Kansas Basketball: Jayhawks can not look past Cowboys
By Stan Unruh
Kansas basketball will face a wounded Big 12 foe Saturday. The Jayhawks take the next step toward a conference title when then battle Oklahoma State.
The Kansas basketball team is on a roll and needs to focus on a team that is attempting to avoid a fourth straight loss. Bill Self’s guys can’t look past the visitors. The Cowboys last won a game January 20 when they knocked off rival Oklahoma and their all-world freshman point guard 83-81. The Sooners beat them by twenty on January 3.
Since their last win, Texas Tech, Arkansas and TCU beat the Pokes. One issue is injury and illness. Tavarius Shine, who missed most of last season with a back injury, injured his wrist against Kansas State. Teammate Kendall Smith had the flu, according to Nathan Ruiz with NewsOK.
The Cowboys should be healthy and ready to bring their best effort Saturday in Lawrence. They are just one of the few schools to get a win at Allen Fieldhouse since 2013. If the Jayhawks relax, the game could be closer than necessary. Two Cowboy Seniors would love nothing more than knocking off the Kansas Basketball team on their final trip to the fieldhouse.
Jeffery Carroll scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 33 minutes at the fieldhouse last January. The 6-foot-6 red shirt senior put up 27 more when the teams last met in March. The Jayhawks won both games by single-digits.
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Other than Carroll, Mitchell Solomon won’t be a difficult challenge for Udoka Azubuike. The 6-foot-9 senior certainly has the experience but he is averaging just 7 points and 6 rebounds a game. The Jayhawks need to use Azubuike early and often against Solomon. If the 7-foot sophomore gets into foul trouble, Mitch Lightfoot is ready.
The Cowboys are not a great team but as the signature win over Oklahoma shows they are capable of finding a way to win. As a matter of fact, they are the best free throw shooting in the Big 12. They average almost 80 percent from the charity stripe. I don’t expect the game will be close enough for free throws to impact the outcome.