Jayhawks capitalize on turnovers to top Texas

Cbasketball Betting Lines

02/08/2010 - Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Morris posted 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, as No. 1 Kansas overcame a poor shooting performance by clamping down defensively on the 14th-ranked Longhorns to earn an 80-68 Big 12 victory.

The Jayhawks (23-1, 9-0) made up for their 40 percent shooting effort by converting 17 turnovers into 27 points for their ninth straight victory.

Xavier Henry added 15 points and five rebounds, while Sherron Collins had five assists and four steals to go with 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting for the victors.

Texas (19-5, 5-4), which was the top-ranked team in the country just three weeks ago, has lost five of its last seven games following a torrid 17-0 start to the season.

J'Covan Brown paced the Longhorns with a career-high 28 points, while Damion James chipped in 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in defeat.

The hosts were down 61-44 before Brown scored seven straight points late in the second half. Brown's three-pointer made it a 10-point contest with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, though Markieff Morris bought Kansas a little more breathing room with a three-point play.

Cole Aldrich was whistled for a technical foul when he landed an elbow to James' head after pulling down a miss from Brown, who hit the two freebies prior to James converting a three-point play for a 64-56 contest.

Two Henry free throws and a Tyrel Reed make inside pumped the margin back to double digits, and the Jayhawks rolled to another big road win.

After hitting five of their first eight shots for a 14-8 lead six minutes into the game, the Longhorns missed 13 straight from the field over an 11-minute span.

Brady Morningstar, Markieff Morris, Tyshawn Taylor and Collins each hit from behind the arc on the subsequent 22-0 run, the latter a deep three from the left wing giving Kansas a 30-14 cushion with five minutes left in the half.

James, who ended with 15 first-half points to keep Texas in the game, banked in a three-ball to end the scoreless stretch, and Avery Bradley's late trey cut the hosts' deficit to 34-24 at halftime.

Kansas led by double digits through most a sloppy second half, forcing a lifeless Erwin Center crowd out of the game even further.

The Jayhawks scored the first five points of the stanza for a 15-point game three minutes in, and near the midway point, Collins stripped Dogus Balbay in Texas' end of the court, leading to a Marcus Morris dunk for a 50-34 margin.

Game Notes

Texas has never beaten the No. 1 team in the country, dropping all seven matchups...The Longhorns had won three straight home games against Kansas...Texas had just five points off 10 Kansas turnovers...Kansas is now 7-1 in true road games, while Texas fell to 12-2 at home.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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