Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Locked On Jayhawks - 12.6.19

Episode Date: December 6, 2019

Self, McCormack and Garrett preview Colorado; Friday 5 picks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up Jayhawk Nation? Welcome into this Friday edition of Locked On Jayhawks. I am Sean Kellerman, Learfield IMG College Broadcaster and University of Kansas Insider. This is Locked On Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, giving you insight, numbers, and a chance to hear from all the voices within Kansas athletics. Got a packed show today. Of course, Bill Self and KU players met with the media yesterday at Coach's press conference. And we'll hear from Coach Self, David McCormick, and Marcus Garrett throughout the show. Second segment, we're going to take a look around the Big 12 action last night and upcoming this weekend, as well as the Top 25.

And then in the third segment, we're going to preview the Colorado Buffaloes. The top 20 matchup taking place tomorrow, 6 o'clock at Allen Fieldhouse, between the number 20 Buffs and the number 2 Jayhawks. Those are the rankings according to the New A people that was released this past Monday. Colorado has not lost yet this season, and they actually won the last meeting between the Buffaloes and the Jayhawks. That came back in 2013 in Andrew Wiggins' year. It was a non-conference battle in Boulder, and Eskia Booker hit a Euro Step 3 from about 35, 40 feet out

that went in and gave the Buffaloes a 75-72 buzzer-beating victory. So hopefully Bill Self and company can avenge that loss with a victory tomorrow in what should be a great one. We're going to preview the Buffs big time come segment three, go through some of their personnel, some of their numbers as well, and we'll hear Bill Self and KU's players' thoughts on the Buffaloes. Second segment, we're going to talk about Big 12 action that took place last night and the top 25 games last night as well as what's coming up this weekend across the conference and the top 25.

And we're going to get right to it this segment, hearing from Bill Self and David McCormick. And let's start by talking about Yudoka Azubuki, a guy who set a career high alongside his teammate Devon Dotson in the championship game of the Maui Invitational against Dayton. Dotson scored 31 points in that game, but Doak had 29 of his own, and Doak was absolutely dominant in the championship game of the Maui Invitational against Dayton. Dotson scored 31 points in that game, but Doak had 29 of his own, and Doak was absolutely dominant in the paint. He was 12 of 15 shooting. He also had four blocks in this game, but Doak was showing everything offensively,

everything in his repertoire we saw in that championship game. We saw shots with the right hand, the left hand, hook shots, of course ferocious dunks, finishing off alley-oops. And really, that's the type of player that Bill Self and Jayhawk Nation envision coming into this season, that he could be a dominant force, perhaps the most dominant force in college basketball. Been a little bit up and down for Doak. He hasn't had as many dominant games maybe as he'd like through the first seven games of this season. Here's Coach Self talking about Yudoka.

I don't think that he was as near as impressive starting out. maybe as he'd like through the first seven games of this season. Here's Coach Self talking about Yudoka. I don't think that he was as near as impressive starting out. I thought he was a little hesitant, maybe a little rusty, maybe lacking a little bit of the same confidence he has now. Hesitant before he went to score and allowed double teams to take place and things like that. But I think against Dayton he was great. I mean, he was great against Dayton. And I also thought he was a presence in the other games,

even if he didn't score the ball or get the ball a lot. But Doak, I think, is going to have a great year. But our perimeter players have got to do a better job of getting the ball. And I thought in the Dayton game was one of a step in the right direction he played a lot better but our perimeter players allowed him to look good too because they got him the ball on time on target when he was posting so he just needs to keep being aggressive Jayhawks have seen a little bit of everything in this season we haven't seen too many games where Kansas has shot well from the perimeter, but we have seen it at times. And of course, we've seen dominant performances

from Doak and Dotson. We've seen good games from Ochai Abadji and Isaiah Moss as well. So we've seen a lot of different guys perform at different times for Kansas, and that's been great because it just shows the versatility that this team could bring, and we know we can rely on one thing if another thing isn't working because of the personnel that we have this season. One thing that Bill Self would like to see improved upon for this team is communication. When he was talking about that at his press conference yesterday, he mentioned that, yeah, there are ways that you can communicate nonverbally, throwing your hand up or doing stuff like that. But mostly communication

is verbal. Here's coach talking about that. The reality of it is, is you have to open your mouth and you have to talk. And even when we talk in practice, and this is a problem with a lot of teams, but even when we talk in practice, we may tell somebody a screen's coming, but we're telling them too late so we can't adjust our feet. You know, just things like that. You know, you got to let people know early and often and everybody chirping. And, you know, Kevin Young was the best, the best. Landon Lucas was unbelievable. And we just don't have somebody like that to really do that.

