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PAGE 9B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2014
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MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Mike Krzyzewski may have poured too much emotion into No. 4 Duke's trip to Wake Forest.
The rest of the Blue Devils didn't seem to have enough.
Wake Forest's Coron Williams, center, drives between Duke's Marshall Plumlee, left, and Amile Jefferson during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Wednesday.
The Demon Deacons upset Duke 82-72 on Wednesday night after Coach K experienced enough dizziness and light-headedness to force him to kneel during a late timeout and skip his postgame news conference.
Wake Forest pulls away from No.4 Duke, 82-72
— says Krzzyzewski has not been sick, is in good shape and expects to make a full recovery.
Associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski -- who filled in for him
The rest of the team might not have had that problem.
owski said, "and I think maybe the emotion got the better of him."
"There was a great emotional investment in the game." Wojciech
Duke (23-7, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) was playing for the first time in over a week — after going 4-1 in an 11-day span before that — and Wojciechowski says the Blue Devils simply weren't prepared emotionally.
After taking a late seven-point lead, Duke went without a field goal for 5 critical minutes while allowing the Demon Deacons (16-14, 6-11) to reel off 17 straight points and go up by double figures.
"I'm not sure that...we were as prepared from an emotional standpoint," Wojciechowski said. "I don't know if our guys had the needed edge to compete against a Wake Forest team that played their hearts out."
Jayhawks hope for success in showdown against Wildcats
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
KYLE PAPPAS sports@kansan.com
Losing five consecutive games isn't exactly how Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson envisioned heading into this weekend's Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament in Oklahoma City. But after doing just that, her squad will likely have a nothing-to-lose mentality entering Friday's first-round matchup against Kansas State.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
After splitting their two regular-season contests, both teams will be looking to salvage what's largely been a disappointing season by taking the Sunflower Showdown series. They'll play for the right to face No. 9 Baylor on Saturday afternoon.
Kansas has lost in about every way imaginable over recent weeks. When the team shoots well, it gets dominated on the boards. When it rebounds well, it can't get shots to fall. When it rebounds and shoots wall, it doesn't play defense. Firing on all cylinders will certainly be an emphasis for the Jayhawks heading into Oklahoma City.
up two fouls in the game's opening minutes.
Additionally, it's crucial that junior forward Chelsea Gardner stays out of foul trouble. It's been something she's struggled with all season and you can be sure the Wildcats will try to draw a few early hacks from Kansas' leading scoreer. She was limited to only 16 minutes in Tuesday's loss to West Virginia after picking
Kansas' Asia Boyd drives to the basket during the first half of the game against West Virginia on Tuesday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Kansas' offensive dynamic completely flips with Gardner on the bench. Generally, the team attempts to work down to Gardner for a high-percentage shot in the paint; Gardner-less, it tends to rely more on jump shots from junior guards Asia Boyd and Natalie Knight. She must stay on the court for the Jayhawks to have an opportunity to advance.
But Kansas State hasn't been particularly impressive of late either. The Wildcats finished ninth in the Big 12, dropping nine of their final 12 conference games. Their last win was a 76-68 defeat of Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 26.
The bulk of K-State's troubles this year have occurred on offense; it is ninth in both field goal percentage — it shoots only 38 percent — and from 3-point range, where it hits only 29 percent of its attempts. Kansas will look to keep the ball out of the paint, limiting the Wildcats to mid-range jumpers and 3-point shots.
Freshman guard Leticia Romero has had her way with the jayhawks over the initial two games of the series, averaging 21.5 points, 7.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds. She constantly presents a threat driving to the basket, but can just as quickly kick it out for an open three. Romero's ball-handling skills are among the league's best and she's
capable of scoring from anywhere on the court.
It will be interesting to see how the rubber match plays out, as neither of the first two were particularly close affairs. Kansas more-or-less dominated from beginning to end in the first matchup, and Kansas State enjoyed a rather easy defeat of the Jayhawks in the second.
These are two evenly-
matched teams that have already had a couple games to figure each other out. With both of their seasons on the line, expect this goaround to be much closer than the previous two.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Edited by Katie Gilbaugh
INTRODUCTION