Also see our Daily Threads, March 3, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 2, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 2

!?eec9ecda5f66de59a37bbdb23c6f48523261b548 ↗

Bill Self denies Marcus Smart’s net talk ↗

“I heard and saw the postgame interview (with ESPN’s Shannon Spake) after the game,” Self said. “I don’t know where Marcus got his information, but it was totally inaccurate. I’ve never said anything about cutting down nets or anything like that. I never said anything about cutting down nets in their building.

“Strange ... we’ve won the league 10 years in a row. I don’t know if we’ve even cut down nets at home. I’d never disrespect another program, especially my alma mater, by doing anything like that. It’s disappointing that was said. Certainly he obviously had some bad information however he received it.”

** KU basketball players not in the mood to celebrate outright Big 12 title, either ↗**

Coach Bill Self wasn’t the only one not in a partying mood following Kansas’ 72-65 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

Though the Jayhawks clinched the outright Big 12 conference championship because of earlier losses in the day from Texas and Iowa State, they also didn’t want to talk much about that accomplishment after surrendering a 10-point lead in the second half.

KU's Andrew Wiggins may be favorite in Big 12's deep player of year race ↗

Deal with hundreds of interviews a year, maybe more, and you too will become practiced in the art of talking while saying nothing at all.

That, at the moment, is particularly en vogue when it comes to Big 12 coaches when asked to name their favorite in the conference’s player of the year race.

Newell: KU basketball not yet a team that can overcome poor offense and win ↗

The Jayhawks are now 1-5 this year in games where it has had an eFG% of 45 percent or worse. KU was 4-2 in those games last year and 4-4 in those contests two seasons ago ... which included NCAA Tournament wins over Purdue (38.7 eFG%) and NC State (38.3 eFG%).

If you'd rather go by PPP, the results are pretty much the same. KU is 1-5 in games below 1 PPP this season after going 7-4 last year and 5-5 two years ago.

Hoops ‘junkie’: Senior Niko Roberts lives, breathes ball ↗

Son of current KU assistant/former St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts, Niko Roberts has lived and breathed basketball at KU the last four seasons.

Haskin: Wiggins family may need to practice polite applause ↗

If the basketball road eventually leads to a college clash between the Wiggins brothers, so be it.

The parents of Andrew and Nick can live with it.

The anticipation of such a matchup, however, is handled a bit differently by Mom and Dad.

Keegan: At KU, confetti cannon overkill ↗

KU has maintained a blue-collar edge during its decade of dominance, no easy juggling act. Subtle updates to Allen Fieldhouse in recent years have been done in a way so as not to erode the old-time feel of the place.

If KU were to break out the confetti cannons and stage a full-bore celebration Wednesday, it would signal a step away from authentic and onto a slippery slope toward Hollywood.

Also see our Daily Threads, March 3, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 2, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 2

@imajayhawk

Wiggins turned 19 last Sunday, and yes, he left high school 1 year early. While Wiggins is off the chart in athleticism and potential, he is probably 3-4 years a way in physical maturity. Another year in high school would have helped, but then, selfishly, we might not have had a really great kid to cheer for and be ambassador for the Jayhawks.

One thing to point out, Wiggins was held back in middle school, then reclassified in high school This is a common practice to allow kids to dominate their peers, get on the scouts radar, and then reclassify back to their original graduating class. Here's a youtube video about the practice by Jalen Rose, he talks about it a lot:

Selden also did it. [Here's an article as well ↗

@drgnslayr drgn.. I like the teams you indicated, but I'd put Virginia in the hot hot hot group. Their passing game yesterday shredded the Syracuse zone and was a beautiful thing to see. They've got the senior leadership, athleticism and depth to go really far. They'll wear you down, and then pop off a 10-0 run, not give it back, and the game is over. Maybe the silver lining here on us faltering is that if we retain a 2 seed, we probably won't have to face Virginia in our region. They are scary good.

Also see today's News Digest, March 2, and News Digest for Yesterday, March 1, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 1

Our Daily Threads for March 2:

Tharpe's Performance Inexplicable - @HighEliteMajor

A number of weeks ago, I posted some thoughts on wanting more from Naadir Tharpe. Against Oklahoma St., in what may unfortunately be a preview of our NCAA tournament exit, Naadir Tharpe played a horrific game. Inexplicable, really. I’m not really left wanting more. What I am wanting is some intestinal fortitude.

Much worse than Tharpe’s actual performance vs. OSU was his whipped puppy demeanor. Definitively for me, this game proved that Naadir Tharpe is no leader. I have never seen a true leader act the part of the victim. I have never seen a true leader present such defeated body language. I have never seen a true leader bring his team down to this degree. And I’ve never seen a true leader appear so utterly unprepared for such a big stage.

Things to Do in Stillwater After the KU Beat Down of OSU - @jaybate

Drive by a title insurance company and ask them about clouded title on 1889 land run lands.

Quote from Washington Irving's A Tour of the Prairies" describing the area of present day Stillwater saying, "The deep and frequent traces of buffalo, showed it to be one of their frequent grazing grounds;" then ask if Irviing were referring to buffalo pies?

Disclaimer: Two Items NOT Related to KU Basketball That Are Bugging the Heck Out of Me - @nuleafjhawk

In order of bug-ness to me:

1) I was meditating on the couch last night (OK, I fell asleep) and woke up around 10:15 pm or so. I glanced at the TV and thought I had accidentally turned to the Sci-Fi Network or FearTv. Here's this hideous, greasy, shiny foreheaded little troll that looked just like Gregg Marshall scowling at me telling me about something that Carlos O'Kelly's is putting on and the Wichita State team, blah blah blah, but he wouldn't be able to attend because he was going to be busy. (smirk, smirk, har har har)

Getting ready for spring football - @eastcoasthawk

Here's the latest from LJWorld sports team

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/double-chin-music/2014/feb/28/in-defense-of-kansas-football/ ↗

http://www2.kusports.com/chats/2014/feb/28/matt-tait/ ↗

It's been too long - @eastcoasthawk

This thread is for any Jayhawk fan that hasn't been to a game in a long time for whatever reason. Last weekend, 33 years after I packed up my drumset after beating OSU to finish the Big 8 season in 1981, I was back in Allen Fieldhouse for the game against Texas. Just walking in and seeing the hallways (minus the track) started rushing many memories back. All the time spent trying to register. And mostly all the great games we had. The great crowds. Hardly lost at home.

Saturday was amazing to see the crowds, old and new traditions. Being there brought such a huge comfort level. I couldn't stop smiling.

Mar 1: I want to cry! - @drgnslayr

There are only 3 more regular season games left.

I am looking forward to March Madness... but it goes by so quickly!

Why does it always feel this way? Why does the season end when it just starts to feel like we are getting into the groove?

Life just isn't fair!

Mar 1: Keys to beat OSU - @jaybate

Break the press away from Smart.

Route the half court offense away from Smart.

Deny Smart his 5.5 steals and OSU cannot win...

Feb 28: Signs in the crowd - @JRyman

(I missed this one a few days ago)

While watching the game on TV like I always try to do I like to see the signs in the crowd.

Yesterday one of the ones I kept seeing was "LOL Texas"

A few weeks ago someone had a sign that read, "Thats what we do"

Feb 27: More Jaquan Lyle Fodder -@ajvan

Lyle was on hand for KU's victory over OK and Alexander is still actively recruiting him. Here's the money paragraph from Adam Zagoria's article:

"Kansas expects to have several guards returning in Naadir Tharpe, Frank Mason, Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and possibly Wayne Selden, and also brings in wing Kelly Oubre.

Feb 27: Myles Turner to Visit KU -@konkeyDong

Didn't see this posted elsewhere, but according to zagsblog Turner is back on with KU, slated to visit on Senior Night. It was first reported here. The big question is, what does this mean with regards to Joel Embiid? As the zagsblog article points out, Self has told Turner straight up that he shouldn't bother if JoJo comes back. Is this hinting that JoJo is leaning in the NBA's direction or is it that Self is being over prepared? Either way, at this point, I was a little surprised that Turner would burn one of his visits with us. Thoughts?

Feb 26: What's Your Biggest NCAA Worry/Concern/Fear? - @nuleafjhawk

Mine is two-fold.

1) We get a number one seed and, as inconsistent as we've been throughout the season, we become the first number one to lose to a sixteen seed. Yikes.....

2) Wichita State wins the whole damn thing. Puke.

Feb 25: Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

Feb 25: TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Feb 25: Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, March 2, and News Digest for Yesterday, March 1, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 1

Also see our Daily Threads, March 2, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 1, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 1

! ↗

Newell: KU basketball can't overcome turnovers, fouls in 72-65 loss to Oklahoma State ↗

STILLWATER, Okla. — Too many fouls and too many turnovers.

If No. 5 Kansas wanted a succinct explanation of how it surrendered a 10-point second-half lead in a 72-65 loss at Oklahoma State, that pretty much would do it.

** Dodd: Oklahoma State beats Kansas 72-65, but KU still clinches Big 12 title ↗**

STILLWATER, Okla. — In the final moments, Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart stopped for a moment near the Kansas bench and started nodded his head. He clapped once, then again, savoring the moment as a group of shell-shocked Kansas Jayhawks looked on.

