Daily Word: Louisville after Chris Jones

By ESPN.com | ESPN.com

Every weekday, some of our college hoops experts discuss the biggest issues, trends and themes in and around college basketball.

1. Which Louisville player has to step up the most now that Chris Jones has been kicked off the team?

Andy Katz: Louisville has been extremely hard to figure out this season. Something seems askew. Terry Rozier will have to carry even more of a load, and Montrezl Harrell needs to continue to lead this team out of a potential sideways season. Jones' dismissal could be a blessing or a major disruption. We'll know soon enough which direction this takes for the Cardinals.

Eamonn Brennan: The obvious answer is Rozier, who has been great all season. We'll see what Quentin Snider can come up with (and how quickly), although it's been mostly freshman growing pains thus far. In the meantime, how about a few more possessions for Harrell? Jones took 26.2 percent of available shots while on the floor; Harrell has taken 21.6. He shoots 63 percent from 2, which is hardly a bad Plan B.

Dana O'Neil: Snider will be asked to fill in for Jones, but the onus of truly absorbing Jones' absence falls to Rozier. Snider can't be asked to become Jones, which means that as good as Rozier has been, leading the team in scoring already, he'll have to be that much better. It's on Rozier now to become the lead dog not just offensively but defensively.

2. When Kansas does struggle, has it shown a consistent weakness?

Katz: It's hard to say Kansas has struggled in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks have lost two late-possession games. The keys for the Jayhawks are to find balance and get out and run. Perry Ellis did a fantastic job of converting on the break. Kansas must continue to turn its defense into offensive execution. If the Jayhawks can do that consistently, they will have a real shot to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Brennan: The Jayhawks are pretty solid across the board. There are still some moments of disconnected offensive play, but not nearly as many as there were early in the season. One strength of this team is that it is not spectacular at one thing and thus less vulnerable to any one flaw.

O'Neil: Kansas is so perimeter-oriented and even perimeter-reliant that when the Jayhawks' outside shots aren't falling -- or, worse, they aren't getting as many open looks -- they struggle. They've been fortunate, really, in that they have been a pretty good shooting team -- better, strangely, from 3-point range than 2 -- so it hasn't bitten them too much, but it would help if they could develop some sort of inside presence that is both reliable and consistent.

3. Which bubble team desperately needs to have a big week?

Katz: Texas. The Longhorns have two extremely difficult road games at West Virginia and Kansas. Split, and the Longhorns can breathe easier. Get swept, and it will be a tense time in the final week.

Brennan: Texas makes the most sense here. We've been waiting for the Longhorns to figure it out for ... jeez, has it been months already? (It has.) Yet somehow, UT, a pretty good team in a great, ripe conference, is sitting here in late February with one top-50 win. Not good.

O'Neil: Texas. The Longhorns are a big ol' mess with six losses in their past nine games, almost entirely undoing a solid start. It's not an easy week for Texas -- at West Virginia and at Kansas -- but the Horns desperately need to win at least one of those games.


Earlier Words: 2/20 »2/19 » 2/18 » 2/17 » 2/16 » 2/13 » 2/12 » 2/11 » 2/10 » 2/9 »

Games To Watch

No. 12 Louisville at Georgia Tech
Monday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

After two straight losses -- vs. NC State and at Syracuse -- the Cardinals got back on track Saturday with a 55-53 win over Miami. The Yellow Jackets, just 3-12 in the ACC, were routed by North Carolina.


Xavier at St. John's
Monday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

The Musketeers and Red Storm -- who have both won four of their past five games -- have work to do to get into the NCAA tournament, which makes Monday's matchup pivotal. Potential résumé-boosters on each team's schedule to close the season: Games against No. 6 Villanova.


No. 8 Kansas at Kansas State
Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Jayhawks won at TCU over the weekend and are in pole position in the Big 12. Kansas State, which is coming off back-to-back road losses (at TCU and Baylor), has lost seven of its past eight games.

They Said It

ESPNU Basketball Podcast

Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg check in with newsmakers from around college basketball.

Tell us what you think!

Take Survey Now » No Thanks »