Section:
B
David vs Goliath
The University Daily Kansan
Sports
In 1998, the Harvard women's basketball team became the first No. 16 seed—men or women—to upset a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Inside: The 'Hawks play a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at noon today at Hoglund Ballpark.
TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2000
SEE PAGE 3B
Inside: Iowa State's Marcus Fizer and Texas' Chris Mihm were voted first-team All-Americans yesterday by the AP. SEE SCORECARD, PAGE 6B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Jayhawks set sights on ousting top team
By Chris Fickett
By Chris Fickett sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women think they need a change of scenery. And maybe they do.
The Jayhawks, 20-9 and seeded eighth in the NCAA's Midwest Region, lost three of their last four games, including a thirdstraight defeat to Nebraska.
They will play No. 9 seed Vanderbilt, a team that finished in the middle of the Southeastern Conference, in a first-round game Saturday night in Ruston, La.
"Sometimes it's nice to get out of your conference — you know each other so well," said coach Marian Washington. "But when you face somebody new, they're not going to have as much time to prepare for us as we do for them."
With that outlook on the tournament, it came as no surprise that the Jayhawks weren't completely fazed by their seeding.
which could pit them against No. 1 seed and host school Louisiana Tech in the tournament's second round.
Although the Jayhawks are looking to take on the 28-2 Lady Techsters, they've probably seen the last of Nebraska this season.
"Exactly," said junior guard Jennifer Jackson. "I told my teammates today that we would probably play Iowa State to go to the Final Four, and if you look at the brackets, that's what it
Washington: Stays positive despite tough matchups
could come down to. So we have to take care of business against two tough teams." And that business will be key if the Jayhawks want to keep their Final Four
dreams. Though Kansas swept Big 12 Conference champion Iowa State this season, it must beat Vanderbilt and Louisiana Tech, which has won two NCAA titles and has made 10 Final Four trips, before it can worry about the Cyclones.
But if Kansas shakes up its attitude, it might be able to shake up the tournament. "What I'm liking right now is that we're working to stay positive," Washington said. "I think if we can carry that into the tournament, we'll have a good chance." The Jayhawks aren't only positive
Jackson busted out laughing Sunday when she saw the 'Hawks were set up for another matchup with the No. 1 seed. Kansas lost to top seed and eventual national champion Purdue in a second-round game last season.
When Washington was talking to the media about sophomore Nikki White's
The Jayhawks aren't only positive, they're loose.
health, the coach said, "I'm looking for Nikki right now, I should be able to recognize her."
Washington then pointed to her reserve center, who was sporting a new hairstyle. "Nikki got a new look," Washington said.
NIKKI's got a new do. Washington said Washington let her junior and seniors run practices the last few days, which helped the players bond with each other. And junior forward Jaclyn Johnson liked the idea.
"I think we really had a good time at practice," she said. "We got a lot done. We were really focused."
And then there's the hope that a matchup with Iowa State, a team Kansas beat twice already this season, might be in the cards.
"It's kind of funny they seeded us like this, because for us to go to the Final Four, we have to play against Iowa State," Johnson said. "So maybe it's meant to be for us."
Kansas guard Kenny Gregory blocks an attempted Cowboy jump shot Friday during the Jayhawks loss to Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks will depend on tenacious defense to carry them through their first round game against DePaul on Friday. Photo by Anron Linderberg/KANSAN
Kansas surprised by NCAA seed
'Hawks expect tough first round
By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
The seedings and pairings weren't exactly kind to Kansas.
But now that the initial shock of a dreaded eight seed in the NCAA Tournament has worn off, the Jayhawks are forced to deal with their lowest seed ever.
"I honestly thought we'd be a little higher," said Kansas coach Roy Williams. "Last year, we were tied for second in our league, won our conference tournament and we dropped to a six [seed]. That was a little bit of a surprise, but this was more of a surprise."
Surprises aside, the Jayhawks open the tournament at 6:40 p.m. Friday against ninth seed DePaul in the first round of the East Regional in Winston-Salem, N.C. The winner of that game gets the unenviable task of taking on No. 1 seed Duke on Sunday — barring that the Blue Devils don't get upset in the first round by 16th seed Lamar.
"When you're an eight seed, there are no easy games," Williams said. "You have to be ready to play or you're going home."
Judging by how teams seeded eighth have fared in past NCAA Tournaments, the Jayhawks have at least an outside shot of avoiding an early ticket home. Since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 teams in 1985, one team — the 1985 Villanova Wildcats — ran all the way to a national title as an eight seed.
In 1896, eighth-seeded Auburn advanced to the West Regional Finals before losing. Two years ago, the Rhode Island Rams were an eight seed when they advanced to the Midwest Regional Finals. Coincidentally, the Rams upset top-seeded Kansas to get there.
Last year, however, no eight seed won a
"When you get an eight seed, there are no easy games. You have to be ready to play or you're going home."
Roy Williams
men's basketball coach
tournament game.
But what history says about Kansas' chances doesn't seem to faze the Jayhawks. In fact, they just don't care.
"We can't flash back to what other eight seeds did and what the '88 team did," said guard Kenny Gregory, referring to Kansas' 1988 team that was seeded sixth and won the national championship.
"Because that has nothing to do with us."
Kansas, which opened the season winning 15 of its first 17 games, staggered midway through the year and finished at 23-9 overall and 11-5 in the Big 12 Conference. But Gregory said that regardless of how Kansas finished the regular season, the NCAA Tournament offered a clean slate.
"My philosophy is that it's a whole new beginning, and we get a fresh start," Gregory said. "Some guys may be a little disappointed with the seed that we got, but to me it doesn't matter. You have to play the good teams eventually anyway, so we might as well get it started early." Kansas notes
During a press conference Sunday night, Williams said that he was thinking about changing his scheduling philosophy. Kansas had one of the most difficult schedules in the nation this season but still was given an eight seed in the tournament.