There was not much reaction. Just quiet. No. 5 Kansas had coughed up a 10-point second-half lead — and now they were going down inside Gallagher-Iba Arena once again.

Tait: No. 5 KU falls to Oklahoma State, 72-65 ↗

Stillwater, Okla. — The Kansas University basketball team clinched the Big 12 regular season title outright on Saturday night at Oklahoma State but did so thanks to losses by Texas and Iowa State earlier in the day, as the fifth-ranked Jayhawks fell 72-65 to the Cowboys.

The two teams traded buckets and ugly play in the first half and KU led 26-25 at halftime.

** ESPN Box score ↗**

** CJOnline Live Blog ↗**

Also see our Daily Threads, March 2, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 1, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 1

Also see today's News Digest, March 1, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 28, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 28

Our Daily Threads for March 1:

I want to cry! - @drgnslayr

There are only 3 more regular season games left.

I am looking forward to March Madness... but it goes by so quickly!

Why does it always feel this way? Why does the season end when it just starts to feel like we are getting into the groove?

Life just isn't fair!

Keys to beat OSU - @jaybate

Break the press away from Smart.

Route the half court offense away from Smart.

Deny Smart his 5.5 steals and OSU cannot win...

Feb 28: Signs in the crowd - @JRyman

(I missed this one a few days ago)

While watching the game on TV like I always try to do I like to see the signs in the crowd.

Yesterday one of the ones I kept seeing was "LOL Texas"

A few weeks ago someone had a sign that read, "Thats what we do"

Feb 27: More Jaquan Lyle Fodder -@ajvan

Lyle was on hand for KU's victory over OK and Alexander is still actively recruiting him. Here's the money paragraph from Adam Zagoria's article:

"Kansas expects to have several guards returning in Naadir Tharpe, Frank Mason, Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and possibly Wayne Selden, and also brings in wing Kelly Oubre.

Feb 27: Myles Turner to Visit KU -@konkeyDong

Didn't see this posted elsewhere, but according to zagsblog Turner is back on with KU, slated to visit on Senior Night. It was first reported here. The big question is, what does this mean with regards to Joel Embiid? As the zagsblog article points out, Self has told Turner straight up that he shouldn't bother if JoJo comes back. Is this hinting that JoJo is leaning in the NBA's direction or is it that Self is being over prepared? Either way, at this point, I was a little surprised that Turner would burn one of his visits with us. Thoughts?

Feb 26: What's Your Biggest NCAA Worry/Concern/Fear? - @nuleafjhawk

Mine is two-fold.

1) We get a number one seed and, as inconsistent as we've been throughout the season, we become the first number one to lose to a sixteen seed. Yikes.....

2) Wichita State wins the whole damn thing. Puke.

Feb 25: Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

Feb 25: TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Feb 25: Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, March 1, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 28, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 28

Also see our Daily Threads, March 1, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 28, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 28

! ↗

Bedore: Kansas-OSU 'rivalry' to resume today ↗

The officials were kept busy trying to keep order on the court the last time Kansas University played Oklahoma State in basketball.

KU’s Jamari Traylor, Joel Embiid and Wayne Selden were assessed technical fouls in the Jayhawks’ 80-78 victory on Jan. 18 in Allen Fieldhouse. OSU’s Markel Brown (2) and Stevie Clark, who has since been dismissed from the team, also were hit with T’s.

Newell: Five-Minute Scout: Unlucky Oklahoma State will be tough for KU basketball to beat ↗

3 Strengths

Ball security: Oklahoma State does a good job of getting a shot on most possessions, ranking 19th nationally in offensive turnover percentage. Keep in mind that KU's defense has struggled with forcing turnovers most of this season...

Wiggins one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Trophy ↗

Kansas University freshman Andrew Wiggins has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2014 Men's Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Friday.

Four finalists for the Naismith Trophy, given annually to the nation's best college basketball player, will be announced March 23.

**Newell: ** Coach Bill Self says focus for KU basketball is turning 'good' season into 'great' one ↗

STILLWATER, Okla. — Bill Self knows there's a danger that his team could let up mentally in its next three games.

The Kansas men’s basketball team clinched a share of its 10th straight Big 12 title Monday. Its most important games now won’t happen until later in March.

Brenner: Early-tourney exit potential for top 10 ↗

Yes, the Jayhawks have lost to four teams ranked 30th or worse in BPI. But that’s not a harbinger of a March disaster. Fact is, our model is bullish on the Jayhawks, ranking them as the fourth-best team in the country. And that rock-solid power rating is most of the basis for Kansas’ being such a safe Giant, since the team doesn’t gain much from the model’s Secret Sauce.

Why? The Jayhawks don’t force turnovers. Their 16.6 percent rate is well below the national average (18.4) and essentially means that weaker teams will still get enough looks at the basket to frighten Kansas on a hot-shooting night. The Jayhawks also foul far too often -- foes generate 24.3 percent of their offense from the free throw line. However, Kansas offsets much of those weaknesses with strong rebounding at both ends (not to mention a fantastically efficient offense). Could the Jayhawks go down early? It’s possible. But it sure isn’t likely.

Cliff Alexanders Chicago Curie High team forfeits all victories ↗

Kansas University basketball signee Cliff Alexander’s Chicago Curie High team was stripped of its 24 victories and city championship Friday.

AP: After dramatic win Chicago HS champions forfeits season ↗

CHICAGO -- Chicago Curie Metropolitan High School's basketball team, ranked among the best in the nation, has forfeited this year's games because several players were academically ineligible to compete, public schools officials announced Friday.

dChicago Public Schools said seven players on Curie's 24-1 varsity team were ineligible from the start of the 2013-14 season. Student athletes in the district must maintain a 2.0 GPA to participate in sports, or have an individual study plan in place to help them improve academically.

Also see our Daily Threads, March 1, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 28, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 28

@jaybate 1.0 Speaking of 6'5 players playing up sizewise, how about 6'5 PJ Tucker grabbing 16 rebounds in the NBA. I'm glad to see the Texas tweener getting his shot with the Suns. When he went draft and they labeled him a tweener and dismissed him, I thought it a disservice. He was a hell of a Longhorn.

@RockChalkinTexas It was a great quote. Of all the players that have played for Self, EJ is the one I really wish had made it to the NBA. Releford and Sherron, Langford and Miles (if you count Roy's guys) are the next tier.

!?w=600&h=450" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://sincaatourney.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/self-johnson.jpg?w=600&h=450 ↗

Also see today's News Digest, February 28, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 27, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 27

Our Daily Threads for February 28:

Signs in the crowd - @JRyman

(I missed this one a few days ago)

While watching the game on TV like I always try to do I like to see the signs in the crowd.

Yesterday one of the ones I kept seeing was "LOL Texas"

A few weeks ago someone had a sign that read, "Thats what we do"

Feb 27: More Jaquan Lyle Fodder -@ajvan

Lyle was on hand for KU's victory over OK and Alexander is still actively recruiting him. Here's the money paragraph from Adam Zagoria's article:

"Kansas expects to have several guards returning in Naadir Tharpe, Frank Mason, Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and possibly Wayne Selden, and also brings in wing Kelly Oubre.

Feb 27: Myles Turner to Visit KU -@konkeyDong

Didn't see this posted elsewhere, but according to zagsblog Turner is back on with KU, slated to visit on Senior Night. It was first reported here. The big question is, what does this mean with regards to Joel Embiid? As the zagsblog article points out, Self has told Turner straight up that he shouldn't bother if JoJo comes back. Is this hinting that JoJo is leaning in the NBA's direction or is it that Self is being over prepared? Either way, at this point, I was a little surprised that Turner would burn one of his visits with us. Thoughts?

Feb 26: What's Your Biggest NCAA Worry/Concern/Fear? - @nuleafjhawk

Mine is two-fold.

1) We get a number one seed and, as inconsistent as we've been throughout the season, we become the first number one to lose to a sixteen seed. Yikes.....

2) Wichita State wins the whole damn thing. Puke.

Feb 25: Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

Feb 25: TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Feb 25: Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, February 28, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 27, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 27

Also see our Daily Threads, February 28, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 27, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 27

!?eec9ecda5f66de59a37bbdb23c6f48523261b548" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/croppedphotos/2013/10/05/late_night_jy_34seldenCROP_t650.jpg ↗

Newell: KU basketball guard Wayne Selden Jr. sacrificing spotlight to help Jayhawks win ↗

LAWRENCE — Look at this from Wayne Selden Jr.’s perspective, and it’s easy to see why many players in his situation might be frustrated.

Before No. 1 recruit Andrew Wiggins signed with KU in mid-May, the talk was how Selden — the 12th-best player in his class — would have an opportunity to step in immediately to a major scoring role.

ESPN: Bill Self backs Wichita St. for a No. 1 ↗

Kansas coach Bill Self believes that unbeaten Wichita State deserves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament if it beats Missouri State on Saturday and then wins the Missouri Valley tournament.

That doesn't mean he's changed his stance on scheduling the Shockers.

Keegan: Andrew Wiggins the right choice for Big 12 Player of the Year ↗

Even with 17 percent of the Big 12 season remaining it’s difficult to imagine anything happening that could prevent Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins from winning the honor.

