty of the top prep school basketball teams in the country, and beyond, highlight the 15th annual National Prep School Invitational scheduled for the Murray Center at Rhode Island College from Thursday-Sunday.

The featured talent ranges from the traditional powers of the New England Prep
School Athletic Conference to as far away as the Canarias Basketball Academy of the Canary Islands. Among the top prospects scheduled to appear are seniors Noah Vonleh (of New Hampton (N.H.) Prep, headed to Indiana), Tilton's Wayne Selden (signed with Kansas); and Portsmouth's Andrew Chrabascz (Cushing Academy, signed with Butler); juniors Chris McCullough (verbal to Syracuse), Kaleb Joseph (Cushing) and Goodluck Okonoboh (Wilbraham Monson).

…This past year's NBA Draft featured seven NPSI alumni with four in the Top 15: South
Kent's Dion Waiters (Syracuse), Brewster Academy's Thomas Robinson (Kansas); St. Thomas More's Andre Drummond (Connecticut) and South Kent's Maurice Harkless (St. John's).
Link


Boys Basketball: Tyus Jones Scores 35, Apple Valley Beats Prior Lake

It was a joy to watch Rashad Vaughn score like he did when he had 35 points even though he took 34 shots to do it, against Apple Valley in the Timberwolves Shootout. Jones was as consistent as a player can be in the Eagles’ 81-67 win over Prior Lake last Friday in the South Suburban Conference. Jones finished with 35 points, shooting 15-of-21 from the field. He also had seven assists. The timing was nice with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo at the game. The school is one of Jones’s final eight on his college list.

Apple Valley is 14-1 on the season and is 8-0 in conference play.
Link


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Tonight, as West Virginia University takes on No. 2 Kansas, Chris Northrop wants to see the Coliseum filled and louder than ever before.

Northrop, director of Mountaineer Maniacs, said the program hopes to instill new traditions as the team enters its inaugural Big 12 season.

"We want to use the Kansas game to be able to parlay them into the rest of the season," Northrop said. "We really just want to be able to pick the tradition back up of making the Coliseum a really tough place for opponents to come play."

Today at 12:30 p.m., men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins will host the first-ever Coach’s Chalk Talk in the Mountainlairfood court.

Northrop said Huggins plans to talk with students and fire up their Mountaineer pride before the game.

"(Huggins wants) to get kids pumped up and get students excited for (tonight)," he said. "People will be there eating lunch, but I hope some people that wouldn’t usually be there come and swing by."

Northrop said the Maniacs have worked in collaboration with The Daily Athenaeum to publish game day musings in today’s edition.

"The musing is kind of going to break down how the teams are doing; it introduces their starters. It’s going to have some funny little quotes from them, and then, at the bottom, there will be a cheer sheet for the game. It’s really to get people organized and on the same page," he said. "Students will see it
during the day, and (I hope) it will get the word out that there’s a game tonight, and it’ll get people excited for it."

Musings will be placed throughout the WVU student section prior to tonight’s game, as well.

Northrop said he believes because of the team’s challenging season it’s important to rally as a Mountaineer Nation.

"With the team struggling, it’s still very important for students to help get behind them 100 percent," he said.

"We’ve got to be with them through rough times, which is where we are right now, but I think it’s a
great opportunity," he said.

Fans are also invited to Stripe the Coliseum for tonight’s game.

For more information and to see a gold/blue diagram, visit www.wvusports.com/stripecoliseum.cfm.
Daily Athenaeum

KU will wear special jerseys provided to the school by adidas during its next game — Monday’s 8 p.m. contest at West Virginia. The “tone-out” jerseys have been described as featuring a “more aggressive Crimson and Blue.” They will only be worn during the West Virginia game. KU also will wear “tone-out” warm-ups and shoes. The jerseys are available for sale in the KU store in Booth Family Hall of Athletics.
LJW

Bob Huggins has 25K incentive in new contract for regular season wins over KU. Something to watch for on Big Monday from Morgantown.
https://twitter.com/franfraschilla


KUAD: Kansas vs West Virgina pregame notes


West Virginia will host one of the nation's best teams on Monday when No.3 Kansas comes to town.

That's bad news for the Mountaineers (9-10, 2-4) who have lost four of their last five games and have lost all three games they've played against ranked teams this season. Not to mention the fact that West Virginia's two conference wins have come against teams that are a combined 1-12 in conference games.

Despite all of that, WVU had a chance to get back to .500 in conference play with a win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. It was a great start for the Mountaineers, jumping out to a 24-11 lead, but they fell apart from there and lost by 14. That is becoming a bit of a habit for this team. To beat Kansas (18-1, 6-0), it's going to take a full 40-minute effort, and that will have to be a nearly perfect effort.

…This will be the first time these two schools have ever met. Similar to the Baylor football game, WVU is asking fans to "Stripe the Coliseum" for the game. ESPN will televise it as part of the network's Big Monday series. Tip-off will be at 9 pm.
WV Illustrated


Someday, Kansas and West Virginia may become fierce Big 12 Conference basketball rivals.

As of today, however, the teams coached by Bill Self (two Final Fours, one NCAA title) and Bob Huggins (two Final Fours) classify as strangers preparing to meet for the first time in the history of the two proud programs.

“We’ve never made the trip to Morgantown. I hear it’s a great home-court advantage they have,” KU coach Self said of the atmosphere in 14,000-seat WVU Coliseum, site of today’s 8 p.m. ESPN Big Monday clash between KU (18-1, 6-0) and WVU (9-10, 2-4).

“We’ve probably got to remind our guys about shooting the musket off and scaring them,” Self added with a laugh.

It’s a tradition for the Mountaineer mascot to fire a rifle while leading the players onto the field for West Virginia’s home football games.

Who knows? Huggins may put in a request to blast the musket to wake up his struggling Mountaineers, who are in jeopardy of not making the NCAAs for the first time in Huggins’ six years at his alma mater.

“I guess, in all honesty, winning has become expected. Losing is excruciatingly painful,” Huggins said.
LJW


“It’s the first time I’ve been there, the first time anybody on the team has ever played there,” Releford said. “Of course it’s going to feel a little different, but we’ve just got to come ready to play no matter where it is or how quick of a turnaround it is.”

Traveling to Morgantown, W.Va., on a two-day turnaround represents a major departure from routine for the Jayhawks, who hadn’t seen much of the Mountaineers as of Saturday night.

KU had time to squeeze in a Sunday morning practice before leaving Lawrence, but that’s about all the Jayhawks will get in terms of game preparation.

“We know that they’re a tough team,” Releford said. “We’ve got practice (Sunday) morning, so we’re going to do scouting report early to get a good feel for them. We know they play hard. It’s always tough playing on the road.”
TCJ


This, of course, is the burden of playing point guard at a place like Kansas. Even as KU ascends to the top of the polls, the Jayhawks’ recent point-guard play has sparked a few red flags. Last season, it was Tyshawn Taylor working through some early-season issues — remember “Good Tyshawn” and “Bad Tyshawn” — before eventually leading Kansas to another Big 12 title and Final Four appearance.

And perhaps victories are really the most relevant statistic. Earlier this month, coach Bill Self used a football analogy when asked to analyze Johnson’s performance. If a first-year quarterback had guided his team to an 18-1 record and a top-two ranking, most observers would probably think that quarterback was playing pretty well.

Further, Johnson has a history of slow starts. Last season, he was shooting just 30 percent from three-point range in KU’s first 19 games. By April, he had averaged 15.1 points in Kansas’ final eight games, helping the Jayhawks to the NCAA title game.

That, of course, didn’t stop Self from using some critical words when describing KU’s guard play after a 67-54 victory over Oklahoma on Saturday.

“We can’t dribble past anybody, and we don’t,” Self said. “And we don’t drive to pass. And there’s a lot of things that I think weren’t great.”

Johnson, of course, has had the challenge of playing alongside two backcourt players — Ben McLemore and Travis Releford — who don’t possess true point-guard skills or instincts. And for Johnson, the result has been a few more assists (3.5 to 4.8) but a larger increase in turnovers (1.8 to 3.2). In addition, Johnson is no longer benefitting from the open looks that Taylor used to provide.

Still, Johnson’s shooting slump hasn’t stopped Self or his teammates from believing in his skill-set. The stroke is still there, they say, and it’s just a matter of time before the shots start falling.

“We’re supporting him,” Releford said. “Coach is telling him to keep shooting. Because it looks good. He hasn’t done anything different or changed anything.”
KC Star


BOTTOM LINE: This will be Kansas’ first trip to the WVU Coliseum, a place with a long history of being hostile and loud. That should count for something. But after escaping K-State with a victory last week, the Jayhawks seem to have a gift for playing tough when they need to.
KC Star


The Jayhawks, you see, are their usual selves. They come to town ranked No. 2 in the nation, riding a 17-game winning streak and bringing with them a busload of top-line players and a history that makes this game something that may be different than any other matchup ever to be played in this college town.

To talk about Kansas really means you begin at the beginning of the sport of basketball itself, for once upon a time there was a coach at Kansas by the name of Dr. James Naismith, who just happens to be credited with being the inventor of basketball.

A  year ago, sportswriter Jason Jenks in Topeka did an interesting article looking back upon the history of the sport at Kansas, and at Naismith, who had come up with the idea for the sport while in Springfield, Mass., writing the rules in less than an hour, using 427 words.

The first game was played with those famous peach baskets on Dec. 21, 1891.

Six years later, he moved to Kansas as its first coach and, Jenks noted, its only losing coach, for Naismith did not quite comprehend where his game would go or how the state of Kansas and the university there would adopt it.

The first game came in the winter of 1899, significant in a couple of ways, for Naismith’s team lost, 16-5, that night to a Kansas City YMCA team that Jenks reports featured “a rather rough player by the name of Jesse James.”

And yes, it was that Jesse James.

Naismith’s view of a basketball coach differs from say Bob Huggins, who will be on the West Virginia sideline tonight, or Bill Self, who will be on the Kansas bench, in that he saw the game as less competitive and more a matter of a way to stay in shape in the winter.

He told his top pupil, Forrest “Phog” Allen” that “You don’t coach this game, Forrest, you play it.”
Allen did not take that advice and became one of a long line of great Kansas coaches, many enshrined in the Hall of the Fame. The list includes Naismith and Allen, along with Ted Owen, Dick Harp, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and Bill Self.

In fact, Kansas has had but eight coaches since 1899, save for a couple of men who filled in for less than half a year.

Of them, by the way, the man with the best record is the man who brings his team into the Coliseum tonight, Self, whose winning percentage is pushing .850.

Coaches are as good as their players, in most instances, and Kansas has had players.

Oh, did they have players.

WVU, for example, has had just three players that are looked upon as basketball gods in a sense — Jerry West, Hot Rod Hundley and Rod Thorn.

There have been, of course, many others who reached All-American status and had great accomplishments, but there has been a Hall of Fame of Kansas players over the years, who not only were great college stars, but went on to star in the NBA.

Starting with the greatest and most famous, Wilt Chamberlain, the only man to score 100 points in an NBA game, there were 21 consensus All-Americans at the school, winning the honor 28 times.
This includes Clyde Lovellette, Paul Pierce, Danny Manning, Drew Gooden, Raef LaFrentz and Nick Collison.

Kansas has this special place in the world of college basketball, not only for its coaches, for its players and for its success, but also because it has taken part in some of the most notable games in the sport’s history.

None was more well known that the 1957 NCAA championship game in which North Carolina defeated Chamberlain and Kansas in triple overtime, 54-53, in a game considered by many as the greatest college basketball game ever played.
Exponent-Telegram: Birthplace of basketball


With Duke's loss at Miami earlier this week, Kansas and Michigan could each be No. 1 in the polls this week. The Wolverines were second in the AP poll, while the Jayhawks were No. 2 in the coaches poll.

In today's bracket though, Kansas is the overall No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks have an unequaled seven top 50 RPI wins, including one at Ohio State, the place where Michigan picked up its only loss.
CBS Jerry Palm


Why Kansas should be No. 1: Because they haven't lost since the first week of the season. I'm not wild about the poll-voting tendency to weigh recent losses more heavily than those from weeks ago. At least at this point of the season, it can obscure the larger data set in favor of a handful of games. But, you know what? I'm sorry, Kansas' record is legitimately impressive.

After all, the Jayhawks lost their only game of the season on Nov. 13, when they fell 67-64 to Michigan State in Atlanta. Even then, it was hard to penalize Bill Self's team perception-wise. We all knew they'd be good, and they are. Self's team plays the third-best efficiency defense in the country, per KenPom.com. The Jayhawks hold opposing scorers to the lowest two-point field goal percentage -- just 37.0 percent -- in the country, thanks in large part to the shot-blocking prowess of center Jeff Withey. On offense, the Jayhawks are not quite as dominant, but they do feature redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore, who has blown up any and all of the already high offseason expectations about his evolution into stardom. McLemore could well play his way to the No. 1 overall pick in this summer's NBA draft, and he can score against college defenses at will.

With their two stars and a host of secondary players gelling seamlessly, since November the Jayhawks have rattled off 17 straight wins. This streak includes a road trip to Ohio State, as well as big-time challenges from Temple and Iowa State and back-to-back wins at Texas and Kansas State last week. They haven't gotten to that top spot yet this season for a few reasons: sheer timing, schedule quirks and a down Big 12 among them. But their case is just as good, if not better, than anyone else the voters could plausibly pick Monday afternoon.
ESPN (Click link for why Michigan should be no. 1)


Florida may very well be the best team in the nation, but the Gators' résumé probably isn't strong enough to inspire many voters to jump them ahead of two teams with one less loss than they have. Wins over Wisconsin, Marquette and Missouri are all credible, but both Michigan and Kansas have a better collection than that, not to mention the Jayhawks have beaten the same Kansas State team on the road that the Gators couldn't handle in Kansas City.

So if the choice for No. 1 comes down to Kansas and Michigan, then my vote would belong to the Jayhawks.

They have a more impressive list of marquee victories. They haven't suffered a loss since mid-November. And they defeated the same Ohio State team in Columbus that handed Michigan its lone loss a month later.

Kansas would be my new No. 1. With West Virginia and Oklahoma State up next this week, let's see if the Jayhawks can hold that top spot any longer than their predecessors.
Yahoo Sports

The Jayhawks haven't landed atop the AP poll for roughly two years, having last cracked the ceiling on Valentine's Day 2011, a season in which they'd danced on or near the No. 1 spot for much of the winter. Last season — with its lowered expectations and pre-conference setbacks — was different, a bunch that didn't climb back into the top-5 discussion until league play was well under way.

…Even if Kansas doesn't always pass the eye test, its resume stacks up with anybody's in the high-rent club. The Jayhawks head to West Virginia on Monday with a 7-1 record against teams in the RPI Top 50, a better mark than Duke (4-2), Arizona (5-2), Michigan (3-1), Louisville, (3-3), Florida (3-2), or Indiana (3-1).
 
While the Big 12 is deeper than you think, it's deep in potential 6 through 11 seeds, the Sooners (13-5) included. There's the Jayhawks, and then — well, there's everybody else. It's hard to find more than three losses, on paper, over the rest of Kansas' regular-season slate.
 
"You know, if we are No. 1, that's good, but it shouldn't really change what our focus is on the court," point guard Naadir Tharpe allowed. "Even if we're not No. 1 or No. 2, I feel like, no matter what, everybody's still going to come out and give us their best shot. So being No. 1 is a good thing . . . it would be great for us, but it's not the end of the world. It's just a ranking."
FS Midwest


Because Kansas is located in the heartland, far from the media centers of Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, and plays in the least powerful of the BCS conferences, there is a reluctance to think of the Jayhawks in the same way as Duke, Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA and Syracuse.

But make no mistake, Kansas is, and always will be, one of the nation’s elite basketball programs.
NY Daily News Dick Weiss (Um, what? Syracuse? lol. Sure)


Kansas coach Bill Self cited the effort in Austin as an example of what may separate this team from other contenders in a season marked by rampant parity across the NCAA basketball landscape.

