Volume 128 Issue 94
kansan.com
Monday, March 23, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAHY KANSAN
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COMMENTARY 11 is not better than2
What's the difference between a good and a great
Does winning an 11th Big 12 conference make the season great? The entire Kansas team said this season was a good one, but in order for it to be great, Kansas had to advance further than the second round of the NCAA tournament.
season?
"We always talk about the difference between a good and a great season. A good season is winning the Big 12, which is expected from us," sophomore Landen Lucas said after the 78-65 loss to Wichita State. "We won the Big 12, but in my career here, I have yet to have a great season, which is all based on the post season. It's hard to call it a great season after losing in the round of 32 like we did."
Kansas is historically a successful basketball team, but when the Jayhawks lose in the round of 32 for the second consecutive season, one may ask, what is more important?
Kansas coach Bill Self agreed this season wasn't a success, and this team isn't satisfied with how this season has ended.
"To win the league outright, it's a pretty big deal to this group of guys, but certainly how we finished — I've said all along you can have a good season by winning the league, but to make it great, you got to get to the second weekend," Self said. "Perspective-wise, there's no way I'll say it was a great year."
Anyone can tell when looking at the players' faces after the loss that this season wasn't supposed to end like this. When looking back at the season, the Big 12 conference schedule took a lot out of the Jayhawks.
Fighting for another Big 12 title, junior Perry Ellis hurt his knee in the second to last game against West Virginia, and Self said on Selection Sunday that the whole team was beat up after a tough conference season.
The Big 12 title doesn't help when you're playing in the NCAA tournament; Ellis said it would be hard to replace a Big 12 title with another NCAA win.
"It's not great. We wanted to advance in the tournament," Ellis said. "This is what it's all about, this is what we work for all season, and this is what we prepare for."
People will remember the 2014-15 Kansas team, not for winning its 11th Big 12 title, but for losing to Wichita State. Sophomore Wayne Selden Jr. said everything after the Big 12 determines if the season is great or not, and it didn't work out how Kansas wanted. "We let a lot of people down today," Selden said.
So what's next for this Kansas team, who didn't have a single senior in its eightman rotation? When asking freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. if
SEE BBALL PAGE 10
Junior pitcher Hayden Edwards attempts to throw out the base runner on first base in the game against Central Michigan on March 10. Kansas lost its weekend series to Iowa 2-1.
Slugging woes plague Kansas against Iowa
I AMIE JUST
@Amie_Just
The Jayhawks baseball team failed to convert runners on base to runs on the scoreboard this weekend against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Jayhawks started the series off hot, but couldn't continue their momentum in the following games. The team's record now stands at 9-14.
GAME 1; KANSAS 4, IOWA 3
GAME 1: KANSAS 4, IDWA 3
Kansas outlasted Iowa in a nail-biter Friday.
The Jayhawks went into the eighth inning holding a 4-1 lead, thanks to a two-RBI double from senior infielder Blair Beck.
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"I thought it was a crucial
at bat," coach Ritch Price said after the game. "At the time, we had 10 or 11 hits, but only had two runs to show for it."
Just when Kansas thought it had the game sealed up, Iowa infielder Tyler Peyton singled through the left side for a two-run RBI, putting the Hawkeyes within one with one out remaining.
That was enough to make the Jayhawks sweat, but sweat was all they did. Iowa outfielder Kris Goodman struck out swinging during the next at bat to end the game.
A hot start in the first inning helped Iowa cruise to victory on Saturday.
GAME 2: IOWA 6. KANSAS 4
The Hawkeyes sparked
tne Hawkeyes scored two more runs to take the edge and tie the series.
early, fueled in part by outfielder Joel Booker hitting a single up the middle for a two-RBI hit and infielder Austin Guzzo hit through the right side, scoring Booker during the next at bat.
Iowa scored again in the top of the fourth from a single by infielder lake Mangler.
Kansas got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with a single from freshman sophomore infielder Matt McLaughlin that would score infielder Michael Tinsley.
GAME 3: IDWA 6, KANSAS 2
The Jayhawks started their comeback in the bottom of the fifth when they scored back-to-back-to-back runs, tying the gam 4-4.
It took a while for Kansas to bring a runner home safely, and by the time Tinsley crossed home plate in the seventh inning, it was too little, too late.
