SPORTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2005
PAGE 1B
will said. can with
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Playing for redemption
(option 1)
Winner of Kansas, Oklahoma State game will take lead in Big 12
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@hansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITER
All good teams — and the players on them — have bad days. Thank the utility of sports.
That's the reality of sports.
Take Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all time. In the Packers', playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Favre threw four interceptions. That's like J.R. Giddens going 1-of-11 from the behind the arc or Keith Langford missing two free throws with the game on the line.
game on the one.
Kansas coach Bill Self said the difference, however, was that Favre didn't let bad days affect his game.
"Brett Favre has bad days, but I don't see him in an interview doubt himself," Self said. "He knows he's still the baddest player on the field whenever he gets on it, and I
think that is what we have to do," Self said.
With No.4 Oklahoma State, fresh off a bad day of its own, coming to town this Sunday, Kansas is looking at its biggest game of the season.
Both teams own 10-3 Big 12 Conference records. The winner of Sunday's match-up will garner the best record in the conference with two games left to play.
Self, who played at Oklahoma State from 1982-85 and coached there from 1987-93, said this would have been an important match-up no matter what, but when combined with Oklahoma's State's loss on Tuesday and Kansas' recent struggles, the game is even more magnified.
magnified. "I anticipate two teams hooking up pretty good," Self said. "I think that most people that follow our league believe that this is as big of game that our league will have this year."
There is no question that the Jayhawks (20-4) caught a break when the Cowboys fell to the Huskers. On paper, it gave the Jayhawks a chance to control their own destiny by winning the rest of their games. But Self said it was a bit of a relief to his players, especially the seniors.
the seniors. "I could tell it kinda gave them a breath of fresh air," Self said. "Not that they were overly excited, but they thought, 'now we can go take care of our business and have a shot.'"
shot.
If the Jayhawks want to have a shot, they are going to have to start making some. They have gone 7-of-33 from behind the arc in their last two games. On top of that, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Oklahoma all played zone against the Jayhawks, putting even more emphasis on perimeter shooting.
*We picked bad time for our star.*
ing perimeter players to be 3- of-29 from three," Self said. "When teams play zone, that is a bad time not to shoot the ball well. But the bottom line is that doesn't mean they are bad shooters, they just picked a bad time to go cold."
Self compared shooting to putting a golf ball. You can hit a good putt or take a good shot, but on a bad day, it just doesn't fall.
If the Jayhawks' shooting woes continue on Sunday, they will have to compensate with defensive effort and hustle.
The Iowa State Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse and shot just 2-1of11 from beyond the arc and 34 percent from the field. Nevertheless, their defense held the Jayhawks to 4-of23 from three-point range and a 16 percent field goal percentage in the overtime period.
SEE REDEMPTION ON PAGE 7B
Rvlan Howe/KANSAN
Senior guard Keith Langford lays the ball up over Oklahoma sophomore guard Lawrence McKenzie Monday night. Langford scored 16 points in a losing effort and will try to help the jayhawks out of their slump against Oklahoma State 3 p.m.Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse.
TICKETS
First come, first served
Point system gives loyal season ticket holders initial pick for seats
BY ROSS FITCH
rfitch@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Long-time season ticket holders and donors to KU athletics will receive an extra benefit with the implementation of the Kansas Athletics Department's priority point system for football next season.
Fans who have had season tickets for 15 years or more and are Williams Educational Fund members, are guaranteed to sit within the 20-yard lines on the west side of Memorial Stadium regardless of point totals, said Jim Marchionv.
"When department officials were planning the implementation of the point system to football, we wanted to find some way of recognizing the contributions of long-time donors, especially those who have had to sit through some tough football seasons," Marchiony said. "I think people will be very pleased that we are giving a great deal of consideration to people holding season tickets for a long period of time."
associate athletics director for external affairs. It costs $100 per year to be a Williams Fund member.
With the exception of the guaranteed seats policy and a few other tweaks, the points system is the same as the one that was implemented for the 2004-2005 basketball season. Seating locations are determined by point totals. Donors are assigned points based on several criteria, including the number of season tickets purchased, membership in various clubs, alumni status, the number of years they have donated and the amount they have donated. The points system applies to any athletics event where there are assigned seats.
Other changes include moving visiting fans to the southeast sections of
the stadium. This will provide better location for Family Zone ticket holders, who sit in the north end of the stadium. The student section has also been moved farther to the north on the east side of the stadium.
And in an effort to ensure that Williams Fund members have priority for seat assignment, the department will hold a month-long "Select-A-Seat" campaign in May. During that month, Williams Fund members will have first pick for their seats.
