WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23. 2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cornhuskers upset Cowboys
Loss ties team with Kansas atop Big 12 Conference
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINCOLN, Neb. — Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton had no difficulty assessing his fourth-ranked Cowboys' performance in a 74-67 loss to Nebraska last night.
Dave Weaver/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Oklahoma State bench watches the final minutes of their 74-67 loss to Nebraska last night in Lincoln, Neb.
"I told the squad this ranks as one of the 10 worst performances of any team I've had that's any good," Sutton said. "It was just a bad game, and it came at a bad time."
Not only did the loss drop the Cowboys into a tie with No. 8 Kansas atop the Big 12 standings, it could damage their hopes of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma State is at Kansas on Sunday.
Joe McCray scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and
Aleks Maric added a career-high 15 to lead Nebraska to its first win over a top five opponent since a 98-91 victory against No. 3 Missouri in the 1994 Big Eight tournament.
Oklahoma State, which averaged 82 points in winning its last six games by an average of 15, was held under 70 points for only the fourth time this season.
The Cowboys (20-4, 10-3 Big 12) sloppy effort saw them commit 19 turnovers and go eight straight possessions without scoring to start the second half.
The Huskers (12-12, 5-8) used a 12-0 run from a 32-32 halftime tie to break the game open and the Cowboys never got closer than the final margin.
Nebraska's biggest victory in coach Barry Collier's five years came on the same day a columnist for the Omaha World-Herald, the state's largest newspaper, called for his firing.
"We don't pay a lot of attention to that," Collier said.
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Robinett
Even though eight of Kansas' nonconference games were in Lawrence, with another in Kemper Arena, the game against Kentucky proved that Kansas could win away from home. Kansas' triumph in Lexington, Ky., ranks among the best road victories by any team this season. Even if you compare it to the rest of the country, no one but Iowa State and Maryland can match it.
The Jayhawks' four losses are not as flashy as Illinois' zero, but their strength of schedule makes them more dangerous come tournament time.
Illinois has the 46th-ranked strength of schedule. Gonzaga is the only team Illinois played that is leading its conference.
Defeating Wake Forest at home is the Fighting Illini's best victory. To put that in perspective, Florida State also defeated Wake at home. It's a good victory for Illinois, but not a big deal. Their best road victories came at overrated Michigan State, which is 0-2 against ranked opponents, and at Wisconsin. Breaking the Badgers' 38-game home winning streak was impressive, but Wisconsin is not nearly as good as Kentucky.
According to "Bracketology" on ESPN.com, Kansas' schedule contains 13 teams predicted to make the NCAA Tournament, and South Carolina is one of the last four teams out. KU opponents constitute 20 percent of the field. Illinois' schedule has seven.
Bracketology is a prediction of the NCAA Tournament field by ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi, whose
accuracy has been outstanding in the past.
If you don't think strength of schedule matters in the NCAA Tournament, think again. Playing good teams early makes it easier to play good teams later.
Eleven of the last 20 Final Four teams had a strength of schedule of 13 or better. Of those 20, only Oklahoma State made it with a strength of schedule above 40. Consider that St. Joseph's was the one seed in its bracket, and its strength of schedule was also higher than 40.
When filling out your bracket next month, remember that the schedule does make a difference, and the Jayhawks have played a tough one.
- Robinett is an Austin, Texas, sophomore in journalism.
Repairs
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Katy Sharp, the outdoor pursuits program manager at the recreation center, said that the policy had to do with liability.
"We provide all the tools and equipment, but can't give you any advice or help." Sharp said. "This is to prevent us from being liable in the event of something going wrong."
Nic Swindler, Prairie Village senior, said the importance of having a consultation depended on the severity of the damage being repaired.
"It's pretty easy to get online and look up how to repair things when it's not complicated and you know exactly what the problem is," he said. "I just got online and found out how to mount a wheel and check to see if it's spinning true in 15 minutes.
But Swindler said he could see both sides of the issue.
"If they offered consultation it could turn into a full-blown bike mechanic shop, repairing Huffy Schwinns and other bikes used for everyday purposes," Swindler said. A lot of people use trails and don't know how to make bike repairs, he said.
Swindler said that he had to make repairs to his bike every spring. Now some of those minor repairs can be free of charge.
Sharp said the center was open whenever the outdoor rental division was open, including Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. To use the center, students must take their bike and KUID to the loading docks in back of the recreation center and ring the doorbell.
Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
The University of Kansas has more inductees in the Basketball Hall of Fame than any other Division I school, and the most recent inductee is making her return to Allen Fieldhouse tomorrow night.
Basketball inductee to be recognized
Lynette Woodard, the alltime leading scorer in women's basketball history, will be honored at halftime of tonight's basketball game against Baylor. Woodard is the 15th Jayhawk to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. Other inductees include James Naismith, Wilt Chamberlain, Dean Smith and Larry Brown.
Woodard, who played at Kansas from 1978-81, joined Clyde Drexler, Jerry Colangelo, Bill Sharman, Maurice Stokes and Drazen Dalpagic in the Class of 2004. Woodard and the others were inducted on Sept. 10, 2004, in Springfield, Mass.
Woodard was a four-time All Big Eight Conference selection and three-time MVP of the Big Eight Tournament. Woodard scored in double figures in 138 of her 139 games and was the first women inducted into the Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame.
During her career, Woodard averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds per game. Her career total of 3,649 points rank second to Pete Maravich's 3,667 for the most points ever scored by a college basketball player, male or female.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
She was the co-captain of the 1984 women's basketball Olympic team, which she led to a gold medal. In 1985, Woodard became even more famous for becoming the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
In 1999, she came back to Kansas to work as an assistant coach for five years, before serving as the Jayhawks' interim coach for the end of last season.
— BJ Rains