And I actually think we're gaining on it, but this is not a very talkative team at all. And I do think that will hurt us to keep us from becoming really good, especially defensively, if we don't start communicating better and more often. I love that. A little shout out to Landon Lucas and the custodian, Kevin Young. Remember him being one of the best communicators since Coach Self has been here. That's high praise for Coach and giving KY some love there. So, all right, communication is key. We know that. We know that these guys need to talk a little more.

That's one thing that Coach Self has mentioned. Here's David McCormick chiming in. Just talking on the court, constantly talking, whether it's offense, defense, making sure that we get organized, controlling the pace of the game, whatever it may be. And I think as a team, that just starts with our bond, and I think that's what we've been working on in the quarter. We just kind of force everybody to talk, and right now, even if it's about nothing, just talk, run your mouth,

so you can get used to talking. I love that from David McCormick. And who better person on this KU team, even in the last couple years, to talk about communication than David McCormick? He's a great communic this KU team, even in the last couple years, to talk about communication than David McCormick. He's a great communicator. He's great with the media, and sounds like he is well on board with being a top communicator out on the court, and that's one thing that this team needs, not only from him, but from everybody out there. So that's something to keep an eye on on Saturday as well, is how well is Kansas communicating. It's always nice being the

home team in an environment like it'll be tomorrow at Allen Fieldhouse in a top 20 matchup. All right, coming up after the break, we're going to go through our Friday five, take a look around the Big 12 and the top 25, and we'll dive deep on the Colorado Buffaloes in the final segment as we preview the battle six o'clock tomorrow at Allen Fieldhouse. This is Locked On Jayhawks, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, the local experts on the biggest stories. Previewing Colorado today on Locked On Jayhawks.

It's a series that dates back to 1931. The Jayhawks are 123-40 all-time against Colorado, including 62-7 in Lawrence and 53-5 in Allen Fieldhouse. Of course, the Buffs are coached by former Kansas forward Tad Boyle, who played 81-85 at KU, which was the same time frame that Coach Bill Self played at Oklahoma State, so that'll be interesting, and we'll dive into the buffs in our final segment, but first let's take a look around the Big 12 and the Top 25. Action last night, there was just one Big 12 game, and it was Oklahoma barely surviving on the road in Denton, Texas against North Texas as the Sooners won at 82-80. Christian

Doolittle continuing to put up numbers, 28 points on 11-15 shooting from the field and 7 rebounds. Austin Reeves had 22 points. He was 12-14 from the free throw line. And other action in the top 25 last night, just one game and it was Auburn surviving in overtime over Furman. This was a game that Furman was ahead the majority of the game, and Auburn actually needed a comeback to make this one close. And eventually, of course, they forced overtime, and the Tigers won it 81-78. So Auburn ranked 14th in the country. The lone top 25 team last night survives.

All right, first let's go through the Big 12 for action this weekend on the hardwood. TCU and USC tip off tonight at 8 p.m. It's at the new Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. So not technically a home game for TCU, but it will be played in Fort Worth. And Saturday's games, of course, we've got a top 20 matchup at Allen Fieldhouse with the

Buffaloes and the Jayhawks at six o'clock. We have another top 25 matchup. Number 12, Arizona is at number 18, Baylor. How about that? And it's at 11 a.m. So Bears fans can't be too thrilled about that. It's the same time that the Big 12 championship game on the gridiron between Baylor and Oklahoma will take place. So they're going to have to pick their poison there with Baylor and Arizona basketball at 11 a.m. West Virginia is on the road at St. John's tomorrow at 11 a.m. And Marquette is at K-State in Manhattan tomorrow at 8 p.m. Other Big 12 games in terms of college basketball. Sunday, Wichita State is at Oklahoma State at 1 p.m.

