SPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tournament heartbreak
Rvlan Howe/KANSAN
Kansas, others lacked momentum
Coach Bill Self bites his lip in frustration at the end of the first round loss in Oklahoma City. The loss to a 14-seed, Bucknell, was the first in school history.
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SWIPERWITHER
Cinderella put on her dancing shoes March 18 when No. 14 Bucknell knocked off No. 3 Kansas, and No. 13 Vermont defeated No. 4 Syracuse.
From there, top seeds were eliminated like Donald Trump's apprentices. Boston College, Connecticut and Wake Forest, like Kansas, all failed to move on past the first weekend.
All were defeated by teams that were hot. Momentum is the key to advancing in the NCAA Tournament. Teams have to be talented, but momentum pulls off upsets.
College basketball analysts everywhere are calling the 2005 NCAA Tournament one of the biggest Cinderella stories in recent history.
No. 10 seed North Carolina State
finished with a losing record in the Atlantic Coast Conference but knocked off Wake Forrest in the ACC Tournament to advance to the championship game. They defeated UConn in the second round in the NCAA Tournament.
West Virginia finished fifth in the Big East Conference, but defeated Boston College and Villanova in the Big East Tournament to advance to the tournament finals. West Virginia pounded Wake Forest and fell just seconds short of a trip to the Final Four.
In losing five out of their last eight games, the jayhawks didn't have that momentum. Kansas peaked at the wrong time this season.
When he looks back on it, Kansas coach Bill Self points to victories against Georgia Tech and at Kentucky as landmarks of the season. Both of those victories took place in the first 10 days of January. He reminds people that the Jayhawks did win the league — although they dropped four of their final six conference games to allow Oklahoma a share of the title.
"If you go 10-1 in the nonconference with Wayne out and you beat Georgia Tech and Kentucky and you win the league championship." Self paused. "I would say this was a really great season with a really, really bad ending."
The Bucknell game was close for all 40 minutes. Kansas trailed at half and turned the ball over 13 times.
The stinging 64-63 loss to Bucknell was one of the most embarrassing in school history. But the Jayhawks' play in that game was not inconsistent with the way they had performed in last few regular season games.
The kicker though: Kansas went scoreless in the final 8 minutes and 44
SEE HEARTBREAK ON PAGE 6B
BASEBALL
Kansas starts strong, loses edge
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
More than 1,000 fans and one big bunny were in attendance for the Big 12 Conference opener between Kansas (21-10) and No. 9 Nebraska (21-3) this Easter weekend at Hoglund Ballpark.
The series did not end as well as it began, with the Jayhawks winning the first game 7-6, before falling 9-3 and 9-4. This marked the first Big 12 Conference opening-game victory for coach Ritch Price since his arrival in 2003.
But the momentum could not hold for Kansas.
"I think that we showed that we are capable of playing with anyone in the country," Price said. "This was a great opportunity for us to win the first one on Friday and then have an opportunity to beat the No. 9 team in the country."
In game one, which was played as part of a Saturday doubleheader, sophomore right-hander Joba Chamberlain entered the contest with a 4-0 record and a .83 ERA for Nebraska. He left the game with a 1.72 ERA.
None of his statistics could get Chamberlain anything more than a no-decision against Kansas on Saturday. Although the right-hander held the Jayhawks hitless until the fifth inning, they grabbed four runs on only one hit.
Chamberlain, who entered the game with only one hit batter, hit four and walked four more.
Senior lefty Mike Zagurski (4-2) also recorded a no-decision. Although he tallied seven strikeouts, Zagurski surrendered five runs on six hits in his 6.1 inning appearance.
Junior closer Don Czzy (2-1)
struck out three en route to the
SEE LOSES ON PAGE 3B
Rachel Seymour/KANSAN
Senior Jake Kauzlarich, designated hitter, rounds third base after his fourth home run of the season yesterday afternoon. Junior outfielder Gus Milner also hit a home run that afternoon, but it wasn't enough to bring the Jayhawks a victory. They fell to Nebraska, 9-4.
