Scores and upsets
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
UCLA and North Carolina fall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Their respective opponents, Detroit and Weber State, advance.
Friday
March 12, 1999
Section:
B
Page 1
Kansas Tennis
Kansas tennis player Kris Sell was named Big 12 player of the week.
KANSAS TENNIS
SEE PAGE 2B
Page 1
Kansas Basketball
Ryan Robertson shares his thoughts about the NCAA tournament.
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
SEE PAGE 4B
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Kansas baseball to play unranked Iowa State team
By Matt Tait
mtait@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
Finally there appears to be a break in the Kansas baseball team's tough early schedule.
The Jayhawks first 15 games have been against three of the country's top teams: Nevada, Texas Tech and Texas. Ten of these games were played away from home.
After opening its home season being swept by Texas, Kansas will play host to Iowa State on Sunday, a team in a similar situation to the Jayhawks.
The Cyclones stand at 5-8 overall and are winless in Big 12 Conference play at 0-3. Kansas is 3-12 overall and 0-6 in the conference.
Despite the disappointing start, the Jayhawks remain upbeat about the season. Its play against Texas indicated that notion.
"You have to play great baseball to beat those top 10 teams," catcher Shane Wedd said. "And against Texas, I think we played good baseball and we can turn this around."
"I'm really looking forward to us playing better baseball," coach Bobby Randall said. "It all starts with execution, execution, execution, and you can spell that with an F for fundamentals."
Even though the Cyclones are not a national powerhouse like Texas, Kansas knows it still must play better to beat them.
Iowa State, where Randall spent the majority of his coaching career before coming to Kansas, comes into the series after being swept last weekend by Texas A&M.
The Hawkeyes are led by offensive threat Aaron Runk, who is hitting .392 and has two home runs and 10 RBI this season. The ace of the Cyclones' pitching staff is Brian Curtin. He is 2-2 with an era near 5.0 and is second on the team with 23 innings pitched.
He is expected to start game two and will face Jayhawk ace Rusty Philbrick.
The series was scheduled to be played in Ames, Iowa, but anticipated bad weather forced the series to move to Lawrence.
Wedd said that playing at home was an added treat to getting a break in the schedule.
"Iowa State is a tough place to play so it will be nice to be here," Wedd said. "It's always a bonus to be at home, but whether it's Iowa State or Texas, our focus right now is on playing better baseball and winning some games."
The doubleheader is expected to be played in less than ideal temperatures. There is a chance for snow and the highs will be in the 30s, but the teams have agreed to play two games Sunday, starting at noon.
Senior Chris Williams is expected to be the Jayhawks' starting pitcher for the first game.
Edited by Jason Pearce
Kansas prepares to face dangerous Evansville
By Kevin C. Wilson
kwilson@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
"They should be very proud of what they accomplish," Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. "They made the tournament not by winning their conference tournament, but because
throughout in course of the entire season, and that says a lot about them and the heir club."
Evansville
(50.7 percent), three-point percentage (40.7 percent) and free-throw percentage (77.2 percent). In addition, all five Evansville starters shoot 50 percent or better from the field.
Head coach Jim Crews, who has a 255-159 (.616) record in 14 seasons, has benefited from having one of the best shooting teams in the country. The Purple Aces rank among the nation's top five teams in field-goal percentage
See SIZE on page 3B
Women adjust to play Marquette
Kansas forward Jacyn Johnson battles for a rebound during a game against Kansas State. The Jayhawks are scheduled to play the Marquette Golden Eagles tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. Photo by Augustus Anthony Piazza/KANSAN
By Matt James
mjames@kansan.com
By Matt James
Kansan sportswriter
It's never too late to make adjustments, especially when you're playing in the NCAA Tournament.
That's just the attitude Marian Washington and her Jayhawks are taking to West Lafayette, Ind., for the first two rounds of the Midwest regional. Kansas battles the Marquette Golden Eagles at Purdue's Mackey Arena 5 p.m. tomorrow. If the Jayhawks advance, they will face the winner of the Purdue-Oral Roberts match-up at 6:37 p.m. Monday.
The team knows that the effort it put forth in Big 12 Tournament play and the slow starts that have plagued it during the last three weeks won't be enough in the "now or never" format of the NCAAs. So it's time to make some changes.
Kansas shot only 37 percent and amazingly didn't attempt a single free-throw in the first halves of its two Big 12 Tournament games, a trend Washington would like to see end.
Pride and Reves, Kansas' two leading scorers, each said they needed to become more aggressive individually and utilize the on-court communication they had established during the course of the season. Pride said she was glad to have regained an unspoken bond after losing backcourt mate Suzi Raymant to a knee injury.