SEE TICKETS ON PAGE 7B
Kansas to face another ranked foe
BY PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Another Big 12 Conference match-up and Kansas will again face a ranked opponent. Tomorrow's 5 p.m. Sunflower Showdown at No. 18 Kansas State pits Kansas against a team it has not defeated in the last seven games.
This must be getting old.
Wednesday's 70-60 loss at home to No. 6 Baylor was the sixth straight loss to a ranked opponent this season.
to a Ranked opponent. The Baylor game pitted Kansas against its highest-ranked adversary of the season, and the Jayhawks rose
Game one in the Sunflower series brought the Wildcats a 63-45 victory, but the Jayhawks held a tie game at the half after opening the game by building a nine-point lead.
"We have been able to answer runs when we need to in games," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We need that confidence going into Kansas State."
to the occasion, responding to several Bavlor rallies in each half.
"We've got to make sure we set the tone at the beginning of the game," senior guard Aquanita Burras said.
Equally as important is maintaining that intensity for both periods.
Kansas did not contain the Kansas State barrage after halftime, and the Wildcats cruised to an easy victory.
whitecats crossed. But the Jayhawk team that previously limped through second halves is gone. Although the Big 12 schedule has left Kansas with a 12-13 (5-9 Big 12) record, the short roster has adapted to the demands of the conference schedule by putting together solid 40-minute performances.
"We played K-State pretty well the first time we played them this season," junior guard Erica Hallman said. "We are a much better team than we were the first time we played them."
Because of the weekly routine of facing highly talented opponents,
the Jayhawks no longer feel intimidated by paper statistics. In the Big 12, no game is a day off.
12. No game is a battle "It's pretty much just another game for us." Burras said of playing Kansas State. "We've just got to take it a day at a time."
For Kansas, there is only one day of rest and one day of practice in between Wednesday's Baylor game and the showdown with Kansas State, 19-6 (10-4). The lack of rest coupled with 40-minute games logged by junior forward Crystal Kemp and Burras could weigh on the Kansas squad Saturday.
SEE RANKED ON PAGE 7B
FOR THE WEEKEND
JOE BANT
jbant@kansan.com
Forget last week, focus on Sunday
Kansas men's basketball fans, it's time to forget the past week and a half. Forget Texas Tech's Darryl Dora from the top of the key and Iowa State's Curtis Stinson spinning in the lane. Forget senior guard Aaron Miles' black eye and sophomore guard J.R. Giddens' 1-of-11 three-point shooting debacle. Forget three overtimes and three losses and Saturday's Allen Fieldhouse crowd streaming out after the game gray and silent as a funeral procession. Forget the 19-point Monday-night deficit trimmed twice to one but never erased, and forget three consecutive losses for the first time in more than a decade.
for the first time in more than 12 weeks Because Sunday, when co-Big 12 Conference leader Oklahoma State rolls into town, Kansas will have its shot at redemption. No, the Jajahawks can't get back their undefeated conference record and probably not their chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, either, but with a victory Sunday, they can reclaim sole possession of the Big 12 lead as well as some of the respect they've lost in the last 11 days.
lost in the last 14 days. Oklahoma State's upset loss at Nebraska on Tuesday night dropped the Cowboys back down to 10-3 in the conference, the same record as the Jayhawks.' And if Kansas can beat Oklahoma State on Sunday and take back the Big 12 lead for itself, it's looking at games against bottom-tier conference teams Kansas State and Missouri to finish out the season.
those match-ups aren't going to be easy. The Wildcats played the Jayhawks tough a couple weeks ago, and the Tigers on the road are always difficult, but still, it's doubtful anyone would call those last two games the worst of Kansas' schedule. With a little momentum and vigilance, the Jayhawks should be able to stay in the driver's seat heading into the conference tournament.
Oklahoma State was arguably the biggest game of the season for Kansas from the very beginning. The Cowboys and Jawahks were both coming off deep tournament runs; the former made it to the Final Four, the latter to the Elite Eight. Both were picked preseason to finish No. 1 or No. 2 in the conference, and Kansas senior forward Wayne Simien was supposed to battle it out with Oklahoma State senior guard John Lucas for Big 12 Player of the Year.
12 Player of the Year.
Now, any argument about the importance of Sunday's game is gone. Oklahoma State is definitely the biggest game of the season. Win, and the Jayhawks can call their doldrums lifted, they can stop answering questions about their slump and they can get momentum back on their side as the season draws to a close and March Madness approaches.
Lose, and well, it's four straight losses for the first time since the probation year of 1989, two at Allen Fieldhouse in the same season for only the second time in more than a decade, and more importantly, the funk continues as do the questions.
SEE BANT ON PAGE 7B
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