Kansas routs Missouri, draws closer to fifth straight Big 12 title

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2009 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sherron Collins finished with 25 points, as 15th-ranked Kansas crushed No. 11 Missouri, 90-65, to secure its place at the top of the Big 12 standings.

The Jayhawks (24-5, 13-1 Big 12) remained a game ahead of Oklahoma (12-2), which beat Texas Tech on Saturday, and pulled two games clear of Missouri (24-5, 11-3) with two games to play.

Cole Aldrich added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Kansas, which has won five in a row and is looking to win the Big 12 regular season championship for a fifth consecutive season. Tyshawn Taylor had 15 points and six assists in the Jayhawks' win.

Leo Lyons had 20 points to pace Missouri, whose seven-game win streak was broken. The Tigers had beaten Kansas in the teams' first meeting this season, on February 9 in Columbia, but scored only 19 points in the first half Sunday on the way to the loss.

DeMarre Carroll had 16 points and 11 boards for Missouri, while Zaire Taylor provided 10 points.

Kansas took control early in the first half with a 14-0 run, which put the Jayhawks ahead 21-5 with about 12 1/2 minutes to play. Missouri countered with five consecutive points, but the Jayhawks quickly expanded their lead to 21 points by scoring 12 of the game's next 14 points.

Tyrel Reed ended the surge with a pair of three-pointers to push the Kansas advantage to 33-12. The Jayhawks continued to run away, and ended the half with three baskets, the last of which was a three from Taylor that put the hosts up 45-19 at the break.

Kansas maintained the margin throughout the second half, as the schools traded baskets to the end of the game.

Aldrich's three-point play just before the midway point made it a 71-44 game. With a little over five minutes left, Aldrich dunked to give Kansas an 80-58 lead, and the Jayhawks cruised from there.

Game Notes

Collins also had six assists and five rebounds for Kansas, while making 4-of-6 three-pointers...The Jayhawks shot 55.9 percent from the floor, including an 8-for-14 mark from three-point range...Missouri made 35.7 percent of its shots, and only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc...At halftime, Kansas retired the jersey of Kirk Hinrich, who guided the Jayhawks to two Final Fours during his career from 2000-03...Kansas has already secured a bye for the Big 12 Championship tournament, and is the three-time defending champion.

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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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