Mike and Mike: Decade of Dominance ↗

Kansas coach Bill Self dishes on winning 10 straight Big 12 titles, the development of Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, the challenges with one-and-dones, social media and more.
- Podcast ↗

Also see our Daily Threads, February 28, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 27, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 27

Also see today's News Digest, February 27, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 26, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 26

Our Daily Threads for February 27:

More Jaquan Lyle Fodder -@ajvan

Lyle was on hand for KU's victory over OK and Alexander is still actively recruiting him. Here's the money paragraph from Adam Zagoria's article:

"Kansas expects to have several guards returning in Naadir Tharpe, Frank Mason, Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and possibly Wayne Selden, and also brings in wing Kelly Oubre.

Myles Turner to Visit KU -@konkeyDong

Didn't see this posted elsewhere, but according to zagsblog Turner is back on with KU, slated to visit on Senior Night. It was first reported here. The big question is, what does this mean with regards to Joel Embiid? As the zagsblog article points out, Self has told Turner straight up that he shouldn't bother if JoJo comes back. Is this hinting that JoJo is leaning in the NBA's direction or is it that Self is being over prepared? Either way, at this point, I was a little surprised that Turner would burn one of his visits with us. Thoughts?

Feb 26: What's Your Biggest NCAA Worry/Concern/Fear? - @nuleafjhawk

Mine is two-fold.

1) We get a number one seed and, as inconsistent as we've been throughout the season, we become the first number one to lose to a sixteen seed. Yikes.....

2) Wichita State wins the whole damn thing. Puke.

Feb 25: Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

Feb 25: TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Feb 25: Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, February 27, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 26, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 26

Also see our Daily Threads, February 27, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 26, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 26

!Embiid_10 ↗

Please add stories here

Tait: What if Andrew Wiggins never came to Kansas? ↗

By now, it seems as if most Kansas University basketball fans have given up the stance — if they ever took it — that KU freshman Andrew Wiggins has been underwhelming.

At this point, Wiggins has produced enough, both offensively and defensively, and on a consistent enough basis to be classified as this team's best player.

Bedore: Justin Wesley relishes positive reviews ↗

Nobody has yet reserved a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for budding actor Justin Wesley.

Yet the Kansas University senior basketball power forward from Fort Worth, Texas, has certainly received local acclaim — from the 10,000 or so individuals who attended showings of the movie “Jayhawkers” Feb. 14-16 in the Lied Center.

Chase: 10 amazing facts about Kansas' 10 straight Big 12 Championships ↗

Kansas clinched its 10th straight Big 12 conference championship on Monday night. How remarkable is the Jayhawks streak? Consider these 10 facts.

Titus's top 12 NCAA power rankings ↗

If you still aren’t impressed, consider this: In the last 10 seasons, Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky, and UConn have combined to win nine conference championships. Every Kansas fan could put a statue of Bill Self in their front yard and I’d still think they’re taking him for granted.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 27, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 26, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 26

@bskeet Nice. Was wondering when he said that... looks to be during the J J Redick era:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=thompson/040318 ↗ ↗

Also see today's News Digest, February 26, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 25, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 25

Our Daily Threads for February 26:

What's Your Biggest NCAA Worry/Concern/Fear? - @nuleafjhawk

Mine is two-fold.

1) We get a number one seed and, as inconsistent as we've been throughout the season, we become the first number one to lose to a sixteen seed. Yikes.....

2) Wichita State wins the whole damn thing. Puke.

Feb 25: Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

Feb 25: TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Feb 25: Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.
Also see today's News Digest, February 26, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 25, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 25

Also see our Daily Threads, February 26, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 25, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 25

!Back to Back to Back.... Big 12 Champions ↗

Slideshow: A decade of dominance: 10 seasons of KU titles in review ↗

It hasn’t always been easy. During Kansas' 10-year run of clinching at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title, the Jayhawks have needed clutch performances and also outstanding ...

Jayhawks won’t celebrate Big 12 title just yet ↗

Kansas University’s men’s basketball players won’t break out the T-shirts and hats until the day they wrap up the undisputed 2013-14 Big 12 regular-season championship.

The official celebration is on hold until five-loss league teams Iowa State and Texas, who trail KU by three games with four to play, are mathematically eliminated from the race.

** KU's 10 titles the talk of the college hoops world ↗**

Once the Jayhawks earned their 10th conference championship in a row by beating Oklahoma on Monday night, the rest of the college basketball world began acknowledging the incredible run from afar...

Here are some of the highlights from around the web:

Ward: Kansas' Naadir Tharpe shines late against Oklahoma ↗

LAWRENCE — Bill Self has probably been Naadir Tharpe’s harshest, or at least most vocal, critic.

When Kansas’ junior point guard hasn’t played well, Self has let him and everybody else know. The 11th-year coach has ripped into Tharpe plenty on the court, perhaps most notably against Toledo back in December, when he called a timeout a mere 35 seconds into the game just to chew out the native of Worcester, Mass.

Myles Turner to visit KU ↗

Myles Turner, a 6-foot-11 senior center from Trinity High in Euless, Texas, will make an official recruiting visit to Kansas University for next Wednesday’s Senior Night game against Texas Tech, Rivals.com reported today.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 26, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 25, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 25

Also see today's News Digest, February 25, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 24, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 24

Our Daily Threads for February 25:

Joe Lunardi has lost it - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology ↗

In his lastest bracketoly he has all three Kansasschools in the same Midwest bracket.

WSU as the one. KU as the two and KSU as the 8.

TRob -@brooksmd

Congrats to a hustling TRob for being ESPN's #1 Play of the Weekend. WHOOP! WHOOP! and RCJH!!!

Platoon Tarik and Perry? -@jaybate

The highest compliment I can pay Tarik is I wish he had been here as a freshman, so I could have watched him more. He is hard to categorize, but I feel like he has a lot more game in him. I also think he contributes massively to the team. With how far he has come this season, and having played against a great player like Embiid daily, I still think he has more impacts in the stretch. If Self were to start emphasizing Wiggins and Embiid sets, as Slayr has suggested, Black would become the perfect complement at 4 during those minutes. Black rebounding and sticking back off the interplay of Embiid and Wiggins for 10-20 mpg, plus backing Joel up 5 mpg each half would get KU's resident Great Bear optimizing the team.

Feb 24: "Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

Feb 24: "Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

Feb 24: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Feb 24: Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

Feb 24: A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Feb 24: Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, February 25, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 24, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 24

Also see our Daily Threads, February 25, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 24, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 24

! ↗

Decade of dominance:

** Kansas earns share of 10th straight Big 12 title ↗**

Bill Self exited briskly out the northwest tunnel of Allen Fieldhouse, hands up, palms extended high, at the conclusion of Kansas University’s historic 83-75 victory over Oklahoma on Monday night. The fans behind the KU bench and in the north student section stuck around after the 11th-year KU coach’s ESPN interview to acknowledge ever-so- briefly one of the great accomplishments in school history — a 10th straight Big 12 regular-season title.

Dodd: Jayhawks win share of 10th straight Big 12 title ↗

LAWRENCE — The ball swung to the wing and Andrew Wiggins set his feet. It was in the final minutes here at Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night, and No. 8 Kansas was minutes away from clinching a share of its 10th straight Big 12 Championship.

Ten straight. It’s a dizzying feat in the modern era of college basketball. But in this moment, as the Jayhawks led by just five points, and the anxiety began to grow, nobody was really thinking about the streak. Well, that’s not quite right. Probably everybody inside Allen Fieldhouse was thinking about the number 10.

Newell: Hang 10: KU basketball clinches share of 10th straight Big 12 title with 83-75 win over Oklahoma ↗

LAWRENCE — Jeff Graves wasn’t about to miss this moment.

Sitting in the row behind Kansas’ bench, the former KU forward watched on as the fifth-ranked Jayhawks clinched a share of their 10th straight Big 12 championship with an 83-75 victory over Oklahoma.

Tait: FINAL: Kansas 83, Oklahoma 75 ↗

Lawrence, Kan., is title town once again.

Behind five starters who reached double figures in scoring, the fifth-ranked Kansas University men's basketball team clinched at least a share of its 10th consecutive Big 12 title with a 83-75 victory over Oklahoma on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

A complete and dominating performance like the Jayhawks enjoyed against Texas over the weekend it wasn't, but a grind-it-out, physical, NCAA-Tournament-esque game it was

Keegan: Familiar song emanates from Allen Fieldhouse ↗

The lyrics and notes change, but the song remains the same. High school All-Americans around whom their teams revolved come to Kansas University with little clue just how hard they must compete to maintain a winning tradition like few others in sports.

AP: Kansas beats Oklahoma to clinch share of 10th straight Big 12 title ↗

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Naadir Tharpe finally got to stand in the middle of the court at Allen Fieldhouse, bask in the adulation of another sellout crowd and celebrate a conference championship.

The junior guard, who wrapped up his first two Big 12 titles on the road, had 19 points to lead five Kansas players in double figures Monday night, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks held off Oklahoma 83-75 to ensure a share of their 10th consecutive league crown.

Donation marks start of Fieldhouse Apartments project ↗

Kansas University alumni Kent and Missy McCarthy have donated the lead gift for the financing of Phase One of the Fieldhouse Apartments project at KU, it was announced Monday night.

