SPORTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2005
PAGE 10A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Finishing the streak
Seniors could end careers with perfect record against Missouri
Missouri fans should be happy at the conclusion of Sunday's 1 p.m. game against Kansas regardless of which team wins.
BY KELLIE ROBINETT krobinet@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Sure, they would love to see the Tigers knock off the Jayhawks, and keep their NIT hopes alive, but even if that doesn't happen, they'll leave Mizzou Arena knowing that the 2005 Kansas senior class will never return as players.
For the last three years, Missouri has come agonizing
close to defeating Kansas, but the Jayhawks have spoiled the Tiger's Senior Day party each time. This time should be no different, senior guard Keith Langford said.
"I expect high hell, just because the last three years we've ended their season with victories there," Langford said. "We closed their building out last time."
The road winning streak started three years ago, when former Kansas forward Drew Gooden made a game winning layup, with time winding down, to give the Jayhawks a 95-92 victory.
The year after that, senior guard Aaron Miles and former guard Kirk Hinrich each made three-point shots in the closing minute, propelling Kansas to a five-point win.
Last year, Miles again made a three-pointer, when he was only trying to hit the rim with the shot clock winding down, and former forward David Padgett made a fade away jumper with seconds remaining to give the Jayhawks a victory in the last game ever played at Hearnes Center, which closed in 2004.
As great as those triumphs were, a victory on Sunday would mean much more.
If the Jayhawks can win, Langford, Miles, Wayne Simien and Mike Lee will join an elite group of Kansas seniors who ended their careers without a loss at Missouri.
"That would be incredible," Langford said. "I don't think too many guys can say that they did that while playing at Kansas with the rivalry being as heated as it is."
Missouri has won against the seniors only once in the 2003 Big 12 Tournament.
The chance of going undefeated at Missouri particularly
SEE SENIORS ON PAGE 7A
Kansan file photo
Senior guard Keith Langford drives against Missouri senior guard Jason Conley during the game Jan. 31 at Allen Fieldhouse. Langford, who averages 15.1 points per game, scored 11, while Conley made 20 points during that game. The Jayhawks take on the Tigers Sunday at 1 p.m. in Columbia, Mo., for the regular season finale.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Victory will clinch Big 12
Self: We need to get sole possession and win the league outright
When it comes to Kansas, Missouri hasn't had a lot of bragging rights.
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIETER
Kansas defeated Missouri three times last year twice in one week.
The most notable victory was last year when the Jayhawks squashed the Tigers' hopes for the 2004 NCAA Tournament. It was Missouri's last game at the old Hearnes Center.
Or maybe not.
Different game, different building, different season?
The Tigers are 14-15 and 6-9 in the Big 12 Conference. The new Mizzou Arena, formerly the Paige Sports Arena, is blemished by the academic scandal of Paige Laurie, for whom the building was named.
All the Tigers have left this season is the game against the Ivahawks.
The Tigers were out of the NCAA Tournament long ago. Their below-500 record places them among the average teams in college basketball. And they lost 67-49 at Iowa State on Wednesday. The Tigers' NIT chances look slim.
"This is going to be a huge game for them," he said. "It's not gonna make their season, but this would be a big win for them."
The Jayhawks say they will see a better Tigers team during the border rival match-up 1 p.m. Sunday. Match-ups with the Jayhawks always bring out the best in their game, coach Bill Self said.
After Wednesday's emotional Senior Night, the Kansas players were already thinking about Missouri. They can win the Big 12 Conference title outright and put themselves in good position to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if they defeat Missouri.
This time around, the Tigers have an opportunity to squash the Jayhawks' hopes of a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A loss to Missouri would not look too convincing to the tournament selection committee.
"We need to get sole possession and win the league outright so we can get a No.1 seed." Self said. "We can be anywhere from a one to a four depending on how things play out on Sunday. We need to go out and take care of business."
Ginny Weatherman/KANSAN
In their first meeting on Jan. 31, the Jayhawks struggled in the first half. During the second half, Self put his team into a zone defense to slow down the Tigers' rhythm.
