Volume 128 Issue 109
Thursday, April 16, 2015
kansan.com
FACE OF THE STREAK
Round of 16 to begin Monday
GRAPHIC BY COLE ANNEBERG/KANSAN
SPORTS STAFF
@KansanSports
The first round of matchups in our Face of the Streak is complete. We appreciate everyone's participation in determining the ultimate fan favorite from the past 11 years of Kansas men's basketball. The Round of 16 matchups will begin Monday, so pick up a Kansan and head to kansan.com for complete coverage.
QUICK HITS FROM THE RESULTS
QUICK HITS FROM THE RESULTS Biggest blowout: Jeff Withey over Xavier Henry (94 per cent-6 percent)
This comes as no surprise. Kansas basketball fans enjoyed Withey's defensive prowess, particularly his ability to block shots. Students would form a "W" with their hands and bow to Withey after making a big play at home games. He led Kansas to the national championship game during the 2011-12 season.
Henry, on the other hand, had a respectable freshman season, averaging 13 points and four rebounds per game. That marked his one year at Kansas for Henry, who was selected as the 12th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Had Henry stayed, his stock would obviously have been a lot higher.
Closest matchup: Tie (two matchups)—Tyshawn Taylor over Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson over Markieff Morris (winners received 53 percent
of the votes)
Being a starter on the 2008 national championship team didn't matter too much in these matchups, as post player Arthur fell to Taylor.
In a battle of post players with different styles of play, Jackson, who manned the paint for the 2008 championship team, beat Morris, who couldn't advance to the Round of 16 along with his brother.
Biggest surprise: Joel Embid's slim win over Elijah Johnson (54 percent-46 percent)
Johnson played a major role in the Jayhawks' run to the national championship game during the 2011-12 season. His 18 points, which included a go-ahead basket in the final minute, helped Kansas avoid an upset in the Round of 32 to Purdue on the way. However, Johnson didn't end on the highest note, ending his senior year with five turnovers in a Sweet 16 loss to Michigan.
Embiid, on the other hand,
was popular among fans because of his play on the court as well as his exuberant presence on Twitter. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Embid averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and nearly three blocks per game as a freshman. His season ended early, however, as he had to sit out the NCAA Tournament games with a back injury — something voters may have considered in this matchup.
Edited by Laura Kubicki
Kansas baseball gets mauled by Baylor Bears
Sophomore pitcher Sean Rackoski throws a pitch to home plate Wednesday evening at Hoglund Ballpark. The Jayhawks lost to Missouri State 3-0.
WESLEY DOTSON
@WesleyDee23
After a weekend series that saw the Kansas Jayhawks upset the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the team was unable to find any type of offensive output Wednesday night, resulting in a 3-0 loss to the No.15 Missouri State Bears.
BEN BROOKSY/KANSAN
Kansas sophomore pitcher Sean Rackoski was only able to last three innings. He allowed five hits, walked four batters and gave up three earned runs. Rackoski was coming off an impressive outing against New Mexico last Wednesday when he struck out three batters and allowed only one earned run in five innings of work.
The only runs of the game came on a' Justin Paulsen three-run single up the middle in the top of the second inning.
["Rackoski] had a good first inning and got the first two outs [in the second inning] before they put three runs on the board," coach Ritch Price said after the loss. "We needed him to get some reps and give
us an opportunity to help us get to the weekend. We didn't want him to pitch more than five innings, but obviously we had to get him out of there after three."
Pitching continues to be an improvement for the Jayhawks. After Rackoski was relieved in the fourth inning, the
bullpen certainly did its part for the remainder of the game. The bullpen, in total, pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only one more hit the rest of
the game.
"Our pitching has made progress in the last few weeks, and our team ERA is still over six, but we were better Tuesday and Wednesday last week and over the weekend, and I think it carried over tonight," Price said. "Coach Graves is working with them every day and we are making progress."
Despite another strong pitching staff performance, the Jayhawks were unable to muster any form of offense against the Bears. Kansas was held hitless until the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs. Sophomore catcher Michael Tinsley singled to center field to erase the no-hit bid.
The offensive outage was unexpected, considering Kansas is top in the Big 12 with its .282 batting average.
"This is really disappointing to our coaching staff," Price said. "I'm really disappointed in our club offensively, and there were some really bad atbats. We were noncompetitive with guys in scoring position, and that hasn't been the case for us."
Bears starter Andy Cheray did not allow a hit in his two and one-third innings of work, but he wasn't particularly sharp in his outing. Cheray walked five batters before being relieved in the third inning.
Missouri State pitcher Sam Perez had a fantastic showing in his relief work. He went a scoreless six and two-thirds innings, striking out four batters. The performance earned him his fourth win of the season.
Perez had the second-highest ERA on the pitching staff for the Bears at 6.38 before his appearance. Clearly, Perez was able to find a rhythm Wednesday. His fastball command was the key to his outing, which was particularly sharp most of the night.
The Jayhawks (15-22) will try and get back on track as they continue their homestand against the Texas Longhorns this weekend, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday at Hoglund Ballpark. Texas is 19-18 this season and 6-6 in Big 12 play.
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Edited by Mackenzie Clark
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