FIRST TEAM
Pierre Jackson, Baylor, 5-10, 180, senior, Las Vegas.
Rodney McGruder, Kansas St., 6-4, 205, senior, Washington, D.C.
Ben McLemore, Kansas, 6-5, 185, freshman, St. Louis.
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma St., 6-4, 225, freshman, Flower Mound, Texas… Continue reading
What to expect in the upcoming Big 12 Men’s Basketball tournament By Brennan Keller With the 2013 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Tournament less than a month away, Kansas is trying to finish conference play with momentum to claim their ninth consecutive Big 12 regular season conference championship. With huge road games at Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Baylor coming up, the Jayhawks have little room for error. The following standings is how I see each team finishing out Big 12 Conference play. In addition, I briefly listed a “best & worst case scenario” for the top three teams in the conference. Note: The records listed for all Big 12 schools do not include Big 12 Tournament or NCAA… Continue reading
Kansas State Head Coach Bruce Weber and players Rodney McGruder and Will Spradling met with the media following their 83-62 loss to Kansas on Monday night.
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MANHATTAN — If Kansas’ guard Travis Releford was studying for a test on Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder, he passed with flying colors.
Releford chased Rodney McGruder for the majority of the game, holding the hot-handed senior in check for two points in the first half.
“Starting off the first half I thought I did real well at making him uncomfortable and not letting him get easy looks at the rim,” Releford said.
MANHATTAN — Kansas just seems to find a way.
It was playing in Bramlage Coliseum after all.
Yet the loudest, most hostile arena the Jayhawks play in any time, any season — forget the over-hyped and discontinued series with Missouri — rarely interferes with KU’s success.
This was once the house that Roy rented. Now, it’s the building Bill borrows.
Even with No. 3 Kansas not even close to being at its best Tuesday, it made enough stops to outlast No. 11 Kansas State, 59-55.
STARTING FIVE
Five questions to start with entering the 275th edition of the Sunflower Showdown, which tips off at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Bramlage Coliseum:
1. Can Travis Releford and Kansas slow Kansas State’s Rodney McGruder?
No player in the Big 12 is more dangerous right now than McGruder, the senior guard who has been named the conference’s top player four times in seven weeks. McGruder has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and posted 20 or more points in four of those affairs.
Two players from the Sunflower state earned spots on the All-Big 12 first team released Thursday.
Kansas center Jeff Withey and Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder joined Baylor’s Pierre Jackson, Oklahoma State’s Le’Bryan Nash and Myck Kabongo of Texas … Continue reading
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Musings beyond the midweek from the Big 12 Tournament:
■ Three coaches were named tops in the Big 12. Could a team coached by someone else win the tourney?
■ Maybe. Kansas State is hot. Baylor is talented. Texas is led by the l… Continue reading
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If Kansas coach Bill Self had to identify his team’s weakness right now, he knows exactly where to start.
“We’ve got to get a lockdown defender …” Self said. “Very apparent to me that’s something we have to get better… Continue reading
For those fond of favorites, Kansas is the easy pick at this week’s Big 12 Tournament.
Looking for a sleeper? Kansas State is an intriguing choice after closing the regular season with four wins in five games.
In both cases, the trip to Sprint Ce… Continue reading