No. 3 Kansas to Host No. 25 Baylor Wednesday in Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2010
Kansas notes for Baylor in PDF Format 
No. 3 Kansas (16-1, 2-0 Big 12) concludes its two-game homestand when it hosts No. 25 Baylor (14-2, 2-1) Wednesday evening. The Jayhawks are coming off an 89-63 win versus Texas Tech on Saturday and are 2-0 in conference play for the fourth-straight season. KU has the nation’s longest home court winning streak at 52 games. Baylor has won 10 of its last 11 games after defeating Oklahoma State 83-70 in Waco, Texas. Expect a defensive battle as KU and BU currently rank among the top five nationally in field goal percentage defense with the Jayhawks’ opponents shooting just 35.5 percent and the Bears’ opponents shooting 36.0 from the field.
About Kansas
Kansas has the nation’s longest home court winning streak at 52 games. The Jayhawks average 85.2 points per game and give up 60.7 ppg for a +24.5 scoring margin. The Jayhawks have won 10 games this season by 25 or more points and eight by 30 points or more. KU has held 13 opponents to under 40 percent shooting in 2009-10, including Texas Tech, which shot 32.8 percent from the field Saturday. KU ranks in the top three in all but three Big 12 statistics and leads the conference in scoring margin, field goal percentage (50.2), field goal percentage defense (30.2), three-point field goal percentage (42.0), assists (18.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4). Senior guard Sherron Collins leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game and has scored 22 or more points in three of his last four games. Collins leads the team with 71 assists and is second on the team with 35 three-pointers, two behind freshman guard Xavier Henry. Henry averages 15.1 points per game and also has a team-high 27 steals. Junior center Cole Aldrich, an Academic All-America candidate, has pulled down 34 rebounds in his last three games, including a season-high 18 boards at Tennessee (Jan. 10). He has six double-doubles on the year and 28 for his career. Aldrich leads KU in rebounds with 10.2 per game (third in the Big 12) and blocked shots at 3.6 (second in the Big 12). Aldrich scores 10.8 points per game and is one of three players in the conference averaging a double-double. Sophomore forward Marcus Morris, who has averaged 19.5 points in his last two games, is scoring 11.6 points per game on the season and is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor is scoring 7.3 points per game and he is second on the team with 63 assists. Taylor’s 20 steals are third best among the Jayhawks. Sophomore forward Markieff Morris, twin of Marcus, is coming off the bench to score 6.6 points per game. He is third on the team with a 5.1 rebound average. Junior guard Brady Morningstar returned to the lineup against Michigan (Dec. 19) and averages 20.8 minutes per game with a 4.5 scoring average. Morningstar had eight points, four assists and two steals against Texas Tech Saturday. He has made one three-pointer in six of his eight games played this season. Junior guard Tyrel Reed had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting at Nebraska (Jan. 13) and scores 4.8 points per outing. He has 21 three-pointers and 29 field goals made this season. Freshman guard Elijah Johnson (3.7 ppg) has started two games this season. Thomas Robinson (3.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg) is another KU regular who started his first career game at Nebraska (Jan. 13).
About Baylor
Baylor is 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big 12 play. Coached by Scott Drew, who is 95-97 in his seventh season at BU, the Bears have a 3-1 road record in 2009-10. BU leads the Big 12 in rebound margin at +11.4 and blocked shots at 7.6 per game and is second in rebound average at 43, field goal percentage at 49.9 and field goal percentage defense at 36. Baylor averages 7.9 three-point field goals per game. Junior guard LaceDarius Dunn leads BU and is third in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.1 points per game. Dunn has made a team-high 56 three-pointers and his 3.5 made per game leads the conference. Dunn is second on the team with 17 steals. Senior guard Tweety Carter leads the Big 12 with seven assists per game to complement his 15.6 ppg. He is behind Dunn in three-pointers made with 35. Junior forward/center Ekpe Udoh joins KU’s Cole Aldrich and Texas Damian James as the three players who average a double-double. Udoh is scoring 14.1 ppg and leads the league with an 11.4 rebound average. He is also tops in the conference with his 4.4 blocked shots per contest. Sophomore forward Quincy Acy comes off the bench to score 9.1 points per game, while sophomore forward Anthony Jones (7.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and senior center Josh Lomers (7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg) round out the BU starters. Freshman guard A.J. Walton (3.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and freshman guard Nolan Dennis (3.2 ppg) are other Baylor regulars.
