KU Edges K-State

They say that good guard play wins championships. And while Emeka Okafor and Joakim Noah might argue otherwise, it's hard to name a team that has won the NCAA finals in recent years without at least consistent guard play.

Last night, Kansas got consistently good guard play.

Thanks to 20 points from freshman guard Sherron Collins and 17 more from sophomore shooting guard Mario Chalmers, Kansas pulled out a 71-62 road win that was anybody's game until the final minute. Collins, who shot 8-11 from the floor and now averages an even 10 points a night made big shot after big shot (enough to overcome eight combined turnovers between he and Chalmers compared to three combined assists) as he dominated the minutes at point guard over the junior starter Russell Robinson.

Turnovers from the backcourt won't help Bill Self much in March, but the scoring output was eye-opening.

But beyond last night's production, one of the best things about Collins is that every solid performance he puts out gives the commentators more and more opportunities to tell us that he played wide receiver in high school again. I only metion this because, at 5-11 and 200 pounds, what on earth was he doing playing wide receiver? Who was their running back, Gilbert Brown? Leroy Hoard?? Ok, so maybe Hoard is a random choice for a big RB but mentioning him lets me write my favorite quote of his: "If you need one yard, I'll get you three. If you need five yards, I'll get you three."

Back to things I took from the game. First of all, Bob Huggins brought more than just a professional pool player's wardrobe to Manhattan (see above). His energy has completely reignited the fan interest there. He spent last night, in typical Huggins fashion, racing up and down the sideline, yelling at his players and refs alike - he even got T'd up after loudly complaining about a legitimately blown call. The crowd emulated his behavior, wore all white and only quited down a smidgen after Chalmers and Collins put the Jayhaws on their backs in the middle of the second half. With Huggy Bear recruting as he can, Manhattan should soon be one of the toughest places to play in the Big XII.

Did anyone see Mario Chalmers shoot it straight up in the air in the second half? It was really good. He went up for a three and lost the handle with incredible force, sending the ball straight up in the air about fifteen feet overhead. It almost went backwards, but not enough to start calling him Aaron Brooks. The only good that came of it for Kanasas was the fact that it weirded out the K-State guys enough to travel after picking up the loose ball.

That Kansas State turnover pretty much summed up the night for the Wildcats - close, but in the end, they shot themselves in the foot. I'm serious when I say that this game was up for grabs until the end. In fact, K-State had the ball in a two-possession game with more than half-a-minute left before the quick hands of Kansas defenders forced a loose ball. KU didn't even secure posession, but the scrum for the ball killed more than ten seconds. Suddenly it was a two-possession game with 18 seconds left. A tall task for Kansas State.

So where does this leave us in the Big XII race? Kansas takes over first place at 11-2 in conference, putting Texas A&M in second at 10-2. Of course, A&M owns the tiebreaker as it (really, Acie Law IV) beat Kansas a few weeks back. Here's Kansas' remaining schedule:

vs. Iowa State (2/24)
at. Oklahoma (2/26)
vs. #20 Texas (3/3)

And Texas A&M's:

at. Oklahoma State (2/21)
vs. Baylor (2/24)
at. #20 Texas (2/28)
vs. Missouri (3/3)

Advantage: Kansas, but only because they get Durant and the Longhorns at home. To my mind, though, a Big XII regular season title doesn't clinch a number one seed in March for either team. Both have been too up-and-down all year. That said, a regular season conference title and a run to the finals of the conference tournament would surely lock up a number one seed for either.

One last thing: While writing this, I watched Drew Neitzel go for 28 in a nine point win over Wisconsin (thanks for backing up my last post Badgers). But seriously, 28 points in a game! Who does Neitzel think he is, Duke?