The Jayhawks will have to recover quickly from Tuesday’s drama when they play host to Central Arkansas (1-1) tonight.

Kansas continues the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase against a team the school has never faced in its history. The Jayhawks will be looking for more offense, as they were held to just 57 points in the victory over Memphis.

Scoring almost half of what they scored against Hofstra, Kansas saw a significant decrease in offensive production with Sherron Collins out, coach Bill Self said.

“We don’t really understand yet how we’re going to score,” Self said. “It’s amazing to me how one person taken out of your lineup changes how the ball moves.”

With Collins out of the game, the team must rely on its young guards to distribute the ball. To this point in the season, the younger guards have struggled to keep passing the ball, Self said. He added that it is an easy problem to fix.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of strong play from the point guard position is center Cole Aldrich. The offense runs smoother when Collins is in the game, Aldrich said.

“It’s tougher to score,” Aldrich said, “Because we throw some of the younger guys in and some of the guys, like maybe Tyshawn, that have experience but don’t quite have the experience that Sherron does.”

Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor was called on to step up for Collins against Memphis, but Taylor had seven turnovers to three assists. Self said it was not Taylor’s night and Taylor knew it.

“You have games like this and you have to bounce back,” Taylor said. “We’ve got another game Thursday so I’m going to try to come back and be better.”

With so much talent on the team, it’s easy to get caught up in one-on-one situations, and that this strategy does not lead always to successful basketball, Self said.

“We have individuals that are good players. I mean they’re really good players,” Self said. “And as a coach it’s kind of that fine line — you want them to be aggressive but you’ve got to understand, maybe they’re not the best players.”

Though considered in the same breath as Collins as the best player in college basketball, Aldrich looks to his teammate for leadership.

“He knows it’s his team and he’s the general of us,” Aldrich said.

Game Notes

Central Arkansas is the second out of six teams Kansas will face for the first time in school history in the 2009-10 season.

The Bears are a member of the Southland Conference. The only other school the Jayhawks have played from that conference is Texas-San Antonio in 1990.

Kansas is 2-0 for the third straight year and is looking to extend its nation long home court win streak to 43 games.

The Bears are 1-1 after defeating Hendrix 68-40 in their first game and lost to Tennessee Tech 71-67 on Monday. Central Arkansas has four players averaging in double figures this season led by Mike Pouncy at 12 points per game.

— Edited by Tim Burgess