Texas is at Texas A&M at 2 p.m. That game is actually in Fort Worth, the Lone Star Battle. So old rivalry. Colorado, Kansas, we have that on Saturday. But Sunday, Texas and Texas A&M, we know about their rivalry. They're taking place at that Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, part of the grand opening weekend for that new arena. And how about this?

Sunday night at 8 p.m., it's Iowa State hosting No. 16 Seton Hall in the Big 12 Big East Battle. Yes, those teams just played. They took the court together at Battle for Atlantis, which Seton Hall won 84-76. So now, just about nine days later, the Cyclones get a shot at redemption against the Pirates of Seton Hall. That game will be in AIM, so I'm sure Hilton will be rocking for that one as they look to split the season series. Taking a look at tonight's games in the top 25, Michigan went from unranked to ranked number four before they fell by 15 to Louisville earlier this week. They are back at home tonight at 5.30.

The number 4-ranked Wolverines host Iowa in a Big Ten battle. A lot of conference games early in the season now with now an expanded conference schedule for the majority of the Power 6 conferences. Duke, number 10, is at Virginia Tech tonight, and Pitt is at number 1, Louisville. Tomorrow's games, Penn State at number 6, Ohio State. Florida at number one Louisville tomorrow's games Penn State at number six Ohio State Florida at number 24 Butler number 23 Villanova is at St. Joseph's Fairleigh Dickinson travels to Rupp Arena to take on number eight Kentucky Illinois is at number three Maryland

number 15 Memphis is at UAB Fresno State is at number 25, Utah State, and Hawaii is at number 13, Oregon. Sunday's games in the top 25 on the hardwood. Clemson is at number 17, Florida State, another ACC battle. Number 19, Dayton has a tough matchup. They're going to take on St. Mary's on Sunday. And how about this? A top 10 matchup already in the ACC. Number 7, North Carolina at number 5, Virginia. Two teams that have really struggled, particularly offensively. That'll be interesting. North Carolina, we're not sure if they'll have Armando Bacot back yet or not, and Virginia will be without Braxton Key,

so perhaps a low-scoring affair in Charlottesville. Rutgers is at number 11, Michigan State on Sunday. Spartans could use a big win. And number 9, Gonzaga is at number 22, Washington. So a lot of action. Top 25 on the hardwood this weekend. Of course, a lot of conference championship games. There's conference championship games not only in the Big 12 this week,

but across the NCAA. Go through a few of those regarding top 25 teams. Tonight's game, the Pac-12 championship, number 5 Utah at number 13 Oregon. That game played in Santa Clara for the Pac-12 title. Baylor and Oklahoma, that's 7 versus 6 tomorrow at 11 a.m. Number 21, Appalachian State, they are still in the top 25. They're hosting Louisiana in their conference championship game. Got a rematch of a game that took place Friday after Thanksgiving.

Number 17, Memphis against number 20, Cincinnati, in a battle for the American title. SEC title game is number 2, LSU against number 4, Georgia. Number 19, Boise State battles Hawaii for the West Coast title. Number 3, Clemson, huge favorites over number 23, Virginia, for the ACC championship. And of course, Big Ten, number one, Ohio State, number eight, Wisconsin. That game is at seven o'clock tomorrow for the Big Ten championship. So all sorts of action, great weekends of sports. You

got conference championship games that I just went through in terms of football and so many games on the hardwood as well for college basketball. Should be an exciting weekend for sports. And let's transition that to my Friday 5 picks. 17 up, 17 down, and two pushes so far this season. And unfortunately, the Lions aren't out for so many of the college basketball games taking place Saturday and Sunday, so I don't have as many to choose from. But I'm picking five as always in the

Friday Five, and let's start with a game tonight on the hardwood. My lone basketball bet this weekend is going to be Duke minus seven at Virginia Tech. Yeah, Virginia Tech beat Michigan State, but let's not forget about the fact that they were picked 14th in the ACC in the preseason poll. I think Duke and seven is a good number. Blue Devils keep rolling. Two conference title games I want to bet on tomorrow. Baylor plus nine against Oklahoma for the Big 12 championship. I think the Bears are going to come out mad. They looked

really in sync against the Jayhawks last weekend. Of course, they blew that big lead against Oklahoma about a month ago. Bears are getting nine. I like that against Oklahoma. And then the rematch for the American that just took place. Memphis won but did not cover when they played against Cincinnati last Friday. It was a 34-24 win. They were, I believe, 13-point favorites in that game. Memphis is minus nine in this game against the same team, Cincinnati. I like the Tigers to cover, lay a nine this time, go out, and they're going to show that they're the best team in the American. They're going to do it in a big way.

