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Volume 126 Issue 94
kansan.com
Monday, March 24, 2014
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Questions remain as season ends
COMMENTARY
ST.LOUIS - As soon as Conner Frankamp let go of the shot, he knew he missed. He knew he just threw away Kansas' chance at overtime. He knew this was the end before the ball ever sailed left of the goal, off the backboard and into the arms of Stanford's Dwight Powell.
It can't be any worse than what the Jayhawks were feeling after falling to Stanford 60-57 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
That's not what left him and the Jayhawks with red eyes minutes later.
Not knowing is the worst part. It has to be.
At least on Sunday, Kansas could explain what went wrong. The players could detail how playing nervous in the first few minutes set the tone for the rest of the game. Or how Stanford's bigs were able to contest nearly every Kansas layup. Or how playing against a zone and lengthy guards limited Andrew Wiggins to just four points.
"If I would've done my part we would've won the game," Wiggins said. "I let the team down."
There are many questions about the Jayhawks' season that could be answered. What's worse are the ones that couldn't.
Maybe more than any team in recent memory, Kansas fans will look back at the 2013-14 team in five or 10 years and wonder how it didn't get past the first weekend. How with names like Wiggins, Joel Embid, Perry Ellis, Brannen Greene and Jamari Traylor they weren't able to achieve more.
The way the tournament was shaping up, even the players could feel a run coming.
They watched as Syracuse fell to Dayton on Saturday and imagined themselves grounding the Flyers a week later in the Sweet Sixteen.
"It was setting up nice for us," Frankamp said. "What if we would've advanced?"
injured center Joel Embid said he would "definitely" have played if that had been the case. Despite the fact Kansas was able to manage for a few games without him, it's irrefutable what his presence adds on the floor.
"I think I could've done something," Embiid said of the lavhawks' loss.
The same is true for Wiggins, who set the Kansas freshman scoring record in the same weekend he couldn't hit a shot.
His season ended much like the way it started: leaving everyone wanting more.
"The kid had a great year," coach Bill Self said after his first 10-loss season at Kansas. "I hate that the last game he labored like this."
But even Wiggins was learning something new. Of all the games hed played in, Wiggins had never felt this sort of devastation — a feeling
SEE LOSE PAGE 12
MEN'S BASKETBALL
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
With 3.5 seconds remaining, Conner Frankamp took a shot from behind the arc in an attempt to tie the game and send the Jayhawks into overtime. The shot fell short and the Jayhawks lost to Stanford in the final seconds, 60-57, in the 3rd round of the NCAA Tournament.
Jayhawks fall out of NCAA tournament
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BLAIR SHEADE
sports@kansan.com
The Jayhawks could never grab ahold of the game Sunday as Kansas ended its season with a 60-57 loss to the No.10 seed Stanford Cardinal in the round of 32.
"The game was a struggle from the opening tip, it seemed like," coach Bill Self said.
Stanford aggravated the Jayhawks' offense, forcing Kansas turnovers and bad shots.
The Cardinal used the size of their frontcourt on both ends, dominating the paint and taking away any chance for the Jayhawks to do the same.
Stanford's senior forwards Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic, both 6-foot-11-inch guys, disrupted seemingly every Kansas shot inside.
The Cardinal outscored Kansas in the paint 30-20, with 12 of those coming from senior forward Tarik Black, who fouled out with five minutes to play.
The zone defense that Stanford played stalled the Jayhawks' offense. Every time a Kansas player drove the lane a Stanford big swarmed him. Kansas freshman guard Andrew Wiggins felt it the most,
The Cardinal's starting bigs totaled for 22 points and 11 rebounds.
unable to get his game going and totaling just four points. "Wherever I went, I'd see like three people," Wiggins said. "I
the zone wasn't anything new to Kansas, teams had pulled it out against the Jayhawks all season. It didn't surprise Self
couldn't really get anywhere."
The 1-3-1 zone the Cardinal played hurt both the perimeter and the inside game for Kansas.
"You throw it inside, you have to score over 6'10", "6'11", Self said.
either, but Kansas looked as it didn't know how to play through it.
"We were a little frustrated by it," sophomore forward Perry Ellis said. "We really didn't start attacking it until late in the game."
Stanford's defense held Kansas to a season-low 57 points on a season-low 32 percent shooting. The easy, close-range shots the jayhawks' usually manage with ease weren't falling.
"It just happens sometimes," Ellis said.
Even when the Jayhawks started pressuring the Cardinal and forcing turnovers late, the offense couldn't turn them into points.
With seven minutes left in the game and the Jayhawks only down by four, Kansas pressed Stanford after jamari Traylor
SEE NCAA PAGE 12
BASEBALL
Kansas slips to Dartmouth in 10th inning
BEN FELDERSTEIN sports@kansan.com
Kansas (16-8) failed to complete the sweep of Dartmouth (3-9) on Sunday as they fell 3-2 in 10 innings. The Jayhawks missed opportunities late in the early afternoon contest.
"We didn't come up big when we needed to," coach Ritch Price said. "We had a man on third with one out in the ninth and we couldn't capitalize."
Junior shortstop Justin Protacio was able to reach first on a two-base error by the third baseman and was promptly moved to second on a sac bunt from his sophomore double play partner, Colby Wright.
The Jayhawks seemed to be in business with their three and four hitters coming to the plate. Junior left fielder Michael Suiter drew a walk to put runners at the corners for junior right fielder Connor
McKay.
McKay entered the contest with a Big 12 leading 34 RBIs. McKay's lead atop the Big 12 is cushioned by 11 runs. McKay went down swinging on a breaking ball in the dirt. This brought Saturday's hero junior designated hitter Dakota Smith to the plate.
Smith put the exclamation point on Saturday's game, belting the go-ahead grand slam in the home half of the seventh inning. Sunday was a different story for Smith and the Jayhawks as he flew out the right fielder and stranded Protacio on third and Suiter on second.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Connor McKay slides into homeplate for one of the Jayhawks 2 runs scored in their 3-2 loss to Dartmouth.
Protocacio and Suiter were just two of the 13 runners that Kansas stranded on base.
for Dartmouth. He went eight strong innings, allowing two runs on nine hits, while striking out three and only walking two. Concato entered the game with a 5.23 ERA and
"We missed opportunities," Protocio said. "We couldn't get it done with runners in scoring position. Their guy pitched a great game out there."
Freshman right-hander Michael Concato got the start
"That's as good as a guy has thrown against us all year," Price said. "I was really impressed."
posted his best start of the season to date.
Senior right-hander Frank Duncan had another solid start. Duncan threw seven
SEE BALL PAGE 12
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