Wednesday, March 1, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Kansas falls to fifth in Big 12
Kansas center Ashante Johnson snatches a rebound against Texas Monday night in Austin. Johnson grabbed 3 rebounds and scored 4 points for the Jayhawks in their 68-54 loss to the Longhorns. Johnson and fellow seniors Nick Bradford, Terry Nooner and Lester Earl will play their final game in Allen Fieldhouse Sunday when the Jayhawks take on Missouri at 1 p.m. Photo by Jay Sheperd/KANSAN
Hidden somewhere in the shrapne. of Kansas' 68-54 loss on Monday night to Texas is the Jayhawks' Big 12 Conference Tournament scenario.
By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
A win against No. 16 Texas would have helped the Jayhawks in their journey for that first-round bye. Now the loss only complicates things.
A quick rummaging here and there finds that the Jayhawks, 21-8 and 10-5, have fallen into sole possession of fifth place in the Big 12 standings. A top-four finish in the conference would give the Jayhawks a first-round bye in the tournament.
"I have to congratulate Texas," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "They ran out early with a lot of intensity and got the easy buckets. We couldn't get our offense going because their defense really bothered us."
Tonight's state of Big 12 games should clear up the muddled conference standings. The run down is No. 10 Iowa State at Texas Tech, Kansas
State at Baylor, Nebraska at Missouri, No. 21 Oklahoma at Texas A&M, and Colorado at No. 13 Oklahoma State.
The game the Jayhawks will keep a close eye on is the Oklahoma game at Texas A&M. If the Aggies upset the Sooners, Kansas will tie the Sooners for fourth place in the Big 12. The Jayhawks will then have the tiebreaker against Oklahoma because they beat the Sooners on Feb. 20, 53-50.
No. 16 Texas, meanwhile, still has an outside shot of capturing the Big 12 title. The win against Kansas improved the Longhorns record to 12-3 in the conference, which places them a half game behind front-runner Iowa State.
"I had nothing but excitement for the team," said Texas forward Gabe Muoneke. "We had to get a win. We are playing hard to keep our chance in the Big 12."
Kansas notes
Kansas recruit DeShawn Stevenson, a 6-5 shooting guard from Fresno, Calif., was chosen for the
West Squad of the McDonald's High School All-American game. Stevenson has yet to qualify academically for Kansas admissions.
The Jayhawks shot 0-for-8 from the behind the arc against Texas, breaking a string of 104 consecutive games in which Kansas had made at least one three-pointer. The last time the Jayhawks failed to hit a three was March 8, 1997 — a 72-48 Big 12 Tournament victory against Iowa State.
With seven rebounds against the Longhorns, Drew Gooden became the third freshman in Kansas history to pull down 200 rebounds. The others two are Danny Manning with 258 and Raef LaFrentz with 231.
Senior Flower Shower will take place on Sunday afternoon before Kansas' final home game against the Missouri Tigers in Allen Fieldhouse. Fans are asked to bring carnations or soft flowers to pay tribute to Kansas' senior class — Nick Bradford, Lester Earl, Ashante Johnson and Terry Nooner. The Jayhawks tip off against Missouri at 1 p.m.
Jayhawks, Aggies evenly matched
Home court advantage feared by A&M women
By Melinda Weaver sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
This has not been the season Texas A&M expected.
The Aggies, 11-14 overall and 3-12 in the Big 12 Conference, have not been able to string together a significant winning streak — and it's not because they haven't tried.
Saturday against Texas, the Aggies rallied from a 14-point deficit and took a two-point lead before halftime. However, the Longhorns won by nine after a strong second half.
"We know what our mistakes are, but we just can't seem to get out of the slump," said junior forward Jaynetta Saunders. "We have been going into scoring droughts where we won't score for the last six to seven minutes of the game. We are getting off excellent shots, but they aren't going in."
Despite their record, the Aggles do not have a disadvantage to Kansas'
perceived athleticism.
perceived athleticism. Saunders, five-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week this season, leads the team in scoring and rebounds with 15.7 points and seven rebounds per game. She also ranks third in the conference in blocked shots.
While the Aggies lead the league in blocked shots that is not the extent of their talent. Senior forward Kera
Alexander is shooting 57.1 percent from the field, and senior center Prissy Sharpe is a key offensive contributor.
Last week, Texas A&M coach Peggie Gillom said that she hoped Kansas would lose a game before the matchup, and she got her wish. Kansas is coming off consecutive road losses to Missouri and Oklahoma, which dropped them from a first-place tie for the conference title to fourth place.
However, Texas A&M is coming off three losses, a road loss to Oklahoma State and two home losses to Iowa State and Texas.
