Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
(3) Kansas (15-0) at Iowa State (13-3)
Parallels exist between Kansas’ current team and the one that won the 2008 NCAA tournament. Coach Bill Self, however, isn’t yet willing to draw them heading into Big 12 play.
The third-ranked Jayhawks seek to continue their torrid start Wednesday night when they open conference play at Iowa State.
At 15-0, Kansas is enjoying its best start since the 2007-08 team opened with 20 victories. That squad eventually rallied to beat Memphis in overtime in San Antonio for the school’s third title, but Self doesn’t think his current team is as defined and deep as that one.
“When we won the national championship in 2008, we didn’t have any separation within our top seven,” he said. “We had seven starters. I don’t know if I feel quite as strongly right now, but I really believe that Thomas (Robinson) could be a starter very easily here and Brady (Morningstar) has been a starter and could be a starter here. I could see us not really mattering who we put out there to start a game.”
Self also may be hesitant to compare the two squads because he is still trying to create a consistent rotation. Highly touted freshman guard Josh Selby has averaged 13.3 points in six games after serving a nine-game suspension imposed by the NCAA for accepting impermissible benefits. On Monday, Self reinstated senior Mario Little after he missed six games following his Dec. 16 arrest on two misdemeanor battery charges.
A 6-foot-6 guard, Little averaged 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in nine games before his arrest, providing Self valuable matchup flexibility in the backcourt alongside the 6-2 Selby, 6-3 Tyshawn Taylor and 6-3 Tyrel Reed. Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris have anchored the frontcourt, combining to average 28.6 points and 15.0 rebounds.
First-year coach Fred Hoiberg has rebuilt Iowa State (13-3, 0-1) into a perimeter-oriented team. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in average 3-pointers made (8.8) and 3-point percentage (38.8), and guard Scott Christopherson is shooting a conference-best 50.5 percent (48 for 95) from beyond the arc.
Five players have made at least 10 3-pointers for the Cyclones, who also have five averaging double figures in scoring. Diante Garrett is averaging a team-high 17.1 points while 6-2 guard Darion Anderson contributes 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Iowa State likely needs its perimeter game to be particularly strong in its bid to end a 10-game losing streak to Kansas. Hoiberg, though, is more concerned about the Cyclones getting off to a better start than they did in Saturday’s 63-62 loss at Nebraska.
Lance Jeter sank a free throw with 0.4 seconds left for the winning point after Iowa State committed a turnover, but Hoiberg felt his team never recovered after falling behind 12-4 early.
“We looked a little shell-shocked, to be honest,” said Hoiberg, who also played for the Cyclones. “They hit some shots. We put our head down, and that’s where we lost the game. We didn’t lose the game on that last play, we lost in the first five minutes.”
Iowa State has been limiting opponents to 59.4 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting, but Kansas is the best-shooting team in Division I at 52.5 percent.
The Jayhawks, who have not lost to the Cyclones since a 63-61 home defeat Feb. 19, 2005, also rank among the national leaders in scoring at 84.3 points per game.
Parallels exist between Kansas’ current team and the one that won the 2008 NCAA tournament. Coach Bill Self, however, isn’t yet willing to draw them heading into Big 12 play.
The third-ranked Jayhawks seek to continue their torrid start Wednesday night when they open conference play at Iowa State.
At 15-0, Kansas is enjoying its best start since the 2007-08 team opened with 20 victories. That squad eventually rallied to beat Memphis in overtime in San Antonio for the school’s third title, but Self doesn’t think his current team is as defined and deep as that one.
“When we won the national championship in 2008, we didn’t have any separation within our top seven,” he said. “We had seven starters. I don’t know if I feel quite as strongly right now, but I really believe that Thomas (Robinson) could be a starter very easily here and Brady (Morningstar) has been a starter and could be a starter here. I could see us not really mattering who we put out there to start a game.”
Self also may be hesitant to compare the two squads because he is still trying to create a consistent rotation. Highly touted freshman guard Josh Selby has averaged 13.3 points in six games after serving a nine-game suspension imposed by the NCAA for accepting impermissible benefits. On Monday, Self reinstated senior Mario Little after he missed six games following his Dec. 16 arrest on two misdemeanor battery charges.
A 6-foot-6 guard, Little averaged 6.2 points and 3.7 rebounds in nine games before his arrest, providing Self valuable matchup flexibility in the backcourt alongside the 6-2 Selby, 6-3 Tyshawn Taylor and 6-3 Tyrel Reed. Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris have anchored the frontcourt, combining to average 28.6 points and 15.0 rebounds.
First-year coach Fred Hoiberg has rebuilt Iowa State (13-3, 0-1) into a perimeter-oriented team. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in average 3-pointers made (8.8) and 3-point percentage (38.8), and guard Scott Christopherson is shooting a conference-best 50.5 percent (48 for 95) from beyond the arc.
Five players have made at least 10 3-pointers for the Cyclones, who also have five averaging double figures in scoring. Diante Garrett is averaging a team-high 17.1 points while 6-2 guard Darion Anderson contributes 11.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Iowa State likely needs its perimeter game to be particularly strong in its bid to end a 10-game losing streak to Kansas. Hoiberg, though, is more concerned about the Cyclones getting off to a better start than they did in Saturday’s 63-62 loss at Nebraska.
Lance Jeter sank a free throw with 0.4 seconds left for the winning point after Iowa State committed a turnover, but Hoiberg felt his team never recovered after falling behind 12-4 early.
“We looked a little shell-shocked, to be honest,” said Hoiberg, who also played for the Cyclones. “They hit some shots. We put our head down, and that’s where we lost the game. We didn’t lose the game on that last play, we lost in the first five minutes.”
Iowa State has been limiting opponents to 59.4 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting, but Kansas is the best-shooting team in Division I at 52.5 percent.
The Jayhawks, who have not lost to the Cyclones since a 63-61 home defeat Feb. 19, 2005, also rank among the national leaders in scoring at 84.3 points per game.
