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TEXAS AT KANSAS
3/7/09
The unranked Texas Longhorns travel to Lawrence, KS to take on the
#9 Kansas Jayhawks in this Big-12 regular season finale.
The 24-6 Jayhawks, who are leading the Big-12 with a 13-2 record,
just a game ahead of 2nd place Oklahoma, failed to secure the
conference crown their last time on the floor, as they were trampled
down in Lubbock by lowly Texas Tech.
Kansas came into that game as 10 pt road favorites, but were never
even in it as the Red Raiders, who were just 2-12 in conference
action up until then, dominated from the start in a 84-65 blow out
win. The Jayhawks, who were averaging close to 80 ppg, shot just 33%
from the field, and missed 20 of 24 from 3-pt range on the way to
their 65 pt total, against a team that was giving up close to 80 ppg
themselves. Texas Tech came into that game in a major funk having
lost 6 games in a row, 10 of their last 11, and 14 of their last 16.
But they somehow found their strokes for this game, as they shot 45%
from the field and knocked down an incredible 15 of 27 on 3 pt
tries.
Kansas had won 17 of the last 20 match-ups in this series, including
a 58 pt demolition in Lawrence last year. I’m sure the Red Raiders
were thinking about that game, and evidently so was Kansas.
Kansas’ leading scorer, Sherron Collins who is averaging over 18ppg,
was held to just 11 pts on 3 of 19 shooting from the field, and just
1 of 10 from 3 pt range. I’m sure he will be looking to atone for
that performance against the Longhorns, and he will have the home
crowd behind him for this game.
The Jayhawks have dominated on their home floor this year, having
won all 17 of the games played there. They are credited with 1 home
loss, but that was in Kansas City, not Lawrence. All but 1 of their
7 conference home wins have been by double-digits. The only game
that wasn’t, was a 5 pt win over Colorado, a game in which Kansas
led by 16 at HT, and then slept-walked the rest of the way for the
win.
The Texas Longhorns at one time were ranked in the top 10, but a 3
game losing streak from Jan 31 – Feb 7 took them out of the national
rankings. Since then they have regrouped a bit, having won 5 out of
their last 7 games, including a 16 pt pasting of Baylor last time
out. But they have struggled on the road during that time with a 1-2
record, which includes a 15 pt loss at Texas A&M, a 9 pt loss at
Oklahoma St, and the only win coming in OT at lowly Colorado.
Overall, the Longhorns have gone 4-5 on the road this year, and 3-4
on the road in conference action.
Senior G A.J. Abrams continues to lead the team in scoring, with an
average of 16.9 ppg, and his 88 3-pointers are tops in the Big-12
conference.
Texas has not played that well on the road this year, and this will
be their toughest road test since a 15 pt loss at Oklahoma back on
Jan 12. Kansas has to be extremely upset with the way they played at
Texas Tech on Wednesday, coming in as 10 pt favorites with a chance
to clinch the conference, and then stinking the joint up with a 15
pt loss. They do not want just a share of 1st place, which they have
already guaranteed. And with Oklahoma playing at home against
Oklahoma St, with a good chance at the win, the Jayhawks should be
extremely motivated in this game, having been given a second chance
to take care of business. Kansas should come into this game as
around a 7 pt home favorite, and I would expect them to come out on
fire and take it to the Longhorns by double-digits. I’ll look for
the Jayhawks to win by at least 10 in front of the home crowd to
secure the Big 12 championship for the 5th straight year.
Bet Jamaica opened the game Kansas
-8.5.......lay it!
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