Kansas Travels to Austin to take on Big 12 Foe

by Ryan Schlesener

On Saturday, January 21, 2012, the #7 Kansas Jayhawks (15-3, 5-0) travel to Austin, Texas, to take on the 12-6 (2-2) Texas Longhorns at the Frank Erwin Center. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (CST).

Kansas is the only remaining unbeaten team in Big 12 play, coming off the huge win on Monday night, defeating the then undefeated Baylor Bears by a score of 92-74. Some considered the Jayhawk victory as an upset, but Kansas was actually favored in the game, due to the great home court advantage given by the Allen Fieldhouse faithful.

The Texas Longhorns, on the other hand, are fresh off a tough loss in Manhattan at the hands of the Kansas State Wildcats. Texas fell by four, 84-80, in hostile Bramlage Coliseum. The Longhorns were led, as they have been all season long, by Junior J’Covan Brown who finished with 22 points, but shot only 8-28 from the field (4-14 from three point range). Texas also got big contribution from Sheldon McClellan who dropped in 19 points. Myck Kabongo recorded his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

For Kansas, the bulk of the scoring against Baylor came from the team leaders, Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor. They combined for 55 of the 92 Jayhawk points against the Bears. Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford each chipped in 11 points, and Jeff Withey added 10. Robinson also added 14 rebounds to his stats, while Withey snared 10 boards, giving both players double-doubles on the night.

Players To Watch For

Kansas:

#0 Thomas Robinson: Thomas had a game to remember against Baylor Monday night, recording 27 points and 14 rebounds. Thomas is now the leading candidate for player of the year on almost everyone’s watch list this season. There’s not much to say about Robinson that you don’t already know, but look for him to continue doing what he does as the Jayhawks hit the road to Austin. Robinson currently stands at 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.

#10 Tyshawn Taylor: Tyshawn followed up his career high of 28 points against Iowa State by tying it against Baylor. Tyshawn was huge in the game, and contributed 6 key assists along with his 28 points . Taylor continues to silence his critics who say he can’t run the point guard position in this offense. He played 33 key minutes on Monday night, and committed only 5 turnovers against the highest pressure defense in the conference. If Tyshawn continues to play at this pace, look for big things down the road for KU, and some post season accolades for the senior point guard out of Hoboken, New Jersey.

#24 Travis Releford: Travis cotinued his double digit scoring in Big 12 play, scoring 11 against Baylor. Releford also grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 4 assists in the game. Releford’s biggest strength remains his defense aggression and hustle. Whenever there is a loose ball, look for Releford to be in the area.

Texas:

#14 J’Covan Brown: The 6’1” guard, a junior, comes into the game leading the conference in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game. Brown has also made a team high 43 3-point field goals this season, and shoots 84.4% from the free throw line. He played 39 of the 40 minutes against the Wildcats in their matchup this week. Brown is a quick guard who can shoot, pass, and plays tough defense. I look for him to most likely match up with Tyshawn and possibly Elijah some on Saturday afternoon. Stopping J’Covan is the key to holding off the Longhorns in Austin.

#12 Myck Kabongo: Kabongo is a 6’1 freshman. Kabongo has earned a starting spot for the Longhorns, and leads the team with 104 assists, 5.8 per game, which ranks him second in the Big 12 conference. Kabongo is both an offensive and defensive threat for the Longhorns. Myck averages 10 points per game, and has recorded 23 steals on the season, which ties him for the team lead. Myck will provide tough defensive pressure on the perimeter, and will make it tough for the Jayhawk ball reversal offense to be effective.

#1 Sheldon McClellan: As a freshman coming off the bench, McClellan is Texas’ second leading scorer, averaging 11.8 points per game. McClellan was huge for the Longhorns against Kansas State earlier this week. The freshman scored 19 points as well as playing 35 of the 40 minutes coming off the bench. He is becoming a real threat for the Longhorns, and I could see Releford playing some defense on him throughout the night.

How I See It

Road wins in the Big 12 are tough to come by, and Texas almost got a big one in Manhattan on Wednesday. But I think that even in a tough atmosphere, the Jayhawks can pull off the win. I don’t see this as a blowout win for the Jayhawks by any means, but I’m optimistic that the strong leadership provided by Robinson and Taylor will be enough to overcome this Texas team, who, even though they’re down this year, are still a threat at home.

Kansas needs to control the tempo from the get go, and get out into transition as much as possible. I look for Releford to have a game like he had against Kansas State, as the matchups in the game lean in his advantage. Withey and Robinson should also have big games, as the Longhorns have only one player on the roster over 6’7”.

Kansas doesn’t need to play their best game of the season to win by any means, but it would be nice if KU would play to their own potential in this game, instead of playing down to the talent level of the opposition. Let’s face it, Kansas is simply the better team in this game, and they need to play like it.

Prediction

I think the Texas crowd will be in the game for a while, keeping it close. I think that at about the 10 minute mark in the first half, KU will begin to stretch it out, and somewhat take the crowd out of the game. The Longhorns will make some runs in the second half, but as long as KU can avoid getting tired and handle the Texas spurts, the Jayhawks should be able to head back to Lawrence with a 6-0 Big 12 record. KU holds on and escapes Texas with a win 82-63.