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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015
PAGE 11
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I don't want these guys to be sad ... we helped Georgia State out. Georgia State people know about Georgia State, we'll be back, we're gonna get some young guys, it's not even about that right now."
Ron Hunter via USA Today
FACT OF THE DAY
After being guarded as the best conference in college basketball, the Big 12 started the tournament 0-3 (Baylor loss to Georgia State, Iowa State loss to UAB, Texas loss to Butler).
ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: R.J. Hunter is projected as a late first-round in the NBA draft. Who is the only Georgia State player to play in the NBA before him?
A: Lanard Copeland — basketballreference.com
THE MORNING BREW
Georgia State magic brings NCAA tournament an all-time moment
upsets happen every year in the NCAA tournament, but not all upsets become
instant classics. Georgia State's short run was not only a massive upset, but will go down as one of the most special moments in the history of the tournament.
Down double digits with two minutes left in the game, the Georgia State Panthers and coach Ron Hunter were all but finished against the three-seed Baylor Bears. After a dramatic entrance into the tournament, Georgia State needed a miracle to come back and defeat the Bears
In the Sun Belt Conference championship, the Panthers won 38-36 in an ugly offensive exhibition. The story of the game was Hunter's son, junior R.J Hunter, who hit clutch free throws to send the Panthers to the NCAA tournament.
During the celebration for making it
to the big dance, Ron Hunter hurt his ankle and was carried to the sideline to ice it. After suffering a torn Achilles, Ron Hunter was forced to wear a leg cast and roll around on a scooter at the NCAA tournament. Hunter had to coach from the sideline on a rolling stool for the first round of the tournament and would make the victory even more emotional.
The Panthers went on a 13-0 run against Baylor in the final couple minutes of the round of 64. Twelve of those points were scored by R.J. Hunter, including one of the biggest shots in the history of the tournament. After Baylor missed a free throw, Georgia State pulled in the rebound With
and didn't push the tempo. With 10 seconds left they passed the ball around the top of the key. With 2.6 seconds left, Hunter received the ball and rose up from nearly eight feet behind the 3-point line and drilled the game's dagger.
The second the shot went in, coach Ron Hunter fell off his stool. The deep three put the Panthers up 57-56. Baylor was unable to make a play and the Panthers pulled off the second upset of the tournament (following No.3 Iowa State losing to No.14
UAB).
Unfortunately, Georgia State fell to six-seed Xavier in the next round, 75-67. When R.J. Hunter exited the game, he had an emotional moment with his father — much like Creighton had last year
with Doug McDermott and his father, in the postgame press conference, Ron Hunter broke down and told the media the tournament was "the greatest week of my life" and "the greatest time I've had to be a father," as reported by Yahoo! Sports.
Despite its exit in the round of 32, the Georgia State comeback and the miracle shot from R.J. Hunter will be shown on highlight reels for years to come.
Edited by Kayla Schartz
Georgia State's R.J. Hunter comes off the court after making the game-winning shot against Baylor, as coach Ron Hunter (back left) and Ryann Green (2) celebrate their 57-56 in the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla.
RICK WILSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Georgia State coach Ron Hunter celebrates as he goes on the court after defeating Baylor 57-56 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
CHRIS O'MEARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
@jclemn9
Kansas tennis defeats West Virginia to finish home stand
JACOB CLEMEN
No. 65 Kansas capped off a five-match home stand with a dominant 4-0 victory against Big 12 opponent West Virginia on Sunday.
The match was the fourthstraight against Big 12 opponent for the Jayhawks, who dropped matches to No. 18 Texas Tech and No. 21 TCU before defeating Iowa State and West Virginia to bring their record to 2-2 in
conference play.
After the conference opening loss to Texas Tech, coach Todd Chapman said he wanted to see more consistency from his team.
"I thought we were good in spurts," Chapman said in a press release. "Texas Tech is a good team and we have to be able to maintain energy, emotion and intensity."
In Sunday's contest against the Mountaineers, Chapman was pleased with his team, as it played well early and
maintained its level of play en route to a sweep.
"It thought the biggest thing today was that we fought and at the end of the day that was what won us the match." Chapman said in a press release.
The Jayhawks made quick work of the Mountaineers in doubles play, winning quickly on courts one and two. Freshmen Madison Harrison and Smith Hinton won 6-1 on court two before senior Maria Belen Ludueña and
freshman Alexis Czapinski sealed the doubles point 6-3.
In singles play, Harrison was able to win on court three in two sets (6-3, 6-2) after her doubles win to give Kansas a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Court six saw Czapinski follow up a doubles win of her own as she secured a 3-0 lead for the Jayhawks winning 6-3, 6-1.
Chapman pointed to experience as a reason for Kansas' struggles early in Big 12 play after the Texas Tech
loss.
"The biggest thing is that we need experience," Chapman said in a press release. "We need to be put in those situations where we can see what we need to work on."
On Sunday, Chapman saw Ludueña, his most experienced player, finish off West Virginia with a 6-3, 4-6, 5-0 win in singles.
"I think the big thing is that [Ludueña] has matured this year and she doesn't allow
one set to affect the next," Chapman said in a press release. "I feel like she's doing a really good job of that when she gets the lead she closes things out and doesn't make things harder on herself."
Kansas improved to 4-2 at home and 6-8 overall. The Jayhawks will head on the road for a pair of matches against North Texas on Friday, March 27 and at SMU on Saturday, March 28.
Edited by Kayla Schartz