The exact amount of the donation for the $17.5 million project was not announced. KU recognized the gift during Monday night’s KU-Oklahoma basketball game. The McCarthys were joined in Allen Fieldhouse by Kent’s father, Charles, and their children, Molly, Annie and Charlie.

Brown: Kansas Jayhawks looking tournament ready ↗

In East Lansing, Mich., the Spartans can’t wait until they get healthy.

In Syracuse, N.Y., the Orange can’t wait until their offense comes around.

In Lexington, Ky., the Wildcats can’t wait until the kids put it all together.

That's not the case in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks simply can’t wait until March.

KUAthletics.com: TEN THERE, DONE THAT: KU CLINCHES SHARE OF CROWN ↗

[Kansas Locker Room Celebration After Clenching 10th Straight Big 12 Title](

CJOnline Live Blog ↗

ESPN Box Score and Highlights ↗

Post-Game press conference:

Bill Self discusses how Kansas beat OU to win a 10th straight Big 12 title ↗ - MP3

Naadir Tharpe, Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden react to KU's Big 12-clinching win ↗ - MP3

Also see our Daily Threads, February 25, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 24, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 24

@dylans Thanks dylans, good work man, and thanks for also posting a bump.

@bskeet As always, thank you for populating the news stories for us man. Great work. Can you start adding a "bump" message when you add news, just so I and everyone else has a place to give you favourite points? You deserve some credit for carriyng the torch and I havent gotten you set up with the scripts yet for seeding the news posts.

Thanks for what you do!

Also see today's News Digest, February 24, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 23, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 23

Our Daily Threads for February 24:

"Some Stickies on Lon Kruger's Monitor Before OU Plays KU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Hmmm, we couldn't beat them in Norman, so why even prepare a game plan for Lawrence?

~Self Beat Texas by a bunch and his team only shot 30% from trey. Check job openings outside B12.

"Some Things to Do with Oklahoma Fans Before the Beat Down of OU in Lawrence" - @jaybate

~Show them the 1988 National Championship Trophy.

~Ask them how in the heck their Wikipedia page doesn't mention former head coaches Bruce Drake, who invented the shuffle offense, and Doyle Parrack, one of the greatest legends of Oklahoma hard scrabble basketball?

FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs UT - Feb 22 - @drgnslayr

Picking the FLOOR BURN AWARD for this game seemed easy at first. This was to be an easy trifecta... until "Black Death" entered the picture with his ferocity and prowess. So I made it to the window in time, and changed my selection to a superfecta:

Joel Embiid was not going to be denied. His pride dominated every part of this game; offensive firepower with 13 points off of 4-for-6, rebounding zeal with 7 rebounds, assist generosity with 3 assists and oppressive fascism on defense through dictating control with 6 blocks and countless shot diversions.

Vote Early and Often on Manute Bol's Thighs - @jaybate

True or False: Manute Bol has the longest thighs in human history.

A One and a Two and a Three and a Four - @drgnslayr

I'm an old guy. I remember so many great dance duos... Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, a ballroom pair that brought romance alive through their graceful steps and subtle gestures. Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart, partners on the stage of ballet and in real life, masters of the pirouette.

And now the new pair of high steppers, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid!

Hook That, Horns! - @jaybate

Marvelously sweet beat down and payback.

KU punked Butcher's Boyz without decent trey shooting. Inference for horn fans for B12 tourney? Wait till we bring our A game, you petro-cretins!

Better Dunk? - @JRyman

In the past three years there have been more than 3 memorable dunks, but I have three that stand out.

Robinsons base line throw down vs Baylor.

Feb 23: Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Feb 23:Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Also see today's News Digest, February 24, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 23, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 23

Also see our Daily Threads, February 24, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 23, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 23

!Tarik Black ↗

** Strength embodied: Lifelong lessons help Kansas basketball forward Tarik Black find inner toughness ↗**

Four-year-old Tarik Black was sure he could make it across the street, running behind his friends as they tried to beat a streetlight near an Atlanta park.

He never made it. A car struck Tarik from behind, the force knocking his shoes off and launching him into the air and onto a nearby patch of grass.

KU basketball can clinch share of 10th straight Big 12 title against Oklahoma on Monday ↗

A few weeks ago, when asked about the Big 12 race, the Kansas coach predicted it was going to come down to the last week.

Barring something unforeseen, that's not going to happen, as his team has been too good to make that prediction to come true.

Brennan: Planning for Success: The KU Offense ↗

By now, a handful of the notions advanced in November and December about the 2013-14 Kansas Jayhawks look hilariously quaint. No, this isn't the season Kansas will finally relinquish its stranglehold on the Big 12 regular-season title; the Jayhawks are 12-2 with a three-game lead on Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas with just four games left to play. Yes, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid are really, really good. No, the Kansas offense isn't too stagnant to be relied upon.

**DeCourcy: ** Kansas one win from extending its Big 12 dynasty ↗

There are many reasons to love Kansas fans, but one of the best became apparent when I attended a charity event coach Bill Self had arranged for his foundation at which several college basketball voices were gathered to discuss the state of the game.

Along with Self, the speakers were Fran Fraschilla and Jay Bilas of ESPN and Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star. And, yeah, me too. Somewhere in the course of the evening — I apologize if you’ve heard me tell this story before — I had the occasion to ask the 500 fans in attendance if the Jayhawks’ streak of consecutive conference championships had great meaning to them.

Bedore: Jayhawks aim to clinch 10th straight Big 12 title tonight ↗

Kansas University junior point guard Naadir Tharpe remembers the excitement and enthusiasm, the utter frenzy in Allen Fieldhouse the last time the Jayhawks wrapped up at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season basketball championship at home.

Sooner viewpoint ↗

QUICK PREVIEW
It’s second place versus first place Monday when Oklahoma (20-7, 9-5) travels north to take on Big 12 leader Kansas (21-6, 12-2) at 8 p.m. CT inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Sooners, who have won three of their last four and are tied with Iowa State and Texas for second place in the league, are coming off a convincing 86-73 home win over Kansas State on Saturday (led by 27). The Jayhawks, winners of three straight, improved to 13-1 at home with their 85-54 victory over Texas on Saturday.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 24, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 23, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 23

@RockChalkinTexas Awesome! What a satisfying game.

@RockChalkinTexas Nice. added it above. Love the clip of Embiid dunking in transition. I want to see Black's Blake Griffinesque throw-dunk.

Also see today's News Digest, February 23, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 22, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 22

Our Daily Threads for February 23:

Smart vs Intelligence - @drgnslayr

Marcus Smart has finally met his match:

http://blog.smu.edu/research/2013/06/07/smu-biomechanics-experts-team-with-mark-cuban-to-research-phony-falls-in-basketball/ ↗

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/06/could-you-detect-a-fake-nba-flop/ ↗

Welcome to the turning point. - @bskeet

Today marks the turning point for this team. But not its destiny.

One path leads to an almost certain 10th B12 championship in 10 years and an opportunity to spring into the post-season with a decade of momentum and confidence on our backs.

Feb 21: Pre UT andK U Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Feb 21: Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Feb 21: Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.
Also see today's News Digest, February 23, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 22, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 22

Also see our Daily Threads, February 23, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 22, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 22

!?w=600&h=450" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="http://sincaatourney.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/kansas-texas.jpg?w=600&h=450 ↗

Johnson, SI: No. 8 Kansas headed toward another Big 12 title after smashing No. 19 Texas ↗

No statistic is cited more frequently in college basketball analysis. It is mind-blowing and unthinkable and hard to process. For the uninitiated, it sounds like something that could only happen before 1960. “Are you sure you’re not talking about John Wooden?” people will ask. Nope. It’s Kansas coach Bill Self that’s led the Jayhawks to at least a share of nine consecutive regular season Big 12 championships, and it’s all but guaranteed the streak will reach double digits after the No. 8 Jayhawks routed No. 19 Texas 85-54.

kuathletics: NO. 8 KANSAS ENJOYS ROUT OF NO. 19 TEXAS, 85-54 ↗

LAWRENCE, Kan. — It wasn't the stellar first half, Andrew Wiggins nearly outscoring the Longhorns by halftime or even the largest margin of victory in the series history that stood out the most on Saturday. Well on its way to an 85-54 win against No. 19/17 Texas, the No. 8/8 Kansas Jayhawks had themselves a blast inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas (21-6, 12-2 Big 12) demolished any thought of Texas (20-7, 9-5 Big 12) repeating its performance from Austin three weeks prior by the end of the first half. An all-out blitzkrieg, the Jayhawks used an eight-minute Texas scoring drought to open up a 25-2 run. The Jayhawks' ambush resulted in the biggest halftime lead of the conference season at 46-18. Texas never recovered.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 23, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 22, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 22

! ↗

Newell: KU basketball overwhelms Texas in 85-54 home rout ↗

LAWRENCE — Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 21 points, leading the No. 8 Kansas men's basketball team to an 85-54 dismantling of No. 19 Texas on Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

The first half was domination in every sense.

Dodd: No 8. Kansas slams Texas ↗

LAWRENCE — He turns 19 on Sunday, and for most college students that would mean a couple of Saturday night staples. A perfect little night of revelry, maybe some pizza, and a reminder that you still have three more years on campus.

