As expected, both Kansas and Missouri rolled to easy wins last night. Missouri destroyed D-II North Alabama 98-58, while KU dispensed of UMKC 99-52.
I saw only a few moments of the Kansas game, it was already 15-0 when I turned it on, but I did have a few observations.
1. Travis Releford is a great weapon. Perhaps no player exemplifies the Jayhawks’ depth more than Releford. He was the top KC recruit in the class that included Marcus Denmon, but at Kansas he redshirted a season, and is now just coming off the bench. He’s still a very talented player though, and showed a little bit of everything last night.
2. It was my first time seeing Josh Selby play since the McDonald’s All-American game, and he sure lives up to the hype. His ability to get into the paint, and then to the free throw line, is going to give Big 12 big men fits this season.
Onto the Missouri game, which I watched until halftime, and then turned it on again in the last 4 minutes.
1. Mizzou had little interest in playing in this game at first, and it showed. Not that I blame them though, this was just about the easiest win they will get all year.
2. Kimmie English finally had a great shooting night, hitting six threes in the first half. I still prefer him as the third option on offense, but it is nice to see he has these big scoring halves in him. He didn’t score at all in the second half, not that it really mattered.
3. Good for Ricky Kreklow, he recorded his first double-double last night. Kreklow probably won’t play a ton the rest of the season, but he has shown that he is capable of more than just being a shooter. Actually, I think his shooting is a lot weaker than people made it out to be. Driving to the rim seems to be his strength right now.
Up next for Missouri is the Colorado Buffaloes, and the start of Big 12 play. Despite the claim made in the title of this post, Kansas still has a game against Michigan, which will be played on Sunday.
The Big 12 Basketball Blog 