"When we settled down we did the things that we should do to give us a chance to win on the road," Self said. "We had some experienced guys playing down the stretch. That makes a difference.

"I don't think that we've done anything in January to make me think we're way ahead of schedule [with this team]. But I do think we're right where I was hoping we would be. We've got a nice team that tries pretty hard, that is learning how to win in our league, learning how to make shots. Those are all very, very positive things."

So is the Jayhawks' big-game experience, thanks to the four senior starters. To put that in perspective, here's a breakdown of seniors in the starting lineups for other notable title contenders: Ohio State (0), Michigan (1), Syracuse (1), Louisville (1), Indiana (2), Arizona (2), Duke (3) and Florida (3).

We all remember Kentucky won last year's title with a collection of one-and-done freshmen no longer in school. But that team was rare. It was more gifted athletically than its competitors.

There is not a team that talented, or that dominant, in college basketball this season. That places a greater focus on intangibles in separating teams in this year's NCAA Tournament. Kansas has the biggest intangible -- experience -- on its side.

It may not be enough to win it all. But it's not going away between now and March, which is why the Jayhawks project as today's best bet to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, even if they do not climb to No. 1 in this week's polls.

Withey, a 7-footer who averages 13 points per game and ranks second nationally in blocked shots (4.3 per game), said KU's veterans have an unspoken confidence in tight situations -- as well as a willingness to verbally challenge one another because of their familiarity -- that helps in crunch time.

"It's a little bit of both," Withey said. "We know what to expect if we're down, that a comeback starts one stop at a time. We've been there before and we have Ben. He's a redshirt freshman, so he's been practicing with us forever. We're a mature team."

And one that's well-positioned to ride that advantage deep into this year's NCAA Tournament.
FW Star-Telegram


It was, says Zach Peters, like wearing a target on his back. Anointed the top eighth-grade basketball player in the country in 2008, salivating opponents came game after game, primed to prove their worth by chopping down his 6-9, 220-pound frame.

But he survived nicely, playing at Prestonwood Christian Academy and earning a scholarship after his 10-grade season to play at the University of Kansas, perennially one of the top college programs in the country.

But there is no happy ending. Yet. After suffering a series of pre-season concussions at Kansas that left him dazed and confused on and off the court, he has returned home to Plano where he is instead completing his freshman year re-orienting at Collin College.

For the first time in memory, he is not playing basketball. “The doctors say it is too risky now,” said Peters, who passed a concussion test last week after four failed efforts. “It will take time.”

...Peters suffered his first concussion at a LeBron James elite summer basketball camp during high school. He took an elbow to the head from DaJuan Coleman, now a 6-9, 290-pound freshman at Syracuse.

“He had no clue where he was for two days,” said his father, Tim Peters.

Zach Peters’ second concussion came on the football field, early in the first game of his senior season. Peters, 6-9, 235, played wide receiver. He was knocked out on a helmet-to-helmet hit. He played every game the rest of the season.

Peters left for Kansas in June. Back in Lawrence, however, he suffered two concussions in practice about three weeks apart. When he returned from the second, he was fitted with a headgear for protection.

Several days later, however, he took an elbow to the forehead. Tim Peters said it wasn’t diagnosed as a concussion.

Still, Zach Peters remained in a constant fog. He couldn’t find chapters in books. He needed tutoring in an effort to keep up in class.

Peters returned to Plano at Thanksgiving for a family conference. Soon after Kansas announced Peters was leaving its basketball program.
Dallas Morning News


At the last second, Kansas University red-shirt freshman Ben McLemore banked in a three. The usual 16,300 paying customers screamed. Allen Fieldhouse shook. The fans knew the game that a moment earlier had seemed like a sure loss was headed to overtime. The scoreboard told them so.

Scoreboard operator Robbie Vannaman had done his job, just as he had at 800 other games in the old barn.

Since 1986, Vannaman has operated the scoreboard for KU basketball games on a volunteer basis. He took over the same role at football games around 1988.

Superficially, his job sounds simple. He doesn’t start or stop the game clock or video display. He just records the scores, the substitution listings, the number of fouls or the yards to a first down.

“It’s least important to the game administration, but it’s something that the fans want to see correct,” he said.

When he does his job perfectly, the fans don’t know he exists. But if he messes up, the crowd quickly lets him know it.

…He didn’t name a favorite game but would say that last year’s Missouri game was one of the loudest.

“When there’s a full student group, they bring so much energy, and they love to have it loud,” he said. “When Bill says there’s a great sixth man, he knows from experience. They give the players energy from their energy.”

He said one of the best moments he’s ever seen would likely be Wilt Chamberlain walking through the tunnel to have his jersey retired.

He doesn’t have a favorite player but cited women’s basketball senior point guard Angel Goodrich as a player who deserves more credit and is a joy to watch.

Vannaman also made sure to mention his appreciation for the program’s numerous walk-ons.

“I just think that they have some kids of fantastic character, and that really adds something to your team.”
LJW


On the first sequence of the fourth quarter, Markieff Morris stripped Dallas center Chris Kaman on the floor and streaked to the other side to receive a fast-break pass and draw a foul going to the rim.

That is the Morris who the Suns like seeing, getting back to the defense-first mentality that defined his time at Kansas and attacking the rim on offense rather than looking for 3-pointers. Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter has been complimenting Morris’ defense since the job he did on Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins.

“To guard that big guy the way he did and to fight and to rebound,” Hunter said. “I had to tell him, ‘Stop worrying about fouling. As good as you’re playing, you’d have to foul out to come out.’”

Morris said his defensive improvement mostly has been about extra effort.

“It doesn’t take that much energy to give extra effort,” Morris said. “Just being tuned into the game, knowing my defensive rules, being there on my rotations.”
Arizona Central


Guard Tyshawn Taylor, on loan from the Brooklyn Nets, paced the Armor with 27 points and 11 assists. But Springfield played without the other half of its NBA contingent. Forward Tornike Shengelia did not dress because of a head injury. He suffered a cut under his eye Saturday night and was withheld Sunday for precautionary reasons.
MassLive


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VOTE for Kansas players, team, and moment in NCAA 75th Anniversary of March Madness (Vote for Wilt, Clyde, Danny, 51-52 Kansas, Mario's Miracle)


@KU_Hoops


Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule


Kansas 2012-13 WBB Schedule

Few teams have benefited from the use of a small lineup more than Kansas State this season, but for all the positives a four-guard look has brought the Wildcats it seemed to hold them back during a 73-67 loss to Iowa State on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

The No. 11 Wildcats struggled to come up with rebounds and had no answer for Will Clyburn. The 6-foot-7 Cyclones senior continually muscled past K-State defenders inside while scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
KC Star


One painful streak was going to come to an end on Saturday inside the Frank Erwin Center, and young-but-talented Texas made sure its head-shaking rough stretch was the one that came tumbling down.

The Longhorns took advantage of a punishing inside game and a flurry of Tech mistakes to earn a 73-57 win, their first in Big 12 Conference play this season after an 0-5 start.

The Red Raiders, meanwhile, lost their 17th straight game in Austin and fell to 9-9 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 games.
Lubbock AJ


Indiana is a very good team, one capable of beating a couple of top-15 teams on its home floor (i.e. Minnesota and Michigan State), but the Hoosiers can't be great without Zeller.

"To be a championship caliber-team, I think they need more out of him," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said following Sunday's loss.

Zeller was virtually invisible for much of the 75-70 victory over the 13th-ranked Spartans. Crean is correct when he defends his sophomore big man, saying he does all the little things that are critical to winning. But Zeller needs to do the big things. He needs to demand the basketball at times, he needs to finish through contact, he needs to display more overall toughness.

I love Zeller. The kid is the ultimate team player, the highest of high-character kids. It's admirable how selfless he plays, but that's not what Crean and the Hoosiers need. They need him to be more like his teammate, Victor Oladipo, who plays with unbridled passion and intensity.

Let's face it: The Hoosiers still haven't truly been tested. They have won road games against Iowa, Penn State and Northwestern -- a trio of the league's bottom-feeders. They have beaten Michigan State and Minnesota at home, but they took down the Spartans with Zeller basically a non-factor until a late basket, just his second field goal of the game, with 1:34 remaining.
CBS


If you want to assert college basketball is down this season, I’ll buy some of the argument.

Scoring is off, headed to its lowest totals since the early 1950s with teams averaging about 68 points per game. Did you catch Northern Illinois’ act on Saturday? The Huskies scored four in the first half, made one of 33 three-pointers and fell at Eastern Michigan 42-25.

The game seems to be played at a slower pace with defenses more in control. Offensive skill level has dipped with top underclassmen leaving early and the very best making college a one-season stop. The game could use more Doug McDermotts and fewer 19-16 halftime scores, like Purdue-Iowa on Sunday.

By that measure, yes, college hoops overall seems a bit sluggish.

But in other ways, the game is as healthy as ever, more inclusive and diverse. Unpredictable, especially at the top as the sport prepares to announce its third different top-ranked team in three weeks today. It might even be a split-decision between Kansas and Michigan, poised to ascend after being ranked second in separate polls last week.

…Because of quick roster turnover, college basketball seems to be only sport that can have an up or down year. We don’t suggest that because there’s no strong draft prospect at quarterback that college football was down last season.

Or that the NFL is down because the Ravens, a 10-6 team that lost three of its final four regular-season games, are in the Super Bowl.

Or that the NBA is struggling because the Lakers and Celtics are aging and fading.

But college hoops gets the bad rap. To me, this season has many teams playing like second and third seeds and not top seeds. It’s wide open at the top, with stunning upsets on a regular basis, and March should be as entertaining as ever. If that makes it a down year, I’ll take it every time.
KC Star Kerkhoff


LJW Keegan: A look at best recent NCAA Tourney coaches


Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results


RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator

While the Devils won the nightcap by 26, their game also appeared to be a close one in the early moments.

Tift had the lead for most of the quarter, but could not get more than a basket ahead until 1:21 when DJ Bryant's three made it 21-17. This started up a run that saw them outscore the Wildcats 12-2 to end the first frame and continue for three minutes into the second before Sam Tucker was able to score a basket to make the score 34-21.

It was little worry for the Blue Devils as a minute later Brannen Greene pushed the lead to 20 and the margin hovered around that for the remainder of the half as Tift took a 47-27 lead to the lockerroom.

…The Blue Devils had a balanced scoring attack on the evening. Greene led the team with 17. Jackson added 14, Bryant 12 and Donell Tuff finished with 11. Tucker topped Camden with 18.

…In Brunswick Friday night, the Devils and Lady Devils took two victories from the Pirates.

Greene had 33 points, including 11 in the final frame.

Tift County is off until Friday, when they visit Lowndes. Their next home game will be Saturday, when they host Valdosta.
Tifton Gazette


Marshfield High School junior Lauren Aldridge committed to the University of Kansas basketball program on Saturday.

The high-scoring guard is a two-time all-state selection by the coaches’ association, and made the media’s all-state team last year.

Aldridge had also drawn interest from Kansas State, Iowa State, Arkansas, Missouri, Vanderbilt, DePaul, Oklahoma State, Creighton, Nebraska, Wichita State and Missouri State, among others.
Springfield News-Leader


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Oklahoma entered Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday leading the league in scoring offense and field goal percentage.

The Sooners' often prolific offense hit a wall against Kansas center Jeff Withey.

Oklahoma shot just over 35 percent in a 67-54 loss to the third-ranked Jayhawks, and Sooners coach Lon Kruger was quick to credit their struggles to the 7-foot senior.

Withey who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

"Withey changes everything on the interior and does a terrific job," said Kruger, who is no stranger to struggling against the Jayhawks after coaching at Kansas State. "I thought he set the tone early in the ball game and we just never did get any flow offensively."

The Sooners shot 28.6 percent in the first half but kept the game within reach by forcing eight turnovers. But Kansas built a double-digit lead in the second half and pulled away.

The Sooners were outscored 28-16 in the paint and outrebounded 41-31 - much of that influenced by Withey, of course.

"He's seven feet tall with long arms," said Romero Osby, who was 4 of 16 from the floor and finished with 12 points. "He bothers everyone."
AP


Jeff Withey made life miserable for Oklahoma in just about every way possible.

Blocked shots? The Jayhawks' 7-footer had four of them.

Steals? Three of those, too.

He also had 13 points and nine rebounds to polish off his afternoon, helping the third-ranked Jayhawks to a 67-54 victory on Saturday, their nation-leading 17th in a row.

Withey even had an assist when he fed Travis Releford in transition for an easy basket.

"He was terrific. Jeff played great," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "The mistakes we made in the first half, he erased a lot of them, which led to points. We didn't do much offensively at all, but we got easy baskets off his defense when we got out and ran."

Withey got out and ran, too.

Late in the game, Releford returned the favor by coming up with a steal and pushing the ball to Naadir Tharpe, who hit the 7-footer on the fast break for a dunk that helped to seal the game.

"I can think of better options than him leading the break," Self said with a smile, "but the way we played today, he may have been as good as our guards."
AP


All the supernatural spirits that haunt opponents at Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse were held at bay by Oklahoma on Saturday.

The 16,300 in attendance didn’t bother OU. It dodged giving up the huge run that typically spells doom against the Jayhawks. However, there was one very real presence that spooked the Sooners in their 67-54 loss to the third-ranked Jayhawks: The long arms and big hands of Kansas center Jeff Withey. The 7-footer cast a haunting shadow from the opening tip.

“He bothers people. I think I kind of let it get in my head a little bit that I missed a couple shots,” OU’s Romero Osby said. “I was making everything in warm-ups. I thought I was going to have a great game. Sometimes it happens like that. It's back to the drawing board.”

There were a couple scenarios that would have allow OU to end a nine-game losing streak to Kansas that dated back to 2005. Osby playing well was a cog in all of them. He entered the game shooting 53.3 percent from the field and was the focal point of everything the Sooners did on the offensive end.

However, Osby went 4 for 16 en route to 12 points. It seemed like every shot he took — even the jumpers — he was seeing Withey’s hand out of the corner of his eye.
Norman Transcript


Osby's lack of production did not just happen. Kansas senior Jeff Withey happened.

The Jayhawks' 7-foot center is one of the nation's best shot blockers. Saturday night, he had a debilitating effect on the Sooners, especially Osby.

For Osby, it was tough to get open. He constantly felt enveloped in Withey's 7-foot, 1 1/2 inch wingspan.

It was tough to get Withey to bite on a fake. It was tough, Osby said, to even see over him.
“Especially when he has his arms up,” said Osby, whose eye level was almost perfectly even with Withey's shoulders. “You can see around him because he's not real big, but it's hard to see over him.”

And for Osby, it was tough to keep Withey from getting in his head.

After making an early layup, Osby went up for a dunk with Oklahoma leading 5-4 and missed it.
When Osby's feet hit the court, he looked irritated and muttered under his breath.

Kansas scored the next five points.

Osby made only one other shot in the first half and had one shot blocked by Withey. The Sooners went into halftime down 29-21.

The second half, though, is when Withey's effect really took hold on Osby.

Osby opened the half 0 for 4 and didn't make a basket until the 11:21 mark.
The Oklahoman


“Withey Block Party” made its debut on the Allen Fieldhouse scoreboard Saturday afternoon, to the delight of 16,300 fans, including Mark Randall.

Randall, a former Kansas University power forward and first-round NBA Draft pick who works in community relations for the Denver Nuggets, peered at the big board during a second-half timeout as Jeff Withey was shown not only blocking four of Oklahoma’s shots in a 67-54 Jayhawk men’s basketball victory, but also dancing in disco attire.

“It’s been great watching him grow over the time he’s been here,” the 6-foot-9 Randall said of 7-footer Withey, whose productive first half (four blocks, seven rebounds, nine points) helped set the tone as KU led, 29-21, at the break.