Kansas' Andrew Wiggins isn’t like most college students. Never has been, not since a couple of KU fans met him at Kansas City International airport when he arrived from Canada last summer. It’s tough for Wiggins to be himself in Lawrence sometimes. Too much Rock Stalk Jayhawk.

Tait: FINAL: Kansas 85, Texas 54 ↗

After being dominated in Austin earlier this month, the Kansas University basketball team more than redeemed itself on Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse, dismantling No. 19 Texas, 85-54, in front of a frenzied home crowd that began filling the building nearly two hours before tip-off in anticipation of the rematch.

The game had all the makings of a great one — until it started — as the Longhorns needed a win to put pressure on Kansas at the top of the Big 12 Conference race and came in knowing they had their way with the Jayhawks in Austin.

Kansas runs past Texas on a night filled with highlights ↗

The showdown between the top two teams in the Big 12 Conference turned into showtime for Kansas University’s basketball team on Saturday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

Led by freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, who had 15 and nine points and an assortment of vicious slam dunks the first half, and senior Tarik Black, who drew comparisons to Blake Griffin for his one-handed sky-walking slam in the second half, the first-place Jayhawks (21-6, 12-2) pounded the second-place Longhorns (20-7, 9-5), 85-54.

Post-Game press conference

Bill Self discusses the Jayhawks' drubbing of UT ↗

Wiggins, Embiid and Mason talk about playing with pride in rematch with UT ↗

Box Score ↗

@jaybate 1.0 Funny.

Also see today's News Digest, February 22, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 21, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 21

Our Daily Threads for February 22:

Pre UT and KU Keys to the Game -@truehawk93

I think this game is huge. I hope the guys realize how important this game is at this time of the season. I am convinced the winner of this game will be the B12 Champion and at the very worst, a share of the championship. I don't like to share with anyone, especially UT. So lets take care of business and drive for that 10 straight title and keep it at home where it belongs

Joe Dooley: 17-10 - @jaybate

Joe Dooo has not gotten any upsets of D1 bigs this season, but he is off to a solid first season and he ain't shoveling any snow either. 😄

Go, Joe, go!!!!!

Mizzery Analysis by H.E.M. - @VailHawk

@HighEliteMajor hope you don't mind me re-posting a classic from last March?!?! I was looking for something deep w/in google drive tonite and ran across this post that I saved as a pdf for future viewing. Enjoy

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Feb 17: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ - @wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Feb 17: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

Feb 17: On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Also see today's News Digest, February 22, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 21, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 21

Also see our Daily Threads, February 22, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 21, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 21

! ↗

Newell: Kansas coach Bill Self looks for improved defense, rebounding in Texas rematch ↗

LAWRENCE — To Kansas coach Bill Self, this should be about pride.

Sure his team can all but lock up a 10th straight Big 12 regular-season championship with a victory in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. home game against No. 19 Texas.

Dodd: Kansas defense not where Self needs it to be ↗

LAWRENCE — Here is a scene from Tuesday night: It is the second half at Texas Tech, and Kansas is on the ropes. Texas Tech guard Robert Turner has just slashed into the lane, and the ball goes in the basket again. On the sideline, Bill Self looks toward the bench and mutters to anyone who will listen: “We can’t guard anybody.”

Bean, Burnt Orange Nation: Texas Basketball Report 7.5: Into The King's Lair ↗

This is the way it's supposed to be. The way that it was prior to the last two difficult seasons.

Texas and Kansas battling for the Big 12 crown.

** Kansas looks to save face in rematch with Texas ↗**

Today, Kansas University’s basketball team can take a huge step toward claiming a 10th-straight Big 12 Conference championship.

The first-place Jayhawks, who possess an 11-2 record in league play, take on second-place Texas, which at 9-4 is a full two games back with five remaining.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 22, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 21, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 21

Also see today's News Digest, February 21, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 20, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 20

Our Daily Threads for February 21:

Feb 20:Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

Feb 20:6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Feb 17: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ - @wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Feb 17: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

Feb 17: On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Also see today's News Digest, February 21, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 20, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 20

Also see our Daily Threads, February 21, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 20, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 20

! ↗

Newell: KU basketball center Joel Embiid says he is feeling fine following Texas Tech game ↗

LAWRENCE — Over the years, Bill Self has learned to avoid asking his guys about their injuries. Many times, he’s found out that thinking a player is fine is better than knowing the truth.

Still, the Kansas coach tempted fate Thursday morning when he saw Joel Embiid on his way to class.

** Embiid set to break KU freshman block mark ↗**

One blocked shot against Texas on Saturday would give Kansas University’s Joel Embiid a school freshman record 63 rejections.

The 7-footer from Cameroon is primed to pass Californian Eric Chenowith, who will be sitting in the Allen Fieldhouse stands during the 6:30 p.m., game and also will attend Monday’s 8 p.m., home contest against Oklahoma.

Keegan: Kansas guards’ defense subpar ↗

Every time Kansas University men’s basketball coach Bill Self talks about the defensive role of one of his point guards, I flash back to a bloody scene from “The Godfather.”

Also see our Daily Threads, February 21, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 20, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 20

Also see today's News Digest, February 20, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 19, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 19

Our Daily Threads for February 20:

Tharpe's Lesson: Own the Pace, Own the Game - @drgnslayr

In the middle of the first half of this game it appeared Kansas was going to give TTech their typical beat down. The Jayhawks were up by 10 and making it look way, way, way too easy!

Then something changed. Then the war over who owned the pace shifted over to TTech's advantage! They didn't really change their game as much as just kept trying to slow the pace of the game down... to a snail's pace. This entire game they probably didn't shoot the ball with more than 10 second on the shot clock more than a handful of times. We knew they would attempt this before we arrived in Lubbock. It has been their strategy all year, and it has helped them lead the B12 in holding down opponents to 68.5 ppg. Their strategy definitely worked against the high-powered Kansas offense, holding us to 64 points.

6? 6 Gawddang assist is all we got? - @JRyman

OK I cleaned up the Harry Doyle quote and changed the number, but really?

64 points and only 6 assist? 6 assist for the whole team!!!

PASTA-GATE @ OU - @JayhawkRock78

Three Sooners Penalized For Too Much Pasta

This is absurd. How much time and money did the NCAA and OU waste on this, let alone distract and hassle some young student athletes.

Feb 19:Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Feb 19:Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Feb 19:Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Feb 19:Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Feb 17: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ - @wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Feb 17: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

Feb 17: On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Also see today's News Digest, February 20, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 19, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 19

Also see our Daily Threads, February 20, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 19, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 19
! ↗

Bedore: Self: Jayhawks showed poise late at Texas Tech ↗

Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self had a good feeling about what was about to transpire as he huddled with his players with 12 seconds left in Tuesday’s 64-63 victory at Texas Tech.

“The guys were fine. I think they are confident in those situations,” Self said, referring to needing to score on the game’s final possession to overcome a 63-62 deficit and pull out a huge road win.

Newell: KU basketball guard Wayne Selden Jr. follows coach's advice, comes through in clutch ↗

LUBBOCK, Texas — The phrase was stuck in Wayne Selden Jr.’s head: “Good shooters are not going to think twice about the last shot.”

The advice came a few days earlier from coach Bill Self in practice, and though Selden started Tuesday’s game against Texas Tech 1-for-7, he knew he wasn’t going to hesitate to take the next shot.

Please add stories here

Also see our Daily Threads, February 20, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 19, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 19

This is a very temporary placeholder to generate the post.

Also see today's News Digest, February 19, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 18, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 18

Our Daily Threads for February 19:

Mr. Ellis, meet Mr. Smith - @REHawk

Ol' Tubby drew up a masterful game plan. How fortunate are we that he is not coaching Baylor or Okie State!

Embiid, Wiggins and 3 Place Holders Beat TTech - @jaybate

There was a reason Self brought Embiid back against Texas Tech. It wasn't to use Texas Tech as a warm up game for Texas, as I at first thought. As JNew pointed out on the blog, Tech was ranked 69th by KENPOM. To put that in perspective, Colorado is ranked 60th. No, Self brought Embiid back, because he realized this KU team had zip chance of beating TTech without the Mighty Joel.

And don't let Wiggins getting the last bucket fool you. Andrew had to have Joel to win the game. Joel was 6-7 FG and 6-8 FT and had 8 reebs. Compare that with Wigs' 5-10 FG and 6-8 FT 6 reebs.

Oklahoma State's loss is KU's....loss - @MoonwalkMafia

With every loss that Oklahoma State accumulates, Travis Ford's seat is getting hotter and hotter. With the amount of talent that he has on that team, it is inexcusable to have had such an atrocious season. This is compounding the fact that OSU hasn't made it past the first weekend of the tournament since 2005. Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown all decided to come back for another season when each of them could have easily jumped to the NBA all to compete for a championship. But as of right now, they may not even get the chance to be in the field.

Marcus Smart has imploded on himself, showing immaturity on several occasions this season, and showing more importantly that nobody has sought to develop his character, as well as his game.

Kansas targets 7'6" PG recruit OK Oakville! - @drgnslayr

Kansas Buckets is now recruiting an All-American 7'6" point guard from Oakville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) by the name of OK Oakville.

