THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL 73-47
PAGE 10A
Self hesitant to praise players after victory
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWSNITER
Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self was nonchalant about the play of his Jayhawks after last night's 73-47 victory over Pittsburgh State.
Sure, there were some plays to add to the highlight reel, but overall, Self was not all that pleased with the performance of the Jay-hawks.
"I thought we did some good things." Self said. "But we didn't execute, we didn't come out as ready to play as we did last game."
The Kansas post players, led by sophomore CJ Giles, were the biggest positive for the Jayhawks. Giles led all scorers with 24 points, but the Kansas big men — Giles, Sasha Kaun, Darnell Jackson and Julian Wright — combined for 48 of the Jayhawks' 73 points.
Their dominance could be partially attributed to the significant height advantage they had over the Division II Gorillas. Height advantage or not, the Jayhawks dominated inside with Giles' offensive production and blocks on defense along with Jackson's ability to plow his way to the basket when he got the ball in the paint.
To go along with his points, Giles had 3 blocks and 7 rebounds. On two different possessions, Giles swatted the ball out of the hands of the Pittsburg State players while they were going to the basket. The block that pleased the Kansas fans most came with 5 minutes left in the first half when Jeremy Richardson beat his defender only to meet
Giles in the paint and have his shot whacked out of bounds by Giles.
Jackson, who did not play, Wednesday in the Jayhawks first exhibition game against Fort Hays State because of an "eligibility issue," scored 8 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Kaun contributed 7 points, and Wright was the second-leading scorer on the team with 9 points.
"Darnell has been as good as anybody in the last three or four weeks." Self said.
Self said he didn't think the guards pushed the ball up the court quick enough and failed to get the team into an offensive rhythm.
"The big guys could have been better if the guards would have done a better job of moving the ball and getting the ball to them," Self said. "I want guys to be aggressive and I want to get it in the paint and let guys play when they get it in the paint, but I didn't think our perimeter did a good job of creating pace or feeding off their enthusiasm."
The 51 combined fouls in the game might have had an impact on the Jayhawks inability to find a rhythm, but Self said the lack of rhythm had more to do with his team's failure to pressure Pittsburgh State's offense. He said the guards were supposed to apply full-court pressure to the Gorillas, but they did not do a good job of it.
"Our defense isn't good," Self said. "We have got to improve because that way it doesn't put pressure on our offense to score. This team is going to go through scoring droughts, but we just have to make sure that the other team doesn't score."
"T
I want guys to be aggressive and I want to get it in the paint and let guys play when they get it in the paint, but I didn't think our perimeter did a good job of creating pace or feeding off their enthusiasm."
Bill Self Kansas coach
The Kansas freshmen, who were led by Brandon Rush last week, had a couple other newcomers provide some big plays for the Jayhawks. Mario Chalmers connected with Wright for several jaw-droppers. The most impressive play came in the middle of the first half when Chalmers stripped the ball on defense, drove the length of the court and tossed a behind-back pass to Wright on the other end. Wright, who fumbled the ball at first, handled the pass and scored.
"That was a good play." Self said. "Julian has got to catch it, but I thought that was a good play."
The Jayhawks will play their first regular season game on Friday against Idaho State. Self said his
SEE HESITANT ON PAGE 8A
Mario Chalmers, freshman guard, runs the ball down court Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Chalmers scored 5 points, and had 2 rebounds in the Jayhawk's 73-47 victory against the Pittsburg State Gorillas.
Justin O'Neal/KANSAN
BIG 12 FOOTBAD
Nirmalendu Maujumdar/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
iowa State defensive lineman Nick Leaders celebrates with offensive lineman Aaron Brant during the fourth quarter against Missouri at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 15 in Columbia, Mo.
North division still up in the air
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRITER
Texas may have the Big 12 South locked up, but the North is still in contention.
Iowa State scored its second victory against a ranked opponent on Saturday when it defeated Colorado 30-16 and kept its hopes for a Big 12 North championship alive.
With the loss, Colorado still controls its own destiny, and can secure the North division crown with a victory in two weeks against Nebraska. If the Buffaloes slip up and lose to the Cornhuskers though, Iowa State and Missouri will be back in contention for the championship.
If Missouri wins this weekend at Kansas State, it will have to wait about a week to see the results of the Colorado-Nebraska game and the Iowa State-Kansas
There are so many different scenarios that the North division's representative in the Big 12 Championship game won't be determined until the last game is played.
contest. If Missouri and Iowa State win and Colorado loses, there will be a three-way tie for first place in the North.
If Iowa State defeats Kansas, it will be its fifth victory in a row after losing its first three conference games.
