4B
KANSAS 84, NEBRASKA 49
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY JANUARY 28, 2009
MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2008
MEN'S BASKETBALL WRAP-UP
Maric fails to deliver usual high points against Kansas
BY RUSTIN DODD
rdodd@kansan.com
Doc Sadler knew his Nebraska team had to play a special game to hang with Kansas on Saturday. For Sadler's squad, playing perfect means getting scoring production from senior center Aleks Maric. What did Mariic give Nebraska on Saturday? Zero. Zilch. Zippo.
Maric finished with zero points in 21 minutes on zero of six shooting. He also missed two free throws.
"Aleks has got to be the guy that we get on his back and ride," Sadler said, "He didn't score a point. Therefore, our team didn't play well."
With Maric rendered a non-factor, Kansas outscored Nebraska 40-22 in the paint. Maric, who did finish with nine rebounds, didn't make excuses for his scoreless afternoon. Instead, he gave credit to Kansas.
"You go down the list: they have so much size, so much athleticism, they're sound defensively," Maric said.
Kansas rotated four big bodies on Maric, who came into Saturday's game averaging 16.3 points per game. Senior forward Darnell Jackson and senior center Sasha Kaun were matched up with the Sydney, Australia, native for the bulk of his minutes, and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur and freshman center Cole Aldrich defended him at times as well. Jackson said it wasn't just the frontcourt that should get credited with stopping Maric.
"If it wasn't for the guards, I think Maric would have scored." Jackson said. "The guards moved down and were so hard on him. Every time he tried to move down in the post they came in and got some steals to make it hard on him."
Limited by two early fouls, Maric
only played ten minutes in the first half. With its leading scorer getting very few touches, Nebraska attempted to go to Maric on the first three possessions of the second half. The big guy's nightmare continued.
On the first possession of the half, Russell Robinson crept behind Maric for a steal. Darnell Jackson played the bully on the next possession, ripping the ball away from a dazed Maric. Then on the following possession, Maric clanked a right jump-hook off the back-rim.
"I probably could have been more aggressive, or you know, just tried different stuff," Maric said. "I was just settling for the right hand jump-hook."
It was Maric's first scoreless game of the year. In fact, Maric hadn't gone scoreless in a game since Dec. 31, 2005, against Florida State. In that game, Maric, then a sophomore, didn't attempt a shot in a 74-60 loss.
With Maric unable to buy a bucket, Nebraska's offense sputtered for the second consecutive year at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cornhuskers' 49 points actually topped their 39-point output from a year ago.
"I was just thinking, how can we score, how can we score, how can we score?" Sadler said. "You have to score so many points against these guys and that is something we just aren't very good at."
Maric, a preseason selection on the coaches' First Team All-Big 12 team, was apologetic for his play.
"I let the team down today, and being a senior, it's a big thing." Maric said. "I take full responsibility for that. I should have led this team, but I give Kansas credit for shutting me down."
Edited by Daniel Reyes
PRIME plays
FIRST HALF
19:29- Russell Robinson steals the ball from Cookie Miller at mid-court on Nebraska's first possession of the game. This sets the tone for the game and gives Kansas energy to build on.
SECOND HALF
5:30. Sherron Collins drives all the way to the rim and passes it back out to a trailing Darnell Jackson. Slam dunk. It is good to see Collins attacking the hoop again.
13:09. Nebraska's Shang Ping gets whistled for an up, down violation. Now we know for sure. The Huskers are really bad.
9:55 Brandon Rush is on fire lately. He makes his third three-pointer of the game at this point to give the Jayhaws a 21-7 lead. He finished the game with five threes, one shy of his career high.
19-50- Déja vu. Robinson opens the second half with a steal, too. This time it's from Nebraska's Aleks Maric. Maric had one of the worst games of his career. Let's just say he might not be a second-round draft pick anymore.
8:16. Here's an example of why Kansas is so balanced and successful. On a three-on-one break, Rush passes to Jeremy Case who then passes to Mario Chalmers. Chalmers finishes with an and one layup. Rush or Case could have done the selfish fish and tried to score, but they both gave the ball up to get the best shot for their team.
13-28- Collins checks to see if his foot is inbounds then pops a three-pointer from the corner. His shot makes the score 60-29.
Sasha Kaun, senior center, scores in the second half. Kaun was three for seven in field goal attempts Saturday
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Aleks Maric, Nebraska center, sits on the bench during the game. Maric finished the game with zero points on 0-for-6 shooting from the floor in 21 minutes.
Jon Goering/KNASN
Jon Goering/KANSAN