So I like Memphis minus nine. And then two NFL bets. Carolina is plus three at Atlanta. I like the Panthers on Sunday. I'm not really sure why they're underdogs in this game. Maybe because the Falcons beat them 29-3 last time. But the Falcons, aside from a couple weeks, that being one of them earlier in the season for the most part, they are a train wreck.

So I like Carolina getting three points at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Other game I like is also a three-point dog, Oakland plus three against Tennessee. That game is a home game for the Raiders. Tennessee has been riding high with Ryan Tannehill. That's awesome. Oakland's been in the dumps, particularly after getting trounced by the Chiefs 40-9 last Sunday. Oakland's getting three at home. I think this team is better than their 6-7 record. I think Tennessee is playing above who they actually are. Take the Raiders and the three points. Again, going through my Friday

five. Tonight, basketball. Duke minus 7 at Virginia Tech. Tomorrow, conference championship games on the Gridiron. Baylor plus 9 against Oklahoma for the Big 12. Memphis minus 9 versus Cincinnati for the American. And then two Sunday NFL bets, Panthers plus 3 at the Falcons and Raiders plus 3 against the Titans. That's our Friday 5. We'll deep dive Colorado after this. This is Locked On Jayhawks, part of the Locked On Podcast Network,

your team every day. Jayhawks in the NBA. A day after we were talking about Devontae Graham tying the Hornets single game record terms of threes made when he had 10. We get to talk about Ben McLemore. McLemore hit eight threes last night for the Rockets. 28 points in just 29 minutes for McLemore. And a 10-point Rocket win on the road at the Raptors. So Ben McLemore, perhaps his best game of the season. Love to see it. Joel Embiid, a 20-20 game.

A 119-113 loss for the Sixers to Washington. Embiid put up 26 points, pulled down 21 rebounds. Other Jayhawks in action. Marcus Morris, he had 10 points in a Knicks loss. The Knicks are not very good. They lost 129-92 to Denver. And then two Suns in action last night. Kelly Oubre played 47 minutes in an overtime victory, 139-132 for the Suns,

14 points and 15 boards, another double-double for Kelly Oubre. In that game, Sheck Diallo played 11 minutes. He had 8 points and 4 rebounds. Looking at tonight's matchups, Sfee and Keefe and the Pistons host Indiana tonight. Charlotte and Devontae Graham host Brooklyn. The Timberwolves are at Oklahoma City, so Andrew Wiggins back in action for the T-Wolves. And Frank Mason, hopefully he gets some minutes tonight as the Bucs host the Los Angeles Clippers. That's your Jayhawks in the NBA update. Wrapping things up here on Locked On Jayhawks.

Been a busy week. Gone through some of the awards that Puka Williams, Hakeem Adeniji, and some of the other guys garnered from the Big 12. And as always, we'll keep you up to date anytime any recruiting news comes about. For Les Miles and company, looking to make sure this program is headed in the right direction. And hopefully in 2020, it leads to many more wins. Of course, we've heard a lot from Bill Self, KU players, Dotson, Doak, Marcus, McCormick. We've heard from a lot of guys this week after the victory over Dayton,

and of course previewing this game tonight, top 20 matchup against Colorado. And let's finish up by talking about the Buffaloes. They don't score a ton of points, but they're led by their defense. Their defense is 11th in the NCAA in points per game allowed, allowing just 56.3 points per game. And then offensively, this team is led by a guy named Tyler Bay. He averages 14 points and 12 boards, leading the Buffs in both categories. And he also averages over two blocks a game and over two steals a game. He's an undersized four. Coach Self has referred to him as a three and a half, but he plays

near the basket, and we'll hear some of the guys talk about that, but Tyler Bay is going to be a matchup problem for Kansas. They also have a point guard named McKinley Wright, who is Dotson fast, according to Bill Self, so that should be a good battle as well. McKinley Wright, who is Dotson fast, according to Bill Self. So that should be a good battle as well. McKinley Wright, he's a senior. He's been around a while. He averages 12.5 points a game, 3.7 assists per game. And the other scorer they have in double figures, Deshaun Schwartz. Schwartz averaging over 12 points a game.