Against Colorado, Iowa State was led by its defense. The unit scored a pair of 66-yard touchdowns. The first came in the third quarter when senior defensive back Steve Paris returned a fumble for a touchdown. The second came in the fourth quarter when junior defensive lineman Brent Curvey had an interception return for a touchdown.
SEE DIVISION ON PAGE 9A
CROSS COUNTRY
'Hawks earn championship bid
BY ANTONIO MENDOZA
amendoza@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
the mind frame that this is something we are not here just to be here, we are here for a purpose."
Redwine also said he wanted the team to run as well as it possibly could run, and place as high as they possibly could place in Nationals.
Four men's teams from the Big 12, including Kansas, were chosen to participate in the Nationals. Those teams are Colorado, Oklahoma State and Texas.
For the first time in 11 years, the Kansas men's cross country team is going to the NCAA National Championships.
Even though the No. 12 Jayhawks finished third in the Midwest Regional race Saturday, the NCAA men and women's cross country committee decided that the team deserved to receive one of 13 at-large bids to the championships.
"At the beginning of the year it was a goal, and as far as expecting it, we have always expected it, and I am glad the goal has been achieved," said Kansas cross country coach Stanley Redwine. "The most important thing now is how we do in the NCAAs, we have to go in with
The championships will be held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday.
At-large bids are determined on a points system. A school is awarded one point for every automatic qualifier team it places ahead of in meets, during the season.
Last season, Kansas placed one runner, then junior Benson Chesang, in the National Championships as a solo runner. He
An additional 15 at-large bids were given, for a total of
"In a historical context it's a big deal because no team here has made it in 10 years. It shows how far the program
31 teams. In addition to the 31 teams that qualify, 38 individuals whose teams did not qualify also will be racing on Monday.
The top two bids for each of the nine regional races this weekend were given an automatic bid to Nationals for a total of 18 teams.
Chesang
has come" sophomore Paul Hefferon said.
- Edited by Ty Beaver
DANCING NACHOS
Kansas should forget about Texas game
With one pass and catch, Texas once again confirmed on Saturday that the "Big" 12 looks tiny when viewed through a burnt-orange filter.
The drive started with promise, as Kansas defensive end Charlton Keith shut down a Texas option play for a five-yard loss. After a first down, Texas was flagged for holding, giving the Kansas defense a chance to make its third stop of the quarter.
That pass was a 64-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Vince Young to freshman wide receiver Quan Cosby just 6 minutes into the first quarter.
Cosby was sent on a deep route against Kansas safety Rodney Fowler. The pass was a floater, thrown so that both players could get under the ball and the better athlete would catch it.
MICHAEL PHILLIPS
MPHILLIPS@KANSAN.COM
Fowler stayed with the ball and timed his jump well, but was outplayed by Cosby, who made the catch. Coming down, Fowler
wrapped up Cosby to make the tackle, but Cosby just shook him off and jogged into the endzone for six points.
If the Longhorns were playing video-game football, they'd have the difficulty level set to "easy."
The Jayhawks don't have to beat themselves up over this loss; it's what Texas has done to every Big 12 school it has played this year. The 14 points the Kansas offense musted ranks between Oklahoma's 12 and Texas Tech's 17. And those two schools aren't used to being used as a punching bag.
Right now, the best option the Jayhawks have is to tune out that game like so many television viewers did.
If Kansas players enter practice this week thinking they have a lot of adjustments to make, they will ruin the progress they made in victories against Missouri and Nebraska.
THE
With one game to play, Kansas must put its focus where it belongs: on beating Iowa State and qualifying for a bowl.
The jayhawks have a lot going for them right now.
On offense, Clark Green and Jon Cornish each tallied more than 50 yards rushing, despite an airtight Longhorn defense and an offensive plan that called for almost twice as many passes as runs.
Senior quarterback Jason Swanson managed to get sacked only twice. His quick-release throw is the perfect answer to blitzes, and it makes him a popular man with Kansas' offensive linemen.
Perhaps most important, the Jayhawks will have home-field advantage for their last game. Big 12 North teams are 28-8 this season
VOL
M
when playing at home. In a conference in which the teams are evenly matched, little factors such as staying at home make a huge difference in the outcome of games.
Beating Iowa State would be a huge victory for the team. It would give the offense the ability to practice for an extra month as well as provide a national stage for a deserving jahawk defense.
Tues dent and
So Jacks nine acces from
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino should show his team tapes from the Nebraska and Missouri games, because that is the team that must show up in two weeks for Kansas to beat Iowa State.
G T c h i c l e t o s k t e
That all begins with forgetting about what happened in Austin. The Texas train's steamrolling of Kansas was inevitable, but now Kansas must get right back on track in time for its biggest game of the year.
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- Phillips is a Wichita junior in journalism.