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Kentucky vs Kansas…11/15/11 (Tuesday 9PM) ESPN (Madison Square Garden)
UK vs Kansas: Overall Record-- UK 19 Kansas 6
Kansas
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Enrollment: 30,004
Arena: Allen Fieldhouse-16,300
Head Coach: Bill Self
Career Record: 476-153 (75.7%) 18 Seasons
At Kansas-269-48 (84.9%) 8 Seasons
2010-11 Record: 35-3
2010-11 Big 12 Record: 14-2
2010-11 Postseason: 3-1 (Lost in NCAA Elite 8)
2011-12 Record: 1-0
Kansas 100 Towson 54
2011-12 Stats
PPG-100
FG%-58.6%
3 PT%-43.5%
FT%-66.7%
APG-30
RPG-32
TO’s-5
SPG-15
BPG-7
Probable Starting Lineup
Tyshawn Taylor G-6’3” Sr……..12 PPG
Elijah Johnson G-6’4” Jr………..8 PPG
Jeff Whitey C-7’0” Jr…………..10 PPG
Thomas Robinson F-6’9” Jr……18 PPG
Travis Releford F-6’5” Jr……….14 PPG
Other Key Players
Conner Teahan G 6’5” Sr……….11 PPG
Naadir Tharpe G 5’11” Fr………6 PPG
Kevin Young F 6’8” Jr………….13 PPG
Justin Wesley F 6’8” So…………6 PPG
The Kansas Jayhawks suffered significant losses from last season…gone are the Morris twins who were huge on the Kansas frontline as the two leaders in scoring and rebounds….also, gone are starters Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar. Josh Selby, a disappointment, also left. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor is the only returning starter. However, Kansas does return several talented players with experience off the bench plus 7 new recruits…..unfortunately, two of the freshmen, Ben McLenmore and Jamari Traylor were ruled ineligible by the NCAA for this season. Importantly, the Jayhawks are currently ranked 13th in the polls and are picked along with Baylor to compete for the Big 12 championship.
Kansas top player will likely be junior 6’9” Thomas Robinson who garnered 14.6 minutes off the bench last season while averaging 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from the field. In the opening game against Towson, Robinson led Kansas with 18 points and had 11 rebounds….while guard Elijah Johnson had 8 assists.
Obviously, it’s very difficult to evaluate any team after just one opening game against a clearly inferior opponent, but although Kansas will not be as talented or experienced as in recent years, they will still be a formable opponent for UK.
Kentucky arrives in Madison Square Garden fresh off an opening win over Marist. The Cats had a very lackluster 1st half with a leaky defense. Fortunately, in the 2nd half UK came out with increased intensity and much better defense to overwhelm Marist and easily win 108-58. Davis played very well garnering 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in just 23 minutes. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 15 points and 7 rebounds while Lamb played very well on the offensive end scoring 15 points on 3-5 from the perimeter and importantly had 8 assists. Certainly, Kyle Wiltjer has demonstrated that he can be a solid offensive threat scoring 14 points in just 19 minutes. The problem with Wiltjer and others is that they need a lot of work on their defense. It was great to see Vargus playing hard and grabbing 8 rebounds in just 14 minutes. All in all, a nice 1st win, but still lots of improvement needed defensively especially.
The game against a solid Kansas team will reveal where this UK team is at this early point in the season and the areas that need more work. It will be particulary interesting to see how UK’s frontline handles the big Jayhawk frontline with 7’ Withey and 6’9” Robinson, who is a load. This should be a very entertaining game and a great opportunity for the Cats to play in one of the most famous venues in college basketball. Obviously, this early in the season, it’s very difficult to get a handle on these two teams, but I like UK’s superior talent and see a 10 point win for the Cats. GO CATS!
UK vs Kansas: Overall Record-- UK 19 Kansas 6
Kansas
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Enrollment: 30,004
Arena: Allen Fieldhouse-16,300
Head Coach: Bill Self
Career Record: 476-153 (75.7%) 18 Seasons
At Kansas-269-48 (84.9%) 8 Seasons
2010-11 Record: 35-3
2010-11 Big 12 Record: 14-2
2010-11 Postseason: 3-1 (Lost in NCAA Elite 8)
2011-12 Record: 1-0
Kansas 100 Towson 54
2011-12 Stats
PPG-100
FG%-58.6%
3 PT%-43.5%
FT%-66.7%
APG-30
RPG-32
TO’s-5
SPG-15
BPG-7
Probable Starting Lineup
Tyshawn Taylor G-6’3” Sr……..12 PPG
Elijah Johnson G-6’4” Jr………..8 PPG
Jeff Whitey C-7’0” Jr…………..10 PPG
Thomas Robinson F-6’9” Jr……18 PPG
Travis Releford F-6’5” Jr……….14 PPG
Other Key Players
Conner Teahan G 6’5” Sr……….11 PPG
Naadir Tharpe G 5’11” Fr………6 PPG
Kevin Young F 6’8” Jr………….13 PPG
Justin Wesley F 6’8” So…………6 PPG
The Kansas Jayhawks suffered significant losses from last season…gone are the Morris twins who were huge on the Kansas frontline as the two leaders in scoring and rebounds….also, gone are starters Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar. Josh Selby, a disappointment, also left. Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor is the only returning starter. However, Kansas does return several talented players with experience off the bench plus 7 new recruits…..unfortunately, two of the freshmen, Ben McLenmore and Jamari Traylor were ruled ineligible by the NCAA for this season. Importantly, the Jayhawks are currently ranked 13th in the polls and are picked along with Baylor to compete for the Big 12 championship.
Kansas top player will likely be junior 6’9” Thomas Robinson who garnered 14.6 minutes off the bench last season while averaging 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 60.1% from the field. In the opening game against Towson, Robinson led Kansas with 18 points and had 11 rebounds….while guard Elijah Johnson had 8 assists.
Obviously, it’s very difficult to evaluate any team after just one opening game against a clearly inferior opponent, but although Kansas will not be as talented or experienced as in recent years, they will still be a formable opponent for UK.
Kentucky arrives in Madison Square Garden fresh off an opening win over Marist. The Cats had a very lackluster 1st half with a leaky defense. Fortunately, in the 2nd half UK came out with increased intensity and much better defense to overwhelm Marist and easily win 108-58. Davis played very well garnering 23 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in just 23 minutes. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 15 points and 7 rebounds while Lamb played very well on the offensive end scoring 15 points on 3-5 from the perimeter and importantly had 8 assists. Certainly, Kyle Wiltjer has demonstrated that he can be a solid offensive threat scoring 14 points in just 19 minutes. The problem with Wiltjer and others is that they need a lot of work on their defense. It was great to see Vargus playing hard and grabbing 8 rebounds in just 14 minutes. All in all, a nice 1st win, but still lots of improvement needed defensively especially.
The game against a solid Kansas team will reveal where this UK team is at this early point in the season and the areas that need more work. It will be particulary interesting to see how UK’s frontline handles the big Jayhawk frontline with 7’ Withey and 6’9” Robinson, who is a load. This should be a very entertaining game and a great opportunity for the Cats to play in one of the most famous venues in college basketball. Obviously, this early in the season, it’s very difficult to get a handle on these two teams, but I like UK’s superior talent and see a 10 point win for the Cats. GO CATS!
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