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| 6-2 |
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| #10 8-1 |
The 10th ranked Jayhawks are back in Allen Fieldhouse this Saturday to take on the Leopards of Lafayette. Kansas is coming off a 7-0 run after suffering an embarrassing loss to Kentucky.
To date, the Jayhawks have played the toughest non-conference schedule in the league. Quality wins against Tennessee, MSU, G-Town, Florida and 15th ranked Utah, have tested this squad to the max. That said, the wins have come in ugly. A win is a win is a win right? Not if your head coach Bill Self. "Yeah, these kind of momentum swings we have, it's not good for coaches," Self said. "I will say this about our team, we can screw up a good time about as well as anybody I've ever seen." The "meltdowns" have plagued the Jayhawks more than a few times this season.
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| Courtesy: Sports Illustrated.com |
Both Freshman and Veterans have stepped up when needed and taken this team to 8-1 on the season. Frank Mason is nursing a sore ankle after turning it against Florida. Devonte Graham is projected to be out 4 weeks on a toe injury suffered against Georgetown. Grahams injury is going to put more weight on Mason to run the offense. With Conner Frankamp transferring out, Kansas will be left with little options on the point. Self said walk-on Evan Manning could see some minutes behind Mason.
Freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. and Sophomore Brannen Greene have both stepped up big in the last few games. Greene went 5/5 from the Arc against Georgetown, giving Kansas a much needed 19 points. Greene earned a starting position against Utah partly due to that performance. Oubre has been hot as of late too. Oubre put up 9 points and grabbed 3 rebounds coming off the bench.
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| Courtesy: Charlie Riedel AP |
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| Courtesy: The Wichita Eagle |
Cliff Alexander is due for a starting job. Sophomore Landen Lucas is going through the turnover blues and plagued with foul trouble as of late. Lucas starting against Utah, only played 7 minutes. Alexander has been proving himself lately. It's sometimes hard to see subtle improvements over time, but to this writer Alexander has noticeable differences each game. Kansas has been known for big men and shooting free throws. Alexander has proven himself here too. Alexander played 14 minutes and grabbed 6 rebounds 1 steal and kept out of foul trouble. Alexander will have to compete against Junior Jamari Traylor for the starting job through. Traylor had a huge game against Utah logging 26 minutes with 13 points. Traylor plays with high intensity and never backs down. When Traylor is hot, Kansas as a team is hot.
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| Courtesy: Nick Crug |
Kansas will be the Leopards first ranked opponent of this season. The Leopards have only two losses on the season coming against Big XII foe West Virginia and Yale. Both of which were complete blowouts on the road. Lafayette's last game v's Sacred Heart had 5 total players in double figures. Lafayette tends to stay out of foul trouble but does not shoot well against quality opponents. This should be a great match up, giving the Kansas bench a change to get quality minutes against a decent team.
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