The recruitment process has begun with a simple list asking the question "why?"

WHY OAKVILLE SHOULD BRING HIS GAME TO KUBUCKETS...

Feb 18: Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Feb 17: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ - @wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Feb 17: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

Feb 17: On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Also see today's News Digest, February 19, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 18, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 18

Also see our Daily Threads, February 19, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 18, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 18

!Winning shot - photo ↗

Jesse Newell: 53 possessions is slowest tempo any Big 12 team has played in any game this year and lowest of any KU team in the Bill Self era. ↗

** Tubby Smith: Andrew Wiggins negates strong Texas Tech effort ↗**

First-year Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith did just about everything a coach could do to set his team up for an upset Tuesday night in United Spirit Arena.

He has partaken in marketing efforts, handing out free tickets to students to revive interest in basketball. He had his team motivated to give its best effort. His switching defenses played a part in Kansas University having trouble running its offense to completion and finding consistent rhythm.

But he wasn’t celebrating afterward because his efforts and those of his hustling players fell just short, 64-63, when Andrew Wiggins’ follow shot feel through the hoop with two seconds remaining.

!winning play ↗

Wayne Selden hits critical three after slow start ↗

Kansas University freshman guard Wayne Selden wasn’t lacking in confidence as he went up for a huge three-point shot attempt with 2:34 left and the Jayhawks down by four points to Texas Tech on Tuesday night in United Spirit Arena.

He put perfect touch on the ball, cutting the deficit to 59-58 in an eventual 64-63 victory.

Keegan: Joel Embiid thrives in return to Kansas lineup ↗

After the bumps and bruises that tend to gain steam through the night settle in, more will be known about just how close freshman Joel Embiid’s long, graceful, athletic body is to a full recovery from knee and back injuries.

This much already is known: He was far enough recovered to play a huge role in Kansas University getting out of a United Spirit Arena with a victory.

Here's the February 18: Post-game Roundup - KU vs Texas Tech thread.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 19, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 18, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 18

Also see today's News Digest, February 18, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 17, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 17

Our Daily Threads for February 18:

Embiid: TXTech and Beyond -@truehawk93

I'm sure Embiid is fine and thankful there is no structural damage. We'll need him a whole lot more down the back stretch of the season. Let's not jeopardize a crucial piece of our chances to win the conference and a deep run in the tourney. Embiid is a huge key to that run.

Feb 17: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ - @wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Feb 17: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

Feb 17: On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Feb 10: The NEW Rupp Arena! - @jaybate

Since the University of Kentucky is having problems recruiting quality players to their basketball program, they thought an update to Rupp Arena might help!

Yikes... maybe we can pawn "the rules" and add some glass and metal to AFH!

Feb 10: EMERGENCY! Batman to the Batcave! - @drgnslayr

Feb 10: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs WVU - Feb 8 -@drgnslayr

This was a lot tougher game than many fans were prepared for. Two months ago, we would have viewed this game as a sure thing, but Bob Huggins has shown us, once again, why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. WVU has several talented offensive weapons, one sticking out above the rest, Juwan Staten. Staten showed all day how easy it was for him to cut through the Jayhawk backcourt like it was warm butter. It has been realized for quite some time now that KU's backcourt defense needs improving, especially at the PG position.

Staten gave Naadir Tharpe fits all day, and it didn't take too long for Coach Self to make the strategic move to pull Tharpe off of Staten, if for no other reason than to save Tharpe from foul trouble.

Feb 10: Smart: not so smart. -@REHawk

The Cowboys' (All-American?) guard quickly sliding into depths of despair. Time for Sports Illustrated to solicit a personal interview.

Feb 9: Tharpe: Can We Get More? - @HighEliteMajor

I left my viewing of KU’s methodical win today wanting more – wanting more from our point guard, Naadir Tharpe. The question is whether Tharpe is bumping up against his talent ceiling? We’ve seen Tharpe be near spectacular shooting the ball. We’ve seen him drop 12 assists against zero turnovers. We’ve seen Tharpe be the best player on this team at times. But many times, we’ve seen him play at a pedestrian level as a whole, and subpar in some of the other parts of his game. Today, to me, was downright frustrating.

Five areas I want more from Tharpe...

Feb 8: JIE: Warning--WVU Dangerous - @jaybate

jaybate intelligence estimate

RE: WVU THREAT LEVEL--HIGH

Bob Huggins team last season was one of his rare bad ones. He rebuilt his team this season and it looks like he designed it specifically to beat KU. Three combos and two bigs. The combos play a lot of minutes. The bigs are two deep. This WVU is modeled after SDSU and Florida and to lesser degree Texas. It is big, brawny, deep, and has long and strong guards. Couple this with Huggins thug ball and this means the threat level for an upset of KU is HIGH, I REPEAT HIGH.

Also see today's News Digest, February 18, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 17, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 17

Also see our Daily Threads, February 18, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 17, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 17

! ↗

Dodd: Black adjusts to being outside KU spotlight ↗

LAWRENCE — Tarik Black carried a bag of fresh food as he moved through a hallway inside Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday evening. It was nearly 75 minutes after Kansas’ 95-65 blitzkrieg of TCU, and the autograph line outside the Jayhawks’ locker room was still two or three people deep. Most of the Kansas players were long gone, their dinner in tow, but for the last 20 minutes Black had been sidled up next to a reporter from Sports Illustrated.

The conversation was supposed to last five minutes, but it kept dragging on, more and more questions about KU freshman center Joel Embiid. National magazines don’t come to Kansas to write stories about Black, of course. They come to see Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, two freshmen who could go No. 1 and 2 in the NBA Draft. But they still want to talk to Black, the thoughtful transfer who arrived at KU after graduating from Memphis in three years.

Newell: KU center Joel Embiid set to play Tuesday against Texas Tech ↗

LUBBOCK, Texas — After returning to practice Sunday, Kansas center Joel Embiid is expected to be a full-go for Tuesday’s 7 p.m. road matchup at Texas Tech.

Embiid sat out KU’s practices last week and also Saturday’s 95-65 home victory over TCU with knee and back ailments.

Newell: KU basketball forward Perry Ellis named co-Big 12 player of the week ↗

LAWRENCE — Kansas forward Perry Ellis was named the Big 12 co-player of the week, the conference announced Monday.

The sophomore shared this week's award with Baylor center Isaiah Austin

Pirtle: Like father, like son: Tech's Hannahs learned from major league dad ↗

Since his youth, Dusty Hannahs has grown up hearing his father tell him to keep his mind on his money and his money on his mind.

“It’s true in everything I do,” Dusty said. “Just keep my mind on basketball and school because that’s what’s going to get to the money in that case. Just keeping your mind on it at all times.”

Also see our Daily Threads, February 18, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 17, as well as Daily ThreadS for Yesterday, February 17

@wissoxfan83

So, what I would do in this case, since it seems like you want to start a thread about a particular article, is create a new thread entitled: Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well

Then put the text you wrote under it as the body of post, including the url, with something like

Here's the link to ESPN. ↗

Then create a link on a the daily threads thread like this, using the markdown syntax, and replacing the url in this link with the link of the article you're aiming at (here it's www.google.com, but thats because I dont know what the url to your post would be until after you create it):

Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well ↗ -@wissoxfan83

Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

Normally, I'd say a link to a news story would be more appropriate for the News Digest thread, but the exception would be if you think its a good conversation starter on its own and you want it to be its own thread. That seems to make sense for this one.

Also see today's News Digest, February 17, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 16, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 16

Our Daily Threads for February 17:

Wiggins Highlight video and other freshmen as well - @wissoxfan83
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10326865 ↗
Interesting to me is there are no jump shots for Wiggins. All drives to the hoops, several not terribly impressive in my view. I watched Parkers highlights, he had a bit more substance to his, although his top play was in a blue-white scrimmage, so that shouldn't really count. Of course being ESPN, maybe they can even control these vids to make one look better than another.

FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs TCU - Feb 15 - @drgnslayr

Man alive... Who do I single out for the FLOOR BURN AWARD on this one? Perry Ellis had a MAN NIGHT! 32-points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 5 assists and 2 steals! And he proved he can be a threat from the perimeter, nailing two 3-point shots. It will be nice (moving forward) to exploit that option!

Andrew Wiggins.. played a solid game. He's staying busy and on the move. He managed 17-points and just took what was given to him.

On Brandon and Bill - @jaybate

Brandon Rush came home yesterday and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Rush and Self had not seen each other in two years and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. Bill Self says Brandon Rush is the greatest defensive player he ever coached and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house. IMHO, Brandon Rush is still the best freshman basketball player Bill Self has ever coached at KU and his jersey is still not hanging in the field house.

Why?

Feb 16: OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

Feb 16: King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

Feb 16:"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Feb 10: The NEW Rupp Arena! - @jaybate

Since the University of Kentucky is having problems recruiting quality players to their basketball program, they thought an update to Rupp Arena might help!

Yikes... maybe we can pawn "the rules" and add some glass and metal to AFH!

