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Bill Self must be having a ball…
His KU Jayhawks were supposed to be having a down year. They weren’t even picked to win the Big 12 for like the 99Th year in a row. Self and Kansas had accepted playing five top programs early in the season, including Duke, Kentucky and Ohio State – all strong contenders for the Final Four. KU was not taking on the Shawnee Mission Easts of the college world to build a fake record, as most top programs do each season.
In spite of all that, it worked!
Kansas played well against all three monsters, beating Ohio State, then the No. 2 team in the nation. And Kansas had to do it all with really just Thomas Robinson (a sure top five NBA pick at season’s end), the undependable Tyshawn Taylor at guard and some defense from Jeff Withey.
That was it.
Plus a bench with no real backups that could help much. They looked like a KU team that would finish maybe 3rd in the Big 12 and barely make the NCAA March Madness scene, mostly on their rep.
Not so! KU destroyed No. 3 and undefeated Baylor last night at home by a score of 92-74. My gosh, a win yes, but to bury an undefeated Baylor who had just killed OU by 50 – damn.
Big 12 player of the week and likely All Big 12 guard Taylor scored 28 and Robinson 27. Withey is now a double, double guy and had 10 points. And as the surprise player of the year, Travis Releford contributed 11.
So KU has FOUR big guns now – more than enough to wear the Big 12 crown again, and maybe, just maybe, be ranked in the top three or four to be a One Seed come March. It’s a team that could see KU’s first Final Four since 2008’s Championship season.
Again the area’s top sports program is clearly the Kansas basketball franchise.
And this just might be the year that KU, the Royals and yes, even the Chiefs make the post-season.
A fun time in KC for 2012…..we hope. With Kansas leading the way…..again.
P.S. KU is now in first place in the Big 12 with a 15-3 record, with likely only a challenge from turncoats MU for the title.
Not OU
Baylor didn’t put that beatdown on OU. They smacked around Oklahoma State.
Cinderella?
Really? While I won’t deny that Coach Self is doing a masterful job with this year’s (somewhat less talented than past teams) squad, it’s not exactly true that they weren’t picked by anybody to win the Big XII this year when in fact they were picked to finish first (along with Texas A&M) by the league’s coaches in their annual preseason poll. Although they finished in a tie with the Aggies in total pts. in the poll, 5 of the 10 coaches in the Big XII gave them their first-place votes so I wouldn’t exactly say that they arrived to their current standing in a pumpkin carriage.
Good win by Kansas but let’s not lessen the affect of playing in AFH.
On a neutral court these teams split and quite possibly Baylor has a slight edge. Again, good win by KU but let’s not crown them champions just yet.
I was at the game last night
…and the energy in that room was palpable! The opening video says it all;
Oh God Glazer, PLEASE!!!!
KU kicking someone’s ass at AFH is nothing new. Quit getting all excited over one damn home game. So far, KU’s best wins in conference have all been home games. The two toughest teams they’ve faced (KSU and Baylor) have both been at home. So let’s hold off on crowning KU just yet. They still have to play @KSU, @Baylor, @MU, and @ISU. It’s an 18 game marathon of a conference schedule. This conference will be won in mid to late February, not January. Get a clue. Also, KU doesn’t have “four big guns”. Sheezus. They have two, max. Robinson for sure. Taylor can be great, but also is liable to turn the ball over 5-7 times. Releford and Withey are nice pieces, but you better not count on them night after night. “Big guns” are kids that can score you 18-25 points on a regular basis. Releford and Withey won’t be doing that. Excellent win for KU last night….but there is a LOOOOOONG way to go. This is just the beginning.
Releford, Teahan, Wesley and Young wouldn’t even sniff the court on Self’s ’08 team. This season may end up being one of his best coaching jobs by the time we get to March, right when they’ll get knocked off by Whatwasthequestion College of the Arts.
slimey scum like glazer boy is unworthy to even comment on truely great things….. like KU Basketball.
Best for big mouth morons like glazer to stick to his stupid stories about his drug use, his buying whores and thier kids for sex and talking how cool he for spending years in prison. KU has no need for slimeball convicts like glazer……. Best if he sticks to his gutter trash stories.