+
Volume 126 Issue 70
kansan.com
Monday, February 3, 2014
+
COMMENTARY
Jayhawks suffer first Big 12 loss
AUSTIN, Texas - Kansas was going to lose again. That was obvious. Even when Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said the Jayhawks had a shot to go undefeated in conference, there was still little reason to believe it would happen.
For all the domination that Kansas showed capable of in January there was nothing to say that it was immune to another bad game.
Still, the Longhorns' 81-69 thrashing of the Jayhawks in Austin on Saturday isn't a sign that Kansas is back to playing December ball. Not even close
"That's sports," coach Bill Self said after the loss, "I don't think you can say that every game a team is going to come out and play a certain way."
Especially a young team. A team that has virtually walked through its first seven conference games. The bumps in the road seem a lot more meaningless when the victory flag is flying high.
Freshman guard Andrew Wiggins' three points against Oklahoma State a few weeks back didn't look terrible because his defense remained solid and Kansas pulled out the win.
But in Texas, in a loss to the surprisingly second-best team in the Big 12, Wiggins looked as lost as ever. If Kansas had won, the narrative would've sounded a lot more like what was said after defeating the Cowboys – "Kansas didn't even need Wiggins to win that one."
Yes, even the No. 1 overall recruit and the hidden gem of the bunch, freshman center Joel Embid, are prone to losing when it feels like they shouldn't.
What matters now is how they handle it. What matters now is that the Jayhawks break a cycle that's becoming eerily familiar.
Around this time two seasons ago Kansas dropped two out of three games after starting out conference play with seven straight wins. That team didn't lose another meaningful game until the National Championship (those Jayhawks fell to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship).
Around this time last season the Jayhawks fell at home to Oklahoma State. The result was another bad loss at TCU and one more at Oklahoma right after. Kansas eventually figured things out and went on to claim the Big 12 title.
"Playing at Kansas you're going to get everybody's best shot," freshman guard Wayne Selden Jr. said after leading Kansas with 21 points in Austin.
If the Jayhawks didn't get the Longhorns' best shot, it was pretty close to it. And all the bounces and 50-50 balls that had been going Kansas' way were nowhere in sight on a day worth forgetting.
Which is what the message in the locker room was after Kansas dropped its first conference game.
"The game is over," sophomore forward Perry Ellis said. "We have to move on and get ready for Baylor."
Edited by Amber Kasselman
KANSAS 69 — TEXAS 81
Naadir Tharpe looks to the floor after Kansas failed to regain the lead against Texas on Saturday. Kansas lost 81-69
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
BLAKE SCHUSTER sports@kansan.com
AUSTIN, Texas - Junior guard Naadir Tharpe walked slowly from the Kansas locker room, suited in sweats and sporting a hat with the words "Business As Usual" stitched on it in big bold letters. His body language said otherwise.
What felt like the sky falling in Austin on Saturday might have just been gravity taking hold of the Jayhawks. After sprinting out to the head of the conference through seven games, the Longhorns proved this Kansas team hasn't become invincible.
"You're going to have games like that." Tharpe said after No. 6 Kansas (16-5, 7-1 in the Big 12) fell to No. 25 Texas 81-69.
Games like that happen when Kansas shoots 25-65 from the field, gets out-rebounded 44-37 and gets blocked 12 times.
Games like that happen because, as coach Bill Self said post-game, "This is sports, and you can't come out every
game and play a certain way."
In simpler terms: Kansas played flat. No highlight-worthy hustle plays, or dunks or impressive stops on defense. The Kansas team that was last seen Wednesday in Lawrence putting away Iowa State with relative ease, more closely resembled the group of clumsy underclassmen who struggled
35 minutes it was Kansas that couldn't get it together.
The Jayhawks finished the half shooting 4-27 while the Longhorns took a 15-point lead.
"The way you win on the road is to make sure your opponent plays bad," Self said. "We didn't have that mindset."
Instead Kansas made things
"We just didn't come out with the mindset and the focus that we usually do. We kind of just gave them the game."
NAADIR THARPE Junior guard
to succeed in non-conference play.
harder on itself, such as freshman guard Andrew Wiggins settling for shots. The result was Wiggins' worst game of the year. The freshman didn't hit his first field goal until the 12:06 mark of the second half. Before then he recorded just two other points on free throws in the first half. Wiggins fouled out with two and a half minutes left in regulation after going 2-12 with seven
"We just didn't come out with the mindset and the focus that we usually do," Tharpe said. "We kind of just gave them the game."