Feb 10: EMERGENCY! Batman to the Batcave! - @drgnslayr

Feb 10: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs WVU - Feb 8 -@drgnslayr

This was a lot tougher game than many fans were prepared for. Two months ago, we would have viewed this game as a sure thing, but Bob Huggins has shown us, once again, why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. WVU has several talented offensive weapons, one sticking out above the rest, Juwan Staten. Staten showed all day how easy it was for him to cut through the Jayhawk backcourt like it was warm butter. It has been realized for quite some time now that KU's backcourt defense needs improving, especially at the PG position.

Staten gave Naadir Tharpe fits all day, and it didn't take too long for Coach Self to make the strategic move to pull Tharpe off of Staten, if for no other reason than to save Tharpe from foul trouble.

Feb 10: Smart: not so smart. -@REHawk

The Cowboys' (All-American?) guard quickly sliding into depths of despair. Time for Sports Illustrated to solicit a personal interview.

Feb 9: Tharpe: Can We Get More? - @HighEliteMajor

I left my viewing of KU’s methodical win today wanting more – wanting more from our point guard, Naadir Tharpe. The question is whether Tharpe is bumping up against his talent ceiling? We’ve seen Tharpe be near spectacular shooting the ball. We’ve seen him drop 12 assists against zero turnovers. We’ve seen Tharpe be the best player on this team at times. But many times, we’ve seen him play at a pedestrian level as a whole, and subpar in some of the other parts of his game. Today, to me, was downright frustrating.

Five areas I want more from Tharpe...

Feb 8: JIE: Warning--WVU Dangerous - @jaybate

jaybate intelligence estimate

RE: WVU THREAT LEVEL--HIGH

Bob Huggins team last season was one of his rare bad ones. He rebuilt his team this season and it looks like he designed it specifically to beat KU. Three combos and two bigs. The combos play a lot of minutes. The bigs are two deep. This WVU is modeled after SDSU and Florida and to lesser degree Texas. It is big, brawny, deep, and has long and strong guards. Couple this with Huggins thug ball and this means the threat level for an upset of KU is HIGH, I REPEAT HIGH.

Also see today's News Digest, February 17, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 16, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 16

Also see our Daily Threads, February 17, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 16, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 16

! ↗

Newell: KU forward Jamari Traylor on suspension: 'I let everybody down' ↗

LAWRENCE — Jamari Traylor was stuck on the bench, and that was a cruel punishment during his one-game suspension Monday when he watched his team fall to Kansas State, 85-82, in overtime.

“As a player, you’d see plays like, ‘Ah, I could have got that,’ or something like that. Just stuff like that,” the Kansas sophomore forward said. “I just knew I could have helped the team, and it was hurting me to know that I let everybody down.”

Please add stories here

Also see our Daily Threads, February 17, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 16, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 16

@jaybate 1.0 I miss Brandons corner three. Picture perfect every time.. And the first time he dunked in transition going 360 full speed to avoid the defender. Thanks for this jb.

Also see today's News Digest, February 16, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 15, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 15

Our Daily Threads for February 16:

OAD or the sleeping Giant. - @DoubleDD

After reading article after article I'm beginning to wonder? We all have heard and read about how great Wiggins, JoeJoe, and Seldon are. These three have disappointed and wowed us with what they can do on the basketball court. I think we can all agree if these three are on their game KU is almost impossible to beat. However I wonder.

It seems to me there is a sleeping Giant in our mist. A player that can rebound, a player that can dunk, a player that has a mid range shot, a player that can shoot the three, and finally a player that can create his own shot.

King Shaq-Lemore Runs Into A Wall - @brooksmd

BMac had a great dunk tonight with the help of Shaq. Unfortunately there was a Wall in his way.

"A slippage from a responsibility standpoint" - @REHawk

HA! Billl Self's take regarding the latest of team disciplinary actions, this time involving Brannen Greene, benched for the TCU contest. I don't know the apprehensions of other posters who have followed closely the freshman season of young Mr. Greene, but since his summertime vehicular incident and subsequent ill decision, I have kept my fingers crossed that Brannen's inclinations might not succumb to further ill fated actions and consequences. Since this benching appears to be only a 1-game punishment, evidently the slippage is not of severe caliber. Unfortunate for the freshman, just when his minutes seemed to rise to the threshold of much sunnier horizons...Kaboom! I'll keep my fingers crossed until midApril.

Feb 15: Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Feb 10: The NEW Rupp Arena! - @jaybate

Since the University of Kentucky is having problems recruiting quality players to their basketball program, they thought an update to Rupp Arena might help!

Yikes... maybe we can pawn "the rules" and add some glass and metal to AFH!

Feb 10: EMERGENCY! Batman to the Batcave! - @drgnslayr

Feb 10: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs WVU - Feb 8 -@drgnslayr

This was a lot tougher game than many fans were prepared for. Two months ago, we would have viewed this game as a sure thing, but Bob Huggins has shown us, once again, why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. WVU has several talented offensive weapons, one sticking out above the rest, Juwan Staten. Staten showed all day how easy it was for him to cut through the Jayhawk backcourt like it was warm butter. It has been realized for quite some time now that KU's backcourt defense needs improving, especially at the PG position.

Staten gave Naadir Tharpe fits all day, and it didn't take too long for Coach Self to make the strategic move to pull Tharpe off of Staten, if for no other reason than to save Tharpe from foul trouble.

Feb 10: Smart: not so smart. -@REHawk

The Cowboys' (All-American?) guard quickly sliding into depths of despair. Time for Sports Illustrated to solicit a personal interview.

Feb 9: Tharpe: Can We Get More? - @HighEliteMajor

I left my viewing of KU’s methodical win today wanting more – wanting more from our point guard, Naadir Tharpe. The question is whether Tharpe is bumping up against his talent ceiling? We’ve seen Tharpe be near spectacular shooting the ball. We’ve seen him drop 12 assists against zero turnovers. We’ve seen Tharpe be the best player on this team at times. But many times, we’ve seen him play at a pedestrian level as a whole, and subpar in some of the other parts of his game. Today, to me, was downright frustrating.

Five areas I want more from Tharpe...

Feb 8: JIE: Warning--WVU Dangerous - @jaybate

jaybate intelligence estimate

RE: WVU THREAT LEVEL--HIGH

Bob Huggins team last season was one of his rare bad ones. He rebuilt his team this season and it looks like he designed it specifically to beat KU. Three combos and two bigs. The combos play a lot of minutes. The bigs are two deep. This WVU is modeled after SDSU and Florida and to lesser degree Texas. It is big, brawny, deep, and has long and strong guards. Couple this with Huggins thug ball and this means the threat level for an upset of KU is HIGH, I REPEAT HIGH.

Also see today's News Digest, February 16, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 15, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 15

Also see our Daily Threads, February 16, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 15, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 15

! ↗

Sophomore star: Perry Ellis impresses former Jayhawk Brandon Rush ↗

Brandon Rush of the NBA’s Utah Jazz walked out of Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday singing the praises of one of Kansas University’s future pro players.

The person receiving the plaudits wasn’t freshman Andrew Wiggins, who scored 17 points in the Jayhawks’ 95-65 victory over TCU.

Keegan: Jamari Traylor learns from punishment ↗

Traylor shook off a slow start and put together one of his better games in a Kansas uniform. Decidedly stronger and quicker than most of TCU’s inside players, Traylor used those advantages to score a career-high 10 points to go with eight rebounds and a blocked shot.

Here's the February 15: Post-game Roundup - KU vs TCU thread.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 16, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 15, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 15

!ku_bkc_tcu_10_t960.jpg ↗

Newell: Mama's still happy: Perry Ellis scores career-high 32 points as KU basketball routs TCU ↗

LAWRENCE — Fonda Ellis sent a text message to her son, Perry, just before Saturday’s tipoff.

“Go get another double-double,” it read.

Tait: Final: Kansas 95, TCU 65 ↗

With “I Dream of Jeanie” star Barbara Eden in the house, Kansas University forward Perry Ellis flashed a little magic of his own, exploding for a career-high 32 points during one of the best all-around efforts of his young KU career in leading Kansas to a 95-65 victory over visiting TCU.

Ellis had modest numbers in the first half, leading Kansas with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. But he exploded in the second half to put the finishing touches on his career day.

Dodd: Perry Ellis scores 32 as KU beats TCU 95-65 ↗##

LAWRENCE — When the final three-pointer went down, Perry Ellis turned to jog back on defense and broke into a half smile. Except it wasn’t quite a smile, more like a half-grimace.

Ellis had just hit 30 points on the day — on his way to a career-high 32 — and No. 7 Kansas was rolling to a 95-65 victory over TCU on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. But Perry Ellis really doesn’t do smiles. At least he doesn’t do them well.

Vernon: Jayhawks' Selden, Wiggins bounce back against Horned Frogs ↗

LAWRENCE — As Wayne Selden Jr. left the locker room, walking away from the line of fans waiting for team autographs, only one called out to Selden.

“Have a good night,” he said.

Ward: KU defense 'not great' against TCU ↗

LAWRENCE — It had been more than two years since Bill Self and Brandon Rush saw one another, so when the former Kansas star walked into the locker room after Saturday’s rout of TCU, it was —more than anything, perhaps — simply a nice moment for the two to reconnect.

But it was Rush, after all, the lanky, 6-foot-6 forward Self considers the best defensive player he’s coached in his 11 seasons in Lawrence.