“One thing about Oklahoma that surprised me is, they were unbelievably athletic, and their big guys were extremely athletic. The guards were doing a good job of getting inside, but guess what? Jeff’s back there cleaning everything up,” Randall added of Withey, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds to go with the four rejections.

“I’m not in personnel any more, but if you are tall and have the kind of skill level he’s got, he’s going to find a niche in the NBA. He’s a shot-blocker. He’s developing his game in the low post. The biggest thing he has to do is learn to use his butt more, so he can hold his position down there. It comes with time. He has a series of moves he’s obviously learned. He’s working on it.”
LJW


Withey seemed to affect the entire OU offense. The Sooners’ 54 points were their second-lowest total this season.

“They’ve got a lot of guys on the perimeter that guard the ball very well, and Withey changes everything on the interior and does a terrific job,” Kruger said. “I thought he really set the tone early in the ballgame. We just never did get any flow offensively.”

OU also posted its lowest halftime score (21 points) since the 2010-11 season.

With Withey guarding the paint, the box score showed that the Sooners finished just 6-for-14 on layups and dunks (43 percent).

“He’s a unique player, not only in our league, but in college basketball in terms of ... you don’t play against those types of players very often,” Kruger said. “He erases any mistakes on the perimeter, plus he guards his own guy inside. He not only blocks a lot of shots but changes a lot of shots and does that to a lot of people.”
LJW


Elijah Johnson would like to see the ball start dropping through the basket.

“It’s a little frustrating right now, because I feel like my numbers, as far as shooting, haven’t shown how well I can really shoot,” Johnson, Kansas University’s senior point guard, said after scoring eight points off 3-of-8 shooting (2-of-6 from three) in the Jayhawks’ 67-54 victory over Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse.

“I don’t feel that I have shot to my potential at all. All of my shots are limited because I don’t shoot that many. I need something to start falling for me, but I’m not focused on it too much. They’ll fall.”

The 6-foor-4 Las Vegas native has hit 39.8 percent of his floor shots — 34.6 percent of his threes — for the Jayhawks (18-1 overall, 6-0 Big 12). He hit 43 percent of his shots (33.8 from three) a year ago.

Johnson did not score or dish an assist while playing just nine minutes the first half Saturday. Two quick fouls cut into his playing time.

“Those two fouls the first half were wasted plays. He took himself out of the game. The second half, he played a lot better,” coach Bill Self said. “It (fouling) was a lack of focus on his part.”

…McLemore, who went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, is 23-for-26 in six Big 12 games. ... Travis Releford has scored in double-digits in 15-straight games. Releford’s five assists were his most since a career-best six against Colorado (12/8). ... Jeff Withey took sole possession of third-place on KU’s career blocked shots list. Withey has 247, just 11 shy of tying KU’s all-time record (Greg Ostertag, 258). ... Johnson had two assists and is tied with Calvin Thompson for 20th place on the KU career assists list.

Faces in crowd: Former KU frontcourt players Eric Chenowith, Mark Randall and Wayne Simien attended and sat in the same row behind the KU bench. Royals announcer Denny Matthews attended and spoke with Self after the game, the two chatting about baseball. What else?
LJW


Take a good hard look, because the team you saw Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse might be your new No. 1.

And no, we’re not talking about the Fargo-Moorhead dance team that performed at halftime.

We’re talking about the Kansas Jayhawks, the team that ran its winning streak to 17 games by dispatching Oklahoma 67-54. The Jayhawks, ranked No. 3 by The Associated Press and No. 2 in the coaches poll, will have a case for the No. 1 spot soon to be vacated by Duke, although the case presented Saturday wasn’t exactly airtight.

The Jayhawks played well enough to win, as they seem to do every time they take the court. As for the No. 1 ranking, coach Bill Self insisted the Jayhawks were neither ready nor deserving, which doesn’t mean he’ll be upset if the Jayhawks get it.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” Self said. “If it’s us, that would be great. I never would have thought before the season that this team would be ranked No. 1 at any point in time.”

KU has climbed toward No. 1 in the most basic way possible, by not losing. A bad game for someone else might be a blowout loss, but KU’s bad games have looked a lot like Saturday. The Jayhawks had a few too many turnovers and didn’t shoot especially well, but they limited Oklahoma to 36 percent from the floor and never seemed in danger of losing their second-half lead.

The ranking has been earned, in other words, even if KU hasn’t been leaving a path of burning rubble in its wake.

“I’m perfectly fine with the way we’re winning right now,” point guard Elijah Johnson said, “because I know that down the stretch we’ll figure it out.”
TCJ


For the better part of a month, the Jayhawks have been impressive without being a juggernaut, persistent winners without much style. Now, after the third-ranked Jayhawks (18-1 and 6-0 in the Big 12) extended their winning streak to 17 games, these poll questions are only natural.

All across America on Saturday — and really all last week — top-10 teams were dropping like flies. No. 1 Duke. co-No. 3 Syracuse. No. 5 Louisville.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, have been college basketball’s answer to a relentless machine, bland and mechanical. In the last five games, opponents are averaging just 51.6 points per game, a feat that hasn’t been equaled in the Self era at Kansas.

When the new polls are released Monday — depending on No. 2 Michigan’s result at Illinois on Sunday — Kansas will likely find itself in the top two in both major polls, and perhaps No. 1 in the coaches poll, where it sits in the second position.

“We always felt like we could be one of the best teams in the country, and right now we get a chance to do it,” senior guard Elijah Johnson said. “That’s the only reason I pay it mind, not because of somebody’s opinion to put us No. 1.”

…“This team has less of a margin for error, so that’s why it disappoints me. Because they know. We’ve had seven NBA players on one team. And if those guys didn’t have their ‘A’ game, then their ‘B’ game or ‘C’ game focus-wise could still be OK. We’re not like that now.”

Maybe not. But as the rest of America lost, Kansas found another way to win.
KC Star

OK, Saturday was certainly a crazy day of basketball. Two top-five teams fell, NC State sent a message, La Salle made moves, Wisconsin won on a last-second shot -- we'll get to all of that. What was everyone talking about at the end of the day? The GIF above, of course.

It's of Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson taunting the Auburn student section, shortly after hitting two game-winning free throws in the final seconds. Watch it about 30 times, then you can truly dive into the analysis.
CBS

Saturday's game between Providence and Marquette was delayed multiple times in the second half -- but not for an injury or a fight.

A rogue bat created plenty of problems, nearly blindsiding Providence big man Sidiki Johnson in the head (below) and also ducking and dodging players and coaches throwing towels at it mid-flight (above). Another time, it flew right past the Marquette bench, but the Golden Eagles got out of the way.

At one point, arena officials turned out the lights because the bat was attracted to the court -- and the bat wasn't seen again.
CBS

Twenty-five years ago nearly to this day, the clock at Kansas showed "00:00," the score read "Kansas State 72 Kansas 61," and Lon Kruger's first inclination was not to make too big a deal of it.

The Wildcats wouldn't strut around the court showing Jayhawk fans the front of their jerseys. Their coach certainly wouldn't show them his middle finger, as legend has it a certain Oklahoma coach once did after winning there.

"No, I don't think we did that," Kruger chuckles today. "We just got to the locker room and acted like we expected it."

Still, no matter how hard the Wildcats tried, there was no denying it: Jan. 30, 1988, was a very big deal indeed. Kansas' four-year, 55-game homecourt winning streak was gone, leaving devastation behind.

"I feel like the world is over," KU starting guard Milt Newton told the Lawrence Journal-World.

This is what it's like for the Jayhawks to lose at Allen Fieldhouse. Current players will be equally sad if KU falls to Kruger's Oklahoma Sooners at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Their homecourt run is 32 and counting, and that just hints at their Allen Fieldhouse invincibility.

Over their last 102 home games, the Jayhawks are 101-1. It sounds like a record a second-grader might dream up on the playground to impress his pals.

But it is very real.

"Some kind of volume," OU assistant Steve Henson, Kruger's starting point guard in 1988, says of "The Phog."

"Their fans know when a team is on the verge of collapse, and they change their pitch and involvement even more," says Mike Shepherd, an OU assistant who sat on K-State's bench that day in '88 as Kruger's head student manager. "They know the game so well that they understand their significance. It's a unique situation, it really is."

…KU went 4-of-16 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats went 9-of-12. Henson made both of his 3s and outplayed Edison graduate Kevin Pritchard, his friend from high school all-star camps, at the point. Will Scott made four.

It all blended perfectly. Experience. Composure (K-State went 10-of-10 from the line down the stretch). Shot-making. Toughness (K-State won the rebounding battle 36-22). A star playing to his capability.

Take these ingredients into Allen Fieldhouse, you have a prayer. It is answered every three or four years, every 55 or 60 games, and it leaves the Jayhawks in disbelief.

"I didn't think we'd ever lose here," forward Chris Piper told the Journal-World.

Twenty-five years ago, and despite how Kruger remembers it today, the mood at the other end of the Fieldhouse was quite different.

"I remember the excitement in our locker room once we got back there after the game," Shepherd says, "with Mark Dobbins and Mitch and Charlie (Bledsoe) and Will and Steve. It was an awfully, awfully hard place to win basketball games.

"It still is."
Tulsa World


Give credit to Kruger, who has helped his team jump 31 spots in KenPom's rankings since Dec. 29. This is an improved team from a year ago, and also one that has played its best since Big 12 play began.

This feels like a tough spot for the Sooners, though. For one, the game is at Allen Fieldhouse, a location where OU has lost by an average of 21.7 points in its last three games.

For two, OU's two biggest offensive strengths (scoring inside and offensive rebounding) appear to line up perfectly with two of KU's biggest strengths (interior defense and defensive rebounding). OU doesn't get to the free throw line much either, meaning the potential for long offensive droughts will be there if the Sooners can't hit jump shots.

Here's my feeling: KU's offense will be able to score inside, while OU's offense will struggle there.

If that happens, expect a runaway victory for the Jayhawks.

Kansas 73, Oklahoma 56
LJW Newell Preview


So Bill Self was watching some basketball the other day — Georgetown versus Notre Dame — and his ears perked up for a second as the announcers began to talk about Georgetown’s offense.

Wait, what are they saying?

The announcers, it seems, couldn’t stop praising Georgetown’s version of the Princeton offense. They were hard to guard, efficient, fundamental.

“And they score (63) points,” Self says. “Then, you talk about us, about how lame our offense is, and we score (the same).”

For Self, there was a point in this little story, an appeal to those that have wondered what’s happened to Kansas’ offense in the last six games. The Jayhawks have scored fewer than 70 points in five of their last six, averaging 68.2 points per game in Big 12 play. But as Self wants to point out, this doesn’t give a true indicator of how KU, 17-1 and 5-0 in the Big 12, has performed offensively while taking an early lead in the conference race.

“Everything is so distorted when you look at it statistically,” Self says.

In this case, Self is talking about pace of play. In KU’s victory over K-State at Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday night, the Jayhawks scored just 59 points while pulling out a four-point win that was more stinging bee than floating butterfly. It was slow, physical, ugly — and it featured just 60 field-goal attempts. Thus, if you account for tempo, the Jayhawks’ offense was nearly as efficient as it was in their 74-66 victory at Ohio State on Dec. 22 — their other road victory against a ranked team.

According to advanced efficiency numbers at KenPom.com, the Jayhawks scored 1.03 points per possession against Ohio State, while managing 0.98 points per possession at K-State.

“You can have great offense and score less points,” Self says, “because of the length of the possessions and the way the game goes.”

Aside from Iowa State, which bombed away from the outside, Big 12 opponents have used a pretty standard strategy against Kansas: Control the clock, use long possessions, don’t turn it over. And when Kansas returns to the floor against Oklahoma at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, it’s likely that the Sooners will employ a similar game plan.

…So it may not be a surprise that Self believes KU’s offensive struggles can be fixed on the defensive end. In Self’s view, the Jayhawks aren’t constructed to be great finishers in the half-court. They don’t have a natural low-post scoring option, nor do they have a guard that can create offense on his own at the end of the shot clock.

Senior Elijah Johnson and sophomore Naadir Tharpe are improving in this area, but Self believes the Jayhawks need to create more buckets off turnovers and in transition.

“I think that what happens with us, is we are very opportunistic in transition, but we need to be able to run off our defense,” Self said. “In the K-State game the other day, we were terrific on the defensive glass. But Jeff doesn’t block a shot, which blocked shots usually lead to transition for us. And we don’t turn them over.”

If his team could create three extra buckets off turnovers, Self says, the offense doesn’t quite look as sluggish.

“Then you look like a team that’s flying around,” Self says.
KC Star


BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma has the poise and talent to give KU another league test at Allen Fieldhouse, but the Jayhawks’ defense should push their home-court winning streak to 33 games.
KC Star


Some might consider it shocking that Kansas University and Oklahoma will be playing for first place in the Big 12 Conference today.

Lon Kruger’s second OU team (13-4 overall), which was picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason basketball coaches poll after placing eighth in 2011-12, enters a 3 p.m. battle in Allen Fieldhouse with a 4-1 record in league play.

The Sooners are tied with Baylor and Kansas State and just a game behind preseason-favorite KU (17-1, 5-0), winner of eight-straight league crowns.

“Every game in conference is a battle for first place. That’s how we are taking it,” said KU senior forward Travis Releford. He scored 12 points in Tuesday’s 59-55 victory at Kansas State, which also was billed as a battle for the top spot in the league. “Oklahoma is a good team. They are very athletic. It’s going to be a tough game,” Releford added.
LJW


The Sooners (14-3, 4-1 Big 12) have shown signs of serious growth since that 25-point loss in Orlando, Fla. After all, they are in a three-way tie with Kansas State and Baylor for second place in the Big 12 Conference.

Nevertheless, if you want to be considered a serious contender in this league, you must be able to go toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks (17-1, 5-0).

OU found out in November it was nowhere near that level. Gonzaga exposed that early and often. There wasn’t a facet of the game where OU wasn’t bested. It was a mental and physical beating that some teams have a difficult time recovering from.

The Sooners did recover. In fact, they’ve been a better team since. There’s been obvious growth in the time since. Junior forward Amath M’Baye and guards Buddy Hield, Je’lon Hornbeak and Isaiah Cousins will all play in their 18th game as Sooners today. The Gonzaga game was their fourth. Fourteen games put teams in a lot of situations and countless opportunities to grow.

“When you have so many freshmen playing big-time minutes; five games is a lot of time for them to improve. They’ve played in a lot of games and it’s given them time to pick up on stuff. The Gonzaga game was a long time ago,” M’Baye said. “I think we played pretty good against a Top 15 team in Kansas State, and I think we should be able to show pretty good production against Kansas.”
Norman Transcript


Oklahoma University basketball walk-on James Fraschilla and former Kansas walk-on Jordan Juenemann aren’t related, but forever will be linked by blood. To say that most friendships start under less brutal circumstances would be an understatement.

This is pretty much how the introduction that planted the seeds of a friendship went late in the KU-OU game on Jan. 7, 2012, in Norman, Okla.: James Fraschilla’s nose, meet Jordan Juenemann’s elbow. Hello blood and hello a return to the bench for both players. Juenemann was whistled with a flagrant foul and taken out of the game by coach Bill Self. Trainers were putting Fraschilla’s face back together, so someone else shot the free throws.

…Juenemann and Fran Fraschilla shared a pleasant post-game chat to ensure nobody thought the play was intentional. Less than a month later, the Sooners visited Allen Fieldhouse and the two walk-ons chatted on the court before official warmups.

“We started messaging each other on Twitter and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” James Fraschilla said. “He’s a real cool guy.”

The two young men share a passion for basketball. Juenemann is working as a graduate assistant on the staff of University of Missouri-Kansas City head coach Matt Brown and is taking classes toward his Master of Business Administration degree. Fraschilla said his goal is to become an NBA coach, starting with a job as a video coordinator.