The Series
Kansas leads the series with Baylor 14-2, including an 8-0 record in Lawrence and 7-0 mark in Allen Fieldhouse. This series dates back to 1951 and Kansas won the first six meetings. Since the inception of the Big 12, KU holds a 12-2 record against BU but the Bears won the last outing, a 71-64 upset in the 2009 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City. Kansas entered the game as the No. 1 seed, while Baylor was the No. 9 seed. BU won and advanced to the title game before falling to Missouri. Sherron Collins led Kansas with 16 points, while Marcus Morris and Tyshawn Taylor had 12 each. Earlier in the season, Kansas won at Baylor 75-65 behind 17 points from Collins and 13 points from Marcus Morris.
Team Notables
–KU leads the Big 12 in scoring margin (+24.5). The Jayhawks also lead the Big 12 in field goal percentage (50.2), three-point field goal percentage (42.0), field goal percentage defense (35.5), assists at 18.5 and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4. The Jayhawks rank in the top three in all but two Big 12 statistical categories.
–Through 17 games, Bill Self has used at least nine players in the first half of every game. He used a season-high 11 players in the first half against Central Arkansas (Nov. 19).
–Ten of Kansas’ 17 victories this season have been by 25 or more points with eight of those by 30 points or more.
–KU averages 6.8 blocked shots per game to its opponents’ 3.1.
–Kansas has shot 50 percent or better in 11 of 17 games this season, including seven of its last 10 contests.
–Kansas has also held 13 of 17 opponents this season to under 40 percent from the field, including 32.8 percent by Texas Tech (Jan. 16). KU has held 91-straight opponents to under 50 percent.
–KU’s bench has outscored its opponents’ bench in 13 of 17 games this season, including 28-21 against Texas Tech. KU’s bench averages 26.8 points per game compared to 14.8 by its opponents.
–Through 17 games, nine different Jayhawks, including ties, have led the team in steals, seven in points and six in assists.
–Kansas forces 15 turnovers per game and averages 18.2 points off turnovers per game.
Player Notables
–Senior Sherron Collins has scored 22 or more points in three of his last four games. Included was a career-high 33 points in the come-from-behind win against Cornell (Jan. 6). He had 22 points at Tennessee (Jan. 10), 22 at Nebraska (Jan. 13) and is now Kansas’ leading scorer for the 2009-10 season with 15.6 points per game. Collins has shot 50 percent or better in four of his last six games. He is making 86.2 percent from the free throw line, including 8-for-8 in conference play and 11 straight heading into Wednesday’s contest against Baylor. Collins’ 15.6-point scoring average is 10th in the Big 12. Collins also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage (ninth at 46.4), free throw percentage (second at 86.2), assists (ninth at 4.2), three-point field goal percentage (11th at 40.7), three-point field goals made (tied for eighth at 2.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (10th at 2.1).
–Junior Cole Aldrich, an Academic All-America candidate, is one of three players in the Big 12 who average a double-double. His 14 points against Texas Tech (Jan. 16) were the most for Aldrich since scoring 19 against La Salle on Dec. 12. He has pulled down at least nine rebounds in seven of his last eight games and had a season-high 18 rebounds at Tennessee (Jan. 10). Aldrich has at least three blocked shots in his last nine contests. Aldrich was named Big 12 co-Player of the Week (Jan. 4) after posting two straight double-doubles in wins against Belmont and at Temple. He is second in the Big 12 and ranks seventh nationally with 3.7 blocked shots per game. Aldrich is third in the Big 12 in rebounding at 10.2 rpg. He has 28 career double-doubles, including six this season.
–Freshman Xavier Henry has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week twice this season and is second on the team in scoring with 15.1 ppg. He has led KU in scoring in six games this season, including a career-high 31 points against La Salle (Dec. 12). He has scored in double figures in all but two games. Xavier leads Kansas with 27 steals on the season and with 37 three-point field goals made. He has four steals in three games this season and has made multiple three-pointers in 10 contests. Xavier is third in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at 44.0 percent. He also ranks 13th in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.1 ppg, eighth in field goal percentage at 47.2, 12th in free throw percentage at 76.6, tied for ninth in steals at 1.6 and sixth in three-pointers made at 2.2.