Not that the matchup didn't start out promising. The Jayhawks connected on their first four field goal attempts while Texas struggled to find its rhythm. But for the next
points.
Kansas' other freshman star, freshman center Joel Embiid, didn't fare much better from the field, shooting 3-9 — although Embiid did come up with 10 rebounds.
Really the only Jayhawk who came close to having a great night was freshman guard Wayne Selden, Jr., who recorded 21 points and those recorded even seem to matter.
"It's a long season," Selden said. "We got caught up. We've got to take it one game at a time."
If there was anything alarming about Kansas' play that could prove problematic in the future, the lack of aggression in the paint specifically stood out.
Where Texas was able to fight for 45 free throw attempts, Kansas merely mustered 19 shots from the line. The offense was stale, the defense lethargic. Selden's scoring didn't stick out as much as his inability to guard.
Even the more experienced Tharpe, who's been anchoring the jayhawks as of late,
seemed uninspired. After logging 12 assists last game against the Cyclones he managed just three in Austin. Self ended up benching him midway through the second half, giving freshman guard Frank Mason a chance to revive the lavwhaws.
Of course, it didn't matter. Whatever chemistry Kansas had built up over the last seven games evaporated at the Frank Erwin Center - which had its first sellout since Texas played Kansas in 2012.
It's not a loss that sets Kansas back much. In the quest for 10 straight Big 12 titles, the Jayhawks still lead the conference and will face Texas again in Lawrence on Feb. 22.
It just wasn't "Business As Usual" for Kansas, rather the opposite.
"We didn't come with a lot of energy tonight and that's the result," sophomore forward Perry Ellis said. "It happens."
Edited by Kaitlyn Klein
TENNIS
Kansas defeats No. 36 Nebraska on the road
TORI RUBINSTEIN
sports@kansan.com
For just the third time in 10 years, the women's tennis team took down a Top 50 ranked opponent when they defeated No. 36 Nebraska on Friday in Lincoln, Neb.
"It's great to win in a tough situation away from home on the first match of the year," coach Todd Chapman said. "There are a lot of positives to take away from."
The team was able to steal the doubles point thanks to a grueling 7-6 victory from senior Claire Dreyer and freshman Morgan Barnhill. Sophomore Maria Jose Cardora and junior Maria Belen Luduea secured the point for
The squad began singles play with a 1-0 lead over the Huskers. To start it off, nationally ranked No.63, Maggy Lehmicke of Nebraska held
the Jayhawks, topping their opponent 6-2.
Lisa Anderson with a score of 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 to put Kansas up 3-1. Nebraska's izabella Zgierska downed Ludueña in a super tiebreaker making the score 3-2 Kansas. The Jayhawks didn't back down,
That's saying a lot when we just had the biggest win in over 10 years and they're disappointed. That says we're getting somewhere in my mind."
TODD CHAPMAN Coach
off Cardona 6-1, 6-4. The Jayhawks took back the lead when Dylan Windom took down Mary Hanna of Nebraska, 6-3, 7-6. Senior Paulina Los grabbed the W over
"That's saying a lot when we just had the biggest win in over ten years and they're disappointed," Chapman said. "That says we're getting somewhere in my mind."
receiving another win from Dreyer in a hard fought super tiebreaker, ending in a score of 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8). The Huskers would grab another win from Hannah Sulz but it
According to Chapman, the girls' expectations are much higher than at the start of the year and that how the expectations don't just come from
Even after an impressive win against a ranked opponent, the team wasn't satisfied with the way they finished things off in Lincoln. This attitude excited Chapman, who said that even though they won, the girls were disappointed that they didn't win by a bigger margin.
wasn't enough, as Kansas took the victory 4-3.
"With that comes a little more pressure," Chapman said. "That's what we're learning to play with right now, is how to deal with that pressure and switch it into confidence. When you have pressure, that means you're good enough to do something."
The team's next match takes place this Friday in Lawrence at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, where the girls will look to keep the momentum rolling against the University of Colorado.
the coaching staff, but from themselves and each other.
Edited by Callan Reilly
+