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PAGE 1B
▼ MORMONICITY
TIM HALL
thall@kansan.com
Jayhawks pull through in the end
Who would have thought that the Big 12 Conference Championship would be played in Allen Fieldhouse this year?
Kansas coach Bill Self said that the Oklahoma State game would go down as one of the best games ever played in Allen Fieldhouse.
Facing a possible four-game losing streak, the Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma State 81-79 on Sunday to take the lead in the conference standings and put them in position to win the regular season title.
"I have never been a part of a better basketball game," Self said. "Oklahoma State made a lot of great plays. They are by far the best team we have faced all season."
It's fitting that Kansas played its best game of the year against the best team on its schedule. The mental toughness that Kansas showed on Sunday
At times this season, the media has criticized the Jayhawks for being unable to put teams away. They allowed Colorado to sneak back into the game in Boulder, let a 17-point lead dwindle to four at Kansas State and only escaped losing to Nebraska at home because of a failed wide-open three-point attempt.
— just as its has shown in the other 20 games in the win column — is the reason that this team has as good a shot as any to win the national championship.
But just like Sunday against Oklahoma State, the one thing the Jayhawks did in all those games was win.
The Jayhawks were not able to pull ahead of the Cowboys, even after senior forward Wayne Simien opened the game with three consecutive baskets. In the second half, Kansas built a seven-point lead in what looked like it could quickly turn into a 20-point lead. Soon after, Kansas was down by seven with less than six minutes to play.
Kansas then turned to Simien to help pull the team back into the game. Simien scored four points during an 8-0 Kansas run that gave the Jayhawks an 80-78 lead with 40 seconds on the clock.
"Wayne is the player of the year, hand downs. We rode his back," senior forward Keith Langford said. "It was Wayne who got us over the hump. He is our proven scorer. I think he could score with no arms."
Simien scored a career-high 32 points, with 12 rebounds and five assists, passing his career-high of 31 set in the Big 12 Tournament last year against Missouri. The senior forward put on a performance that had Big 12 Player of the Year written all over it.
Once again, the Jayhawks proved that they have the grit to win the close games. They showed that they were able to hang with one of the best teams in the nation and win. They showed it on New Year's Day against Georgia Tech, and they showed it on the road against Kentucky a week later.
SEE HALL ON PAGE 7B
Festive, fond farewell
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Seniors, Fieldhouse share the spotlight
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
FOR MORE
When Kansas and Kansas State meet at 8 tonight, a lot more will be happening than just a basketball game.
Wayne Simien, Keith Langford Aaron Miles and Mike Lee will compete in their final game at Allen Fieldhouse. Prior to the game, the four seniors and their parents will be introduced to the fans. After the game, they will be showered with roses as they address the crowd for senior speeches.
Plenty of pageantry also will ensue in honor of the 50th anniversary of Allen Fieldhouse. On March 1, 1955, Kansas took on Kansas State in the first game in the
K-State has its postseason hopes on the line. See more on page 78.
"Phog." All fans will receive an exact replica of the program from that game and a T-shirt. The Kansas players will wear special uniforms designed after those worn in the first game.
The Jayhawks also can clinch a share of their third Big 12 Conference title in four years with a victory against the Wildcats. They own a 29-game winning streak against their in-state rivals.
What a night.
But all of the hoopla surrounding the game can disrupt the players' focus.
"It's very possible that you can be too emotional," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
SEE FAREWELL ON PAGE 8B
Senior forward Wayne Simien battles for position between Oklahoma State seniors Ivan McFarlin and Stephen Graham. Simien pulled down 12 rebounds during the victory against the Cowboys. Simien and fellow seniors Aaron Miles, Mike Lee and Keith Langford will play their final home game against Kansas State at 8 tonight at Allen Fieldhouse.
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
Injury, fouls cause defeat
▼ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 61-52
Junior forward Crystal Kemp and junior guard Erica Hallman go up to block a shot by Iowa State's senior forward Katie Robinette. The Jayhawks closed out the regular season with a 61-52 loss to the Cyclones, in Ames, Iowa.
Scott Hildebrand/lowa State Daily
Kansas' strongest scorer, Crystal Kemp, leaves court in game's closing moments
BY PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Whenever Iowa State delivered a scoring jab to Kansas' collective face, the lavahawks returned in kind.
An inadvertent blow to Crystal Kemp's mouth down the stretch of the game, however, injured the junior forward and took away Kansas' strongest scoring threat, with the contest on the line. The injury to Kemp, coupled with foul trouble for the other Jayhawk post players, prevented Kansas from pulling the upset at No. 20 Iowa State, falling 61-52 in the regular season finale.
Competing fiercely against the highest scoring offense in the Big 12, the Kansas front court got into foul trouble early, but the guards kept it close.
Junior guard Erica Hallman led the Jayhawks with 15 points and a game-high five assists.
