K-State Wildcats could stop another Kansas streak

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Almost exactly one year after Kansas State snapped one of the greatest streaks Kansas ever put together, the Wildcats would love to do it again.

Led by Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, Kansas State upset the Jayhawks 84-75 last Jan. 30, snapping Kansas' 24-game winning streak in Manhattan.

Now, in a 7 p.m. tipoff Tuesday night, it's Kansas' 33-game winning streak on their home court the Wildcats are taking aim at.

"We beat them last year, and a lot of people now say it should be no surprise if we go in there and beat them again," said Kansas State's Dominique Sutton. "It's time for K-State to come up and start getting some wins against KU. (Breaking the streak) would be very big for us. Everybody's counting us out already in the Big 12."

Although Beasley and Walker are gone to the NBA and Kansas lost seven players from last year's NCAA championship squad, the rivalry hasn't lost its luster. Neither side figures it means much that Kansas has beaten Kansas State 36 of the past 38 meetings.

"Yeah, they lost Beasley and Bill Walker. But that doesn't mean anything," said Kansas center Cole Aldrich. "We've both got teams that lost drastic talents from last year. It's going to be even more elevated because they're playing us and it's a huge game for both teams. It's bragging rights for both sides of the state. They've always given us tough games.

Each team is coming off a loss to a Top 10 opponent. Kansas (11-4) lost at No. 7 Michigan State 75-62. The Wildcats, off to a better start in their post-Beasley life than many predicted, are 11-4 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 after losing at home 61-53 to No. 6 Oklahoma.

"They're going to be mad, we're going to be mad," said Kansas State coach Frank Martin. "It's an instate rivalry game, so we're going to have to play well."

The game will also be a good matchup between point guards from Chicago. Countering Pullen will be Kansas' Sherron Collins. Both have known each other since they were high school standouts in the Windy City.

"It's always exciting to play against the Chicago rivalry and it's always exciting just to play KU," said Pullen. "A lot of newcomers we have haven't experienced this game and this is a chance to see how loud Allen Fieldhouse can be when we can't even hear each other when we're trying to stretch.

"It's a good opportunity for us to bounce back. The good thing about our conference is that you lose to the No. 6 team in the country, you always get a chance to go play another good team."

Although they never played against each other in high school, Pullen and Collins know all about each other.

"He's a young Chicago kid," said Collins. "Chicago kids, we're mostly tough and hard-nosed. We play against a lot of talent in Chicago. He's good. He's good with the dribble."

The Jayhawks are happy to be diving into conference play, what coach Bill Self calls "the second third" of the season.

"We haven't had a bad out-of-conference. But we haven't had a good one, either. We've just kind of been there," Self said. "I'm not happy with our record. But I didn't expect us to be undefeated now, either. We're the four-time defending Big 12 champs. We've got a lot to play for and I think if anything, that should help get our batteries recharged.

"We need a fresh start. We're 0-0, so I think our guys will be excited to play a very good K-State team."

Missouri suspends Leo Lyons -- Missouri forward Leo Lyons was suspended indefinitely on Monday, a day after his arrest on traffic charges and for failing to pay a traffic fine from 2006.

Lyons was arrested late Sunday in Columbia, Mo., for failure to have his lights on and failure to display proof of insurance, team spokesman Dave Reiter said. Police then learned there was a warrant for Lyons for an unpaid fine for making an illegal turn in 2006, Reiter said.

Calls to Columbia police were not returned.

Coach Mike Anderson had not determined how long Lyons will be suspended, saying only that he won't play against Colorado on Wednesday.

The loss of the 6-foot-9 Lyons would be a big one for Missouri. He's second on the team to DeMarre Carroll in both scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounding (6.2 per game) and led the Tigers with 12 points against Nebraska after a scoreless first half.

"The theme here is responsibility," Anderson said in a statement. "Leo failed to meet his responsibilities as a driver and it led him to this unfortunate situation. We preach responsibility to our young men every day and we are going to help Leo learn from this mistake. We'll continue to monitor the situation and once we feel comfortable that we have all the facts and Leo meets his obligations, then we'll move forward."

Lyons was a freshman when the original driving offense occurred.

Lyons has been suspended by Anderson twice before.

Last January, he was one of five players disciplined for curfew violations after an altercation at a Columbia nightclub. And soon after Anderson arrived, he suspended Lyons for both exhibition games prior to the 2006-07 season for violating team academic policy. Lyons later called that suspension "a wake-up call."

"It's one of those misfortunate things where it might not be that serious, but its one of those lessons that needs to be learned by him especially with him going out into the real world," Carroll said. "You've got to take care of your business. I think he'll grow from it and come back from it."