“How funny is that?” Juenemann said of the genesis of the friendship. “I hit James, gave him a black eye, and I’ve become good friends with Fran and James. That’s how it works. Give a guy a black eye and become friends with him and his dad.”
LJW Keegan

Kansas men's basketball will host its 115th-year celebration on Saturday, Feb. 23, when the Jayhawks play host to TCU at 3 p.m. (Central) in Allen Fieldhouse. Former Kansas coaches, players and managers will be recognized at halftime of the game.

Included in the celebration is the 25th anniversary of Kansas' 1988 NCAA National Championship team. For the KU-TCU contest, the 2012-13 Jayhawks will wear retro attire resembling the 1988 uniforms, warm-ups, etc.

Former KU legend JoJo White will be on hand prior to the contest, autographing his book "Make It Count" in the Booth Family Hall of Athletics. White was a two-time All-American in 1968 and 1969 and a three-time All-Big Eight Conference First Team selection while at Kansas. He also left his mark in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Both Kansas and the Celtics have retired White's jerseys. "Make It Count" is a book described as one athlete's career that was the product of genuine good values.
KUAD


Shane Southwell's Sunflower jab: "I should never have let that guy get that rebound... I mean, it’s Kevin Young."
KC Star


We start with the current NCAA top seeds (in order). This includes the teams' S-curve number, conference and ranking within the conference.

1. KANSAS (Big 12/1)
2. Michigan (Big Ten/2)
3. SYRACUSE (Big East/1)
4. Indiana (Big Ten/2)

BRACKET BYTES: The Kansas Jayhawks are suddenly the big winner at the top of the new S-curve. Not only do the Jayhawks find themselves No. 1 overall, they have an excellent chance to hold that spot far longer than recent entries Duke and Louisville. As noted a week ago, the Jayhawks will be favored in every game the rest of the season. In fact, the only thing close to a 50/50 contest for KU is a trip to Oklahoma State on Feb. 20.
ESPN Insider ($)


In honor of the 27th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD), Kansas Athletics is offering a special opportunity for women of all ages Saturday night with FREE admission into Allen Fieldhouse at 8 p.m., for a Big 12 Conference women's basketball game between Kansas and No. 12/11 Oklahoma State.

FREE general admission tickets will be granted on game day at any general public entrance while supplies last. This year's theme for the national event is "Girls in Sports, an Investment in the Future."

NGWSD is celebrated in all 50 states with community-based events, award ceremonies and activities honoring the achievements and encouraging participation of girls and women in sports.
KUAD


KUAD: WBB vs OSU pregame notes


When the Kansas University women’s basketball team welcomes No. 12 Oklahoma State to Allen Fieldhouse for an 8 p.m. tipoff tonight, it will take the court for the first time with three players in the 1,000-point club in the starting lineup.

The trio became complete last Wednesday when senior point guard Angel Goodrich joined fellow seniors Monica Engelman and Carolyn Davis in eclipsing the milestone with a 20-point night in a rout of Texas.
LJW


A federal judge wants a previous attorney for a former University of Kansas athletics consultant to testify before he rules on a request seeking a shorter sentence in a ticket-scalping conspiracy.

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot said Friday he was surprised neither side called the former attorney for Thomas Ray Blubaugh at an evidentiary hearing last week. Blubaugh claims attorney Stephen Robinson did a poor job during his trial.

Belot wants Robinson to testify at a Feb. 11 hearing.

Blubaugh is serving a 46-month sentence for conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is the husband of Charlette Blubaugh, former ticket director for Kansas athletics.
AP


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Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the league is actively exploring a possible alliance with the Atlantic Coast Conference and two other unspecified leagues for the purposes of scheduling, marketing and possibly even television partnerships, an arrangement that might prevent further expansion.

“We’ve had conversations with three other leagues,” Bowlsby told the American-Statesman on Friday afternoon. “The ACC is one of them. It’s a process of discovery that would provide some of the benefits of larger membership without actually adding members.”

Bowlsby declined to name the other two leagues, but the Pac-12 Conference is presumed to be one of them because that 12-team league faces significant geographical obstacles to expansion. The Pac-12 and Big Ten had announced the framework for a similar alliance more than a year ago, but the arrangement didn’t come to fruition.

Bowlsby said the possibilities for alliances and expansion would be discussed during a two-day gathering of the Big 12 athletic directors that begins Monday in Grapevine. He stressed, however, that “certainly nothing is imminent” regarding a potential alliance with another conference. Bowlsby was scheduled to be in Austin on Saturday to address a group of aspiring athletic directors who are part of a sports-management institute.

Asked if a consensus to stand pat at 10 members remains in place within the Big 12, Bowlsby said, “I haven’t had any indication that is not the case. We want to do this by empirical evidence, not gut reaction. That may lead us back to 10 (teams) or somewhere else.”

A partnership between the Big 12 and other leagues would include football and basketball, but it could expand to other sports. The agreement also could involve participation between the leagues in bowl games to “share post-season inventory, allowing us more flexibility” to set up attractive matchups.

“It’s purely exploratory,” said Bowlsby, who added that the leagues involved have had “multiple discussions” about the subject.
Austin American-Statesman


The NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) voted at its December meeting to set the threshold for a positive marijuana test at NCAA championships at a level that is consistent with current best practices in drug testing and which will more accurately identify usage among student-athletes.

The new threshold of five nanograms per milliliter will take effect on Aug. 1, 2013. The NCAA currently tests for marijuana at its championships and postseason bowl events.   The NCAA’s year-round testing program focuses on testing for performance-enhancing substances and masking agent.
NCAA


As inevitable as watching Jerome Lane elevate for the tomahawk dunk that ripped off the rim and shattered the backboard at Fitzgerald Field House is the call that perfectly captured the monumental moment.

Twenty five years later, college basketball analyst Bill Raftery remains amazed at how his emphatic “Send it in, Jerome!” shout following the thunderous dunk is forever linked with the most famous play in Pitt basketball history and one that ranks among ESPN‘s greatest highlights.

“It was an innocent fast break that Sean Miller screwed up by making the right decision,” Raftery said. “It was one of those goofy things that happens in a game, and I was fortunate enough to be there. There was so many great things announcing games, but this thing has had more legs than anything I‘ve ever seen. It‘s extraordinary.”

Lane‘s backboard-breaking dunk against Providence Jan. 25, 1988, remains the most prominent play in a season that put the Panthers on the college basketball map. They finished 24-7, rising as high as No. 2 in the national rankings and won the Big East Conference regular-season championship before their magical season was spoiled by Barry Goheen‘s buzzer-beating heave as Vanderbilt pulled a second-round upset in the NCAA Tournament.

Twenty-five years later, the dunk endures.

Lane is believed to be the first player to shatter a backboard following the introduction of the breakaway rim. That he did so in such a powerful display before a live national television audience – it was ESPN‘s Big Monday game – only made it more memorable.

Following a steal, Miller, the freshman point guard, led the three-on-two fastbreak with shooting guard Jason Matthews to his left and Lane on his right. Miller drew a defender near the top of the key and dished to the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Lane.

A power forward who led the nation at 13.5 rebounds a game the previous season, Lane took one step, elevated and cocked his right arm back. He slammed the ball, ripping the rim from the glass.

“I didn‘t realize anything until I looked at Demetreus (Gore),” Lane told ESPN.com in 2011. “His mouth was open. Then I saw glass on the floor. It came down like snow.”

At first, there was a sense of shock. Everyone was in disbelief, wondering if their eyes were deceiving them.

“Everyone paused for, like, five seconds because no one understood what had just happened,” Matthews said. “I was trying to get away from the glass coming down because I was under the basket. It was all over the floor. He hit it at the right place, right time and with the right force.”

Darelle Porter, then a freshman guard, was walking to the scorer‘s table to check into the game when assistant coach John Calipari shouted to him. Porter turned around, hearing the commotion but not witnessing it.

“I saw the rim torn away from the glass backboard,” Porter said. “I told ‘Rome‘ as we were walking to the locker room that somebody probably shot the backboard with a BB gun at the same time he dunked it.”

It was still early in the first half when the game was stopped. To the delight of the cameras and the crowd, Roc, the Panther mascot, ran around the gym with the wrecked rim. As the glass was swept from the floor, a replacement basket was brought out from below the bleachers.
Link


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Tift County's 2013 Kansas Signee Brannen Greene @b_greene14 Drops 33 Tonight in Win over Camden Co.,Not sure why he wont win MR GA BBALL!
https://twitter.com/coachcblack


Julius Randle's mom Carolyn sent me this pic of her red velvet cake for Fri. She's getting a cake everyday. #NCState pic.twitter.com/11HFh8gz
https://twitter.com/JayJayUSATODAY


Sources indicate Randle loves the Jayhawks' tradition and wants to play for Bill Self. As for Texas, multiple sources pointed to the close relationship that Randle has with his mother as a major factor in his recruitment. Being from Texas, his mother would love for him to don a Longhorns jersey. It's only three hours from their house -- and the mother-son relationship is tight enough where he might look to stay close to home. Kentucky is also in solid shape, Randle does visit North Carolina State this weekend, but the Wolfpack have plenty of ground to make up. Kentucky seems optimistic, but people close to the situation think the Wildcats are chasing Kansas and Texas.

Leader: At the end of the day, the winning tradition of Kansas might be too much to pass up. The home-state pull of Texas is strong, though.
CBS Borzello


What’s up world!

Happy New Year! This is my first blog for 2013 so let’s get this kicked off the right way.

OK, well we’re well in to the season now and my team is playing really well right now. We’re 13-1, and I like how we’re clicking. We dropped that one game early and, to be honest, that kinda helped us so I like where we’re at.

I’m averaging 20 points, seven assists and four rebounds a game.

The only bad thing is that I’ve had to deal with a few injuries this season. First, I hurt my back and that kept me out about three weeks. Then I sprained my ankle and that had me out another game.

Now I’m back to 100 percent and of course I’m feeling good about that.

Most of you know that I had my unofficial visit to Kentucky the weekend before last. I had a great time down there in Big Blue Nation. I definitely see what people mean when they say that Kentucky fans show a lot of love because they definitely let me know that they wanted me down there.

…My next visit will be to Kansas for an unofficial from Feb. 23-24. I’m definitely looking forward to that one.

Everyone always asks me when I’ll decide. I don’t really have a timetable for a decision though. There are so many things that go in to making that decision and I don’t want to rush it. I do think that I need to be getting these visits in to see the schools so I can learn more about them. I think it will just hit me one day and I’ll know where I’m going. That’s how I think it will happen.

Most of you know that my man Joel Berry committed to North Carolina recently and I think that’s a great pickup. I was really happy for him because that’s where he always wanted to go. Joel is one of my best friends. We grew a tight bond over the summer and that’s something that you can’t really replace so I called him and congratulated him. We had a long talk and I know he’s gonna kill it for UNC.

That pretty much takes them off of my list because you don’t really see two point guards going to the same school in the same class. That’s no dis to them. Hey they got a great point guard, and I’m just glad it worked out for everyone.
Tyus Jones blog for USA Today


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

It was October 2004, and Mario Chalmers, then a senior in high school, arrived at Allen Fieldhouse for his first glimpse of “Late Night in the Phog.”

On the floor, KU seniors Aaron Miles, Keith Langford and Wayne Simien went through the usual song-and-dance routine. But as Chalmers remembers it, he took a few moments to soak in the atmosphere and gaze up at the jerseys hanging in the rafters. Chamberlain. Manning. Pierce. And so on.

“I recognized a lot of those names,” Chalmers says.

More than eight years later, after a three-year career at Kansas that included an NCAA title and one unforgettable moment, Chalmers is joining those names in the rafters. Kansas announced Thursday that Chalmers will have his No. 15 jersey retired during halftime of the Texas game on Feb. 16 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It means a lot to me,” Chalmers said Thursday, after finishing up a practice with the NBA’s Miami Heat. “Being up there in the rafters with guys like Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, Wilt Chamberlain, it’s a great accomplishment, and it makes me proud to be a Jayhawk.”

…“You never forget your college experience,” Chalmers said. “That was three of the best years of my life. I made some close friends there, and just really became a man at that school.”
KC Star


Kansas is going to hang Mario Chalmers’ basketball jersey in the rafters.

Good deal. He was the most outstanding player in the 2008 Final Four when the Jayhawks captured the NCAA title.

Not only that, but no matter where Chalmers ranks among KU’s vast array of all-time greats, he will always wedge his way front and center.

As long as the video board works above center court in Allen Fieldhouse, Chalmers’ clutch 3-pointer that sent the national championship game against Memphis into overtime will forever be replayed.

And, rejoiced.

At some games, that clip — Mario’s Miracle — sparks the loudest ovation of the day. Still. Five years later.

“Not surprised,” Chalmers said, matter-of-factly. “To be able to bring a championship to (fans) and the program, I’m sure people are going to appreciate that for a long time.’’

On Thursday, after KU announced it was retiring Chalmers’ No. 15 jersey, I asked Bill Self if Mario is remembered as fondly as anyone the 10th-year coach has had in the program.

At first, Self seemed unsure how fans felt. So I kidded him that every sellout crowd offers more than just mild applause whenever the biggest 3-ball in KU history is synced with Bob Davis’ call.

“(Chalmers) probably is as liked, or loved, as anybody, in large part because of who he is, but because of the shot obviously. It didn’t hurt at all,’’ Self said.

“I would have to say that he, probably more so than anybody because of the moment, is more recognized. We’ve had more dogs and first-borns named (after) Mario or Rio than probably anybody else we’ve had here.’’

…When reviewing Chalmers’ numbers, the one stat that jumps out is his steals. He ranks second all-time at KU with 283 over three seasons. Only Darnell Valentine (336) pickpocketed more.

“(Chalmers) wasn’t the best defender at all. He was the best stealer of the ball I’ve ever seen in my life,’’ Self said. “I once told him, ‘You don’t guard anybody. All you do is run around and steal the ball,’ which worked out pretty good for us.’’

As for points, Chalmers ranks 27th all-time at KU with 1,341. In addition, he is seventh in 3-pointers made and 14th in assists.

However, the use of sheer numbers, or even honors, makes any appraisal of Chalmers incomplete.

“He was as clutch a player as we’ve ever had here,’’ Self said. “He was a guy that seemed like the bigger the stage, the brighter he shined. He had an orneriness and toughness that a lot of people didn’t see because they saw the smile. He was an assassin on the court.’’
TCJ


Hard work pays off. Thank you KU for honoring my jersey and thinkin so highly off me. Thanks to my teammates and my coaches at KU
https://twitter.com/mchalmers15


Big ups to @mchalmers15 on getting his jersey retired against Texas #clutch = #understatement
https://twitter.com/treed14


Congratulations!! to mr bro @mchalmers15 , getting his jersey hung in #AFH... Amazing! Joining great company! Keep it up!
https://twitter.com/next718star


Mario So proud of you You deserve to have a banner hung In building you love See you Soon Good luck
https://twitter.com/coachbillself

KUAD Quotes, Video: Kansas previews Oklahoma


KUAD: Kansas vs Oklahoma pregame notes


This week is basically an Illinois reunion tour for Bill Self, who will face the coach he preceded and the one he replaced in the span of five days.

After beating Bruce Weber and Kansas State on Tuesday, Kansas will play host to Lon Kruger and Oklahoma on Saturday. Kruger coached the Illini from 1996-2000 before leaving for the Atlanta Hawks, with Self moving from Tulsa to Illinois as his replacement.

“I followed him at Illinois, so I know firsthand talking to those guys, he has a great way with people,” Self said Thursday at his weekly news conference. “He’s the same all the time, so consistency should not be shocking with his programs, that he’s been able to accomplish that.

“That’s who he is. He’s not an emotional rollercoaster like I can be sometimes. He’s pretty low-key and stable.”