Tait: TCU coach deals with 30-point loss to Kansas with dry humor ↗

The reality of it was, TCU basketball coach Trent Johnson was not all that upset with his team after a 95-65 loss to No. 7 Kansas University on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.

Not that you'd know that from listening to a few of Johnson's post-game soundbites following the loss.

Newell: KU guard Andrew White III says recent stretch has been 'frustrating' ↗

LAWRENCE — Kansas guard Andrew White III scored for the first time since Nov. 28 on Saturday afternoon, putting in four points on 2-for-3 shooting in Kansas’ 95-65 victory over TCU at Allen Fieldhouse.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore, who has played a combined 13 minutes in Big 12 play, says the last few months have been difficult.

ESPN Box Score ↗

CJOnline Live Blog ↗

@bskeet agreed about the diversity of stories people added here. Great stuff!

Also enjoyed the V Day jokes. Even if everyone was completely serious.

bump. ↗

Also see today's News Digest, February 15, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14

Our Daily Threads for February 15:

Hoops housing rejected: round up the usual suspects -@jaybate

Here is where board rats post who voted against the basketball housing and why. Time to understand the politics of basketball housing.

Feb 14:STAT DAT! - @drgnslayr

Our man Tait, over at KUSports has posted a story on our 3-point proficiency to date. And while Matt isn't quite the stat-grinder Jesse is, we appreciate his efforts in shining the light away from emotional views to hard facts. Thank you, Matt!

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/13/a-deeper-look-at-kus-three-point-shootin/ ↗

The season has played out long enough now that we can look at hard numbers and form a strategy around them. Might players play up or down as the season progress? Yes, of course... but then it is good to factor in recent games to estimate future proficiency. Players (and teams) go hot and cold... that's what Las Vegas counts on... there is enough variance in the game to keep things unpredictable around their point spreads, creating a 50/50 jump ball where they net 10% on the overall wash.

Feb 13: Is There a Bounty on KU OADs? - @jaybate

Today is my day for asking an irreverent question, I guess.

Self said Selden was injured early and some times his uneven play hints that his injury recurs intermittently.

Feb 13: Are the Gators the favorite to winning it all, and Why is Boeheims zone still so effective? - @Blown

Just a short topic here but I'm curious to hear who our NC picks are right now and why on earth is Syracuse the dominant zone team in the country year after year? I am resolved to the hawks not making the FF, and along that thought, I'm also deciding on Billy D as my favorite coach and Florida winning it all this year. Looking forward to your opinions.

Feb 13: Tight Calls, Less Injuries/Loose Calls, More Injuries? - @jaybate

Increasingly, this season seems to be segmented into two seasons.

The first season was when fouls were called very tightly inside and out and there was next to no butcher ball.

Feb 12: Post Latest Scuttlebutt on When Jam Tray Will Be Back Here - @jaybate

Feb 12: Welcome to Hedge Row Country - @jaybate

Eisenhower assaulted Normandy with the most awesome military force ever assembled, but no one was certain the invasion would succeed. Weather could easily have wrecked the plan, but it did not. The inability to get many of the glider and paratrooper forces to their intended destinations followed by their inability coordinate into effective fighting units in the darkness could have wrecked the plan, but instead their own chaos caused so much confusion among the Germans that they did not know how to capitalize on the chaos. The Germans could have wrecked the plan by bringing their Panzers up immediately, but they did not. The miscalculations at Omaha that cost so many lives could have wrecked the plan by exposing a weak flank that those at Utah might not have been able to hold, but it did not. Montgomery's left bogging down could have wrecked the plan, but the Germans did not amass enough force soon enough to exploit the situation. So: inspite of all the SNAFUs, the Allies, the greatest single amphibious invasion force in human history established a successful foothold and primed to begin to grind down their enemy with overwhelming ground and air force, plus staggering logistical advantage.

But then things ground to a halt in hedge row country in the American sector.

Feb 11: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU @ KSU - Feb 10 - @drgnslayr

It is always a tough loss in the Little Apple because, to be quite frankly, it rarely occurs!

I was not overly-optimistic about walking out of the Octagon with a win this time because we count on too much production from freshmen.

Feb 11: Rest for Joel - @JRyman

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10436361/joel-embiid-kansas-jayhawks-miss-injuries ↗

Rest him now get him healthy for the stretch run, and is a 1 seed everything? I'll take a two seed and a rested Joel for the tournament run, over a slowed and hobbled Joel and a 1 seed any day.

Feb 11: Freshmen Fairy Tale - @drgnslayr

What stood out the most last night was the obvious reality of having a bunch of freshmen on the same team visiting a hostile environment. Everyone makes such a big deal out of the Hilton... I'd rather go play at ISU than KSU... any day of the week!

Wiggins is only 18. When I was 18 I popped more zits than long ball jump shots. All of our team is filled with kids. I think I'd make an exception on Tarik... he seems to be the lone adult.

Feb 10: The NEW Rupp Arena! - @jaybate

Since the University of Kentucky is having problems recruiting quality players to their basketball program, they thought an update to Rupp Arena might help!

Yikes... maybe we can pawn "the rules" and add some glass and metal to AFH!

Feb 10: EMERGENCY! Batman to the Batcave! - @drgnslayr

Feb 10: FLOOR BURN AWARD: KU vs WVU - Feb 8 -@drgnslayr

This was a lot tougher game than many fans were prepared for. Two months ago, we would have viewed this game as a sure thing, but Bob Huggins has shown us, once again, why he is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame someday. WVU has several talented offensive weapons, one sticking out above the rest, Juwan Staten. Staten showed all day how easy it was for him to cut through the Jayhawk backcourt like it was warm butter. It has been realized for quite some time now that KU's backcourt defense needs improving, especially at the PG position.

Staten gave Naadir Tharpe fits all day, and it didn't take too long for Coach Self to make the strategic move to pull Tharpe off of Staten, if for no other reason than to save Tharpe from foul trouble.

Feb 10: Smart: not so smart. -@REHawk

The Cowboys' (All-American?) guard quickly sliding into depths of despair. Time for Sports Illustrated to solicit a personal interview.

Feb 9: Tharpe: Can We Get More? - @HighEliteMajor

I left my viewing of KU’s methodical win today wanting more – wanting more from our point guard, Naadir Tharpe. The question is whether Tharpe is bumping up against his talent ceiling? We’ve seen Tharpe be near spectacular shooting the ball. We’ve seen him drop 12 assists against zero turnovers. We’ve seen Tharpe be the best player on this team at times. But many times, we’ve seen him play at a pedestrian level as a whole, and subpar in some of the other parts of his game. Today, to me, was downright frustrating.

Five areas I want more from Tharpe...

Feb 8: JIE: Warning--WVU Dangerous - @jaybate

jaybate intelligence estimate

RE: WVU THREAT LEVEL--HIGH

Bob Huggins team last season was one of his rare bad ones. He rebuilt his team this season and it looks like he designed it specifically to beat KU. Three combos and two bigs. The combos play a lot of minutes. The bigs are two deep. This WVU is modeled after SDSU and Florida and to lesser degree Texas. It is big, brawny, deep, and has long and strong guards. Couple this with Huggins thug ball and this means the threat level for an upset of KU is HIGH, I REPEAT HIGH.

Also see today's News Digest, February 15, and News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14

Also see our Daily Threads, February 15, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14

! ↗

Newell: Bill Self: Stopping dribble drives a matter of 'want-to' for KU basketball defense ↗

LAWRENCE — It’s starting to get late to hope for a miraculous improvement.

The Kansas men’s basketball team appears to have an easy-to-spot weakness defensively: an inability to stop opposing guards from beating them off the dribble.

Amick: Adam Silver Q&A: New boss wants NBA age limit raised ↗

In a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports, new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver covered the past, present and future of his life and this wildly-successful league that he'll now be leading. Silver discussed a wide range of topics, from his personal upbringing in New York City to the path he took to becoming the fifth commissioner to his goal of the NBA rivaling the NFL in terms of popularity to — last but not least — his strong opinion that the league's minimum age should be raised from 19 years old to 20.

The following is the portion of the interview that was not included in the USA TODAY Sports exclusive story...

Dodd: KU freshmen try to clear 'the wall' ↗

LAWRENCE — They say the wall is real. They say that it’s a freshman thing, that the injuries, practices and games can pile up like miles on an odometer.

They say the wall looks a lot like KU center Joel Embiid, leaving the KU locker room on Friday afternoon and slowly walking into practice with an icepack around his sore left knee. Embiid, who is also battling a sore back, didn’t practice on Friday. He hasn’t practiced all week. And he won’t play Saturday, when No. 7 Kansas faces TCU at 3 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

Bedore: Joel Embiid-less KU vs o for Big 12 TCU ↗

Kansas University freshman center Joel Embiid, who has started the last 16 games after coming off the bench to open the season, will miss today’s 3 p.m. KU-TCU contest as he continues to rehabilitate his aching knee and back.

“He hasn’t done anything except get treatment,” KU coach Bill Self said of the 7-foot freshman, who will be replaced by senior Tarik Black in the starting lineup. Black started the season’s first eight games before giving way to Embiid.

Also see our Daily Threads, February 15, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 14, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 14