In fact, the only thing that has been
consistent about the Aggies' season is inconsistency.
Against Kansas, A&M would like to leave this inconsistency at home and give the Jayhawks a battle in Allen Fieldhouse.
rney have a lot of scorers," Gillom said. "Lynn Pride is a great player and a great person, and if she is on, there is nothing we can do about it. They have a lot of weapons, and it will be hard to guard all those weapons. If we withstand the Kansas pressure and do the things defensively that we need to do, we can win this ball game."
The Aggies will be playing a Kansas team reeling from two losses but celebrating Senior Night. And at this point, Kansas cannot afford another loss because a loss could bump them to the first day of the Big 12 Tournament. That makes things tough on the Aggies.
"Playing at home gives them the big edge because you have that attitude that no one is going to come to my court and beat me," Saunders said. "It's just going to be about who wants it more at the end of the game. We just hope this is our day where all of our shots go in."
Suspension lifted for Rush
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — JaRon Rush is returning to the UCLA basketball team, and his timing couldn't be much better.
The Bruins, hoping to finish the regular season with a winning streak that could earn them a berth in the NCAA tournament, will get Rush back for their game against top-ranked Stanford on Saturday.
The sophomore forward's 29-game suspension was reduced to nine games by the NCAA on Monday. He will have to miss Thursday night's game at California — the ninth game of his suspension — but he will be eligible when the Bruins (15-11, 6-8 Pac-10) play at Stanford.
Bruins coach Steve Lavin was elated.
Rush: Will play for UCLA Saturday against Stanford
"We've had a really tough season, and this is a huge lift for the team," Lavin said. "We're on a good emotional roll
now with good practices, the two wins against the Oregon schools and the return of JaRon."
The coach said Rush was in relatively good shape and would play at Stanford, although he wouldn't start.
The suspension stemmed from benefits Rush reportedly received from an AAU coach in Kansas City, Mo., Myron Piggle, while Rush was in high school. UCLA suspended Rush, the Bruins' leading rebounder and third-leading scorer last season, indefinitely on Dec. 10 while it investigated whether he violated NCAA rules.
The NCAA also suspended Rush for 15 games this season for receiving $200 from a sports agent during the 1998-99 academic year.
Rush has to repay $6,525, the value of benefits he reportedly received from Piggie, and is working out a payment schedule that satisfies the NCAA. The payments will go to charity.
KU Crimson CREW
Get involved in the University and the KU Football program by participating in the 2000-2001 Crimson Crew.
This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in Public Relations, Sports Management, Marketing or any other related fields. Duties include giving tours of the athletic facilities to perspective student-athlete football players, and other related
recruiting tasks.
All interested freshman, sophomores, and juniors are asked to attend an informational meeting in the Hadl Auditorium. 1st floor, Wagnon Student Athlete Center. (Located between Allen Fieldhouse and Anschutz.)
Thursday, March 2 at 5 p.m.
Any questions? Call the Football Office @ 864-3393
this summer, pack your underwear, your toothbrush and your [guts]
At Camp Challenge, you'll get a taste of what it's like to be an Army officer. And in the process, pick up leadership skills you'll use for the rest of your life.
Apply for Camp Challenge at the Army ROTC Department.
Then start packing.
UNlike any other college course you can take.
For more information, call Captain Ron Tucker at (785) 864-3311, Univ. of Kansas
SUPPORT GROUP
for people who are Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay. Transgendered, or Unsure Wednesdays, 7:30 pm
For more information and location. please call: KU Info (864-3506) or Headquarters Counseling (841-2345)
Safe, supportive,and confidential Discussion guided by qualified facilitators
Another service of KU Queers and Allies:
LesBiGayTrans Services of Kansas
Office located in Room 423 of the Kansas Union (864:3091)
Visit our website at http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~qanda
Join our email list: qanda@raven.cc.ukans.edu
General meetings on 1st, 3rd, & 5th Thursday of the month at
7:30pm in the Kansas Union
student senate
replacement senator applications
Pick up an application and sign up for an interview at the Student Senate office. 410 Kansas Union
Seats Open: 2 Graduate School
- 1 Liberal Arts & Sciences - 1 Fine Arts
Applications due March 3rd at 5:00 p.m.
STUDENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
SENATE
Majors Fair 2000
Talk to KU faculty, students and advisors about potential academic majors.
Looking for a
Major?
Get information about your potential career choice
Get a jump on the Fall 2000 Semester
Register for door prizes
Wednesday, March 1, 2000
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Kansas Union Ballroom
For more information contact the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center at 864-2834 or stop by our office at 126 Strong Hall. You may also visit our website at www.ukans.edu/~advising