JAYHAWK
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Basketball
Inside Sports today
Begin making your picks with the full brackets of the Men's and Women's NCAA Tournaments.
SEE PAGES 6B, 7B, AND 8B
Yesterday's game - Kansas vs. Oklahoma State
KANSAS 22-9 UNRANKED 53
SECTION B, PAGE
WWW.JHAWKBBALL.COM
OKLAHOMA STATE 37
22-10
UNRANKED
MONDAY, MARCH 8, 1999
MARCH GLADNESS
'Hawks win third straight Big 12 tournament title
By Kevin C. Wilson Kansan sportswriter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Once again the Kansas Jayhawks are the kings of the Big 12 Conference.
After a roller-coaster ride of a season, in which the Jayhawks finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12, Kansas had something to prove.
The Jayhawks manhandled a sluggish Oklahoma State team 53-37 yesterday and claimed their third straight conference tournament title, pushing their record to a perfect 9-0 in the Big 12 tournament.
"We had a lot of ups and downs in conference play, so this got a big monkey off our back," said Jeff Boschee, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. "We came in here and played the best basketball of the year. We wanted to prove we're still on top of the Big 12."
Oklahoma State, which appeared to show the effects of playing four games in four days, shot just 23 percent from the field, the worst shooting performance in Big 12 tournament history.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said defense was his team's priority from the outset.
"It was a nightmare," Cowboy coach Eddie Sutton said. "I don't think I've ever had a team shoot 23 percent in all my years of coaching."
"We needed to do a good job on defense," Williams said. "We wanted to make sure we got a hand up in the shooter's face every time. We wanted the fatigue factor to set in and usually that doesn't set in until a team starts to struggle."
Oklahoma State's 37 points was also the lowest point total for the Cowboys since
they scored 35 against Oklahoma on Dec.27.1965.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early in the game, as neither team held more than a three-point advantage during the first 13 minutes. With 7:57 remaining in the first half and Kansas trailing 16-15, Lester Earl provided a spark for the Jayhawks. The 6-8 forward scored seven points as Kansas used a 9-0 run to seize a 23-16 lead with 5:18 remaining in the half.
"Lester came in and gave us a big lift." Williams said. "He's really struggled all year long and I'm glad that he could have some success here."
After the Cowboys trimmed the lead to 24-21, guard Kenny Gregory scored four straight points to send the Jayhawks into the locker room with a 28-21 lead.
The Cowboys scored the first points of the second half, making the score 28-23, but Kansas responded with its first two three-pointers of the game and a 17-3 run that sealed the victory. Oklahoma State made just two of its first 21 shots in the second half and made only one out of 11 three-pointers after intermission.
Earl's 11 points were his most since scoring 16 against Iowa State on Jan. 9. He tied guard Ryan Robertson for the game high on Sunday.
Robertson, who has never lost in the Big 12 tournament, said this victory was a fitting ending to his conference career.
"It was a good way to go out and you can't ask for anything better than that." Robertson said. "It means a lot, especially to the freshmen, because they can see that all our hard work has finally paid off with the Big 12 championship."
-Edited by Darrin Peschka
Senior forward T.J. Pugh yells in celebration after the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State S3-37 and won their third Big 12 Tournament championship in a row. Pugh and his teammates stuck around Kemper Arena yesterday to cut down the nets and wait for news on their seed in the NCAA tournament. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
Eric Chenowith has blocked 75 shots this season, the fourth-best single-season total in Kansas history.
Ryan Robertson scored his 1,000th career point in Saturday's win, becoming the 38th player in Kansas history to do so.
Oklahoma State's 37 points in yesterday's title game were the fewest scored by a Jayhawk opponent since Portland scored 37 on January 13, 1967.
Kansas women stay in tough Midwest bracket
By Matt James
mjames@kansan.com
Kansas writer
General Marian Washington gathered with her troops yesterday at their home base — Allen Fieldhouse — and awaited orders from the top. So what did headquarters have to say?
Casey Prutti, Kansas guard, Jachyn Johnson, Kansas forward, and Nakia Sanford, Kansas center, await the announcement of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament match-ups. The Jayhawks, seeded ninth, will play Marquette in West Lafayette, Indiana. Photo by Eric Salmons/Kansas
Go to West Lafayette, Ind., home of the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, and prepare for the battle of your lives.
The NCAA selection committee, in Kansas City for the last year before it moves to Indianapolis, kept the No. 25 ranked Jayhawks, 21-8 overall, in the Midwest Regional, but not exactly in the way they were hoping for. Kansas landed the ninth seed in the Midwest and will face the Marquette Golden Eagles (21-7) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Eyebrows raised, jaws dropped and the room grew nearly silent as the Kansas players watched ESPN analyst Robin Roberts announce their seeding. The team knew it had little chance of receiving a top-four seed and the benefit of being host to a regional at home, but the low seeding came as quite a surprise.
"Nobody expected a nine seed," said sophomore Jaclyn Johnson. "But you have to take what you're given. It's going to be tough."
The team's upbeat attitude could not mask the obvious disappointment if felt and the feeling may be justified. The sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in Kansas 'region — Arizona, Mississippi State and Marquette, respectively — are not ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and only Marquette
has more than 16 wins.
What may be most disturbing for the Jayhawks is what will likely await in the second round should they defeat Marquette in "hostile territory" — the No. 1-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (27-1), who have defeated two-time defending national champion Tennessee. Purdue faces Oral Roberts in the first round.
"This team has been in this situation before," Washington said. "We're going to go in with some experience and hopefully pull some upsets. Whether it's Marquette or Purdue, we're going to have to play some tremendous defense."
—Edited by Juan H. Heath
Longhorns shut down Jayhawks in three-game sweep
By Matt Tait
By Matt Tait
kansas@kansas.com
Kansas sportswriter
The first weekend series at newly renovated Hoglund Ballpark proved not to be a memorable one as Texas swept the Kansas baseball team in three games.
The Longhorns, ranked No.10 in the nation, pounded out hit after hit throughout the series and capitalized on Kansas' miscues to earn the sweep.
On top of the overwhelming differential in number of errors, the timing of the errors also was a factor. Kansas' errors often led to Texas runs, while Texas errors were not as costly.
While Kansas continued to struggle with its execution, the Longhorns rarely made mistakes. In the three games, the Jayhawks committed nine errors, while Texas had only two.
Coach Bobby Randall said part of it was the lack of execution on the
Jayhawks' part, but that a bigger part of it was Texas' defense.
"They played incredible infield defense," Randall said. "Their 'D' never let those close plays become a factor."
The Jayhawks played their best game of the series on Sunday but lost 6-1. Starting pitcher Chris Williams went six innings and baffled the Texas bats through the first four innings, but lost his control in the fifth and sixth.
"Chris blew the bats out of their
hands for the first four innings," Randall said. "I'm very pleased with how he pitched."
The 'Hawks grabbed the lead in the second inning when Ryan Klocksien singled in Jason
Appuhn, who had led off the inning with a triple.
The Longhorns answered the Kansas run in the next inning as hard-hitting first baseman Jeff Otiveros doubled in a run.
Texas did not dominate offensively until the fifth, when they hit back-to-back solo home runs. Ontiveros hit the first, his sixth of the year, and third baseman Chris Houser hit the second. It was Houser's fourth of the year, and his third in this series.
The home runs rattled Kansas, and provided Texas starter D.J. Jones with enough insurance to settle into a zone. Jones pitched a complete game and at one point retired 13 Jayhawk hitters in a row.
"I think the first home run surprised him (Williams)," Randall said. "And the second one was an indication that he had lost his control."
See TEXAS on page 3B