"Right now, I am confused," Williams said. "A couple years ago, we were the No. 1 seed of the No. 1 seeds. We played at UCLA and other places, but it doesn't do any good to play those teams. If you beat them, fantastic. If you don't, it doesn't help you at all."
Swimmer glides into final championship spot
Good 100-meter time in breaststroke event earned NCAA bid
By Brandon Krisztal sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
It came as a surprise to some -- including junior swimmer Carolyn Grevers -- when she found out that her 100-meter breaststroke time earned her the last qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships. The championships are Thursday through Saturday in Indianapolis.
Grevers set a school record in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Big 12 Conference Championships, Feb. 18 in College Station, Texas. In preliminaries she broke Quincy Adams' 2-year-old record by posting a top-qualifying time of 1:03.44. She finished second in the finals and improved her school record to 1:03.31.
However, Grevers' time was not fast enough to qualify her automatically. Although she qualified provisionally, Grevers went with four other teammates to the last chance meet in Austin, Texas, Feb. 26, but she was unable to improve her personal best time. After a few days of waiting, Grevers found out that she was the 25th and final qualifier for the NCAA meet.
Because of the uncertainty that surrounded her qualification. Grevers is extremely enthusiastic about her first
"Carolyn's swimming the 100 breaststroke. That's a race up for grabs completely. There's a whole bunch of people right within about three or four 10ths of a second."
Gary Kempf Kansas swimming coach
trip to the NCAA Championships.
"Well, my goal all year has been to get there," she said. "When I swam it, I knew I had a chance, but I didn't know I was going to make it — just crossed my fingers."
chances.
Despite Grevers' low qualifying time, coach Gary Kempf said he liked her
"Carolyn's swimming the 100-breast-stroke," he said. "That's a race up for grabs completely. There's a whole bunch of people right within about three or four 10ths of a second, so if she can stand up and be real fast, we're going to be OK."
And Kempf knows how difficult the field will be in Indianapolis.
Sports Columnist associate sports editor
"It's the most elite meet in the world, probably a little bit faster and a little bit deeper than the Olympic Trials will be," Kempf said.
Grevers admitted that she'll have some butterflies, but said they wouldn't change her mood or her attitude.
"I am real excited, but I don't think it will really hit me — all the excitement and the emotion of the meet — until I get there," she said.
Matt James
sports@kansan.com
Jayhawks are underdog team in tournament
Remember those underdog teams you root for in the NCAA Tournament every March?
The Weber States, the Princetons, the Murray States, the Mississippi Valley States and the Samfords. They're there every year.
You know the ones. They have absolutely no chance of making any kind of run but are willing to try anything. They stall the game, throw on a variety of presses, launch 146 three-pointers per half, or run back door cuts 'till the other team's kinks hurt.
They have a center with the huge Afro or the 5-foot-8 point guard that can knock down (or miss) threes from anywhere, or they shave their heads for team unity right before the tournament starts, or they all wear headbands, or they start what seems like too many freshmen and one senior who isn't really that talented but tries damn hard.
Maybe they have the guy who should be an All-American who looks like Michael Jordan with his 40-inch vertical and you wonder why you haven't heard of him. And then he goes to the free-throw line and the graphic on the TV screen says he shoots 38 percent.
These are the teams we want to win more than anything. The quirky teams.
Jayhawk fans — you have one of those teams. A team without the pressure, the outside expectations, and according to everyone with an opinion: without a chance. And like those underdog schools that eventually bow out, despite our best wishes, the Jayhawks will be gone soon.
Whether it's DePaul in the first round, or more likely Duke in the second, Kansas inevitably is headed for an early exit. Any Sweet 16 aspirations that Jayhawk fans had quickly went down the tubes when a No. 8 flashed beside Kansas on Sunday during the NCAA Selection Show.
But this way, fans can say, "At least we lost to the national champion."
Then, to top it off, they get a second-round matchup with the No. 1 team in the nation
the Blue Devils. Admittedly, Kansas is better than an eight seed, since UCLA (19-11) was somehow worthy of a six seed in the weakest major conference in the country.
The Big 12 Conference Don't be surprised if at least four Big 12 teams make the Sweet 16 and three land in the Elite Eight. Kansas may have been down this year, but half of the reason was that its conference was tough — tough enough to have the Javahawks still listed at No. 17 in the RPI
The Miami Hurricanes They got some hype last year and made a small splash in the tournament, but this year's Hurricanes play tough defense and are headed for at least the Elite Eight in the weak South Regional.
The Creighton Bluejays This is the second-straight NCAA Tournament for former Kansas State coach Dana Altman's team. Last year, Creighton knocked off Louisville in the first round before losing to Maryland, but this year's Bluejays can shoot threes. They don't pretend to have a strong inside game. They just make threes — lots of them.
Those tournament pools make it hard, though. You want to write your favorite team into the Final Four in your bracket because it could somehow jinx it if you don't.
If you live in this fantasy world, here are some other upset picks that might help you overcome choosing the beloved Jayhawks to go to the Elite Eight.
They look ready to knock off the Chris Porter-less Auburn Tigers. Beating Iowa State in the second round will be a tougher task.
The Fresno State Bulldogs Jerry Tarkanian's gang is filled with talent, as well as the nation's leading scorer in Courtney Alexander. Look for the Bulldogs to jump into the Sweet 16.
It's as important to know which teams to avoid as it is to know which teams to pick. Stay away from the Pac 10. Weak conferences make weak teams. Stanford and Arizona will be home before the weekend is out.
Good luck in those pools. Pick the Jayhawks if you want, but the jinx will be on you.
James is a Hugoton senior in Journalism