Wayne Simien, senior guard, goes up for a shot during the first half of the game against the Wildcats Wednesday night. Simien clocked in for 37 minutes of the game, scoring a total of 25 points and grabbing a career high 20 rebounds.
SEE SEASON ON PAGE 7A
Athletes await qualifying news
BY PATRICK SHEHAN
pshehan@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
TRACK
Jeremy Mims. Benson Chesang.
Sheldon Battle. Ekaterina
Sultanova. Brooklyn Hann.
These five members of the KU track and field team share one common bond: All await the news that will tell them made nationals.
All five of these athletes have provisionally qualified for the national championships. Two hundred seventy athletes get an invite to nationals,
14 for each event. A specific mark, time or distance is chosen for every athlete to make. Athletes who make that time or clear that distance earn an automatic bid.
Mims
next best athlete is chosen from a descending list in terms of finish, of provisional qualifiers.
If fewer than 14 athletes qualify automatically, the
The descending list includes these five Jayhawks — athletes who were inches or seconds away from an automatic bid.
Battle
Senior middle-distance runner Jeremy Mims ranks 15th. His time of 148 66 in
the 800-meter run last weekend at the Big 12 Indoor Championships earned him a second-place finish in
the conference. Going into the meet. Mims already had nationals on his mind.
"I'm not going to let that get in the way at the conference championships," Mims said. "But my overall goal goes beyond conference."
Junior thrower Sheldon Battle received provisional scores with a sixth-place ranking in the shot put and an eighth-place ranking in the weight throw. Battle won second place at the conference indoor
SEE QUALIFYING ON PAGE 7A
THE SIDELINES
WILL HETTINGER sports@maneater.com
Missouri has upset potential
Editor's note: The University Daily Kansan traded sports commentaries with The Maneater, the student newspaper at the University of Missouri, to provide another perspective on Sunday's men's basketball game. The Kansan's column, by Jonathan Kealing, associate sports editor, is on Kansan.com.
This Sunday in Mizzou Arena, you will roll into town feeling confident about your chances of coming away with another victory. After all, your team has compiled quite an impressive record, as well as a national ranking that many teams would sell their textbooks back for. Your team has beaten almost every challenger that has crossed its path on your way to an impressive and memorable season.
Well, well, well, Jayhawks. The time has come again to rekilem the hostest rivalry in college basketball.
The point is, to walk away from this season with any positive lasting memories and to head into next year with a positive outlook, you guys need to win out and make it deep into the NCAA Tournament. You will have to be continuously preparing to battle new opponents, both home and away from home.
I give kudos to Kansas for that. But this time things are different. That may sound like hollow talk but, in truth, you could not possibly be playing the Tigers at a worse time. You've been winning consistently. We have not. You've been garnerng national attention. Not us. You have a bevy of stars that will one day be getting paid to play the game. We've got ... ?
We have had the type of season that makes fans, players and coaches angry. Players have lost starting spots, fans have lost interest and coaches are in danger of losing jobs. We acknowledge that we have had a terrible year by Missouri standards, but beating you would be sweet enough to cleanse our collective pallet of the sour taste of losing. Seeing your big, dominating Jayhawks walk away from Missouri for the last time empty-handed is the closest thing we are going to get to cutting down nets at the end of the year.
We have to do only one thing: beat you.
The business-like mentality with which Kansas approaches its games is something that other teams should aspire to emulate. Wayne Simien may be the best big man in college basketball. Keith Langford is as much of a clutch player as you will see in today's game. You regularly face top opponents and consistently turn them away. And in the long run, should you beat us Sunday, it would seem fitting.
On the other hand, should we beat you, it would seem miraculous.
That is the main difference between our two teams. You stand on the threshold of history, and we are a_bunch of guys with talent, a game plan and absolutely nothing to lose. Gene Hackman might as well have been talking about the Tigers when he said, "That makes you all very dangerous people!"
Here's wishing the stars of Kansas all the success in the world, great NBA careers and an ass kicking of biblical proportions Sunday. Only because the Tigers have had to swallow their pride and eat their words all too often this year.
+ Hettinger is a columnist for *The Manatee*, the student newspaper at the University of Missouri.
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