LAWRENCE (KSNT) - KU's starting lineup will look different against No. 9 Oklahoma.
Johnny Furphy will start instead of Elmarko Jackson, head coach Bill Self said Friday.
"We're trying something different," Self said. "I think he's playing with more confidence than he was [before Christmas break]."
Self is hoping watching the first few minutes of the game will help Jackson get a better feel for how to play.
"Energy, aggressiveness, and athleticism," Self said. "That's what I want even when he's not coming off the bench. There's nothing major about this. This isn't something [where] we're trying to really change the outlook of our team. We're not at all. But,... I think Johnny has been playing consistently well here of late, and certainly looked to be more aggressive."
Hunter Dickinson is staying in the starting five, despite a bad knee. Dickinson hit his knee on another player during the TCU game, and has been keeping the pain under control with Ibuprofen and Biofreeze. He was a full participant in practice Friday and expects to play his full allotted minutes Saturday against OU, to hopefully get KU back into the win column.
"The team is pretty motivated to come out there and try to bounce back," Dickinson said. "We're coming in with the same mentality that we had after the Marquette loss. Obviously, you know, we had about 12 hours to kind of try to regroup after that loss, but now we have a little bit more time, but still with the same mentality of trying to make one not be two."
Self knows one team can't run the entire Big 12. A few losses will come along the way in a conference as tough as this one.
"[Saturday's] a big game," Self said. "I said this in in in Florida: not very often you go in the second week of an 18-game league schedule thinking, 'God, these are must-win games.' But, I think there's people that actually feel that way. You know, 'must win' is too strong, but it's a big game tomorrow."
Kansas and OU tip off at 1 p.m. KU women's basketball will play after against Oklahoma State.