Kruger is known as a program builder, having coached NCAA Tournament teams at K-State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV. Another rebuild appears to be in progress at Oklahoma, with the Sooners sitting at 13-4 and 4-1 in the Big 12 after finishing 15-16 last season.

“Three guys who started for them last year don’t start – they come off the bench – so they’ve recruited well,” Self said. “Guys that have given us fits like (Andrew) Fitzgerald are coming off the bench. They’re more athletic and they’re deeper.”

…KU could have a claim to the No. 1 ranking in at least one major poll if the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma.

Duke, the No. 1 team in both the coaches and the Associated Press polls, lost 90-63 to Miami on Wednesday. The Jayhawks are No. 2 in the coaches poll and No. 3 in the AP behind Duke and Michigan, which travels to Illinois on Saturday.

Attaining the No. 1 ranking isn’t anything Self will celebrate.

“We were on the bus the other night, and you had young kids that said, ‘Why couldn’t we be No. 1 when Louisville lost?’” Self said. “And you had a fifth-year guy in Travis Releford that said, ‘Hey, guys, we’re right where we need to be.’ I think that’s fine to be where we’re at. That would not disappoint me or thrill me either way.”
TCJ


Most coaches are loath to consider hypothetical situations, and Self is no different. But Self was asked on Thursday if he’s ever wondered how redshirt freshman guard Ben McLemore could have impacted last season’s team, which finished one victory short of Self’s second national title. McLemore had to sit out the season as an academic partial qualifier, and he watched Kansas’ Final Four run from the sideline.

“We would have been deeper,” Self said, “we would have had better practices. We’d be better this year, because they would have practiced last year. There’d be a lot of things that would have made us better. But I’m not sure, at the end result, winning 32 games and playing in the national championship game, we could have done a lot better.”

But is there a little bit of Self that wishes McLemore and fellow redshirt freshman Jamari Traylor could have suited up against Kentucky in the NCAA title game? Maybe.

“It would have been fun,” Self said, “running another couple athletes out there against Kentucky.”

• Self said he watched the last 10 minutes of Texas Tech’s upset over Iowa State on Wednesday night. It was a surprising result — Texas Tech was 1-4 in the Big 12 with its only victory against winless TCU — but Self said it was a good reminder about how precious league road victories can be.

“Life on the road in our league,” Self said. “I think so many times we get hung up on maybe not looking great and winning on the road, and people think that’s a big deal. Really, any win on the road is a big deal. You look across America last night, and what happened at different venues, it was a pretty shocking night.”
KC Star


Even in brief conversations with the young guard, he rarely misses the chance to mention that he plays for one of the national powerhouses in college basketball - and is grateful for it. Since being given full clearance by the NCAA, McLemore has started all 12 games for Kansas, but still finds himself in awe.

"The first game, it was unbelievable," McLemore recalled from KU's season opener against Southeast Missouri State. "To hear my name in the starting lineup, I was thinking to myself at the time 'I'm starting for the University of Kansas, one of the best programs in the nation.' There was so much stuff going through my mind. I was nervous, but I went out there and just played. It was great."

It has been nothing short of great ever since. After falling short of a double-double by a single point in his collegiate debut, McLemore scored in double-digits in 10-consecutive games, including a team-best 22 points to power Kansas past then-No. 7 Ohio State, one of four 20-point games already in his young career.

Nevertheless, his starting role hasn't changed his outlook on the importance of practice. After making the grades in the classroom and steering clear of the practice court in the fall semester of 2011, McLemore was finally cleared to practice with his teammates last spring. He remembers the first practice being at the Sprint Center prior to the Jayhawks' meeting with Davidson in the annual Kansas City game.

Still not able to play in games at that time, McLemore made the most of each practice, treating them with as much intensity as the contests he wasn't allowed to play in. Becoming a regular starter, however, has done little to dampen his practice spirit.

"I'm definitely looking at practice the same way," McLemore said. "Last year, I was looking at it like every practice was a game for me so I'm going out there and giving it my all. This year, I'm still giving it my all. I still go out there aggressively and playing hard every day in practice. I still choose to treat practice like a game...because what you do in practice you might do in a game."

That sentiment and the grin that followed marked the increasing maturity level that coaches and teammates like to see. McLemore had no shortage of veteran guards to learn from during his season on the sidelines as he cites Tyshawn Taylor as one he looked up to a year ago. Now that he's on the court, he's still grateful for direction from his backcourt, including senior guards Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford as well as fellow seniors Kevin Young and Jeff Withey. He credits each of them for helping his rapidly-increasing maturity level.
Big 12 Sports


Big 12 Sports Report VIDEO on Wilt Chamberlain movie Jayhawkers with Justin Wesley


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Kansas 2012-13 MBB Schedule


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ESPN Big 12 Power Rankings


If you were watching closely in the second half of Miami's 90-63 whipping of Duke, you saw a subtle gesture of defiance.

The Blue Devils were bringing the ball up the floor when a few Hurricanes went for it.

They slapped the floor.

Why's does that matter? Well Duke is famous for the move to fire up the crowd in big moments. Miami flipped it on them and it wasn't by mistake.

And that's were it gets a little crazier.

UM sophomore guard Shane Larkin was shooting free throws immediately before the slapping.

"I just heard somebody scream my name," he said. "It was Warren Sapp. He was like like 'slap the floor on D."

It worked, too.

"I think we got the stop," he said with a smile.

Sapp, the 7-time Pro Bowl product of UM, was sitting a few rows behind the broadcasting table of ESPN's Dick Vitale.
Sun-Sentinel

Bama closes out Kentucky. Wildcats still haven't beaten anyone ranked higher than 68th in RPI, are 0-6 against top 60
https://twitter.com/yahooforde


The attorney at the center of the NCAA’s potentially damaged University of Miami investigation spoke out Thursday in her defense.

Miami-based lawyer Maria Elena Perez, who represented imprisoned booster Nevin Shapiro and was said to have been paid by the NCAA to obtain information in its case, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that she has done nothing wrong.

“I think this is completely insane,” Perez told the Sun-Sentinel. “I think there’s absolutely nothing here to investigate, and like I told everyone, everything I did was above board.”

…Perez told the Sun-Sentinel that the NCAA paid her a small amount of money for her services but said she did not consider herself a member of the NCAA’s legal team.

“At the end of the day, that does not establish an attorney-client relationship between me and the NCAA,” said Perez, who did not explain what she was exactly paid for. “It establishes that they wanted to pay for certain things to help Shapiro where there were issues of common interest. Period. There’s nothing wrong with that. They didn’t pay me to get testimony. They didn’t pay me to get a story. There’s a huge difference.”
KC Star


Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results


RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator

2014 PG Tyus Jones tells me that he'll take an unofficial visit to Kansas Feb. 23-24
https://twitter.com/jayjayusatoday


DraftExpress on Brannen Greene at HoopHall Classic


About to board the plane in a little to N.C. St with my beautiful mother .. Looking forward to it ! instagr.am/p/U400JrxKzi/
https://twitter.com/j30_randle


In between shooting simulated jumpers with the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony in NBA2K13, Rashad Vaughn imagined what it would be like to have his name on an NBA roster.

The 16-year old Cooper junior, wearing a school sweatshirt with "Mr. Showtime'' plastered on the back, still has several years until that is even a possibility. But his big imagination motivates him.

"I ain't never satisfied," Vaughn said after defeating his younger brother in the video game. "If I can't be No. 1 [in recruit ratings], I have to be No. 1 in the draft."

The flashy nickname doesn't seem to match Vaughn's personality off the court, where he's soft-spoken and gentle. With a basketball in his hands, it's a much different story. Before he developed his highly sought-after jump shot, Vaughn was known for his two-handed dunks and even a 360. These highlights earned him the nickname that used to identify him on Twitter. He also has been known to oblige random requests for dunks from the star-struck student body.

"There are a lot of people in his ear," Cooper coach Steve Burton said. "But he's handled it well. It makes a difference when you're relaxed and happy."

For about 26 minutes on Jan. 5 at Target Center, he managed to steal the spotlight normally directed at top-touted recruit Tyus Jones in a game against Apple Valley.

The 6-6, 201-pound shooting guard made nearly everything he threw up that day, scoring 35 points. Jones was just as impressed with Vaughn as the big-time college coaches in the crowd.

"Any time you're in the same state as the No. 1 player in the country, it's tough to get more attention," Vaughn said. "All the hard work is paying off. But I have to keep grinding and move up [in the rankings] and be the best. Every player would like to be No. 1. And I feel like I can get to that."

He calls his mentor, assistant coach Pete Kaffey, at 1 a.m. to find a gym to shoot in. He wakes up Kaffey for church every Sunday. He takes cones to a park on a 30-degree day to get in extra agility work. It's all part of the work ethic and discipline that Vaughn believes will get him to the top.
Minn Star Tribune


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

Former Kansas guard Mario Chalmers will have his No. 15 jersey retired at halftime of the ESPN College Gameday Texas at Kansas men’s basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 16, KU announced Thursday.

…“Mario definitely deserves to have his jersey hung,” KU head coach Bill Self said. “He was the most outstanding player in a 2008 Final Four, which featured four No. 1 seeds. He was as clutch of a player as we’ve ever had here. He was a guy that seemed like the bigger the stage, the brighter he shined. He had an orneriness and toughness that a lot people didn’t see because they saw the smile. He was an assassin on the court.”

Chalmers’ lists of accolades go much deeper. The Anchorage, Alaska, native was the 2007 co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and an All-Big 12 second team selection during his junior year. He appeared on the league’s all-conference teams all three seasons he was a Jayhawk, including every Big 12 All-Defensive squad.

Besides his 2008 Final Four MOP, he was named to the Big 12 championship all-tournament team in 2007 and 2008, the second of which came after he scored a career-high 30 points against Texas in the title game.

Chalmers led the Big 12 in steals with 97 in 2007 and 97 again in 2008, which are Kansas single-season records.

During Chalmers’ three seasons, the Jayhawks were 95-16 (85.6 percent) with three Big 12 regular-season titles, three Big 12 postseason championships, two NCAA Elite Eight appearances, one Final Four and one national championship.

“Mario cares about winning,” Self said. “Points are great and steals are great and he was the best stealer of the ball we’ve ever had here, but he cares about winning. Guys that play here understand that winning trumps everything and he understood that. Brandon (Rush) understood that, Shady (Darrell Arthur), Sherron (Collins), Sasha (Kaun), Darnell (Jackson), Russell (Robinson), they all understood that. That is what made that (2008) team so cool. There were games when Mario would take four shots in a game and I’d say, ‘Shoot the ball’ and he’d say ‘Why? Everybody else is making shots.’ It was such a fun team to be around, but he was clutch. Everybody throughout his tenure here would ask me who’s our go-to guy, and in our players’ minds there was never a doubt who our go-to guy was. There are not many guys out there, regardless of the school, that have held that distinction. Mario will be remembered for the shot, but I will remember him more for being a winner.”

…“I’m proud of the career he has had since he left here,” Self said. “Being a world champion and a national champion, there’s not too many people that could have that distinction. He was an absolute treat to coach. He had great teammates and they all liked each other. It was such a fun time to be around. We’re all so proud of what he accomplished.”
LJW

Kansas Jayhawks (17-1)
Congratulations to Kansas State becoming the first team not to get swatted by Jeff Withey this season. (Also, congrats on helping the Jayhawks get to No. 1 by not making any real trouble at the Octagon on Tuesday.)

Although Withey whiffed against KSU, he remains the game's best rim-protector and block-controller, as Kansas has kept an astounding 72.0 percent of the 75 swats I've charted: (chart at link)

Last week, Run The Floor did a great analysis of blocks-kept stats that showed Withey to be well ahead of three other elite blockers -- St. John's Chris Obekpa, Arizona State's Jordan Bachynski and Kentucky's Nerlens Noel. I updated RTF's numbers to include recent games, putting Obekpa at 62.1 percent, Bachynski at 59.5 and Noel at 55.3. They're nowhere near Withey territory.
SI Luke Winn Power Rankings


The game was won with KU’s 35-28 rebounding advantage. The game was won on Kansas forcing K-State to take 30 threes, which was more than half its shots. The game was won on K-State only making 9 of those threes.

Most of all, this game was won on toughness — a trademark that Self likes his teams to have in the NCAA Tournament.

After KU’s come-from-behind-victory over Purdue, a Big Ten team, in last year’s second round NCAA game, Self mentioned how important toughness really is.

“A testimony to a team's toughness is to figure out a way to win when things aren’t going well,” Self said following KU’s 63-60 victory last March.

Where does it come from for the Jayhawks? Naadir Tharpe gave a simple answer: everyone.

“The toughness comes from all of us this year, not just one person,” Tharpe said. “We could’ve easily broke.”

In all likelihood that breaking point for KU could’ve come with its 15 turnovers, eight of which came in the second half while the Jayhawks were clinging to a single-digit lead.

The slow pace didn’t bother KU, a team that’s beginning to pride itself winning with flashy offense or with tough defense. In fact, if there were a dictionary of college basketball teams, Kevin Young knows where he’d want this KU team to be located.

“We try to define ourselves as finishers,” Young said.

The fact that KU stayed mentally composed in a rowdy second half at Bramlage Colisuem is a very good sign in Self’s book. The shots didn’t fall, but the Jayhawks weren’t downtrodden because of it.

“When your offense isn’t very good, you’re mindset has to be that the other team can’t score,” Self said. ‘We’ve been very good at that so far.”

It was the first time Kansas has won a game with scoring less than 60 points since Feb. 13, in Manhattan last season, when the Jayhawks won 59-53. Coincidentally, KU also scored 59 points in their championship loss to Kentucky.

It can be very important for teams to become familiar with winning games when the shots don’t fall. Right now, Bill Self is a believer.

“My big belief is, you’ve got to learn to win games in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s,” Self said. “You’ve got to, and we’ve been able to accomplish that.”
TCJ


Great read from The Mercury on Tex Winters visit with the Jayhawks


Kansas has a roster that mirrors the Sooners’ in its mix of veteran leadership and young legs, but far exceeds it in terms of talent. Most notably, freshman guard Ben McLemore and senior center Jeff Withey — both of whom are on the John R. Wooden Award midseason watch list — provide the Jayhawks with playmakers of a caliber missing from OU’s squad.

Now factor in that the Sooners will play both games on the road, and it appears all the cards are in the favor of the Big 12 heavyweights.

For either team, returning to Norman with a “W” would be the tallest of orders.

But that’s not to say it’s outside the realm of possibility.

Kansas already has dropped a game this season — a 67-64 loss to No. 13 Michigan State on Nov. 13 — and has had to eke out conference wins by the skin of its teeth against Iowa State, Texas and Kansas State.
OU Daily


Basketball history is everywhere in Allen Fieldhouse. You can sense the ghosts of Wilt Chamberlain and “Phog” Allen anytime you curl your feet around the wooden bleachers or tilt your head up to the rafters filled with banners. The halls are bursting with shining trophies, gigantic murals and, above all else, memories. Memories from games only seen in bits on the flashy video board or grainy video clips online. It’s the 800th regular season men’s basketball game in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday against Oklahoma. Here are a few memorable moments from the past 799.
UDK


Interesting to see Kansas freshman forward Perry Ellis starting to get a little more run. Ellis isn't going to win any bodybuilding contests, but he is a naturally gifted scorer, and his emergence could really add to the Jayhawks' frontcourt depth.

…I still don't think Kansas is going undefeated in the Big 12. But I also don't think they're going to lose at home.
Kansas 68, Oklahoma 60
SI Seth Davis Hoop Thoughts


Q. Ben McLemore seems to have the top scoring potential in this years draft class. Think he has a solid chance to be the #1 overall pick?