That was the last of the heavy hitting for the Jayhawks, as
Iowa hammered out hits and the Kansas sluggers couldn't keep up. When the Jayhawks were walked or hit by a pitch, they couldn't convert the opportunity.
The Jayhawks left 17 runners on base, the most that were stranded all season.
"We might have set a record since I've been at Kansas for the most guys left on base in a game," Price said. "We
had an unbelievable amount of opportunities to score. Early in the game we had some really bad at bats with runners in scoring position. It kind of magnifies when you don't take advantage of those opportunities."
Sophomore outfielder Joven Afenir had one of the two runs for Kansas and two of the nine hits.
"We hit a lot of balls hard," Afenir said. "But the wind wasn't in our favor today. We just couldn't find the holes."
Kansas is on the road until the beginning of April. Next up for the Jayhawks is a one-game battle at Missouri State on Tuesday.
— Edited by Lane Cofas
Wessel, Shockers take away Kansas' momentum
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
As the ball left Evan Wessel's hand with 13:36 to play in the game, coach Bill Self looked to his bench and scoffed. This was Wessel's third corner three of the game and extended the Shockers' lead to 12.
After watching shot after shot rim out for Kansas, Self couldn't do much else when every Wichita State look seemed to fall.
Basketball is a game of momentum and runs. In Kansas' 78-65 loss to Wichita State in the round of 32, the second half was one long Shocker run.
"They were far superior than us the second half," Self said. "They obviously were better prepared, ready for the moment better than us, and we didn't play very well."
Freshman guard Devonte Graham attempts a layup against Wichita State. The Jayhawks lost to the Shockers, 78-65.
Wessel continued to knock in the open three, shooting 4-of-6 from deep, 3-for-5 in the second half. Each time Kansas looked to make a dent in the Shocker lead, Wessel was there to stretch the margin.
ANNA WENNER/KANSAN
At the 2:49 mark in the second half with Kansas trailing by 10, sophomore Brannen Greene fired a three-pointer from the top of the key. His shot hit iron and bounced up and off the rim twice before it was rebounded by Shocker Fred VanVleet.
Kansas headed into the locker room at halftime trailing by only three points after having led most of the first half. Wichita State
"To me, he was the best player in the game," Self said. "He's a tough kid, real smart, and it showed tonight."
This shot summed up most of the second half for the Jayhawks, as the looks just were not falling. Earlier in the half, sophomore Wayne Selden Jr. pulled up from inside the paint and his shot rimmed out as well.
outscored Kansas by 10 points in the second half and seemed as if they couldn't miss from the floor, shooting nearly 60 percent.
The Jayhawks could not get anything going on either end of the court in the second period. The Shockers played impeccable defense and shot the ball at a high percentage. Kansas was unable to guard high-ball screens and could not take advantage of its size in the paint.
"They threw us off our game," sophomore Landen Lucas said. "They didn't let us get on any runs and eventually we just started settling."
The Shockers went on two 7-0 runs, one at the end of the first half and one at the
start of the second. Kansas tried everything to slow the Shockers' momentum, including Self using the team's final timeout with 4:39 play in the game.
Out of the timeout, freshman Devonte' Graham missed a contested jumper followed by another missed three-pointer from freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. The Jayhawks were unable to take advantage of the looks they were given.
Whenever Kansas did convert in the second half, Wichita State would answer
"We missed a lot of easy bunnies," sophomore Frank Mason III said. "A lot of easy shots just didn't fall for us."
right back with a two of its own, and oftentimes a three point basket to build its lead. Early in the second half, junior Perry Ellis hit a layup to cut the lead from six to four, and on the other end, Wessel knocked down a three to increase the lead to seven. It was one step forward and two steps back all evening.
"It was definitely one of those games where we couldn't catch a break," Oubre said. "Every time we hit a basket, they would run right back and hit one of their
own."
The Shockers didn't allow the Jayhawks to go on a run for more than five points in the second half. No runs meant no momentum. And no momentum resulted in an early tournament exit and an early end to the season for the Jayhawks.
"I'm proud of our team," Self said. "We've had a nice year, had a good year. Perspectivewise, there's no way to say it was a great year."
Edited by Kayla Schartz
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