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PAGE 8
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SOFTBALL
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Senior infielder Ashley Newman buns to lead off for the Jayhawks. Newman is batting .305 on the season.
AMIE JUST/KANSAN
Jayhawks shutout double header home opener
The two wins today over South Dakota State (5-14) in Kansas' (17-7) home opener made it three straight shutouts and six straight wins for the Jayhawks.
Both games of the double header resulted in the same score of 8-0. Sophomore infielder Chaley Brickey
had the team high of six RBI for the two contests. She also accounted for five hits, one of which being a homerun. The homerun marked her fourth in five games.
Also leading the pack for the Jayhawks was senior outfielder Taylor Hatfield. Hatfield connected on all three of her at-bats in the first game and had three total RBI in the two games.
Pitching in the first game for Kansas was sophomore pitcher
Kelsey Kessler (10-5). She accounted for 10 strikeouts in the contest and allowed no runs for her third straight game.
On the mound during the second contest was junior pitcher Alicia Pille (6-2). She had five strikeouts and only allowed two hits.
Next up for the Jayhawks is the Jayhawk invitational on March 14-16.
Amie Just
VILLINES FROM PAGE 10
trouble, Villines has been able to bear down and get the ball to Dakota Smith and Jordan Piche' in the late innings. His side arm, slingshot motion is a great compliment to the harder throwing relievers on Kansas' roster.
"To come in as a freshman and pitch in the setup role, and have as much success as he's had, allows you to keep Smith and Piche' fresh," Price said. "He changes the menu with that sidearm delivery that he has allows you to keep mixing things up."
Villines did just that in yesterday's game, but two zeroes couldn't be put up in the final two frames.
"I was able to throw strikes," Villines said. "It's easy to throw strikes and get outs when your defense plays the way they did today."
Villines is a true freshman and is excelling in his first year for the Jayhawks. No earned runs in his first five appearances on the season is an impressive feat for anyone, let alone a rookie.
"Even though he's a freshman, he's a leader," Price said. "He's not quiet; he's one of the loudest guys in the dugout. He's got a little bit of that California swagger."
The Jayhawks may have suffered their fourth loss of the season Tuesday afternoon, but their confidence in Villines was reassured. The freshman hasn't disappointed so far this season, and with his success and sidearm release, there's no reason it shouldn't continue.
"I love catching him," Eldredge said. "He's got two out pitches, and he's going to be a real big asset to our bullpen going forward."
- Edited by Stella Liang
NCAA BASKETBALL
NCAA BASKETBALL Zags march their way to another NCAA tournament trip
LAS VEGAS — At tipoff, Orleans arena seemed a little more subdued than usual for a Saint Mary's-Gonzaga game. The crowd must have sensed this was Zags-Gaels Lite.
Where was Omar Samhan,
baiting the Zags? Where was
Robert Sacre, giving it back?
Where was the Mouthpiece, Matt
Dellavedova, and the Headband
Kelly Olnvk?
Sans the sizzle of recent years — and their ritual matchup in the final — the Zags soldiered through Saint Mary's on Monday night in a campaign that was more functional than frilly. Gonzaga dispatched the Gaels in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, 70-54, to get to the championship against the winner of Brigham Young vs. San Francisco winner.
Among other benefits, it virtually assures the Zags (27-6) a 16th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, inasmuch as a loss to either BYU or San Francisco wouldn't be judged a bad one.
"From a coaching point of view, it was great to see," said Zags coach Mark Few, after his 401st victory. "Plan A wasn't always working, Plan B wasn't always working, but these guys stayed with it and found different ways to be successful."
Stylistically, it wasn't the same as Gonzaga's earlier 73-51 and 75-47 landslides over the Gaels this season. Saint Mary's promised a different game plan and delivered, opting to be more physical down low and commit to harnessing Przezmek Karnowski and Sam Dower, who had tattooed them in the first meetings.
Those two combined for only three baskets in 15 attempts, and Saint Mary's Brad Waldow showed up this time, hitting five of seven shots for a team-leading 15 points.
But Saint Mary's picked its poison, this time opting for arsenic over hemlock. David Stockton and Gary Bell Jr. combined for 13 of 21 from the field and 35 points, Stockton in particular allowed to roam free on the perimeter.
Stockton has been assertive in 80 minutes in Las Vegas, driving for the winning basket against Santa Clara and scoring 21 points, with six rebounds, four assists and no turnovers vs. the Gaels.
Gaels coach Randy Bennett tried to walk the fine line between praise and perspective.