A. I do. In fact he's strongly trending in that direction. I spoke with five different GMs this week who told me they'd take him No. 1. Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammad and Alex Len are all in that mix as well, but personally, McLemore has been the best college player I've watched this season. I love him. A great combination of athleticism, length, shooting ability, ball handling and defense. He has the chance to be a very special player at a position that's been very weak over the last five years.
ESPN Chad Ford

ICYMI

Kansas redshirt freshman G Ben McLemore has been selected the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week for games of January 14-20 in a vote by a media panel which covers the conference, the league announced Monday. McLemore is receiving the honor for the second time and his third league weekly accolade this season as he was the conference’s player of the week last week (1/14).

McLemore led the Jayhawks to victories over Baylor (61-44) and at Texas (64-59) as KU improved to 4-0 in conference play and extended it overall win streak to 15 games, the nation’s longest streak. The St. Louis, Mo., guard averaged 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the two games, shooting 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the field and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the arc. He also recorded five steals and three blocked shots. In Kansas’ come-from-behind win at Texas, he scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half as the Jayhawks rebounded from an 11-point second-half deficit. McLemore leads all Big 12 freshmen in scoring and is first on his team with 16.4 points per game. He is fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.508) and also ranks second from the free throw line, converting 88.1 percent of his attempts.

McLemore is the first Kansas player to earn multiple Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors since current NBA player Josh Selby was named twice during the 2010-11 season. Last week, McLemore became the third different Jayhawk to be named Big 12 Player of the Week this season joining Travis Releford (11/26) and Jeff Withey (12/3). He also became only the second Jayhawk to win the conference’s player and rookie of the week accolades during the same season. He joined NBA standout Mario Chalmers who accomplished the feat during the 2005-06 season.
KUAD


Darrell Arthur scored 20 points and Mike Conley added 19 as the Memphis Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 106-93 Wednesday night, handing the Lakers’ their fourth straight loss and 10th in 12 games.
AP


A season-high 25 turnovers, leading to 27 points for the Suns, and nine missed free throws plagued the Kings all night as they fell 106-96 at home to the Suns.

Robinson, the fifth pick in last year's NBA Draft, had the best game of his rookie season, tying his career-high of 12 points and adding a new career-high 14 rebounds.
Link


The Grizzlies traded Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a first-round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers and got what in return?

Jon Leuer?

Seriously?

As Griz fan Joe Sills asked me on Twitter: "Are you sure they aren't sending us the Rock & Roll Museum, too?"

That might have made it a fair deal. Although a fair deal wasn't what the Grizzlies had in mind this time around.

"It's a trade that had to be made from a business decision," said Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins, and at least he wasn't spinning it.

This was about moolah and nothing else. The trade was your quintessential salary dump. The Grizzlies paid the Cavs to take Speights, Ellington and Selby off their hands. They paid with what could turn out to be a prime first-round draft pick.
Link


James Swift, the owner of an athletic apparel company, Swift Flight, hopes to make Chamberlain's legend as famous as Babe Ruth's, his face as familiar as Tiger Woods', his commercial appeal as powerful as Michael Jordan's.

"Why not?" Swift asked. "Wilt was the greatest basketball player who ever lived. And I'm not being biased when I say that."

Even if he were, it would be understandable.

That's because last year, not long before the 50th anniversary of the night Chamberlain's unprecedented offensive outburst prompted the postgame pose, Swift acquired from the legend's family the rights to license his name, statistics, signature, and image.

"I went to Tee Parham, one of the guys still around who played with and knew him, and asked him if anyone had ever done anything with Wilt involving clothing," Swift said. "And he said no one had."

Swift said the merchandise appeals to those "who wear, endorse, and collect" sports apparel. But he said Chamberlain-themed hats, T-shirts, and jackets appeal to a broader market as well.

"He's a national icon," Swift said of Chamberlain. "Fifty years is a long time for a record to stand. But I think we're going to go another 50 years. Nobody's going to score 100 points again. That's why I think there's a market for this stuff."

…But Chamberlain retired from the NBA in 1973 and died in 1999. Few under the age of 50 - Swift included - ever saw him play.

"I think the young people know him a lot better now," Swift said. "There was so much made about the anniversary [last March] on ESPN, on the local news, so many articles written about him. I think the kids really got their heads around who he was and what he did.

"I never saw him play. But I've been educated about him. I've seen lots of clips, and I've heard lots of people, including NBA stars, talk about him."

…The Chamberlain merchandise - mostly T-shirts and jackets - is being sold in Philadelphia at Pro League Authentics, just off the corner of 13th and Walnut, and online at www.proleagueauthentics.com.

Since Chamberlain also played basketball at the University of Kansas, Swift and Pro League Authentics are providing the school with Chamberlain merchandise linked to that college team.
Philly.com


KUAD WBB: KU defeats Texas postgame stats, quotes, notes, photos


It had been 18 days since the last Kansas victory.

“What, you didn’t think I was counting?” Bonnie Henrickson said after her team beat Texas by a score of 76-38.

It was almost the exact situation that Kansas found themselves in last season when they faced Texas at Allen Fieldhouse, feeling the desperation of having lost three games in a row, and once again, Kansas ended its losing streak.

Henrickson’s team played with a sense of urgency after three straight Big 12 losses. After one half of play, the Jayhawks went into the locker room with a 46-12 lead after shooting 53 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line.

The sense of urgency was shared by the Longhorns, who entered Allen Fieldhouse on an eight-game losing streak. Texas was playing without its two top scorers, Chassidy Fussell and Nneka Enemkpali, who did not make the trip to Lawrence because of team violations.
UDK


Senior guard Angel Goodrich came into the game against the Texas Longhorns needing only four points to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

After an early bucket, Goodrich was only a field goal away from being the 26th player in Kansas women’s basketball history to reach the milestone.

Then with under 10 minutes left in the first half, Goodrich fired a three from the wing.

The ball hit the front of the rim, took a backspin to the top of the glass, then came back down to hit the side of rim to finally fall through the nylon net inside Allen Fieldhouse.

“The shot was just like, ‘Finally.’ I’ve been working on my shot the last few days. The first two I missed, and they were pretty hard misses,” Goodrich said. “So when that one popped up high, I was like, ‘Wow,’ and when it went in, I was like, ‘Finally it went in.’

With a smile running down the court, Goodrich joined her two senior teammates Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman in the 1,000-point club.
UDK


On the coldest nights of the winter, a tribal leader named Chad Smith would seek refuge in the Sequoyah High School fieldhouse, searching for a seat above the baseline.

Smith was the principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, but the baseline seat was always the thing that mattered most. It’s where he

watched a young high school senior named Angel Goodrich on the fast break, her 5-foot-4 frame flying down the floor. He could imagine what Goodrich was seeing … a crease on the right, an open teammate slashing on the left.

“It was like a slow-motion dream coming true,” Smith says.

For so many years, this small Indian school in the foothills of Northeastern Oklahoma had been a decaying legacy of Cherokee Nation. They called Sequoyah High School — a private school operated by the Cherokee Nation — “the school of last resort,” a place no Native American parents wanted to send their children. All that was pessimistic about life in this place — poverty, substance abuse and poor college graduation rates — seemed to manifest itself in the reputation of Sequoyah High School.

Now here he was, sitting in a pristine gymnasium, watching Goodrich and her teammates inspire an entire tribe to reach for something greater. In some ways, the change had been small. More fans at the games. More enthusiasm in the community. In other ways, it couldn’t be ignored. The million-dollar gym was built, in part, because of these young basketball players, led by a point guard named Angel.

Down on the floor, he could see a simple inscription.

It said Sequoyah … in Cherokee.

“The sense of pride,” Smith says. “The sense of achievement.

“Angel was just a born leader.”
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The last time Texas won a basketball game, the average sports fan believed in Manti Te'o's girlfriend but not in Colin Kaepernick. Back then, people worried about not only the debt ceiling but also the fiscal cliff, and in the time since, deals have been made to address both.

This means that, yes, UT's basketball programs have become less productive than even Congress.
In both chambers of the Erwin Center — men's and women's — approval ratings are approaching an all-time low. The UT men are 0-5 in Big 12 play, their worst conference start since 1976. The UT women, meanwhile, are 0-7 in the Big 12 after Wednesday night's 76-38 loss at Kansas while riding a school-record nine-game losing streak.

There was a time, not so long ago, when both programs could legitimately claim to be among the nation's elite. Both made the Final Four in 2003, and the men have advanced to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments. But neither team has won a single game this calendar year.

How bad have things become? Missouri's latest Big 12 basketball victory is more recent than UT's. And Missouri, in case you hadn't heard, is currently a member of the Southeastern Conference.

How long is the Longhorns' losing streak? If a scientist was so inclined, she could measure it using a radioactive radionuclide called chromium-51, which has a half-life of 27.7 days. On Dec. 29, when the UT men beat Rice, the scientist would have had twice as much of it as she will when the Longhorns host Texas Tech on Saturday.

The last time UT won a basketball game, the average worker honeybees and butterflies that died today had not yet been born. The last time UT won a basketball game, Tony Romo still had a chance to make the playoffs.

The last time UT won a basketball game, I'd never seen an episode of Oprah.
SA Express


If West Virginia’s basketball team were fishing rather than playing basketball, it probably would have thrown back the victory it gained against TCU, a winless team in the Big 12 that reminds you of the fact every time they go up and down the court.

But when you have lost three consecutive games, as had the Mountaineers, and when you need that victory, no matter how unimpressive, to even your season record at 9-9 and to hopefully inspire you on some kind of run that can get you into the postseason, you treat the victory as if it were a trophy fish.

The score of 71-50 at least was something to brag about, although everyone who was involved in the game from freshman Eron Harris, who led with 19 points while making 5-of-6 shots from the field, to senior Deniz Kilicli, who had his first extended and satisfying playing time since Texas knew it was hardly a thing of beauty.
Link


On Saturday, Iowa State will start a five-game stretch that includes two games against Kansas State as well as contests against Oklahoma State, Baylor and Oklahoma. As a result, beating Texas Tech on Wednesday night was essentially imperative to get some momentum. Instead, the Cyclones shot 36 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from 3-point range in a 56-51 loss to Texas Tech. Tech had lost four in a row, and its best win of the season was over TCU. Just a really bad loss.

...This wasn't close. Duke took a 14-13 lead on a Quinn Cook 3-pointer midway through the first half -- and then Miami went on a 25-1 run to essentially end the game before halftime. The win gives Miami a two-game lead in the ACC, meaning the Hurricanes have become the hunted in the league. And this wasn't a fluke, either. Kenny Kadji (22 points) is starting to consistently be the matchup nightmare that he should be, while Durand Scott (25 points) and Shane Larkin (18 points) are forming a potent perimeter duo. Throw in the return of Reggie Johnson, and Jim Larranaga has a number of weapons at his disposal.

As for Duke, the loss was troubling. Sure, you can say that the injury to Ryan Kelly has played a factor in the recent struggles, but this was more than that. The Blue Devils didn't play hard once they got down and the shots weren't falling. They gave up a number of easy baskets, not getting back to defend in transition. The backcourt of Cook and Seth Curry combined to shoot 1-for-22 from the field, and Mason Plumlee's defense was basically neutralized by the ability of Kadji to take him away from the basket. The ACC is no longer Duke's to lose.

… Duke's 27-point loss was the third-largest margin ever for a No. 1 team. Back in 1968, Houston lost to UCLA by 32. In 1951, St. John's lost by 42 to Kentucky (although Kentucky was ranked No. 1 in the AP).
CBS


With the No. 1 team being beaten like that, there are some salient points to make. We can look at how Duke came to be ranked in that position and why college basketball fans should not allow themselves to be duped like this again.

Beyond an electorate that is episodically inconsistent and ill-informed—see Gary Parrish’s “Poll Attacks” column on CBSSports.com for weekly examples—the problem with the polls is there’s no singular sense of what they are designed to measure. Whatever characteristic might have been chosen, however, Duke as it stood Monday did not appear to be the best fit.

MOMENTUM?

Those who pay attention to the polls have seen through the years how important continuing to win can be to escalating ranks. Often, the highest-ranked teams are those that have lost least recently. Teams losing in the week preceding a vote are punished, even if doing so requires assigning a higher ranking to a team with less impressive overall results.

Of those teams near the top of the polls when Louisville lost at home last weekend and thus had to be spanked, Duke had lost more recently than all but Michigan (17-1), which lost the day after the Devils fell to N.C. State. The lone loss for Syracuse (17-1) came on Dec. 22, and Kansas (17-1) has not lost since Nov. 13.

CURRENT STRENGTH?

Some voters prefer teams that recently have delivered impressive, overpowering performances. As a result of the injury to power forward Ryan Kelly, however, Duke is a fundamentally different team than the one that remained unbeaten through 15 games. Kelly is a difficult player to replace. There just aren’t many shot-blocking, 3-point shooting 6-11 forwards with a senior’s experience and the validation of an NCAA championship ring.

Without Kelly, Duke had played only twice and was 1-1 in those games. Winning at home against Georgia Tech—currently the only winless team in the ACC—certainly was not enough to establish the Devils had found the right rotation to cover for what was missing without Kelly.

ACHIEVEMENT?

Duke probably had more quality victims at the time of the vote than any team, but it seemed to stretch credibility a fair amount to award the No. 1 ranking three weeks into January to a team that had yet to record a single road victory.

…As a fan, this is your moment of clarity and Duke—with plenty of help from poll voters and the Miami Hurricanes—delivered it.

Your time is too valuable to waste following the rankings. Your own eyes will tell you more about which teams matter than the polls ever will.
Sporting News


Well, this is a tricky, sticky little wrinkle in time that Kentucky's basketball team and its coach, John Calipari, find themselves in. The Wildcats lost all five starters from last season's national title team. They have a recruiting class coming in next season that has been hailed as the best in college basketball history. But right here and right now, Kentucky's latest heralded and highly talented group of freshmen who were expected to pillage every college basketball town and village they visit -- then swiftly move along to the NBA, same as their predecessors -- have begun to hear that they will be the first of Calipari's four Wildcat teams to drop the baton.

This Kentucky squad is a pedestrian 12-5, unranked and still being talked about as a NCAA tournament bubble team though we're nearly into February. This team is not only absent from the Top 25 rankings -- it didn't receive a solitary vote in either the AP or USA Today Coaches polls this week.

…"I think it is harder here," Harrow admitted after the A&M loss, "because you are supposed to get here and get out of here [for the NBA]. Basically, that's what it is. Maybe that's not what it is with this group and we have to accept that."

Calipari differed with Harrow on Monday when reminded of his point guard's remarks. "We don't recruit kids and tell them that," he insisted. Then the coach unspooled a long elaboration that was reminiscent of something he said last March at the Final Four when the controversial subject came up -- the NBA rule that forces players to spend a year in college before moving into the draft. Calipari, speaking more directly to his critics then, scoffed, "There's only two solutions to it: Either I can recruit players who are not as good as the players I'm recruiting, or I can try to convince guys that should leave to stay for me."
ESPN


The NCAA announced today its slate of weekend events surrounding the 2013 NCAA Final Four, which will happen in Atlanta.

With just a little more than two months until the Final Four comes to the Georgia Dome (75 days) the NCAA, the Atlanta Basketball Host Committee and the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee on Wednesday detailed some of the weekend events surrounding the event.

Events will begin on Friday April 5 and go until Monday April 8, the night of the Men's Basketball Championship Game. The happenings will include a corporate-sponsored, three-day outdooor music festival at Centennial Olympic Park, a 5K race in downtown Atlanta, youth basketball clinics and some service projects around the city.
NCAA


NCAA president Mark Emmert said Wednesday that his organization is investigating itself for "improper conduct" related to its investigation of Miami. That sound of celebration coming from Missouri must be originating in Frank Haith's office.

Seriously, who's happier than Frank Haith?

Take that man's coaching career off life support ASAP.

CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman reported Monday that the NCAA was "expected" to charge the former Miami/current Missouri coach with "unethical conduct and failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance," which would've almost certainly led to a show-cause penalty that would've essentially forced Missouri to remove Haith at some point. But now that's very much up in the air because this development -- i.e., that the NCAA had Nevin Shapiro's attorney on payroll (on payroll!!!) and used that attorney to improperly obtain information to aid its investigation -- is a game-changer for all involved.

Miami's notice of allegations is consequently on hold.

Emmert said any information obtained improperly will be "thrown out."

So even if Haith did everything that the NCAA was prepared to allege he did -- and it should be noted that Haith has forever denied wrongdoing -- it's now reasonable to assume any charges will be toned down or dropped completely given that the NCAA likely has no desire to get involved in the lawsuit that would come from derailing a man's multimillion-dollar career after an investigation that the NCAA itself has publicly acknowledged was improper on some level. Bottom line, Haith is suddenly and unbelievably in a position to beat this case on a technicality the same way that Major League Baseball star Ryan Braun beat his positive drug test on a technicality, which means the idea of Haith coaching Missouri long into the future doesn't seem nearly as unlikely as it did earlier in the week.
CBS


The reality is that the system is broken. It doesn't work. The coaches I spoke to were right then and even more so now -- the enforcement staff is well-intended but overmatched and ineffective.

Not because they don't care. Not because they are out to get anyone. They are good people. Smart people. Hard-working people.

But in a highly sophisticated sports world, they are armed with the investigative tools of Inspector Clouseau.

How in the world are these people supposed to do their jobs? By monitoring Twitter, Facebook and message boards and hoping someone says something stupid?

By insisting that the guilty admit their guilt because they were told to? My 8-year-old is savvy enough to circumvent that one on occasion.

Instead of hiring an investigative firm to investigate the bad investigators in their investigation, the NCAA needs to look in the mirror and decide who it wants to be now that college sports have grown up.

If the organization truly believes there is still a space for being a watchdog -- and I do agree that anarchy will not work well in a world where the playing rules are the same on the court but not off it -- then it has to recreate itself with some sort of legitimacy.

Stop telling Iowa it can't honor Chris Street with a special jersey and worry about what really matters.

Stop pretending that college athletes are apple-pie amateurs who don't make gobs of money for their universities and the NCAA coffers.

And stop launching investigations that have all the teeth of a Nerf gun in a battle.

The NCAA and its employees long have been adrift in their own rulebook chaos. Now they have tossed their own credibility atop the firebombed heap.
ESPN O'Neil


The same assistant enforcement director whom the NCAA fired last December for misconduct in a UCLA investigation — Abigail Grantstein — turned out to be the lead investigator in Haith’s case.

And here’s where it is simply mind-numbing to think that no one in Indianapolis bothered to look closely into Grantstein’s résumé.

In her own LinkedIn bio, which can be found with a simple click on Google, we find these two rather unsettling details:

Her previous employer before joining the NCAA was the University of Kansas athletics department. Her law degree came from the University of Kansas law school. Now, that doesn’t automatically mean there is some deep-seated anti-Missouri bias. But come on, why would the NCAA put itself or its investigation into such an obviously compromised position by assigning her to the Haith case?

But I guess because they already allowed her to head the investigation into another high-profile basketball recruit, Josh Selby, who just happened to end up at Kansas, it really was no giant leap to allow her to conduct an investigation of a Mizzou coach.

She should have immediately recused herself from these cases because of the mere perception of a conflict of interest. When she didn’t, someone above her in authority should have been smart enough to do it.
ST Louis PD Burwell


Teams that are a chore to watch have always been with us. But even programs noted for uptempo styles are contributing to the drought. Kentucky scored 55 in a loss to Alabama on Tuesday, the same night Kansas won despite scoring only 59.

Bottom line: Regardless of why college basketball teams are averaging 68 points per game - the same as last season, but the lowest since 1982 - college basketball simply isn't as much fun to watch these days. If current downward trends continue, the sport will move more and more into the shadows and become a niche activity enjoyed mostly by students and rabid alumni. Its days as a major sport will be over.

Is this assessment too extreme? I don't think so.

College hoops already are dwarfed by big-time football, which has grown in magnitude, in large part because of on-field innovations that have led to increased scoring. And also because the best football players remain in school at least three years.

College quarterbacks running spread offenses and putting up staggering numbers and big scores are lightning rods for the attention of TV viewers, whereas current basketball All-Americans need name tags.

At a time when college football's growth is proof that fans and TV audiences respond to scoring orgies, basketball games are being won by the first team to 60. Or, too often, even 50.

The drought is worse than the numbers indicate, really. The 68 points Division I teams average takes into account BCS conference schools that were running up scores early in the season against overmatched opponents in those guarantee games. During tougher conference play, averages will drop even more.

When the pace of play grew too slow in the mid-'80s, a 45-second shot clock was introduced. In the mid-'90s, the clock was shortened to 35 seconds.

But the shot clock, we're seeing now, is no panacea. Not when the best players have one foot out the door as freshmen, and too many who stick around lack great offensive ability.

Former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, who joined ESPN, tweeted on his SethOnHoops account the other day: "Competitive players outnumber skilled players."

If a relative lack of skill - or tougher perimeter defenses - is resulting in the worst 3-point accuracy since the trey came into effect in 1986-87, why don't coaches dump the ball into their big men more often?

Sounds good, but here's the catch: Never mind that low-post play is a lost art, college officials permit so much rough stuff in the paint that it's difficult for all but the best big men to get a decent look at the basket.

Less mugging takes place in the lane in a typical NBA game. Cleaning up play under the basket would be a step toward lifting scoring averages and making the game easier on the eyes.
Link


Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results


RPI and SOS Team Comparison Calculator

The inquiry of possible recruiting by the Tift County High varsity boys basketball program is still ongoing, Georgia High School Association Executive Director Dr. Ralph Swearingen told The Gazette Wednesday.

A complaint filed by the Turner County School System is what started the probe. One of the players in question is a varsity athlete, while the other is in middle school.

Swearingen sent an investigator to Tift and Turner counties to look into the allegations.

“I am expecting a response from the investigator today or tomorrow,” Swearingen said Wednesday. “We are still working on the process.”

Swearingen will study that report and if he believes there are possible rules violations, he would give Tift County a chance to address the allegations.

The matter has been in the back of the minds of Tift County fans, especially with the success the team is having this season. After a 60-54 loss to the seventh-ranked team in the nation, St. Anthony (N.J.) Monday, the Tift County Blue Devils are currently 14-4 on the year.

“I know people are interested in this, especially with the success the Tift team is having this year. But, we do not rush these matters,” said Swearingen.

Tift County Superintendent Patrick Atwater said Wednesday that every player that has been on the Blue Devil roster this year has been eligible, according to the GHSA itself.

“We have got GHSA Certificates of Eligibility for every player on the roster,” said Atwater.

He reiterated what he has said earlier in the matter, which has been ongoing since October 2012.

“From what our coaches and athletic director (Rusty Smith) have told me I feel none of the Turner County concerns will be validated,” said Atwater.
Tifton Gazette


Brannen Greene has a nice all-around game but the one thing that sets the Kansas-bound shooting guard from Tift County (Ga.) apart is his old-school jump shot. Whether he's hot, cold, open or contested, Greene gets his shot off with the same beautiful stroke every time.

On Monday at the 2013 Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., Greene found himself taking many contested jumpers against the vaunted defense of Bob Hurley's St. Anthony's (N.J.). Greene scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the outside with three of those shots coming with a Friar squarely in his grill.

St. Anthony entered the game on a 77-game winning streak despite being one of the least talented teams Hurley has had in years. Their defense and execution have been the hallmarks of his teams though and this year's squad still prides themselves on those things.

"They're known for their defense and they help a lot," Greene said. "So you beat one man and the next man is right there to stop you. It's tough, you gotta move the ball."

Tift was able to move the ball effectively for much of the game, actually taking a lead on St. Anthony's late in the third quarter when Greene hit a teammate in transition for a three. Tift's point guard Tadric Jackson finished with nine assists including two to Greene.

There were several Kansas fans in attendance showering Greene with "Rock, Chalk" chants during warmups and during the customary postgame picture at midcourt. It was a good weekend to be Jayhawk fan with Greene and fellow Kansas-bound shooting guard Wayne Selden taking part in the tournament.

Between Green and Selden, Kansas fans have a lot to look forward to next season.
MassLive


The Tift County Blue Devils had a formidable challenge Monday.The Blue Devils were facing a Saint Anthony’s (N.J.) Friars’ squad that had won 77 games in a row, and is ranked as high as seventh in some national polls this season.

On top of that, the game was being played at Springfield College in Massachusetts in the shadows of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a part of the HoopHall Classic. So far from home, Tift was without its’ normal frantic fanbase.

Even with all of that against them, Tift led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter, and held a three-point lead 54-51 on a Donell Tuff dunk with 2:37 left in the game. However, Saint Anthony’s would come storming back and would outscore Tift 9-0 after the Tuff dunk. The final result was a 60-54 win for the Friars.

It was only the ninth time that a team only lost by single digits to the Friars in the team’s now-78 game winning Donell, which began March 10, 2010.

“We had a defensive breakdown late in the game and it cost us,” said Tift Head Coach Dr. Eric Holland. “I feel like we should have won.”

…(Brannen) Greene ended the game with 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal.
Tifton Gazette


Brown said St. Anthony didn't know anything about Tift County as recently as Sunday night. The guard's lack of memory seemed to provide evidence to his claim: Minutes after Brannen Greene, the 43rd-best senior in the country according to ESPN, scored 14 points and five rebounds for Tift, Brown forgot his name. Or maybe he never knew it in the first place.

That's not to say he knew nothing about Greene.

"We had a scouting report early on (Monday). Without that scouting report, we probably would have lost this game," said Brown, who had 14 points and nine rebounds. "But it helped us. We kind of picked up their tendencies, and it helped us turn their guys over in crucial times, and that's what helped us win."

Asked how many pages were in the scouting report, Brown laughed.

"It was decent, it was pretty lengthy. We pretty much knew they had two great players -- the guard, I forget his name (Jackson) and one of the shooters," Brown said. Reporters fed him the shooter's name and he continued. "Yeah, Greene. We pretty much knew we had to key on them. And they played a good game, but we kind of shut them down when it mattered most."

…Greene hit only four shots Monday, all 3-pointers. One of them came with two defenders inches away from his shooting hand. Another came after an awesome crossover at the top of the key -- St. Anthony still somehow managed to contest the shot almost perfectly, but Greene's talent was enough to sink the attempt anyway. On one possession, he crossed over one defender, spun around, finally free, and lost the ball after running smack dab into another St. Anthony player. He finished 4-10 shooting with more turnovers (three) than assists (one).

Asked afterward what it was like to play against Hurley and St. Anthony, though, Greene didn't express frustration.

"It's just an honor, to look over there and see him coaching his team. I watched the documentary on him, 'The Street Stops Here'. So it was really cool," he said.

It's certainly rare for a high school player to be so mindful of an opposing coach, especially when their two teams play half a country away from each other.
MassLive


TILTON SCHOOL 55, ST. ANDREW'S 53 - Boston native and Kansas-bound Wayne Selden led the way 19 points as Tilton rallied from a 50-43 deficit to win on a Cameron Durley layup with two seconds left.
Boston Herald


Tilton School (NH) 71, Vermont Academy 67 – Less than 24 hours after playing in the BABC Prep Classic, the Rams knocked off Vermont behind 24 points from Kansas commit Wayne Selden (Roxbury), and 26 points from Victor Chester. In defeat, Daquein McNeil scored 24 points. Tilton raised its record to 11-4 and Vermont dropped to 7-7
Boston Globe


Next year, Tilton School's Wayne Selden will be playing with the Kansas Jayhawks, but this year he enjoyed one last run in the Spalding Hoophall Classic at Springfield College.

The senior is ranked 16th in the Class of 2013 according to ESPN, and Sunday, he helped lead Tilton of New Hampshire to a 71-67 win over Vermont Academy.

Selden showed off a full spectrum of skills. Early on, he threw down an alley-oop just minutes before throwing a no-look pass through the lane to set up Chester Victor for an easy two points.

Selden finished with 24 points – including six from behind the arc – and seven rebounds. Victor had a game-high 26.

Before signing with Kansas, Selden also drew interest from Florida, Missouri, Ohio State, Syracuse and UCLA.

"I felt like (Kansas) was the best place for me as a player and as a person," Selden said. "I feel like I can go there and help the team out."

…"I know that just months from now, I'm going to be at Kansas and this is just steps along the way," Selden said. "I'm just trying to get better and win games here because this is my first priority."
MassLive


No longer in prime time at the Hoophall Classic, Kansas signee Wayne Selden (ESPN's No. 16 boys senior) nonetheless showed why he's one of the nation's elite high school basketball players Sunday as he helped Tilton down Vermont Academy, 71-67, at Springfield College.

After notching 24 points and seven rebounds, Selden noted that Tilton, which lost Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel to graduation after last season, had been downgraded in status by the tournament's directors.

"We got the Sunday morning game now, we're not prime time anymore, so we have to work for everything we get," said the star.

But that doesn't mean he misses everything about Tilton's previous campaign.

"We have more heart this year. We're more of a fighting team this year," he said. "We have to earn everything we get, nothing's handed to us."

Quite clearly the most talented player on the floor, Selden was nonetheless unselfish. Early in the first half, he could have forced a shot in the paint, but decided to kick out to an open teammate for a 3-pointer. On the ensuing possession, he dribbled in transition to the foul line, looked to his right and fired a bullet bounce pass to his left, where a teammate was waiting underneath the basket for an easy lay-in.

…His team-first mentality should bode well at Kansas next season, and it didn't keep him from scoring 17 of his 24 points in the second half Sunday. He rarely forced shots, making 10 of 18 field goal attempts, but still showed an ability to score when his team needed it most. Vermont Academy put together a late surge, but Selden ended any hopes of a comeback with a baseline drive that he finished with a reverse layup with less than a minute left.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound, Selden, who prides himself on "being able to operate with the ball, being able to penetrate and find the open man," looks like he developed an addiction to protein shakes many years ago, and used his phenomenal strength Sunday to his advantage in the mid-post. However, at least on this day, his shot of choice after catching in the post was a fadeaway jump shot. Despite the effectiveness of his turnaround, he likely would have been better served taking his 6-foot-1 defender closer to the basket.

When Selden did drive to the hoop, defenders bounced off him. After one particularly strong drive on which the guard drew a foul, the Vermont Academy coach screamed for his player to take a charge. I almost expected the player to shout back, "Coach, I'd rather survive."

Defensively, Selden wasn't always attentive, but showed a willingness to work. He took one charge and attempted to take at least one other. Tilton showed a lot of zone and Selden often played closer to the basket, so he wasn't used in nearly the same capacity in which coach Bill Self will ask him to operate at Kansas.
MassLive


When the final buzzer sounded on the Tilton boys’ basketball team’s win Wednesday in Groton, the players felt nothing but relief. It was finally over.

After a four-overtime marathon, the Rams (12-3) held on to beat Lawrence Academy, 108-105.

At the end of regulation the game was tied at 72. Through the overtimes, the game was back and forth.

After the first OT it was knotted at 81, after the second it was tied at 88, and the game was deadlocked at 93 going into the fourth OT.

“It was blow for blow in the overtimes,” said Tilton coach Marcus O’Neil. “You wouldn’t be able to tell if the teams were tired by the energy on the floor. Both teams were making hustle plays.”

During the fourth OT, the Rams finally started to pull away, taking a 7-point lead with 1:30 left.

With 44 seconds left, Lawrence Academy (9-5) cut the lead to 3 before Chester Victor drained a corner three to give the Rams a 6-point edge.

The Spartans were unable to make a final comeback as time finally ran out.

“Neither team really wanted to give an inch. It was just a shame that somebody had to lose,” said O’Neil.

Kansas-commit and Roxbury native Wayne Selden had a monster game for the Rams, with 29 points and 20 rebounds.

