Thursday, January 26, 2006
Kansas
Offense: The Kansas offense is hitting its stride at the right time during Big 12 Conference play. The Jayhawks have shot 50 percent or better in seven of their past nine games, including a 54.8 percent effort Wednesday night against Texas A&M.; Solid guard play from freshman Mario Chalmers and sophomore Russell Robinson contributed to better play by the KU offense. Chalmers is averaging better than 14 points per game in Big 12 conference play. Robinson stepped up against Texas A&M; with a career-high 24 points.
Rating: 3.5
Defense: The Jayhawks continue to give opponents tough defensive looks, holding nearly all teams to under 40 percent shooting from the field. Kansas plays aggressive, pressure defense, with full court presses or close man-to-man coverage in half court sets. The defense has provided critical steals and turnovers, which has led to easy buckets on the other end of the court. Kansas will need to continue to play solid defense on the road Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
Rating: 3.5
Coaches: A 3-2 zone, implemented during the second half of Kansas’ 10-point victory in College Station, Texas, gave Texas A&M; headaches on offense. Kansas coach Bill Self’s decision limited Texas A&M;’s ability to drive to the basket and get easy buckets. Self and his coaching staff will need to continue to make critical adjustments tomorrow in order to stop the penetration of Iowa State guards Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock.
Rating: 3
Iowa State
Offense: Junior guard Curtis Stinson leads Iowa State’s offense. Stinson, who is considered one of the best guards in the conference by various coaches, will enter Saturday’s game averaging 19.8 points per game. He has scored 27 points in each of his last three games. Kansas fans might remember Stinson from last season. He scored 29 points in Allen Fieldhouse and led Iowa State to a 63-61 overtime victory. Stinson and junior guard Will Blalock combine for 11.8 assists per game between the two of them. Overall, Iowa State is third in the conference with 75.7 points per game.
Ranking: 3.5
Defense: Sophomore Rahshon Clark is the team’s most active defender. He has compiled 25 blocks on the season and leads the team in rebounding. Clark is averaging just 5.3 rebounds per game, though. As a result, Iowa State often gets beat on the glass. It ranks 11th in the conference in rebounds, with 32.3 per game. The Cyclones defense has been their Achilles heel this season. Iowa State ranks 10th in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 73.8 points per game. Although Iowa State lacks defense, Stinson and Blalock are active defenders. Stinson ranks second in the conference with 3 steals per game.
Ranking: 2
Coaching: In his third season as Iowa State’s coach, it appears Wayne Morgan has the program headed in the right direction. He came to Ames in 2002 as an assistant coach and took over the head coaching job after Iowa State fired former coach Larry Eustachy. In his first season, Morgan took his team to the NIT Tournament. The next year, he became the first coach in Iowa State history to lead the team to two road victories against ranked teams. Iowa State beat Kansas and Texas on the road last year. Last season, Iowa State had a better showing, making the NCAA Tournament. It advanced to the second round. Iowa State’s appearance in the tournament was its 13th bid overall and first since 2001.
Ranking: 3
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