THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18.2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 10A
Jayhawks to relax compete in Hawaii
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITER
"There will be distractions, but we know this is a business trip," freshman forward Julian Wright said.
Early Saturday morning the Kansas men's basketball team will fly to the island of Maui, Hawaii, to participate in the EASPORTS Maui Invitational Tournament.
The Jayhawks' Maui itinerary:
Saturday, Nov. 19
Depart from Kansas City International Airport 7:30 a.m.; arrive in Maui, Hawaii, about 8:20 p.m. Team members will participate in a PlayStation competition sponsored by EASPORTS.
- Practice at a local high school in the afternoon
Sunday, Nov. 20
Mondav. Nov. 21
Game against Arizona at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 22.
- If Kansas wins Monday's game: a game against the winner of the Arkansas vs. Connecticut game at 8:30 p.m.; if Kansas loses: a game against the loser of the same game at 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 23
If Kansas wins its first two games: Championship game at 9 p.m. If Kansas beats Arizona, but loses to the Arkansas vs. Connecticut winner, it will play for third/fourth place at 4:30 p.m.; If Kansas loses to Arizona and beats the winner of the Arkansas vs. Connecticut game, it will play for fifth/sixth place at 1 p.m. If Kansas loses its first two games, it will play at 6 p.m.
Thursday. Nov. 24
- Depart at midnight. The Jayhawks will arrive at Kansas City International Airport about 11 a.m. on Friday.
Edited by Patrick Ross
MEN'S BASKETBALL
And they're off
Kansas to start season against Idaho State
BY RVAN COLIAANNI rcoliaanni@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
It took about 10 minutes during Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self's weekly press conference before he answered a question about tonight's regular season opener against Idaho State at 7 p.m.
The game against No. 10 Arizona in the Maui Invitational on Monday will be an early test for a young Kansas team. Self said his team would focus solely on the game in Allen Fieldhouse tonight — for now
"We won't even talk about Maui," Self said. "We haven't talked to our players about going to Maui and we aren't going to. We will talk about it Friday night."
Self analyzed film of Idaho State's two exhibition victories over Fresno Pacific and Montana Tech this season and said he was impressed.
"This is a team that not knowing much about them, I know enough by watching on tape that they are capable and they can shoot the basketball," Self said.
Idaho State is from the Big Sky Conference and finished 9-18 last season — last place in its conference. Idaho State basketball coach Doug Oliver will make his second trip to Allen Fieldhouse. He originally came when he was an assistant at Boise State in the late '70s.
"I will be happy with a tremendous
GAME INFO
effort and guys competing at the best of their ability." Oliver said.
The Buffaloes will likely struggle with their lack of size compared to the Jayhawks. Idaho State's tallest player is listed at 6-foot-7. Kansas boasts three players above 6-foot-10.
"We can't match that size, but we will try to front the low post and get some help from the weak side and establish our system." Oliver said.
The Bengals will see their greatest production come from their guards tonight. Senior guard Tim Henry will likely shoulder the load. He averaged 12.5 points per game in the two exhibition games.
Oliver said in order for the Bengals to be successful, they could not turn the ball over and had to minimize Kansas' offensive rebounds.
"They have tremendous athleticism on the defensive end," Oliver said. "They can jump in the passing lane and force turnovers."
The Bengals have played in difficult environments before. Idaho State went to Oregon last season.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Christian Moody, Kansas senior forward, and Sasha Kaun, Kansas sophomore center, fight for a rebound during the game against Pittsburg State on Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.
"There are a lot of dangerous games early in the season because they know you maybe more than you know them," Self said. "Guys really gear their season into just one game when you are trying to gear your season into being as good as you can be over time."
As for Oliver, he said he noticed the excitement of his team playing at Allen Fieldhouse.
"It is a great opportunity for us," Oliver said. "We are used to playing in front of 3,000 and now we get an opportunity to play in front of 16,000."
Edited by Patrick Ross
SWIMMING
Kansan file photo
Kansas senior Gina Gnazig, looks up at her time after the 500-yard Freestyle timed final during the meet against Missouri on Oct. 28 at Robinson Natatorium.
