+5
Kansas takes on Texas A&M Wednesday leading up to Saturday's matchup against Missouri
Elijah Johnson had 21 points to lead the Kansas Jayhawks to a 66-58 win over Texas A&M in College Station. The win gives Kansas a full one game lead over Missouri in the Big 12 standings before the two teams square off in Lawrence on Saturday.
Kansas opened the game on a 7-2 run, added a 14-2 run at the end of the first half and a 11-0 run in the second to put away the Aggies, who had only beaten Kansas once (2007) in school history entering Wednesday night's game. A&M would get as close as down by only four thanks to six consecutive points by forward Khris Middleton, who led the Aggies in scoring.
For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk. For Texas A&M news and info, head over to I Am The 12th Man. For college hoops all the time, visit SB Nation's college basketball news hub.
Elijah Johnson leads all scorers - and almost Texas A&M by himself - as Kansas takes a 31-21 advantage over the Aggies to the locker room.
With A&M concentrating on post defense against big men Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor (three points combined), Johnson has exploded on the perimeter, shooting of 6-of-9 from field goal range and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. David Loubeau leads the Aggies in scoring with seven points, and no A&M player has yet to reach double figures. Kansas' lead has been the work of a 7-2 opening run, and a 14-2 run midway through the first half.
Despite A&M's interior pressure, Kansas is out-rebounding the Aggies 27-18 through the first half.
For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk. For Texas A&M news and info, head over to I Am The 12th Man. For college hoops all the time, visit SB Nation's college basketball news hub.
The Kansas Jayhawks have to worry about not looking too far ahead tonight when they play Texas A&M on the road. That's because the final Border War looms as they face Missouri later this week. Whether or not Kansas is focused, however, Billy Kennedy says the Aggies are excited and ready to face the Jayhawks tonight.
"I’m going to tell our guys today it’s an exciting time. You’ve got to enjoy playing two great teams back to back," Kennedy said on Monday. "We competed well at Kansas. They’ve been great on the road. It’s why they’ve been conference champs for several years. We’ll have to play really well to give us a chance, but we’ve been playing well at home.
"I have great respect for Kansas, the tradition of their program and what Bill has done there. Obviously I hired a guy from their program in Kyle Keller. This is a great opportunity for us to have a special moment, to get a win. Of course we’ll have to play great basketball and them not so well. I thought Missouri played well against us. We have to get some breaks at some point."
The Aggies are 3-4 in conference play while the Jayhawks are on top of the Big 12. This should be a mismatch, but a Big 12 road game for any team is always a challenge. Tonight should be interesting regardless as KU hopes to focus on the very next step and avoid any upsets.
For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk. For news and notes on Texas A&M, head over to I Am The 12th Man, and for all your college hoops info, visit SB Nation's college basketball news hub.
No. 4 Kansas (22-5, 12-2) will begin their final push through Big 12 play in anticipation of a huge showdown with Missouri on Saturday, but first they'll head to College Station to play Texas A&M (13-13, 4-10 Big 12). Missouri's loss to Kansas State on Tuesday night pushed them to 12-3 in the conference, giving the Jayhawks a slight edge for the top spot in the Big 12.
But the Jayhawks will need to hold serve against the Aggies tonight, who are coming off of a home loss to Missouri on Saturday. Kansas is 6-2 in true road games this season.
Date / Time: Wednesday, February 22, 8 p.m. CT
Location: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: Jayhawks Radio Network
Streaming: ESPN3
Line: Kansas (-9)
For more on the Kansas Jayhawks, check out Rock Chalk Talk. For news and notes on Texas A&M, head over to I Am The 12th Man, and for all your college hoops info, visit SB Nation's college basketball news hub.
Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Kansas Closing In On Another Year Of Hoops Supremacy
With just three regular-season games remaining, there's still plenty at stake in Big 12 men's basketball including crowning a conference champion and jockeying for position in the league's postseason tournament. For the select five or six, a shot at higher glory awaits in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
All of the ten league teams entered the Big 12 conference season with winning non-conference records, and all but two (Oklahoma State and Texas Tech) had at least ten wins by the beginning of January. For the second or third year in a row, the Big 12 amassed one of the best winning percentages against non-league foes among the six strongest conferences.
As it always does, Big 12 competition, which this season includes three teams (Missouri, Kansas and Baylor) that have spent most of the year in the top-ten nationally and a fourth team (Kansas State) in the top 25 at various points in the season, has taken care of the natural order of things as the season has worn on. They've separated the elite from the lesser players and everything in between. As we head down the homestretch in the 2011-12 season, it is clear that the conference stratification in men's basketball breaks down into three or four fairly distinct groupings of teams.
At the top of the conference you have Kansas and Missouri, both clearly a notch above Baylor and Iowa State. Then comes a fairly solid middle class in Kansas State and Texas, followed by three schools - Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma - that have played well in spots this season but, for a variety of reasons, border on the edge of poor. Bringing up the rear is Texas Tech, Bobby Knight's old team, that is in a class all by itself.
If I were to subdivide the Big 12 men's basketball year, using a loaf of bread as the analogy, I would segregate out Kansas, Missouri and Baylor and call them the Upper Crust of the conference. Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas would make up a grouping I would label the Inner Crust. The two Oklahoma schools and Texas A&M would constitute the Outer Crust, and Texas Tech would be classified as the Heel.
Big 12 Men's Basketball Power Rankings Entering This Weekend's Games
Feb 24 6:58a by Chip Rouse