Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Marcus Morris Leads Kansas Over Cowboys

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 21, 2011

Resuming their winning ways after being knocked off the #1 spot in the polls, the Kansas Jayhawks put together a rather convincing win over Oklahoma State Monday night at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, blasting the Cowboys off their saddles with a 92-65 explosion.

A week ago, just as pollsters earlier in the day had anointed the Jayhawks the #1 team in the land, A determined Kansas State squad had humiliated them, 84-68. Since then, Kansas has been on a mission, to finish the season with a flourish and a top seeding in the NCAA tournament.

After knocking off Colorado by 26 points on Saturday, the Jayhawks muscled and hustled their way to a 27-point win over Oklahoma State, led by Marcus Morris' 27 points. Morris hit 9 of 13 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, adding six free throws and five rebounds.

The Jayhawks dominated the glass, outrebounding the Cowboys, 38-25, and shared the ball, with 20 assists in the game. It also didn't hurt that they were red-hot from the field, hitting 54% and 44% from beyond the arc. Kansas upped its record to 26-2, but remain 1/2 game behind the Texas Longhorns (11-1) in the Big 12 standings at 11-2.

The only chance the Jayhawks will have to avenge their two losses (Texas and Kansas State) will be in the conference tournament. Kansas has just three remaining dates in the regular season, at Oklahoma, home against Texas A&M and at Missouri.

NOTABLE: With the top teams suffering upsets all week, the top spot in this week's polling fell to the Duke Blue Devils, though the voting seems rather a case of triumph by elimination rather than one of deserved respect. Sure, Duke's a quality team, but the ACC is in a down year and the Blue Devils are an eminently beatable team. Still, they seemed vulnerable last season as well, before their run to the championship. For now, the polls matter little. What happens on the court will offer more in terms of seeding for the tourney.

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