GAME 2
NOVEMBER 15, 2011 – 9:00 PM
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY
#13 KANSAS JAYHAWKS (1-0)
TV – ESPN
SERIES HISTORY
KENTUCKY LEADS 19-6
RECENT MATCHUPS
3/18/2007: Kansas 88 KENTUCKY 76*
1/7/2006: Kansas 73 KENTUCKY 46
*NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Kentucky Wildcat’s get their first real test of the 2011-12 season as they face the 13th ranked Kansas Jayhawks in the inaugural Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. Both teams had easy tuneups over the weekend: Kentucky rolled past Marist 108-58 while the Jayhawks blew out Towson 100-54. Kentucky and Kansas enter this game as the number one and the number two all time winningest programs in the NCAA.
Despite what seems like a natural rivalry, Kentucky and Kansas have only met on the hard court 25 times. Kansas has had the upper hand lately, winning three games in a row and five of the past eight games. Before that, Kentucky had won 16 of the first 17 meetings between the two teams. Some Kentucky fans still harbor ill will towards Kansas for the 150-95 beat down the Jayhawks put on Kentucky during Kentucky’s first season. John Calipari does have revenge on his mind however, as the Jayhawks defeated his Memphis Tigers in the 2008 NCAA Finals.
The Jayhawks lost a good bit from their 35-3 team last year as they were hurt by the loss of the Morris twins and Josh Selby. In addition, the leadership and experience of Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar. Kansas had a much hyped recruiting class set to fill some of those holes, but Ben McLeMore, Jamari Traylor, and former Kentucky recruit Braeden Anderson were all declared ineligible. Kansas will be depending on a lot of former role players to step up and produce if Kansas wants to keep up their lofty preseason ranking.
PROBABLE STARTERS
#10 PG – TYSHAWN TAYLOR – SR, 6’3, 185
12 ppg, 4 apg, 0 rpg
#24 SF – TRAVIS RELEFORD – JR, 6’5, 207
14 ppg, 3 apg, 1 rpg
#15 SG – ELIJAH JOHNSON – JR, 6’4, 195
8 ppg, 8 apg, 3 rpg
#0 PF – THOMAS ROBINSON – JR, 6’9, 237
18 ppg, 11 rpg, 4 apg
#5 C JEFF WITHEY – JR, 7’0, 235
10 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg
THE BENCH
#2 G – CONNOR TEAHAN – SR, 6’5, 212
11 ppg, 4 rpg, 1 apg
#1 G – NAADIR THARPE – FR, 5’11, 170
6 ppg, 4 apg, 0 rpg
#40 F – KEVIN YOUNG – JR, 6’8, 185
13 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg
#4 F – JUSTIN WESLEY – SO, 6’8, 200
6.0 ppg, 1 apg, 1 rpg
Kansas comes into their matchup about as vulnerable as they have been the last couple of seasons. As I stated earlier, off-season NBA defections hurt mightily and the fact that half the recruiting class is ineligible did not help matters. As a result, the Jayhawks return just one starter from last year in PG Tyshawn Taylor. Taylor is one of the fastest guards in college basketball and has been touted as a NBA prospect since his arrival at Kansas, but that hype has not panned out yet. Regardless, Taylor is Kansas’s best passer and has led the Jayhawks in assists the past two seasons. Elijah Johnson is one of the players that Kansas is looking to step up and he had 8 assists and 3 steals versus Towson. Johnson can get hot from 3-point land and is the best defender the Jayhawks have. Connor Teahan will be looked upon to provide long-range support for the Jayhawks but it is asking a lot for him to be a major factor as he has scored just 81 points in his previous three seasons and red-shirted last year. Naadir Tharpe is a four star PG who will be expected to produce backing up Taylor as a true freshman.
The frontcourt is perilously thin for Kansas but Thomas Robinson is the real deal. Robinson averaged 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in just 14 minutes a game last year and he was considered to be a first round NBA draft pick. After Robinson, Kansas is a big question mark in the post. Releford has been hyped for a couple of years but has had to bide his time. He averaged 3.7 points last year so his impact is yet to be determined. Withey has not seen a lot of action at Kansas and has seen just mop-up action the last couple of years. Bill Self finds himself having to rely on Loyola Marymount transfer Kevin Young and Lamar transfer Justin Wesley to give much-needed depth.
Kansas does hold one advantage over Kentucky and that is in experience. Even though most of these players have not played in a lot of games, they have been in Bill Self’s system for a few years. Kansas looks to be a very disciplined team as they had 30 assists versus Towson and just 5 turnovers. They also are a very good shooting team and the three-point shot can keep them in the game against Kentucky. Kansas hit 10 of 23 3-pointers versus Towson and this is not a team that is scared to shoot from long range. Kansas also has very good speed in Taylor and Johnson and they could actually be faster than Kentucky’s backcourt.
The frontcourt is where this game will be won however. Robinson is an obvious talent, but Kansas is just too thin to compete with Kentucky in this aspect. The Jayhawks were actually outrebounded by Towson 33-32 and allowed 14 offensive boards. By contrast, Kentucky outrebounded Marist 50-27 and the front court of Jones, Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist/Miller may be among the best in the country.
You can’t dismiss Kansas’s experience though. This game will be like a NCAA Regional game in terms of intensity and Kentucky’s freshmen may be in awe of Madison Square Garden. Even though Kansas players are new to starting, they have prepared for big games before and know the drill. And Bill Self has been a very good recruiter. The Kansa roster is full of top rated players that jus have not gotten a chance to play yet. No one is denying Kansas has talent, but the second game of the season is a pretty good time to be playing then. Throw in the fact that neither Taylor or Johnson played in the exhibition games for Kansas and you have a team still finding their chemistry.
Expect a close first half as Kansas may lead early, but in the end, Kentucky’s front court strength will be too much to overcome. Expect Kyle Wiltjer to be a true wildcard as Kansas will have trouble coming up with an answer for him and he could have a big game. It will be closer than it should be, but Kentucky will prevail 83-77.