"The guards kept us in the game and the posts gave us a chance to win it," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
At the 10:32 mark, Kemp netted her first score of the game. It was a hook shot that pulled the fading Jayhawks within eight, 44-36. Kemp then scored five over the next two possessions to bring the rejuvenated Jayhawks back in the contest.
A Kaylee Brown, junior guard, three-point shot over Mary Fox stunned the Cyclone crowd and closed the gap to 44-43.
The game reached a 47-47 tie after Kemp's final score of the night, but not before freshman forwards Jamie Boyd and Taylor Mcintosh both picked up their fourth fouls.
Kemp not only missed serious playing time in key minutes with the injury, but also remained scoreless for the game's first 30 minutes while she battled foul trouble. Boyd made her first career start, fouled out of the game with more than four minutes remaining.
"I thought it was fantastic," Henrickson said of her team's battles. "We needed some mental toughness and some physical toughness."
The foul trouble set back the already short Kansas roster and forced Henrickson to use a fourguard lineup, but the Jayhawks were not done vet.
Kansas would not score again.
McIntosh hit a tough shot over Iowa State forward Katie Robinette for Kansas to regain the lead, 52-51.
Fox hit a jumper and Iowa State — 22-5, 12-5 Big 12 — drained eight consecutive free throws to end the game.
Rrian Lewis/KANSAN
BASEBALL: 8-4
SEE INJURY ON PAGE 2B
Jayhawks humiliated by errors
Kansas senior catcher Sean Richardson catches a strike from senior pitcher Andrew Rebar yesterday in the top of the fifth inning during Kansas' match-up against Southwest Missouri State. The Jayhawks lost, 8-4.
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
"That's the most embarrassing performance we've had since I've been here." Price said.
Kansas coach Ritch Price summed up yesterday's proceedings at Hoglund Ballpark quite well.
In fact, embarrassing might be an understatement. The Jayhawks committed six errors as a team, which accounted for seven unearned runs in Southwest Missouri State's 8-4 victory. Junior right fielder Gus Milner and freshman third baseman Erik Morrison each had two defensive miscues. Kansas,12-5, has now committed 34 errors, an average of two per game.
"I've been in some bad ball games before, but that was probably the worst I've played," Milner said.
Kansas got a poor perform-
to right field to drive in the first run of the inning for the Bears, followed by a run on the wild pitch. Junior designated hitter Adam Pummill then drove in the third run of the inning to put Kansas in a hole.
"I was shocked," Price said. "Take nothing away from what SMS did, but that was the worst defensive game and worst pitching game we've played in three years."
The Bears, 2-5. jumped out to a 3-10 lead in the second inning, taking full advantage of two errors and a wild pitch by the Jayhawks. Freshman second baseman Matt Lawson singled
the abundance of errors, Kansas was still able to remain in the game. Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Milner doubled off the left-field wall to score all three Jayhawk runners and cut the deficit to 5-4.
ance from its pitching staff as well. Without anyone from the starting rotation on full rest after last weekend's games against Northern Colorado, the Jayhawks went to a combination of six pitchers. As a staff, Kansas walked seven batters and hit one. Senior Mike Zagurski (3-1) took the loss, pitching two innings and giving up three runs on three hits. Only one of the runs charged to Zagurski was earned, and that turned out to be the only earned run for Southwest Missouri State all day.
Despite the early deficit and
That was as close as Kansas
Freshman pitcher Ross Detwiler (1-0) got the victory for SMS. He threw 4 1/3 innings and allowed all four runs.
Junior shortstop Ritchie Price added an error. Price, a preseason all-Big 12 selection known for his stellar defense, has made nine errors this season and has become frustrated, he said.
In addition to the defensive woes, Kansas only managed three hits on the afternoon.
"I think there were a lot of bad at-bats," Price said. "We were getting behind in the count and we didn't put very many balls in play today."
got. After SMS loaded the bases off of senior pitcher Andrew Rebar, junior center fielder Jacob Hilgendorf doubled home three runs to answer the rally by the Ivahawks.
"I blame myself for our team's defense," Ritchie Price said. "I'm supposed to anchor the defense, and I've sucked this year. I don't know what's going
"I come out and make an error every day," he said. "The ball pops out of my glove one day, I throw a ball away the next day. I can't figure it out."
on. I've made a lot of errors. I've never dealt with this before."
As for what needs to be done to turn around the team's play before the team goes to Mississippi State this weekend for the NBC Classic, Ritch Price said the work would start today.
"If we don't come out and practice any better than that, it could be a very embarrassing weekend," he said. Notes
- Junior outfielder A.J. Van Slyke was selected Big 12 Player of the Week for last week's performance against Northern Colorado. Van Slyke is the second layhawk to be selected this season, joining junior outfielder Matt Baty.
Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
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