–Sophomore Marcus Morris has averaged 19.5 points in his last two games with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting at Nebraska (Jan. 13) and 20 on 7-of-10 shooting against Texas Tech (Jan. 16). He is third on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game and second in rebounds with 5.4 rpg. Marcus has pulled down 15 rebounds in the last two games. He has two double-doubles on the season – vs. Michigan (Dec. 19) and vs. Oakland (Nov. 25). He has started 14 games. Marcus is shooting 58.8 percent from the field, including 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) in the last two games.
–Junior Brady Morningstar had a season-high eight points and six rebounds against Texas Tech. His two three-pointers were also a season best. He has 26 assists and eight turnovers in his eight games played for a 3.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Morningstar dished out a career-high seven assists against California (Dec. 22). In eight games, Morningstar is 13-for-25 (52.0 percent) from the field, including 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from three-point range. A defensive stopper who started all but one game last season, Morningstar missed the first nine games of the season due to breaking team rules. Morningstar is a redshirt junior who is the oldest player in the Big 12 at 23.
–Junior Tyrel Reed, an Academic All-America candidate, scored 11 points at Nebraska (Jan. 13), which was one shy of his season-high of 12 against Central Arkansas (Nov. 19). He had five points against Texas Tech (Jan. 16) and set his career high with three steals. Reed has made 21 three-pointers this season and 72.4 percent of his field goals made in 2009-10 have been from beyond the arc. Reed has made at least one three in 14 games this season and multiple threes in four contests, including 3-for-5 at Nebraska. Reed is averaging 4.8 points per game.
–Sophomore Tyshawn Taylor has scored in double figures in two of his last four games with 11 points at Nebraska (Jan. 13) and 13 points at Tennessee (Jan. 10). He has scored in double figures in five games this season and is averaging 7.3 ppg. Taylor has shot 50 percent or better in eight games, including 2-for-3 with four points against Texas Tech (Jan. 16). Taylor ranks 11th in the Big 12 in assists at 3.7 and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.9.
–Sophomore Markieff Morris is third on the team with a 5.1 rebound average and is scoring 6.6 points per game. Markieff was perfect at Nebraska (Jan. 13) going 2-for-2 from the field and making his only three-point attempt in scoring five points. He has pulled down six or more rebounds in eight games this season. Markieff had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against La Salle (Dec. 12). He is second on the team with 15 blocked shots. He is shooting 59.2 percent from the field on the season.
–Freshman Thomas Robinson played 11 minutes with four points, five rebounds and one blocked shot against Texas Tech (Jan. 16). He made his first career start at Nebraska. Robinson averages 9.9 minutes per game with 3.8 ppg and 3.7 rpg. He is third on the team with 13 blocked shots. Robinson has had two games of double-figure scoring and had his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Alcorn State (Dec. 2). He has pulled down four or more rebounds in eight games.
–Freshman C.J. Henry is 14-for-23 (60.9 percent) from the field on the season, including 11-for-20 (55 percent) from three-point range. C.J averages 4.0 points in only 7.0 minutes of action.
–Freshman Elijah Johnson has appeared in 14 games, averaging 9.3 minutes per game with a 3.7 scoring average and 2.0 assist average. He has scored seven or more points in five games. Johnson, who has two starts this season, had a career-high 11 points in his starting debut against Radford (Dec. 9). He is third on the team with 28 assists.
Young Guns
According to kenpom.com, Kansas’ 1.31 years experience ranks No. 292 in the nation out of 347 teams. In the Big 12, KU is 10th with Colorado (298) and Oklahoma (309) having less experience than KU.
Big 12 Experience Ratings
1. Texas Tech (54 at 2.10); 2. Iowa State (115 at 1.87); 3. Texas A&M (143 at 1.81); 4. Missouri (172 at 1.72); 5. Kansas State (196 at 1.62); 6. Baylor (205 at 1.60); 7. Texas (222 at 1.55); 8. Oklahoma State (281 at 1.35); 9. Nebraska (283 at 1.34); 10. KANSAS (292 at 1.31); 11. Colorado (298 at 1.28); 12. Oklahoma (309 at 1.20)
Going for 200
Kansas is vying to become the first team in Big 12 history to record 200 victories (regular-season and conference championship combined). KU is 199-43 against Big 12 foes since the inception of the league in 1996-97. The Jayhawks are 174-36 in regular-season play and 25-7 in the Big 12 Championship.
Up Next
Kansas plays at Iowa State on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. on ESPN before hosting Missouri on ESPN’s Big Monday on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. The Jayhawks have won the last eight meetings with Iowa State and five of the last six with Missouri. KU will then play at Kansas State on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