"We need to push the ball up the floor and be more aggressive offensively," Washington said. "Our guards have to get the ball in a good position to open up Lynn (Pride) and Brooke (Reves)."
"(Suzi and I) really connected and read off
"Jaclyn (Johnson) and Nakia (Sanford) are working on looking up and getting the ball out quickly," she said. "Coach has emphasized an attack offense. Even if there isn't a physical difference, there will be a mental difference."
Reves said the team was working on moving the ball up the court as soon as it grabbed a defensive rebound.
of each other well," Pride said "Towards the end, me and Brooke had that going too."
No matter what the Jayhawks' performance, this year's NCAA Tournament will be much different for Reves, who spent last
year watching at home because of the NCAA's transfer rules.
"It wasn't like I was part of the team," she said. "It's going to be fun being there."
Lineup changes aside, the word attack hasn't been used by many to describe the Kansas scoring offense, which ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 all season long. Instead the Jayhawks have relied their athletic defense to carry them to a 22-9 record.
Although still unhappy about her team receiving a ninth seed in the Midwest Regional, Washington said she liked the Jayhawks' chances of winning in the first
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
22-9 overall
G JENNIFER JACKSON 5-10 So.
G LYNN PRIDE 6-2 Jr.
F BROOKE REVES 6-0 Jr.
F FACLYN JOHNSON 6-1 So.
C NAKIA SANFORD 6-3 Sr.
MARQUETTE
GOLDEN EAGLES
21.7 overall
G KRISTI JOHNSON 5-6 Fr.
G HEIDI BUWMAN 6-0 So.
G KIESHA OLIVER 5-9 Jr.
F LISA OLDEBURG 6-2 Jr.
F ABBIE WILENBURG 6-2 Jr.
ABBIE WILENBORG
Mackey Arena • West Lafayette, Ind.
5 p.m.
two rounds.
"I really think we're quicker than Marquette," she said. "They definitely look to go inside, so we'll match up with them well."
The No. 1 ranked Purdue Boilermakers, assuming they can defeat 16th-seed Oral Roberts, pose an awesome second round threat. But the Jayhawks say they are not intimidated.
"If the team saw Connecticut or Tennessee ahead, it might be a problem," Washington said. "(Purdue) just doesn't pose the same image in these players' minds."
Edited by Julie Sachs
Commentary Evansville's precise shots will defeat Jayhawks
About 9 tonight, a haze of disappointment once again will blanket the Kansas men's basketball team.
But rankings and history don't win basketball games.
Yes, the Jayhawks will lose to Evansville in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Making shots does. That's why
And it won't be entirely their fault. The fact is that Kansas is not that good. Sure, the Jayhawks have a No. 22 ranking and history on their side.
the Purple Aces of Evansville will win.
All five of Evansville's starters shoot better than 50 percent. The team ranks in the nation's top three in three shooting categories: field goal percentage.
Mike Harrity
sports@kansan.com
Kansas shoots 44 percent from the field and makes 65 percent of their free throws.
they make more than half their shots, three-point shooting, (40.7 percent) and free throws, hitting almost 80 percent.
One name Jayhawks fans will learn quickly is Marcus Wilson. Wilson, an Evansville guard and the team's best player, will clown whoever guards him — whether it's Jeff Boschee or Ryan Robertson. Tonight's game will conjure memories of last year's second-round tournament loss, when Rhode Island's guard tandem of Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley scored at will against hapless Jayhawk guards.
True, Evansville lost by 30 to the two teams' lone common opponent. St. Louis, while Kansas only lost by 14.
True, Evansville's lack of size will give the Kansas frontcourt an opportunity to dominate around the basket. Evansville starting forwards, Kwame James and Chris Snow, are 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-7, respectively. Kansas will easily out-rebound Evansville. Kansas center Eric Chenowith will score more than 20 points and will exceed his average of nine rebounds a game.
It still won't be enough.
Wilson, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, averaged 20 points a game and is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. Foul him and, as Roy Williams said, it's like a layup to Wilson, who hits nine out of every 10 free throws.
Think of hot shooting perimeter teams of the past. Think Valparaiso, a No.13 seed in last year's tournament, riding a wave of precision shooting to the Sweet Sixteen. Think Princeton, who, while not in the tournament this year, has made more than a few higher seeds sweat as they worked their highly effective offensive ploys to perfection.
Tonight, think Evansville.
And thank Evansville.
After all, losing tonight alleviates the embarrassment that Kentucky would have held for the Javahawks on Sunday.
Harrity is a Kansas City, Kan., senior in journalism.