THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31. 2006
MEN'S BASKETBALL: 86-52
PAGE 12A
Freshman guard Brandon Rush heads toward the Kansas basket as sophomore center Sasha Kaun looks down court after rebounding off a Texas Tech miss in the first half of Monday night's game in Allen Fieldhouse. Kaun had seven rebounds in the game.
'Hawks rout Red Raiders
BY RYAN COLAIANNI
rolaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITTER
Brandon Rush got loose in the open court during the second half and went up to throw down a reverse dunk.
Besides thinking about making the dunk, the freshman guard said he was thinking about
another accomplishment — getting the acrobatic highlight on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10
With two SportsCenter an chors in attendance last night, there was a good chance that Rush saw himself various times on television after Kansas' 86-52 victory against Texas Tech.
"He's pretty quick-witted. He's got a lot of one-liners after a game," Kansas coach Bill Self said about Rush wanting to make SportsCenter.
"It was real fun just to go down and make an easy basket." Rush said.
The Jayhawks played their third game in six days, but saved the best showing for last. Kansas created 12 turnovers and ran well in transition to produce points.
Nearly nothing went wrong for Kansas last night. Whether it was a Julian Wright shot, which hit sharply off the rim, straight into the air and back down through the basket, or a Darnell Jackson dunk off a missed offensive shot, the Jayhawks dominated the game from start to finish.
SEE RUSH ON PAGE 6A
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Early exits won't draw sanctions
BY ERIC JORGENSEN
ejorgensen@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Micah Downs became the sixth Kansas men's basketball player in the past three years to leave the University when he quit the team last week.
The departures will not hurt the team's academic success rate, said Associate Athletics Director Paul Buskirk. A low academic success rate can bring sanctions from the NCAA.
When transferring players are academically eligible to play, their exits do not affect the team's academic success rate, Buskirk said.
SIX MEN GONE IN THREE YEARS
The academic success rate is measured in two ways:
The first is the Academic Progress Rate, which measures player retention and academic eligibility. This is used as a short-term method of measuring student athletes' academic success.
The second is the Graduation Success Rate, which measures the long-term success of a program.
SEE EXITS ON PAGE 8A
The following departures will not affect the men's basketball team's academic success, said Associate Athletics Director Paul Buskirk. A low academic success rate can bring NCAA sanctions. The players who left the University and where they went:
Nick Bahe
Creighton (2005)
J. R. Giddens
Micah Downs
Alex Galindo
New Mexico (2005)
Currently Unsigned (2006)
Florida International (2005)
David Padgett
Louisville (2004)
Omar Wilkes
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
California (2004)
Senior guard Erica Hallman, right, darts around Wildcat defenders on a screen from sophomore forward Taylor McIntosh last Wednesday night in Manhattan. The Jayhawks are No. 10 in the Big 12 and have nine games left to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Tournament looms for KU
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSAH STAFF WRITE
With only nine games remaining for the women's basketball team, time is running out to earn a spot in postseason play.
Last year, the NCAA invited six teams from the Big 12 Conference to the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks are currently sixth in the conference with a 13-5 record, but are only 2-5 against Big 12 competition
They have an opportunity to improve that record at the Wednesday night game against Colorado and a Saturday afternoon game against Iowa State. Both games will be at Allen Fieldhouse.
"We really don't have a lot of wiggle room," she said. "If you're going to get in the game, you've got to give us something."
Senior forward Crystal Kemp was on the floor only 23 minutes on Saturday. She usually plays close to the entire 40 minutes of the game. Senior guards Kaylee Brown and Erica Hallman scored a combined 11 points. The duo is
It was an especially rough game for the three seniors, who have been counted on to carry the team for most of the season.
Kansas coach Bonnie Hendrickson said that all five players she had on the court had to produce for Kansas to succeed and earn a postseason berth.
It will also be an opportunity to rebound after a 90-40 loss to Baylor on Saturday afternoon, the worst loss in Kansas women's basketball history.
BALL STANDINGS
Kansas will likely have to win six more conference games to make the NCAA tournament this season.
Big 12 All
Oklahoma 7-0 17-4
Missouri 5-2 15-4
Baylor 5-3 15-3
Kansas State 6-3 15-4
Texas A&M 5-3 16-5
Texas 5-3 15-7
Texas Tech 4-3 9-9
Jewish State 3-4 12-6
Nebraska 3-4 11-7
Kansas 2-5 13-5
Colorado 1-7 6-14
Oklahoma State 0-8 6-13
recent history suggests Kansas will have to go 8-8 in its conference schedule to make the NCAA tournament. This means the team will need to win all of its home games in addition to one victory outside of Allen Fieldhouse.
It's very possible that the Jayhawks get to play in March this year, but the clock is ticking.
The other four games will take place on the road, where the Jayhawks have yet to win a game this season. They will not have an easy time the rest of the way, visiting South teams such as Texas Tech and Oklahoma in addition to Missouri and Iowa State.
Of the final nine games, Kansas plays five at home against the five other Big 12 North teams. As is usually the case, the South conference is stronger than the North, with five of the top seven teams coming from that division
▼"HORN BORN,"HAWK BRED
the primary reason Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-pointers. They only hit two on Saturday.
Source: big12sports.com
Edited by Gabriella Souza
Remember when KU fans were worried, some even doubtful, about whether this young Kansas basketball team would make the NCAA Basketball Tournament following two straight losses to Kansas State and Missouri? It shouldn't be hard, because it was only two weeks ago.
Now, after four straight victories, Kansas has quietly played its way off the bubble. These improved Jayhawks are
TRAVIS ROBINETT
trobinett@kansan.com
a lock, as long as they keep up their solid play.
Javhawks can make the end if they continue playing strong
Ten conference victories will be the magic number for the Jayhawks, meaning that they
need five more victories. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference 10 years ago, only two postseason-eligible teams with double-digit conference victories have been left out of the NCAA tournament: Colorado in 2004 and Nebraska in 1999. But Colorado and Nebraska don't have Kansas' name recognition.
Why stop at 10 conference victories? The way the team is playing, it's possible Kansas could win and finish the
year with a 14-2 conference record. That and a Big 12 tournament championship could put Kansas as high as a No. 2 seed.
Take a look at Kansas' upcoming schedule. The Jayhawks still have an opportunity to win their sixth Big 12 title. They are second in the Big 12 standings at 5-2, only one game behind Texas. From here on out, Kansas plays Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa State, Baylor and Colorado at home, and Nebraska,
Out of those teams, which ones are really threats to knock Kansas off? Baylor?
No way. The Bears are winless in conference play. Colorado and Iowa State? Not in Allen Fieldhouse, after Kansas already knocked both off on their home courts.
Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas State on the road.
Oklahoma, Nebraska or Oklahoma State? Oklahoma is good, as they proved when they
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defeated Texas in Norman, but the game is in Lawrence. Oklahoma has already struggled on the road with the likes of Nebraska and Texas A&M. Oklahoma State is young like Kansas, but not talented enough to handle the likes of Julian Wright and Brandon Rush. Nebraska was creamed in Allen Fieldhouse, and logic says it will be again in Lincoln, Neb.
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SEE ROBINETT ON PAGE 8A
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