Morris twins power KU over UCLA

"Coach said I wasn't playing hard," Markieff said. "He felt like I was relaxing."

From Marcus: "He challenged our manhood. He said we were reading the news clips too much. I don't even read it at all."

Better for Self that Marcus does not read this: The twins were the difference in the game for the Jayhawks, who improved to 7-0 and notched their first road win of the season at Pauley Pavilion. Markieff was a consistent force in his 21 minutes, making eight of 11 shots and grabbing six rebounds and two steals. Even though Marcus had a poor shooting night, making two of seven field goals, he grabbed nine rebounds and stayed active on both ends.

KU center Cole Aldrich faced persistent double teams all day and had another tough day from the field, making one of six shots, but again, it didn't matter.

Not on this team, which now has had seven different players either lead the team in scoring or tie for the lead through seven games.

"I really thought that Sherron and Cole would be scoring more points right now," Self said. "It's just not playing out that way. We've had different guys step up. When we've been poor offensively, we've had some individuals make some plays."

Markieff's career high entering Sunday's game was 11 points earlier this season against Tennessee Tech. He has shown more capability offensively, at one point making 14 shots in a row, but he showed that he was more than just capable against the Bruins. UCLA double-teamed Aldrich, and Markieff made them pay with an ability to convert in Self's high-low offense with a variety of post moves. The most impressive basket was a left-handed hook shot (Morris is right-handed).

"Markieff was our best player today without question," Self said. "I thought he played terrific. He was really aggressive."

Self didn't mention his running of the twins, and why would he? With those two, it'll come out eventually anyway.

"I felt like I had a chip on my shoulder coming into the game," Markieff said.

Maybe Markieff's 19 points were simple after all. He was lazy before, and on Sunday he wasn't.

"Definitely," Marcus said. "Coach is always right."

Or maybe not. The twins still aren't willing to say they were being lazy.

"He calls me lazy all the time because I'm so laid-back," Markieff said. "I don't see it as I'm lazy. I just see it as I'm laid-back."

(Edit:Ruby)