SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE DEATH OF BERNIE SMITH
COLUMNIST GIVES A GARTH BROOKS TAKE ON KU FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL PAGE 5B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2007
PAGE1B
football notes
A TEAM PLAYER
NATIONALLY TELEVISED YET AGAIN
Kansas Athletics announced the Nov. 17 home game against Iowa State will be played at 2:30 p.m., and ABC will televise the Jayhawks' final home game, meaning the team will have appeared on national television for five consecutive weeks and on ABC for two straight weeks. This weekend's game at Oklahoma State is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ABC.
NO 'I' IN TEAM
BCS No. 1 Ohio State has running back Chris Wells. No. 2 LSU has quarterback Matt Flynn. No. 3 Oregon has quarterback Dennis
the star of the
No. 4 Kansas
Jayhawks?
Coach Mark
Mangino said his
players
were sharing
the honors.
"We don't
have an entire
Mangino
cast of playmakers that would be considered the prototype of outstanding Division I players," Mangino said. "We have a lot of kids who work hard and who understand the principles of being successful."
RECRUITS VERBALLY COMMIT TO KU
Two Texas prospects verbally committed to Kansas during the weekend, according to Rivals. com. The Jayhawk commits are Trevor Marrongell, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive lineman, and Corrigan Powell, a 5-10, 160-pound cornerback. Marrongell, a Round Rock, Texas, native, was listed as a two-star recruit and showed interest in schools such as Iowa State, Michigan State and Nebraska. Powell, from Garland, Texas, earned three stars and chose Kansas over Miami, Oklahoma State and Texas.
- Asher Fusco
Senior mid-fielder Nicole Cazulillo has overcome injuries and illness to get to her final season on the Kansas soccer team. She is the leading scoring for the team this season with five goals and three assists. Cazulillo will graduate this May with a bachelor's degree in English, and she hopes to work for Teach for America in Denver.
Big goals on and off the field
Cauzillo hopes to lead her team to a Big 12 Tournament victory in her final season
BY ALISON CUMBOW
cumbow@kansan.com
After a slew of injuries that took her off the field for most of last year, senior mid-fielder Nicole Cauzillo, from Northville, Mich., has been back in action this season on the Kansas soccer team. This is Cauzillo's last season as a Jayhawk, and she is looking to out with a bang, and a Big
12 Tournament victory to remember forever.
Cauzillo's Michigan twang wants talking to her easy, and her laugh is contagious. Cauzillo has spunk and a friendly personality on and off the soccer field. Although she has been a dominant player this season, Cauzillo claims she has never able to master the perfect game-face.
Last season, Cazuillo came down with mononucleosis and was given a medical redshirt by the NCAA. After missing most of last year's playing time, she petitioned to regain her spot on this year's squad. Cauzillo has since become the leading scorer on the team with five goals and three assists, and has shown her teammates, her coach and her fans exactly why she deserved her starting spot back.
Despite a disappointing team record in the beginning of the season, the jayhawks bounced
back to finish at 7-9-4 overall, and 5-2-3 in Big 12 play. To help get her team back on the road to success, Cauzillo has sometimes had to step up as a forward, and pull some of her teammates' weight on the field. She said she loved playing midfield because she had the opportunity to play offense and defense if needed.
SEE CAUZILLO ON PAGE 3B
》 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Photos by Anna Faltermier/KANSAN
Mario Chalmers, left, Russell Robinson, center, and Sherron Collinn, right, are referred to by Kansas coach Bill Self as "the three little guards." The trio will spend a lot of time on the court together until guard Brandon Rush returns from a knee injury.
Photos by Anna Falterman/KMSA
In Rush's absence, 'three little guards' strengthen offense, tighten defense
mdent@kansan.com
BY MARK DENT
When Kansas coach Bill Self talks about the trio of Russell Robinson, Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers, he refers to them as the three little guards.
