2011 Kansas Basketball Predictions

2010-11 Results:

Overall: 35-3 (16-1 H, 9-1 A, 10-1 N)
Big 12: 14-2 (7-1 H, 7-1 A)
Conference Tournament: Champion
Postseason: Lost in Regional Finals

The Kansas Jayhawks had a very successful year last season. The Jayhawks went 35-3, matching their second-most victories in a single season. Kansas won its second straight and eighth Big 12 conference postseason tournament. They entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. Notably, Kansas finished the 2010-11 season ranked No. 4 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ polls.

Roster

Returning Starters

Tyshawn Taylor

Other Returning Players

Elijah Johnson
Jordan Juenemann
Travis Releford
Niko Roberts
Thomas Robinson
Conner Teahan
Jeff Withey

Newcomers

Christian Garrett
Merv Lindsay
Ben McLemore
Naadir Tharpe
Jamari Traylor
Justin Wesley
Kevin Young

Head Coach

Bill Self

Key Losses

Kansas will lose four of their starters from last season’s squad. The Jayhawks will miss guards Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed who averaged 7.1 and 9.7 points per game respectively. Also contributing a chunk of their offense are forwards Marcus Morris (17.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Markieff Morris (13.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg).

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
9/24/2011	vs. Legends of the Phog
11/1/2011	vs. Pittsburg St !
11/8/2011	vs. Fort Hays State !
11/11/2011	vs. Towson (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
11/15/2011	vs. Kentucky (Champions Classic)
11/21/2011	vs. Georgetown (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
11/22/2011	UCLA/Chaminade (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
11/23/2011	Finals/Consolations (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
11/30/2011	vs. Florida Atlantic
12/3/2011	vs. USF
12/6/2011	vs. Long Beach State
12/10/2011	vs. Ohio State
12/19/2011	vs. Davidson
12/22/2011	@ USC
12/29/2011	vs. Howard
12/31/2011	vs. North Dakota
1/4/2012	vs. Kansas State
1/7/2012	@ Oklahoma *
1/11/2012	@ Texas Tech *
1/14/2012	vs. Iowa State *
1/16/2012	vs. Baylor *
1/21/2012	@ Texas
1/23/2012	vs. Texas A&M *
1/28/2012	@ Iowa State *
2/1/2012	vs. Oklahoma
2/4/2012	@ Missouri *
2/8/2012	@ Baylor *
2/11/2012	vs. Oklahoma State *
2/13/2012	@ Kansas State *
2/18/2012	vs. Texas Tech *
2/22/2012	@ Texas A&M *
2/25/2012	vs. Missouri *
2/27/2012	@ Oklahoma State *
3/3/2012	vs. Texas *
*Conference Game

2011-12 Preview

Expectations are always high for Kansas men’s basketball and that is status quo for the 2011-12 season as the Jayhwaks aim for an eighth-straight Big 12 regular-season title. Kansas returns one starter and eight letterwinners from last season’s 35-3 team, which won its school-record seventh-straight Big 12 regular-season title, 11th overall Big 12 championship and NCAA-leading 54th conference regular-season crown.

Backcourt

A three-year starter, senior guard Tyshawn Taylor is KU’s returning leading scorer from 2010-11 with a 9.3 scoring average. Juniors Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson will also be a part of the Jayhawks’ backcourt this season.

Releford (3.6 ppg in 2010-11) is a redshirt junior who started four games last year. Johnson (3.4 ppg, 64 assists) had six starts his sophomore year and made 40 percent of his three-pointers attempted.

Newcomer Tharpe is described as a true point guard who played at Brewster (N.H.) Academy last year, guiding his team to a 35-5 record and a prep school national championship.

Frontcourt

Providing muscle in the interior for Kansas is Thomas Robinson. Robinson is a forward who is Kansas’ leading returning rebounder (6.4 rpg), which complemented his 7.6 scoring average.

Newcomer-wise, junior forward Kevin Young should have an immediate impact for the Jayhawks. Young played two seasons at Loyola-Marymount and sat out last year before coming to Kansas, averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game his sophomore year in 2009-10.

Jamari Traylor will provide immediate depth inside for Kansas as he averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Lindsay averaged 15.0 ppg and 10.2 rpg his senior year at Canyon Springs (Calif.) HS.

Other Resources on Tigers Basketball

More Big 12 Basketball Predictions

Kansas Jayhawks	Missouri Tigers
Baylor Bears	Iowa State Cyclones
Kansas State Wildcats	Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma State Cowboys	Oklahoma Sooners
Texas A&M Aggies	Texas Tech Red Raiders

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