But when he fouled out in the second OT, Victor picked up most of the slack, scoring 8 of the team’s 15 points in the final OT.
Boston Globe

Judging from the capacity crowd at Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College, it was very clear which game was the highlight of Sunday's slate at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.

The standing-room only crowd piled in to see Andrew Wiggins, the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2013, and Huntington Prep (W.Va.) take on No. 7 Noah Vonleh and New Hampton School (N.H.).

The game's must-see attraction didn't disappoint as the 6-foot-8 undecided Wiggins scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to key a 56-47 Huntington Prep victory.
MaxPreps


Plano Prestonwood Christian senior forward Julius Randle was named by USA Basketball to the roster for the 2013 USA Junior National Select Team that will compete in the Nike Hoop Summit on April 20 in Portland,Ore.The Nike Hoop Summit features the country’s top seniors playing against a World Select Team made up of elite international players who are 19 or younger.
Link


My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos, Late Night in the Phog, and more now on YouTube

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Bramlage Coliseum, which is also known as the Octagon of Doom, is one of the toughest places to play in the country when it's full. The students are seated at midcourt, across from the team benches, and rarely do you see any of them on their behinds. They basically go ballistic for the entire game -- and so do many of the "adults" in the crowd. Kansas will not face a more difficult road environment in its quest for a ninth straight Big 12 title. If K-State continues to draw this kind of support at home, there's no reason it can't finish second in the conference standings and get a high seed in the NCAA tournament.
ESPN Jason King

Kansas and Kansas State rarely paint a masterpiece when they meet on the hardwood.

The defensive-minded Jayhawks, with Travis Releford on the perimeter and Jeff Withey in the paint, make life miserable for opposing offenses, while the veteran Wildcats relish the chance to bump, bang and bludgeon foes on both ends of the court.

Little surprise that they played another tough-as-nails game Tuesday night.

Releford scored 12 points, Withey and Ben McLemore each added 11, and the third-ranked Jayhawks held on down the stretch for a 59-55 victory that gave them sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

"That game went just as all you predicted, not the most artistic," Kansas coach Bill Self said, sporting the kind of wry smile that said he didn't mind one bit.

The Jayhawks have grown accustomed to such blood-and-guts games, needing a desperation 3-pointer from McLemore to force overtime in a win over Iowa State and a frantic second-half comeback to beat Texas, all while running their winning streak to a nation-leading 16 games.

Kansas (17-1, 5-0 Big 12) briefly led by 10 points in the second half before needing everything it could muster in the closing seconds to end the Wildcats' eight-game winning streak.

"They just find ways to win," Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said.
AP

When the buzzer finally sounded, Travis Releford popped his blue jersey and turned toward the Kansas State student section. Releford smiled, his sweaty palms holding out the stitched KANSAS on his chest. Moments later, Elijah Johnson stopped to blow a couple of kisses in the same direction. They were brief moments, only a few seconds, but they signaled what has become so true here at Bramlage Coliseum.

Maybe Kansas doesn’t dominate this place like it once did. But on most nights, when the two old rivals get together in Manhattan, the Jayhawks usually find a way to own the day.

“That goodbye kiss felt good,” Johnson said. “It felt great to know that I came in here and won three of four. There’s a lot going on in my mind.”

No. 3 Kansas edged No. 11 Kansas State 59-55 on Tuesday night, the latest chapter in a longstanding and lopsided rivalry. KU, which has now won 23 of 25 at Bramlage Coliseum, improved to 17-1 overall and took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with a perfect 5-0 start. No. 11 Kansas State dropped to 15-3 and 4-1 in the Big 12.

Hours earlier, the Jayhawks had arrived in the visitor’s locker room with a collective goal. They had stood as a group, senior Kevin Young said, preparing for the night ahead.

“When we get here,” Young said, “We say, ‘We just gotta have a party in the other team’s locker room.’ ”
KC Star

1/22/13, 6:22 PM
KU KState game tonight..I attended both...decisions decisions
https://twitter.com/kirstiealley


1/22/13, 9:01 PM
Good game KSU. Good game.
But let's lose the octagon of doom thing....
https://twitter.com/ericstonestreet


1/22/13, 9:12 PM
Travis Releford made case for being capt of All-Glue team tonight. Rodney McGruder will have dreams of being chased by him after tonight.
https://twitter.com/sethdavishoops


1/22/13, 10:00 PM
With the victory KU is now tied with Gonzaga for most wins in the Big 12.
https://twitter.com/mickshaffer


1/22/13, 10:40 PM
“@JeffWithey: Good win. I love my team. #Godisgood”we love you too big fella #KUCMB
https://twitter.com/ntharpe1


1/22/13, 10:40 PM
Lol @ this picture I just got from the game
https://twitter.com/landenlucas33

When Bramlage Coliseum is packed as it was for Tuesday’s Sunflower Showdown, there is no louder place on the planet.

Ears will ring into the next day. Students, who are treated royally with midcourt seats that stretch from the bottom to top of the building, scream and boo with passion. The team’s pregame entrance comes compete with dramatic music and a behind-the-scenes player dance contest captured on the big screen.

In short, it’s everything a home-floor advantage should be.

And Kansas State should vacate it the next time Kansas arrives.

Chain the doors. Barricade the place. Play anywhere else.

The Jayhawks won the defensive struggle 59-55, and that’s no shocking development for the team ranked third nationally. KU, 17-1, was excellent defensively throughout the muddy contest.

It’s just that, well, Kansas shouldn’t win here. Not again and again and again. This marks the 25th season of Bramlage, and the Jayhawks are now 23-2 in the place.

…The Wildcats attempted a season-high 30 shots from behind the arc. Cats coach Bruce Weber pointed to Iowa State’s success with that strategy earlier this season in the near-miss at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cyclones hoisted 38 triples, making 14, and fell in overtime.

Which is what an underdog on the road should do, not a home team that rebounds well. Point guard Angel Rodriguez, who effectively got the basket, thought the Wildcats should have been more on the attack.

“Their game plan was to let us shoot a lot of threes,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like everyone was in the paint, so I guess we needed to shoot them.”

This explains why Kansas State got to the free throw line seven times to the Jayhawks’ 21. K-State had success taking the game to shot-blocking specialist Jeff Withey. He sat a few minutes with foul trouble, which is a rarity, and he was held without a block for the first time this season. He said afterwards the game was one of the most physical this season.

Had it been more so, Withey might not have reached his double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds or been on the floor for what was the game’s biggest bucket, a sweeping hook that made it 56-49 with 2:46 remaining.

The home team gets the calls, but there aren’t many whistle opportunities when it’s launching 30 threes.

“I was a little surprised,” Self said.

K-State approach’s played into the strength of Kansas’ top defender, Travis Releford who chased Rodney McGruder around the floor throughout the first half. McGruder’s only basket before halftime came on a transition dunk.

...McGruder wound up with 13 but needed 12 shots.
KC Star


“I thought Travis played unbelievable. It was one of the better games he’s played for us,” KU coach Bill Self said after the Jayhawks improved to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12. KSU dropped to 15-3 and 4-1.

“He was exhausted the second half. He asked to come out. I said no,” Self added with a smile.

This was a night where Self didn’t stop there.

Releford truly deserved a pat on the back from his coach for his work on the Big 12’s third-leading scorer, who entered with a 15.5 ppg average.

“He is smart. He is strong. He can slide. He is athletic. He’s tough on top. He did a great job guarding a team that set a ton of screens tonight,” Self said of Releford.
LJW


Kansas coach Bill Self had never met legendary Kansas State coach Tex Winter, so on Tuesday afternoon, he arranged for Winter, the inventor of the triangle offense, to stop by and meet his players.

Self introduced Winter to his team, mentioning his history at K-State in the 1950s and his time as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls.

“It was neat,” Self said.

...Self was asked after the game if he had any different feelings about the Sunflower Showdown rivalry now that KU had played K-State for the first time since Missouri left for the SEC. Self's answer: Not really, but he knows who KU's biggest rival is now.

"They're a big-time rival," Self said of K-State. "But when you have Mizzou, all your pent-up hate can go in one direction, basically. So this was more of a respectful rivalry, and I still feel that way. I think it's two teams, classy, playing hard, and there's no talking. There were just kids out there competing. I'm leaving out of here knowing who our biggest rival is, but it's not a hated thing."
KC Star


Naadir Tharpe stepped to the free-throw line with 22 seconds left and Kansas University nursing a 56-53 lead over Kansas State on Tuesday night in Bramlage Coliseum.

Was the sophomore backup point guard nervous at all as he toed the line, the fans shaking the building while trying to distract him?

“Not at all. I just knew I had to go and take my time and make the free throws,” said Tharpe, who hit both to give KU a 58-53 advantage down the stretch.

…Kevin Young banged a lob pass to Jeff Withey off the backboard with five minutes left and KU up, 54-49.

“It was a pass, a horrible pass,” Young said, asked if it was a pass or a shot. “I threw it too hard, and Jeff didn’t have a chance to get it.

“They called it a shot,” Young added of statkeepers, smiling. “That’s fine with me. I didn’t get a turnover.”

…Withey scored 11 points off 3-of-6 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. He also hit five of six free throws and played 31 minutes, showing no effects of the flu bug that bit him at the team hotel Monday night.

…KU teammates Justin Wesley and Rio Adams recently found out they were related. Rio is a second cousin to Brittany Langford, wife of Wesley’s brother, former KU guard Keith Langford. Brittany’s grandfather and Rio’s grandmother are brother and sister.
LJW


He wasn’t KU’s best player on this night. Travis Releford was, but McLemore with a couple of spurts showed why he was the best basketball prospect on the floor. He was good enough to make key plays in another tight Kansas victory. He’ll be a lot better than that when college basketball takes center stage in the sports world come mid-March.

Kansas was just good enough to stay unbeaten in the Big 12 and is alone in first place. It’s easy to see where it will be a lot better than that in couple of months.
LJW Keegan


LJW Rankings: Travis Releford gives complete effort in win


“(Coaches) told us that they were going to be packed in, and they get not really lost on defense when you drive them, but they sink into the ball because they’re a great defensive team, and they’re so athletic that they swarm,” said KSU junior forward Shane Southwell, who hit five of 11 treys. “Out of our 30 three-point shots, I felt like 20 of them were open shots or shots that we usually make.”

KU coach Bill Self admitted afterward that his defensive strategy was to try to keep KSU out of the lane.

The Wildcats certainly noticed, countering by taking 53 percent of their field goals from three-point range (30 of 57).

“They weren’t coming out,” KSU sophomore guard Angel Rodriguez said. “I think pretty much their game plan was to just let us shoot threes. I feel like everybody was in the paint. I guess (we needed) to just make shots.”

This isn’t the first time opponents have tried to beat KU’s tough interior defense from the outside.

Coming into the game, according to Ken Pomeroy’s website, 34.5 percent of the points scored against KU’s defense had come from three-point range — the 11th-highest split nationally.

Iowa State scored the most points per possession against KU — 1.10 — when it made 14 of 38 threes in a 97-89 overtime loss on Jan. 9.

With its season-high 30 three-point attempts Tuesday, KSU put up 0.93 points per possession according to StatSheet.com, the fifth-highest total against KU’s defense this year.

Weber was asked about KU’s grind-it-out victories in the Big 12 following a dominant nonconference stretch.

“If you study basketball … to beat Belmont, Colorado and Richmond — those are good teams — and they were not just beating them, they were killing them, destroying them,” Weber said. “I think all of us in the league were like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ I think you guys and people around the state are like, ‘There’s no way you can compete with them.’

“I think they got into the league ... people scout. They know things that you can do to attack them. People take care of the basketball better. I think that’s a big key against them.”
LJW

This was once the house that Roy rented. Now, it’s the building Bill borrows.

Even with No. 3 Kansas not even close to being at its best Tuesday, it made enough stops to outlast No. 11 Kansas State, 59-55.

…Octagonal doom goes to die just about anytime KU visits, something Bruce Weber learned the hard way.

Kansas State’s first-year coach tried to push every button by burning all his time outs before the last TV stoppage.

Yet during those pow-wows, Weber found few answers to solve KU’s sticky man-to-man defense, which was allowed to smother and harass all night with just 11 fouls whistled against the Jayhawks.

…Yet the one game that fills Bramlage in every cranny, the one game that stirs K-Staters into a frenzy, the one game the Cats want to win most again went to KU.

This time the clash presented an opportunity to move squarely into first. And again, as usual, Kansas made that move, fortifying a bid for a ninth straight Big 12 title.

“We didn’t play smart enough, good enough, basketball,’’ said Weber, who nonetheless was received warmly by fans who stuck around to hear his postgame radio comments piped through the Bramlage speakers.

Returning to its own gym and protecting this court now becomes a must as K-State moves forward.

And KU? Once again, it was man enough to overcome the toughest environment it will face all season. Maintaining sole possession of first place in the Big 12 seems a certainty.
TCJ Haskin


The No. 3 Jayhawks (17-1, 5-0 Big 12) trailed only briefly, never in the second half, but there was nothing comfortable about their 16th straight victory. That was partly because McLemore picked up his second foul on a charging call with 9:22 remaining in the first half, forcing KU’s star freshman to the bench for the rest of the half.

The Jayhawks led by four at that point, and Self considered sending McLemore back on the court with two fouls to make sure K-State didn’t seize the momentum.

“I was going to play him,” Self said. “I said, ‘Do we want to play him?’ and K.T. (assistant coach Kurtis Townsend) said, ‘Let’s just wait a second and see how the game goes.’”

The Jayhawks ended up expanding their lead with McLemore on the bench before K-State closed within 31-27 at halftime. McLemore never really found his groove, but he contributed as much as anyone to KU keeping the Wildcats at bay in the second half.

In one sequence, he blocked a shot from K-State big man Thomas Gipson and swooped in to block Gipson again after the Jayhawks’ fast break fizzled. Then, with K-State making a run, McLemore hit a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper to stretch KU’s lead back to 53-43.

“Those shots were huge,” said Travis Releford, who led KU with 12 points. “I told him that once he got in after foul trouble. I just told him to keep his head and keep shooting. Second half when it got late we were trying to play through Jeff (Withey) and Ben.”

The headline matchup between McLemore and K-State guard Rodney McGruder didn’t really materialize, in part because Releford hounded McGruder into his quietest game of the conference season. K-State’s leading scorer went 4-for-12 from the floor and scored 13 points, only two of which came in the first half.
TCJ


Giving praise to the Jayhawks’ assistant coaches’ scouting reports on McGruder, Releford said the preparation was the biggest factor in slowing down the Wildcat leader.

“I looked at film and shout out to our assistant coaches for doing a great job at scouting on what they like to do and their offensive tendencies,” Releford said. “Just looking at that and knowing Rodney wanted to tight curl on a lot of screens.”

Meanwhile, the Jayhawks’ redshirt senior guard hit all three of his field goal attempts, including two 3-pointers, in the first half for eight points.

…Another freshman, Perry Ellis, held it together for the Jayhawks in the first half. Ellis, the Wichita native, scored seven of his eight points in the first half on 3-of-4 shooting.

“That’s what we look for in Perry,” Releford said. “Guys like Jeff (Withey) and Kevin (Young) need those breathers so when Perry comes in and helps out on offense, that’s what coach (Self) wants out of him.”

Ellis worked the boards for a tip-in to put the Jayhawk lead back to a two-possession game with 4:27 to play in the first half.

After McGruder hit a 3-pointer with 1:27 to play in the first half to slice the deficit back to three points, Ellis came up big again in the lane on a pass from Kevin Young.

“Those are plays that end up being the difference between winning and not winning,” Self said.
TCJ

Back from vacation. Shout out to #44. It was amazing! Thanks for the memories. Now forward!

Sorry I missed the Texas recap. Tomorrow I will post some recruiting items from the past few days. Thanks!