Early loss won't discourage team
ROWING
BY KRISTEN JARBOE
kjarboe@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The women's rowing team lost to No. 15 Texas on Saturday, but coach Rob Catloth was still pleased with the the team's efforts.
The Longhorns won all four of the races in the match, but the Jayhawks' first boat lost by only 10 seconds in the Varsity Eight race.
"We had our fastest time ever
This was senior rower Kristy Hainer's fourth race against Texas, and she said it was the team's best performance in any race.
Part of the confidence came from the race against Southern Methodist on March 24, the rowing team's first of the
at this point in the season,"
Catloth said.
"We had power all the way down the race course." Hainer said. "It's the best we've ever started."
spring season. Kansas swept all of its races against SMU except one.
"We had a really good race," Hainer said. "We executed our race plan, which made us really excited for our next race."
Texas started its season before the matchup with Kansas. Because Texas was only Kansas' second match, the Kansas team went in with realistic expectations.
"We're constantly improving our technique and constantly increasing our fitness level," Ebel said.
Hainer and junior rower Jen Ebel said the team would continue to get ready for Texas and other upcoming races.
"It just makes us excited to race them again in the Big 12."
assistant coach Jennifer Myers said.
Ebel and Hainer said it was a great way to start the season but said there was definitely room for improvement.
In reference to the Novice
team, which is the beginners' rowing team, Myers said the effort was always there in races.
The women race again April 2 in Lawrence against Tulsa and Drake.
"We're going to keep on doing what we've been doing," she said. "We're headed in the right direction."
"We now build from this race for every weekend," she said.
— Edited by Laura Francoviglia
THE RANT
RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolaianni@kansan.com
It's time to lay this Bucknell loss to rest.
Season not total failure
Yes it hurt. It was a bad loss, simple as that.
Self didn't want to lose that game — no coach would. He wanted to win just as much as the Jayhawk faithful did. He felt terrible that the four terrific seniors finished their collegiate careers in such an un-terrific way.
But some fans' comments after the game calling for Bill Self's head were ridiculous. Jayhawk fans need, to give him the opportunity to get players he recruited into his system, and then judge his accomplishments.
"Fans don't like losing to Bucknell in the first round. Players certainly hurt. Families, coaches and players, we all hurt." Self said at a press conference last week.
It's obvious that he feels bad for the entire team. He wanted to deliver everything that the fans wanted. While many fans still cringe at the thought of rewatching that season-ending loss. Self feels the same way.
"It won't wear off until the tournament is over. It hurts a lot. Every waking moment those are your thoughts," Self said."
North Carolina can run a team to death; Illinois has proven almost as capable of running as the Tar Heels. The Jayhawks were not this type of队, they played a simple half-court offense, and relied on getting the ball inside to Simien to be successful.
This year's team was supposed to win a national championship. There were some terrific basketball games. The victory on New Year's Day against Georgia Tech was stirring, followed by the thrilling take-down at Kentucky. Both games were played without senior forward Wayne Simien.
"They are three good players that have a chance to be good college players," Self said. "We think all three will have a big impact right off the bat. I hope they're not unrealistic. But I also hope the expectations should be that they are going to be good."
Self is the country's best recruiter. Look at the studs that are leading Illinois, all recruited by Self. Since Bruce Weber took over the coaching job at Illinois, the Illini have struggled on the recruiting trail. While the Jayhawk recruits are all McDonald's All Americans, none of the three Illini recruits are even ranked in the top 150 by Rivals.com.
But the future does not look bleak. Self will have one of the most talented teams in the Big 12 next season, despite the fact that the team will be run by mainly freshmen and sophomores. Just look at what Self is bringing in next season.
He has three McDonald's All-Americans. These are players who will make an immediate impact. While these players have the potential to be superstars in the coming years — or even as freshman — Self does not want the expectations to be too high.
This year's team consisted of players that were.not intended to be a part of Self's system. Before fans go out and start making crazy allegations against Self, he should be given enough time to establish himself. It will all work out in the end.
A
♦ Colaianni is a McLean, Va.,
Coliaanni is a McLean, Va,
sophomore in journalism and
political science.
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