Monday, December 07, 2009

Morris Lights Up Bruins as Jayhawks Go 7-0

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, December 6, 2009

Markieff Morris led all scorers with a career-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting as the Kansas Jayhawks improved their unbeaten record to 7-0, fending off a UCLA team in obvious rebuilding mode, 73-61 at Pauley Pavilion in LA. Cole Aldrich continued to be a rebounding machine for Kansas, pulling down 12 boards, 6 of those on the offensive end.

The Bruins have not gotten off to a very promising start in 2009, with the loss to Kansas their 5th in just 7 games. Scratch the Bruins from the PAC-10 contender list this season as their talent from the past two years has been badly diluted by graduation and players going to the pros. The Bruins shot just 36% on the night, while the Jayhawks, who led the entire game, were held to a season-low 44%, but still easily prevailed.

NOTABLE: The Connecticut Huskies barely escaped their trip to the Ivy League with a 79-73 win over the 6-2 Harvard Crimson and their outstanding senior guard, Jeremy Lin. Lin scored a season-high 30 points, nailing 11 of 18 shots from the field (2-3 on 3s) and 6 of 8 from the foul line. Nine boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots rounded out Lin's memorable performance.

Senior guard Jerome Dyson led the Huskies with 24 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists. Dyson has carried the Huskies to a 6-1 record, averaging 20 points per game, but even UConn coach Jim Calhoun thinks Dyson - who is playing more than 34 minutes per game - needs help, saying, "we don't have a bench."

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