Now offensively, this Buffaloes team does not shoot many threes, which is going to be kind of different than many of the teams that KU has faced, notably the last couple games against Dayton and BYU. They are actually 327th in the NCAA out of about 350 in terms of three pointers attempted. So Colorado not shooting very many threes, but when they shoot them, they're 75th in the country in percentage. So they're taking good shots is what that number tells you. So Colorado, they're pretty much all about the defense. So can Kansas keep up the offensive prowess that they've had? It always starts with Devon Dotson. I mentioned McKinley Wright of Colorado. He's got the speed, the quickness that's similar

to Devon. Here's Coach Self talking about that matchup. Fast on fast. Yeah, fast on fast. I think Devon's averaging 19. McKinley's averaging 12 and a half or something like that. But no, that'll be speed on speed. That'll be fun to watch. That it will be, and it'll be interesting as well to see how Kansas defensively deals with Tyler Bay. Now they had an opportunity, of course, the game against Dayton to face a guy, maybe similar skill set, an Obi Toppin. Guy's talking about how he's a potential NBA lottery pick. He can do a little bit of everything, and Obi put up 18 points, albeit Kansas did a relatively good job against him in that Maui title game.

Tyler Bay is a bit of a different beast. Here's Marcus Garrett talking about the comparison between the two. Yeah, I say they're on the inside with their power, the way they rebound the ball, the way they can finish. I feel like Topham play on the perimeter way more. He stretches the floor out a lot more. I feel like Tyler's just a great rebounder. He knows where to be at, and every time he gets it, it's a dunk. Tyler Bay, perhaps public enemy number one for the Kansas defense,

and rebounding's going to be interesting. You had a guy who basically is a magnet to the ball in Tyler Bay because he tries so hard. Which of the KU bigs are going to be able to stand tall and be able to match Bay on the boards? And collectively, what can KU get from their bigs, particularly McCormick and DeSosa? Maybe this is the game that Silvio finally gets his minutes and breaks out, but would not be surprised once again to see a lot of four guard lineups

against this Colorado team. And here's Bill Self talking about Tad's team. Tad's group is obviously still undefeated and they're ranked 20th I think in the AP this week. They're good. Bay is a hard matchup for because he's a perimeter player that's tall and athletic and kind of like Toppin to be honest. I mean there's some similarities there. He's not as tall but he can really rebound. He rebounds the ball at 12 a game, and he scores the ball. And then McKinley Wright's one of the fastest point guards in the country. And I didn't realize this, but I think he's been on a lot of the – I don't follow it, that's why I didn't realize it. But he's been on a lot of the preseason watch list

as far as one of the premier college players in the country. And we knew he was good, but he has a chance to be one of the very best point guards in America. So that'll be a great matchup with Devon, and Swartz can score the ball. I mean, they got good personnel. They got good players, and they really defend. I think that's what they do best is defend. Should be a fun one. Looking forward to it.

Jayhawks and the Buffaloes tomorrow at 6 o'clock at Allen Fieldhouse. And then Kansas next week will have a couple games as well. They'll play against Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night. And then next Saturday a game against Kansas City, the Roos in Sprint Center in downtown KC. So that should be fun too. But, of course, it's been a week and a half without a game. Can't wait to see the guys back in action tomorrow at Allen Fieldhouse.

Top 20 battle. So make sure you're tuning in. Of course, next week on the show, we'll recap the game, talk a lot of KU hoops as we're kind of approaching Christmas and getting to the point where KU's finding a little bit of an identity, so it should be fun to track that as the season

goes on. Thanks again for listening. Sean Kellerman signing off for Locked On Jayhawks, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day, and Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.