Kansas prepares for its midterm exam'
BY KELLY REYNOLDS
kreynolds@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
In addition to Big 12 competition, Kansas will compete against the University of Minnesota, which beat Kansas in the first dual meet of the season. Senior Lindsay Urbatchka said that in championship meet format, which the invitational meet follows, the challenge of defeating the Gophers would fuel the Jayhawks this weekend.
The Kansas swimming team left Lawrence on Wednesday evening for the Minnesota Invite in Minneapolis, Minn., which will begin today and end Sunday.
The University of Minnesota will play host to the competition that will feature two other Big 12 Conference teams: Nebraska and Iowa State.
Justin O'Neal/KANSAN
"This is our championship meet for the fall. It will be great to feel speed," Urbatchka said.
Kansas swimming coach Clark Campbell said the Minnesota Invite would comparably be the "midterm exam" for the Jayhawks.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
SEE SWIMMING ON PAGE 8A
Emporia State's Tegan Stuart, junior guard, keeps up with Kansas' Shaquina Mosley, sophomore guard, during the game at Allen Fieldhouse last week. Kansas takes on Binghamton Sunday in Lawrence at noon.
'Hawks ready for Bearcats
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR EDITOR
With two exhibition victories behind them, the women's basketball team will open the regular season on Sunday against Binghamton.
CATCH THE GAME
Kansas women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson said the team had been focused at practice all week and would only make minor adjustments to its play.
One area in particular the team looks to show improvement in is fouling. After committing 28 fouls in the exhibition opener against Pittsburg State, the team cut that number to 15 in its second game against Emporia State.
Tip-off is at noon and admission is free with a valid KUID.
What: Kansas vs. Binghamton
Where: Allen Fieldhouse
When: Sunday, Nov. 20 at noon
Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network
— 1320 AM
TV: Sunflower Broadband, channel 6
Cost: Free for KU students with KU ID
"We've done a better job of getting our hands off the ball handler," Henrickson said.
4
Source: Kansas Athletics
The starting lineup will likely remain the same as in the two exhibition games. Freshman Ivana Catic has played at point guard, seniors Kaylee Brown and Erica Hallman have played at guard, alongside sophomore Taylor McIntosh and senior Crystal Kemp at forward.
SEE READY ON PAGE BA
THE COLUMN
JIMMY CHAVEZ
JCHAVEZ@KANSAN.COM
Mangino pleads for fans to come to Senior Dav
1
To say this season has been a roller coaster would be an understatement, but to say it's been a failure has yet to be determined. Silly how one game could determine the perception of the casual fan on Kansas' season.
With a victory against Iowa State, Kansas is almost certainly bowl bound. With a loss, perhaps the finest defense to ever play football at Kansas is squandered away.
To say Iowa State is an automatic victory would only demonstrate the naivety of the common fan. The Cyclones could legitimately be the second or third best team in the Big 12 right now.
They are 7-3, but two of those losses came in overtime at Nebraska and Missouri. The other was a head-scratching home loss to Bavlor.
What is even scarier is how the fair-weather fans, who the team has looked at with animosity through the years, will view the game.
Some people in the Athletics Department would tell you that this game isn't about making money anymore, they just want people in the stands. Hence, they have discounted tickets, implemented the policy reserved for the first game of the year, when students receive a complementary ticket for anyone, not just a student.
With the game being pushed back a week to accommodate for a national television appearance comes the possibility of having a national audience watch a game of large magnitude played before a crowd that could rival a Kansas City Royals game played on a cold Tuesday night in April.
That's why things can change around here. That's why maybe the football program might one day be side by side on a level playing field with the basketball program.
Don't believe me? Ask any Kansas-State fan if a winning program can exist.
To say that the biggest game of the year will be such, well that won't be just up to the players and coaches, that will be up to the fans. Then, maybe we'll know if it is an end or a beginning.
Even Kansas football coach Mark Mangino sent a mass e-mail pleading for students and fans to come to the game.
Though, the average attendance for home games will likely finish higher then it has in a long time, if ever, it means nothing if the game of the year is played before 25,000 fans.
The coach should never have to plead with the students to come to a football game. Even though it's a holiday weekend, there should be enough local students and fans who can put off Christmas shopping for a few more hours to come and bid farewell to some special football players on Senior Day. They could make a difference in the stands as they have all year.
That's pretty sad.
The fans are why the Jayhawks are undefeated at home this year.
♦ Chavez is a San Antonio junior in journalism.