He'd be the tournament MVP if they chose it after two games.
"We don't guard him," he said. "Their bigs are such a factor, you have to help somewhere. Some of it has to do with how we play him. I don't want to take anything away from him. He played good tonight."
So did Bell, muscing the ball to the hole, hitting his only two threes and, as Stockton, not turning it over.
"We're at our best when he's hunting shots," Few said.
It was Gonzaga's sixth consecutive victory over Saint Mary's. The two teams had collided five successive times in the tournament finals, and a meeting in the semis bespoke that these two have known greater heights.
"They're good defensively," acknowledged Bennett. "They're the best team in our league defensively. They definitely gave us problems. They gave us problems last year, too."
Associated Press
Brutal Big 12 tournament promises to be intense
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas coach Bill Self was chatting this week with someone who brought up the possibility that some unfortunate team with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament might have to play its second game against Oklahoma State, which was once considered a Final Four contender.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NCAA BASKETBALL
After winning their 10th straight regular-season title, the Jayhawks earned the top seed. The Big 12 tournament begins Wednesday night at the Sprint Center. But the reward is a first-round bye and a potential matchup with the eighth-seeded Cowboys in Thursday's quarterfinals; the two teams split their two meetings this year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
lowa State guard Naz Long celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to over time during a game against Oklahoma State in Ames, Iowa, March 8. Iowa State won 85-81.
"I said, 'Just think if that happens in your conference tournament,' Self responded.
"I think we've always had very competitive Big 12 tournaments," Self said, "but I don't know if I can ever remember where if there's a final between whatever seeds there are, it would be absolutely not a major surprise to anybody. It's going to be a pretty special weekend."
Oklahoma State plays No. 9 seed Texas Tech in the first game Wednesday night. Seventh-seeded Baylor takes on No. 10 seed TCU in the nightcap of a double-header.
The Big 12 has been the runaway leader in conference RPI all season, and some believe that it could land seven or eight teams in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday.
Just consider the games that will be played Thursday:
Along with Kansas state or Texas Tech, second-seeded Oklahoma will play the Baylor-TCU winner. No. 3 seed Texas will play No. 6 seed West Virginia, and No. 4 seed Iowa State will play No. 5 seed Kansas State.
"This league," Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said, "is by far the toughest in the country."
That's why the Jayhawks still believe they can earn a No.1 seed to the NCAA tournament, despite their 23-8 record. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (20-11) is teering around the bubble, and a win over Texas Tech might be enough to push the Cowboys firmly into the dance.
Knocking off the Jayhawks would certainly do the trick.
"We're just trying to worry about the next game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said, "and worrying about all that other stuff doesn't really do you any good."
In that case, here are five things that fans SHOULD worry about:
BUBBLE WATCH: Oklahoma State isn't the only team on the NCAA tournament bubble. Baylor (21-10) would feel much better with a win or two, while West Virginia (17-14) hopes the momentum it picked up by knocking off Kansas last weekend will propel it to enough wins in Kansas City to make a case on Selection Sunday.
CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE: Kansas is the only current member to have won the Big 12 tournament since 2005 — twice since then, Missouri won the title. In fact, Oklahoma and Iowa State are the only current schools besides the Jayhawks and Cowboys to have won. "No matter what people say, no matter what other teams do," Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart said, "it goes through Kansas."
STAR WATCH: There will be stars-a-plenty at the Big 12 tournament. Andrew Wiggins of Kansas is a potential No. 1 draft pick, Iowa State's Melvin Ejim is the Big 12 player of the year and Smart is also a potential lottery pick. But one player who won't be on the floor is Jayhawks center Joel Embiid, who's been ruled out for the Big 12 tournament and unlikely for the first week of the NCAA tournament because of a stress fracture in his back.
LONGSHOTS: Even long-shots have coaches concerned this year. Texas Tech is the No. 9 seed but has wins over Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas on its resume. And nobody thought TCU would go winless in the league, so the No. 10 seed Horned Frogs could be primed for a first-round upset of the Bears. "We're going to do our best to keep within striking distance, like we have all year long, and give ourselves a chance down the stretch," TCU coach Trent Johnson said.
— its campus is a reasonable drive from Kansas City. That means it'll be tough to secure a ticket to Thursday's first session, when the Cyclones play the Wildcats and Kansas is also in action in a tantalizing double-header.
HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE: Local schools Kansas and Kansas State always pack the Sprint Center, but Iowa State also tends to draw well
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