MU/KU Football

Anyone else watching? I'm posting this in the 3rd quarter as we are up 28-26. Mangino's back is against the wall and he has his guys fired up. Oh crap, Briscoe just fumbled again.

Aaron, if you are there, I heard there was an MU/KU marriage proposal what was universally booed, is that right?

Under the Radar

Anyone else see the Oakland game?
X looked much better, and Marcus Morris had a great game: 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 of 3 from downtown, 5 of 8 at the line, and only one turnover.
Aldrich, on the other hand, was simply manhandled by that Benson fellow...
But on the whole it was a fun game to watch, and it's nice to see that we can win big (against small competition, but still) even with Cole having an unusually bad night.

Anyone else going to watch Tennessee Tech? Let me know if you need a link (shh).

KU rebounds against cruddy purple bears

I was able to watch this game live finally (I had to DVR the last two, after knowing the outcome of the Memphis game, grr). Anyway, it looked like our practices since Memphis were probably picked up a bit. This team we played though, did not have the bigs to stop our bigs. Plus, they shot like crap (mostly thanks to our excellent D) and it was pretty much hopeless at the outset. We've got three of these joke schools in a row. For a team that's supposed to be #1, why are we scheduling like we are K-State? This is apparently not a very good UCLA team we are going to play (lost in 2ot to Cal State Fullerton), but it is on the road, so maybe we will learn something. I am concerned we will not be ready when we go to Knoxville, TN. That is a very good team full of seniors and juniors that looks ready to run everyone out of the gym.

St. Louis Blues

Unfortunately, like most people, I got my first view of the 2009-10 'Hawks from last night's butt-ugly game against Memphis in St. Louis.

Good news first: our inside game was dominant. Cole looked like the POY out there -- they credited him with 5 blocks, but he had more. The twins, as advertised, seem to have matured, except for Kieff fouling on a 3-point shot.

But the fact that we could dominate inside and still almost lose just goes to show how important guard play is in college hoops. Sherron was a hero at the end, and I like the fact that Xavier got 6 boards (a very Rush-like stat), but other than that our perimeter play su-u-u-ucked. The freshmen played scared -- not a surprise -- but so did Tyshawn and Tyrel. Even Sherron seemed off before he cramped up.

This team has hugely talented perimeter guys, but the question is, do we have any solid, dependable backcourt stalwarts to get us through these rough patches? Do we have a Russell Robinson?

Self's comments after the game seemed to indicate that Morningstar will be getting more playing time this season than most people assumed.

* Footnote: Scott, what do you think of your Tigers? Are they the real deal, or should 'Hawks fans be embarrassed that this game was so close?

* Another footnote: Do you think our players might have been distracted by this whole Mangino business? What's going on there, anyway?

* Also, one other key footnote about the game: We won! We won!

XOXO

Xavier Henry's line vs. Hofstra:

27 points
8-12 shooting
5-8 on threes
6-6 at the line
5 rebounds
2 assists
1 steal
1 block
0 turnovers

24 minutes. Good god.

Other numbers I like: 6 assists for Tyshawn, 23 points for Sherron, 4 blocks for Cole, 8 boards for Cole and 7 for Kieff. Also, 20-12 assists-to-TOs for the team.

This could be a juggernaut in the making. No, that's not a typo; I said "juggernaut."

Gorilla Warfare

Kansas doubles up Pittsburg State!

Both the Journal-World and the Star devoted entire articles to Marcus Morris' tomahawk slam (highlights here). In fact, this was the Star's only article on the game. Has a single dunk ever gotten as many column inches as this one?

A lot of buzz, also, on Thomas Robinson. I'm going to reserve judgment on that, because big men always tend to look good against the D2 patsies. But I can't wait for my first opportunity to see this team play -- hopefully this week.

FHSU Highlights

Got the link from Sido; thought you'd like to see it (if you haven't already):

Emily and I watched a good deal of the game, but I didn't get a strong sense of the team (still trying to learn the names and numbers...). It was very nice that Elijah's highlight dunk started with Xavier on the floor making the steal and the pass.

Oh, and Deron has to be right about the ranking. Juggernaut. Should be a hell of a year.