OK, none of them stand taller than 6-feet-1-inch, or weigh more than 205 pounds, but little? The word seems inappropriate because they're going to play such a large role this season.
Chalmers, Robinson and Collins will likely start and spend 15 to 20 minutes on the floor together until guard Brandon Rush returns from a knee injury. Their presence should make the offense a little faster and the defense a little tighter.
"It doesn't bother me at all that we play three point guards," Self said. "The key thing
This isn't a new experiment for college basketball. Three guards have played together before and played well together. In 2002, Kansas started freshman point guard Aaron Miles alongside senior sharp-shooter Jeff Boschee and Kirk Hinnich — all three had played point guard at some point in their KU careers. The Jayhawks went 16-0 in Big 12 play and earned a Final Four berth. Self's old school, Illinois, is another example.
is that you've got to have one of them that's probably a decent rebounder, and Russell can do that. I see us playing very small a lot of the time."
Guards Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams played nearly every minute together for Illinois in the 2004-2005 season. None were taller than 6-feet-3-inches. They out-sprinted and outsmarted opponents that year all the way to the national title game.
Self's plan is for Chalmers, Robinson and
With the three little guards in the lineup, the team can run until it gets tired and then run some more. Collins can move from one end of the court to the other as quickly as any guard in college basketball. Chalmers is one of the best shooters on the team, and Robinson rarely makes a bad decision in transition.
Collins to make Kansas just as fast. Earlier this season he asked his players whether they thought they ran enough. The players said not nearly enough.
The fast-breaking strength of the three guards was on display Thursday night against Pittsburg State. The team had 15 points in transition. Chalmers, Robinson and Collins scored a combined 39 points and handed out 15 assists.
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 3B
FOOTBALL
Kansas' ability to hang on to ball contrasts with Nebraska's inconsistent offense
A more telling statistic lies a twen inches farther down the stat sheet; turnover margin. Nebraska gave the ball away five times while Kansas held onto the ball on all 90 of its offensive plays. For the second consecutive game, Kansas did not record a giveaway, stretching its turnover margin to plus-16, the second-best in the nation.
Good turnover rate keeps Kansas ahead
"One of the key stats for our football team is turnover margin," Mangino said. "That's a key stat because it means the offense is taking care of the ball and the defense is getting turnovers and creating short fields for the offense. We're doing well in that area."
Kansas is doing better than "well" in the turnover department. Sophomore quarterback Todd Reeing has not thrown an interception since Oct. 6 at Kansas State, a stretch of 139 pass attempts. The Jayhawks have not lost a fumble in their last two games and have lost only seven all season.
BY ASHER FUSCO
On the other side of the ball, the Kansas defense is doing its fair share of stealing. The Jayhawks have forced 27 turnovers, tying for second in the nation.
afusco@kansan.com
Comparing yardage totals from last Saturday's game, it would be tough to explain the 76-39 shellacking Kansas gave Nebraska. After all, the layhawks outgained the Cornhuskers by only 88 yards.
1. Florida Atlantic (4-4) +2.25
2. Kansas (9-0) +1.78
3. Cincinnati (7-2) +1.67
4. Connecticut (8-1) +1.44
5. East Carolina (6-4) +1.40
details
BEST TURNOVER MARGIN PER GAME (NCAA FBS DIVISION)
WORST TURNOVER
MARGIN PER GAME
(NCAA FBS DIVISION)
119. Florida International (0-9) -2.00
118. Baylor (3-7) -1.50
tt116. North Carolina St. (4-1) -1.44
tt116. Northern Illinois (1-8) -1.44
tt115. Nebraska (4-6) -1.40
- ncaa.org
12
Sophomore safety Justin Thornton leads the team with four interceptions, and 10 other Jayhawks have picked off opponents' passes this season. The team has recovered nine fumbles, three of which were forced by junior defensive end John Larson.
SEE TURNOVERS ON PAGE 3B