Preview: Jayhawks return home in matchup against Texas

Coming off their first true road victory, the No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks will return to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the visiting Texas Longhorns in Allen Fieldhouse on Monday, Jan 14th.

Kansas has started conference play with a 3-1 record, playing two games against ranked opponents and its lone loss coming against an Iowa State team which is currently ranked at 25th in the nation.

For the Longhorns, they hold wins over teams such as the high-powered North Carolina Tar Heels, but also have losses against teams such as the 11-6 Radford Highlanders.

Texas is coming off a six-point loss to the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, a game which the Longhorns had the lead at the half but fell apart in the second half to keep Tech unbeaten in conference play.

For Texas to beat the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse, the Longhorns will need a Hollywood performance from their leader, senior Kerwin Roach III. Roach sits at 11th in the Big 12 in scoring but does most of his damage simply by running the Longhorn offense: getting teammates open and finding lanes to the hoop.

The Jayhawks, however, have players who are plenty capable of stopping Roach, including the defensive machine in sophomore guard Marcus Garrett. Garrett injured his ankle in the last game against Baylor but returned to action and seemed to be fine for the remainder of the contest.

Freshman point guard Devon Dotson is also emerging as a very reliable point guard for Kansas, making clutch plays and finding teammates open on the court. Dotson, much like the leading scorer for Kansas, junior forward Dedric Lawson, gets most his points very quietly, rarely scoring in bunches.

The biggest question for Kansas however is senior guard LaGerald Vick. Historically, Vick has struggled in Big 12 play and very rarely makes a mark in the game, however against Baylor, Vick hit six threes on eight attempts and finished the game with 18 points.

Vick has also had breakout games this season, dropping 30+ on multiple occasions, but he has also disappeared from games. Vick’s biggest knock is inconsistency, but if he can go on a shooting spree against the Longhorns, Texas will be in for a long night.

Freshman big Jaxson Hayes will also need to step up against Kansas and he will likely do so as the Jayhawks do not have the size to overmatch him. Hayes, much like Dotson, is seemingly getting better as the season rolls on and a breakout performance against Kansas would be big for his team’s chance to win.

For the Longhorns to pull off a victory, Roach will have to operate the offense to near perfection and get Hayes involved into the offense. Texas also cannot blow big plays, much like when they forced a steal against the Red Raiders and then immediately turned the ball over late in the contest.

Kansas will have to find its shooting touch and use the athleticism of its team to knock off the Longhorns, very similar to how the Red Raiders beat Texas. Kansas and Texas will tipoff on Monday, Jan 14th at 8 P.M.