KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The success of No. 2 Kansas without star
forward Wayne Simien comes as no surprise to the other coaches in
the Big 12 Conference.
"They've done a great job of holding the fort until Wayne gets
back," Nebraska coach Barry Collier said Monday during the
coaches' weekly conference call. "Each time I watch them, I've
been more impressed -- even when Wayne was in there. And that
continues, even now."
Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team beat then-No. 8 Kentucky on
Sunday in the Jayhawks' first road game, has not said when Simien
will return after undergoing surgery on his left thumb. The
preseason All-American is expected to miss Wednesday's game at Iowa
State.
In his absence, the rest of the Jayhawks -- led by point guard
Aaron Miles and swingman Keith Langford, both veterans of two Final
Fours -- have taken turns picking up the slack. Kansas is 4-0
without Simien, with victories over two Top 10 teams.
"It kind of starts with guys like Miles and Langford,"
Missouri coach Quin Snyder said. "Those guys see that as an
opportunity to show that their team is a team.
"If it's (the loss of a star) for a month as opposed to three
months, teams can raise their level," Snyder said. "I think
that's what you've seen Kansas do."
That was especially true on Sunday, when the play of Kansas'
young front line offset the Jayhawks' struggles outside.
"We've kind of been piecing it together, to be honest," Self
said. "But now guys should be feeling that we can do it against
anybody if we give great effort and consistent effort."
That confidence, Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said, will
make the Jayhawks even tougher.
"When they get Simien back, they're going to be dynamite,"
Sutton said.
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SUTTON'S MILESTONE: If his sixth-ranked Cowboys beat Missouri on
Tuesday in Stillwater, Okla., Sutton will match former Oklahoma
State coach Henry Iba with his 767th victory -- seventh on the NCAA
Division I career list.
"Mr. Iba" led the school -- then Oklahoma A&M -- to NCAA titles
in 1945 and 1946. Sutton played for him from 1955 to 1958 and was a
graduate assistant under him in the 1958-59 season.
"I've had mixed feelings about tying Mr. Iba's record or
passing it," Sutton said. "If we're fortunate enough to win, I'm
going to look up to him, point to heaven and say, 'Thank you, Mr.
Iba. You're a big part of this."
Self, who also played at Oklahoma State and was an assistant
there for seven seasons -- three under Sutton -- said the approaching
milestone will be an occasion to celebrate both coaches'
achievements.
"People certainly should be excited when he ties it, because
that pays tribute to both men," Self said. "They should be
ecstatic when he breaks it."
All that emotion won't make things easier for Missouri, Snyder
said.
"I can't see how it could be harder than they make it by being
who they are," he said, "but going for Mr. Iba's record might be
one way."
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NO BREAK FOR AGGIES: After flirting with an upset at Kansas in
its Big 12 opener before losing 65-60, surprising Texas A&M will
face its second Top 10 opponent in as many games when the Aggies
host No. 10 Texas on Wednesday.
That's a big obstacle for a team trying to break an 18-game
losing streak in conference play.
"You don't ever want to go into a season trying to win a
conference game," first-year coach Billy Gillespie said,
emphasizing the singular. "But that's what we have to do."
But at 11-1, the Aggies have the attention -- and respect -- of
Texas coach Rick Barnes.
"I saw them play the other night against Kansas, and I thought
they played really hard defensively and were aggressive at both
ends of the court," Barnes said. "Anyone who knows Billy knows
that's his personality. I think it's great for A&M -- they're
excited with Billy being there -- and it's great for our league."
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TIME TO RECUPERATE: Senegalese center Mamadou Diene, who missed
the first semester at Baylor because he was battling malaria in his
home country, will likely take a redshirt season to adjust to his
class schedule and continue his recovery.
"Coming off malaria, I'm sure his strength in a lot of areas is
down," coach Scott Drew said.
The 7-foot freshman is listed at 215 pounds, but Drew said he
wasn't sure how much weight Diene had lost over the course of his
illness.
"When he gets here, we'll see all that stuff," Drew said.
"After a month of good, healthy American food, he'll put on the
weight."
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FREE THROWS: Kansas State forward Jeremiah Massey is once-again
listed as day-to-day with a sprained ankle. Massey, playing despite
the injury, had 12 points in the Wildcats' 95-85 double-overtime
loss to Nebraska on Saturday. "We're back to square one," coach
Jim Wooldridge said. ... Wednesday's game between Nebraska and
Colorado matches two teams whose leading scorers are freshmen.
Richard Roby leads Colorado at 14.5 points per game, while Joe
McCray averages 14.1 points for the Cornhuskers. The explanation
from Colorado coach Ricardo Patton: "At this point right now,
we're not getting more from some guys in the program that we
thought would be a lot better."