Kansas St Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks, Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
Saturday, January 29, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Kansas -11 1/2
Current Line: Kansas -10
Opening Total: 144
Current Total: 142 1/2
Money Line: Kansas -600 / Kansas St +450
Kansas St was ranked in the pre-season top 10. They started off the season 9-1 with the only loss to Duke in Kansas City. Since then they have gone 5-6 and dropped out of the top 25 rankings. Kansas St is 14-7 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12. They are in tenth place in the conference and only Texas Tech and Iowa St are below them in the standings. Kansas St has battled a rash of suspensions including to top scorers Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly. Kansas St has losses to Florida, UNLV, Oklahoma St, Colorado, Missouri, Texas A&M in addition to the loss versus Duke. They beat Baylor in Manhattan Monday night 69-61 against another underachieving team. The Wildcats have wins over Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, Washington St, and Texas Tech also.
It won’t get any easier for Kansas St as they take on in-state rival Kansas in Lawrence Saturday night. Kansas is 19-1 overall and 4-1 in conference. They Jayhawks are ranked #6 in the country. They have had an emotional 8 days. The Jayhawks found out sophomore forward Thomas Robinson’s mother died last Friday from a heart attack last Friday afternoon. Kansas then saw their 69 game home winning streak snapped by Texas 74-63 last Saturday. The Jayhawks traveled to Colorado Tuesday night and escaped with an 82-78 victory. The next day Kansas traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Thursday funeral of Robinson’s mother, and were caught up in the huge blizzard slamming the east coast. They arrived back in Kansas yesterday afternoon, so they really haven’t had time to practice for 3 or 4 days. Kansas has wins over Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, Colorado St, USC, Cal, Michigan, Iowa St, Nebraska and Baylor in addition to the win over Colorado Tuesday night.
Kansas has won the last 6 against their rivals by an average of 11 points. Kansas has won 33 out of the last 35 games in the series. Three of the last five games have gone over the total. Kansas St is 15-6 ATS when the total is between 140 and 150 the last two seasons. Kansas is 23-10 ATS in the series since 1997. Kansas St forward Freddy Asprilla left the team earlier this month. He was averaging 4.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in just over 16 minutes a game. Kansas Guard Travis Releford has missed 4 straight games with a leg injury. He is listed as doubtful against Kansas St. Releford is averaging 5.7 points a game in just under 15 minutes a game.
Guard Jacob Pullen leads the Wildcats in scoring, assists, and steals despite missing 3 games due to a suspension. He averages 17.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals a game. Guard Rodney McGruder averages 11.2 points, 6.7 rebounds to lead the team, and 1.7 assists a game. Forward Curtis Kelly missed the first three games sue to injury for the Wildcats then was later suspended 6 games. So Kelly has only played in 12 games this season. He is averaging 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and leads the team in blocks with 1.4 a game. Kansas St is outscoring opponents 74-65 on the season. The Wildcats shoot 43.8% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. Wildcat opponents are shooting 40.5% from the field. K-State struggles from the free throw line making only 60.6% of their free throws. The Wildcats average 40.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +8.8. The Wildcats average 14.6 assists and 16 turnovers a game. They force 16.5 turnovers a game on defense. The Wildcats average 6.3 steals and 4.7 blocks a game.
Kansas is led by the Morris twins, 6’9″, 235 pound Marcus and 6’10”, 245 pound Markieff. “Little Brother” Marcus averages 17 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists a game. Big Brother Markieff averages 12.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1 block a game. He leads the team in rebounding and blocks. Both Morris brothers shoot over 34% from 3-point range. Guard Josh Selby averages 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. He missed the first 9 games of the season with an injury. Guard Tyrel Reed averages 10 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. Tyshawn Taylor leads the team in assists with 5.1 a game. Brady Morningstar leads the team in steals with 1.5 a game. Kansas is outscoring opponents 82-63 on the season. Kansas is shooting 51.5% from the field and 37.3% from 3-point range. The Jayhawks are holding opponents to 38.5% shooting from the field. Kansas averages 39.8 rebounds and has a rebounding margin of +7.4. The Jayhawks average 18.3 assists and 14.1 turnovers a game. They force 15.9 turnovers a game on defense. Kansas averages 8.5 steals and 4.7 blocks a game.
Kansas St has so much talent, but the main reasons for their disappointing season is defensive lapses and an inability to make free throws on a regular basis. Kansas is clearly the superior team and has owned Kansas St over the last 20 seasons. Though Kansas St really needs a win here, I don’t see it happening against an excellent Kansas team.
Our college basketball handicappers are red hot this season. Don’t miss out on any more winners in 2011.
