MIZZOU @ KANSAS - BIG MONDAY

Thoughts from last game and taking inventory at the quarter-pole of Big 12 play…
· Kim English’s conference woes continue and his minutes have suffered accordingly. He’s now shooting under 30% from the field, 19% from 3-point range and has 2 assists against 11 turnovers. To his credit, however, he is pulling down 5 boards a game in Big 12 play. It really would not surprise me at all if Marcus Denmon started for English tonight.
· Wow Miguel Paul, wow. That was very impressive. You, good sir, may have just earned a share of Kim English’s dwindling minutes.
· Mizzou’s defensive pressure has been stifled significantly in conference play. Steals and TO’s forced are each down by about 5 per game.
· Mizzou has also struggled shooting the ball in Big 12 games: FG% down nearly 10%; 3-point FG% down over 8%
· However, the Tigers are shooting lights out from the FT line (74%) which is huge when you’re averaging nearly 30 trips to the line per Big 12 contest; they’ve also upped their rebounds per game by 4.5.

Looking ahead to the Jayhawks…

Pure and simple, this will likely be the toughest game Mizzou will have all season. I don’t need to waste a lot of cyberspace analyzing the talent they have, examining matchups, digging into how they’ve played against common opponents or how good they are at breaking presses. Kansas is one of the most efficient teams, both offensively and defensively, ranking 2nd nationally in both per www.kenpom.com. They shoot very well and are great at FG defense, especially on the interior where they block a ton of shots. They frequently generate steals and take care of the ball on their own end. There isn’t a single statistical category where a reasonable individual could characterize them as weak or subpar aside from that hideous mythical bird mascot, but I digress. They go eight deep with very little drop-off and those eight could likely start on any team, certainly in the Big 12, if not the nation. They have experience but also have the likely candidate for Big 12 freshman of the year. They are incredibly balanced not only in who scores but how their points are scored. They don’t rely on the 3-pointer or force the ball inside every possession or get to the line a ton for freebies. They’re just an all-around great team that can get points in a multitude of different ways. At the risk of being accused of adultery for this gushing over the Tigers’ most hated rival, the following is a brief rundown of the major players for the Jayhawks some trivia for each that may or may not be true. I’ll let the reader decide.

Senior PG Sherron Collins…
a) Is their leading scorer and he’s as good as any guard in the country with the ball.
b) Has turned the ball over 6 or more times only 6 times in his career and KU is 3-3 in those games
c) Plays “Love in an Elevator” on his ipod before every home game: http://tinyurl.com/sherron
d) Hasn’t blocked a shot all season…or last.

Junior C Cole Aldrich…
a) Averages a double-double the last two seasons and has 29 career DDs and one triple-double
b) Blocks nearly 3 ½ shots per game
c) Was born on Halloween and thus looks like a ghost
d) Like Johnny Glory Days, Cole sports a fake front tooth, though I’m sure Cole’s story behind his dental mishap is far less entertaining.

Freshman G Xavier Henry…
a) Pretty much a lock for Big 12 freshman of the year (although Colorado’s Alec Burks is still in the running)
b) Also pretty much a lock to not stay around for a second year
c) Was born in Belgium, hence the pronunciation of his name “ZAH-vee-ay”
d) Henry’s father played for KU in the early 80s, leading KU in scoring both seasons he played there.

Sophomore Fs Marcus and Markieff Morris…
a) Combine to contribute 18.7 ppg and 10.5 rpg
b) Auditioned for the Coors Lights “TWINS” commercials featuring Kid Rock in 2001.
c) Grew up idolizing Sammy and Simeon Haley
d) Have a standing offer from WWE’s Vince McMahon to join the wrestling circuit as a tag-team in 2013

Sophomore G Tyshawn Taylor…
a) Was de-friended by coach Bill Self on Facebook after publicly questioning his role on the team
b) Was instrumental in a re-enactment of West Side Story on the KU campus this fall (http://tinyurl.com/wsidestory)
c) Punches like a girl
d) Recently lost his starting job to a former walk-on

Talent wise, this is the best team Mizzou will see this season barring a tournament meeting with Kentucky, and that’s debatable. So if this game comes down to sheer talent on talent, the Tigers will come up on the short end. For the Tigers to win, they’ll obviously have to adhere to the usual assortment of basketball clichés…shoot well, rebound well, keep Kansas off the offensive glass, convert free throws, not turn the ball over, not get beat in transition, get to the 50/50 balls, play as a team etc. But it’s going to take all that plus a little more. Phog Allen Fieldhouse holds a notorious home-court advantage and sometimes officials feed off that emotion so Mizzou will have to play a very clean game and not get flustered over a little home cookin’ (which is common throughout college basketball). If Mizzou has any shot to win this game, not only does all of that have to fall their way, but they need Kansas to play far less than the sum of their parts by letting their egos get in the way and not sharing the basketball. It would also help if Cole Aldrich got in foul trouble early and the rest of the Jayhawks had unbelievably cold shooting nights. When you have that many players with that kind of talent, team chemistry and acceptance of certain “supplemental” roles can become an issue. If this manifests itself in the home team on Monday night, Mizzou’s got a shot. Realistically though, the Tigers have lost their last 10 trips to Lawrence by an average margin of 15 ppg and I don’t see a see a compelling reason to think that streak will be broken tonight. I hope I’m wrong but I see the Tigers dropping this one 81-68.

TIDBITS TO HELP YOU DOMINATE WATERCOOLER CONVERSATION
· Missouri can end the nation’s longest home winning streak (53) with a win in Lawrence
· Missouri has averaged only 3 fast break points per game in Big 12 play (11 fast break ppg in non-conference games)
· Missouri is 9-1 on the season when they win the rebounding margin and 14-1 when they score 70+ points.
· Bowers and Denmon are 2nd and 4th in the conference in ppg scored as a bench player (11.9 and 11.7 ppg, respectively)
· Happy Birthday shout-out to Mrs. Johnny Glory Days. I know she’ll enjoy watching the game with me on her “special day”