Oklahoma And Kansas Meet With First Place At Stake
Posted by Brian Goodman on February 12th, 2016Tomorrow’s 2:30 p.m. ET rematch between Oklahoma and Kansas has been on our radar since the conference schedule was released, but the anticipation skyrocketed when the final horn sounded late into the night following the two teams’ first battle on January 4. From there the hype has only increased, as the Sooners and Jayhawks have fought to a draw through 11 conference games. At the end of the regular season, we could end up looking back on tomorrow’s game as the day the Jayhawks’ decade-long grip on the conference finally loosened. Or, we could learn that the road to the Big 12 title still goes through Lawrence, despite Oklahoma’s deadly trio of shooters and National Player Of The Year frontrunner, Buddy Hield.
To answer two key questions facing each team, we brought in Big 12 microsite contributors Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman) and Chris Stone (@cstonehoops).
Perry Ellis and Buddy Hield face one another tomorrow for the eighth time in their careers. (Alonzo Adams/AP)
Two Questions Facing The Sooners:
Brian Goodman: Perry Ellis has been on a roll lately, converting 17 of his last 19 shots inside the arc. Last month, he carried Kansas after halftime in the instant classic and will be leaned upon heavily to have another big game tomorrow. Meanwhile, Oklahoma center Khadeem Lattin leads the Big 12 in blocks percentage during conference play, but he had trouble staying on the court in the Sooners’ last two games against Kansas State and Texas. What do you make of Lattin and Oklahoma’s chances of getting the better of Ellis the second time around?
Chris Stone: Ellis has averaged 18.5 points per game in four matchups against the Sooners since his freshman season (he wasn’t much of a factor in the Kansas offense back then), so how Oklahoma defends him will be a crucial factor in this game. In the first meeting, Lattin and Spangler did a good job of turning Ellis into an inefficient scorer. Although he finished with 27 points in the win, it took him 28 shots to get there. Don’t be surprised if we see a similar kind of night from Ellis in Norman. Bill Self is intent on making him the focal point of the offense, but if the game in Lawrence is any guide, Lattin’s length will make it difficult for Ellis to get as many of the easy buckets he’s used to.
BG: Buddy Hield gets plenty of deserved recognition for his play this year, but Oklahoma wouldn’t be in first place if Hield didn’t have some pretty good teammates. For one stretch of the season, Jordan Woodard was the most dependable member of the supporting cast, but more recently, it’s been Isaiah Cousins helping Hield carry the load. Who do you see emerging as the difference-making complementary player for the Sooners tomorrow?
CS: The safe bet based on recent performances is Cousins, Oklahoma’s point guard who has scored in double figures in each of the Sooners’ last seven games. But it was Woodard that played the role during the first meeting, knocking down six of his nine three-point attempts and finishing with 27 points before fouling out in the third overtime. Either player has the potential to fill in as the Robin to Hield’s Batman on Saturday, but the truth is that it probably doesn’t matter which one it is. The more important thing is that one of them does step into that role to help shoulder the offensive burden.
The last time these teams got together, it was an instant classic. Bill Self’s crew gets another crack at Oklahoma this weekend. (Getty)
Two Questions Facing Kansas
CS: After the first meeting, Bill Self credited Frank Mason‘s defense against Buddy Hield, despite Hield scoring 46 points in the triple-overtime classic. Mason also played 53 minutes in the game and many, including ESPN Big 12 analyst Fran Fraschilla, have suggested that the Kansas junior hasn’t looked like himself since. Will Mason be able to get back on track in Norman?
BG: Mason definitely hasn’t looked right in more than a few weeks. Since the first meeting between the Jayhawks and Sooners, Mason has been sliced up not only by future pros like Tyler Ulis and Monte’ Morris, but also steady but slightly less talented college guards like Jaysean Paige and Jawun Evans. Mason has also shouldered an enormous workload in terms of minutes, even in some of Kansas’ more comfortable wins. Additionally, his challenges on offense have been out in the open for awhile now, as he’s shot just 36 percent on two-point attempts in Big 12 play. While the junior had a solid game against West Virginia on Tuesday, a significant chunk of his offense that night came from the free throw line, where he scored seven of his 14 points. The challenge Mason faces tomorrow (along with the rest of the Jayhawks) is that he’s unlikely to get a favorable whistle again in front of a hyped Noble Center crowd. When you combine that with his all-out style of play and the wear and tear that’s resulted from it, I don’t see tomorrow as a turning point for Kansas’ floor general.
CS: The Sooners scored 106 points and 1.04 points per possession in the first meeting, but Kansas actually held them to 36.4 percent shooting inside the arc. The struggle for the Jayhawks, as it usually is for Oklahoma opponents, was slowing down the Sooners’ three-point offense. Oklahoma made 16 of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc. Can Kansas keep that from happening again or is it simply out of their control?
BG: There are some things Kansas can do to limit Oklahoma’s three-point shooting, but for the most part, I think it’s going to be out of the Jayhawks’ control. Some may point to the fact that KU has held each of its last four opponents to sub-30 percent shooting from long range as a sign of improved perimeter defense, but those four teams (Kentucky, Kansas State, TCU and West Virginia) have all been mediocre at best beyond the arc all season, so attempting to separate their respective performances against the Jayhawks from their year-long track records isn’t very instructive. The key for Kansas will be to keep track of Oklahoma’s shooters at all times and resist the temptation to help off of Woodard and Cousins.
Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.
