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Volume 128 Issue 86
kansan.com
Monday, March 2, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
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COMMENTARY Kansas inches closer to 11th consecutive title
Ben Felderstein
@Ben Felderstein
W 1.6 seconds remaining in the second half, the camera flashed to coach Bill Self. Self was smiling and clapping with approval as junior forward Jamari Traylor toed the free-throw line. Headed into Kansas' final home game against West Virginia, the Jayhawks have a chance to increase the nation's longest active conference title streak.
With 6:20 left to play in the second half, sophomore guard Frank Mason III knocked in Kansas' first three-pointer of the game. Magon's third also gave the Jayhawks their first lead since the first half. It was the last lead change of a game that included 19 as Kansas went on to win 69-64.
More importantly, Mason's three put Kansas in a position to win and to increase its lead atop the Big 12. However, this was not the only factor in Kansas' inching closer to another conference ring Saturday evening.
During halftime, the Jayhawks' hopes of winning an 11th straight regular season Big 12 title became a lot more real. Much to the approval of another sold-out crowd, the score of the Kansas State-Iowa State game was put on the Jumbotron. The Wildcats defeated the Cyclones, 70-69 in Bramlage Coliseum.
"We've got some help from Baylor and Kansas State," Self said. "It will be nice to get to play for something Tuesday. It should be a pretty electric atmosphere."
Junior forward Perry Ellis throws the ball down during the first half of the Jayhawk's game against Texas. Ellis scored a game high 28 points and had 13 rebounds to complete the double-double Saurday in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas rallied from down six to win 69-64.
Ellis finished the game with a season-high 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting, while adding 13 rebounds. Ellis will have revenge on his mind Tuesday night as he missed the go ahead basket at the buzzer in Kansas' loss at West Virginia. If Kansas wins, at least a share of an 11th consecutive Big 12 trophy will live in Lawrence.
"That was a heck of a college game that just came down to one or two possessions," Self said. "We rode Perry as hard as we've ever ridden him. He's playing as good as anyone else in the country."
This left Kansas only two home wins away from securing yet another championship. Kansas' clinching of a 10th straight Big 12 title took place in a rout of the Longhorns last season at home. The Jayhawks will now have a chance to clinch a share of an 11th straight title at home against West Virginia.
Although Alexander has been struggling as of late, the presence of his big body was missed in the lane against the likes of Cameron Ridley and Myles Turner. Junior forward Perry Ellis was responsible for carrying the load down low, as usual.
Kansas took on the Longhorns without freshman phenom forward Cliff Alexander. Alexander was a late scratch from both the starting lineup and the game due to eligibility issues.
"We had a talk before the game about not being the team to end the streak," Mason said.
Kansas will look to seek revenge against the Mountaineers after a tough road loss at the buzzer earlier this month.
Edited by Kayla Schartz
AARON GROENE/KANSAN
Late push edges Kansas past Texas
DAN HARMSEN
@wdk.dan
@udk_dan
If analytics meant everything Saturday, 14 shots-blocked and just 1-of-8 three-point shooting would have been the undoing of No. 8 Kansas (23-6, 12-4) on its home floor.
But it didn't, as the Jayhawks upended the Texas Longhorns (17-12, 6-10), 69-64, despite trailing for 20:39 of the game's 40 minutes.
"We didn't play great," coach Bill Self said following the victory. "But the reason we didn't play great was that [Texas] played really well. When you have somebody guard you, somebody rebounds and somebody executes, it's hard to look good all the time."
Self later said Texas could defeat just about anybody.
"I'm disappointed for our guys," Texas coach Rick Barnes said in the aftermath of the loss. "They deserved some better fate, but it didn't happen."
All afternoon long, the jayhawks bashed into the Texas defense like a battering ram would a barricade. They did this countless times
— often unsuccessfully mainly out of necessity. The Jayhawks couldn't find their usual stroke from three, so the plan of attack was into the teeth of the Texas defense.
"I thought Rick (Barnes) did something that was really smart — make us play inside the arc," Self said. "He played man every possession."
In the postgame press conference, Self noted the Jayhawks' only successful three from sophomore guard Frank Mason III with just 6.33 to go on top of the key; it gave Kansas one of its few leads.
"We played from behind the whole game," Self said. "But we played pretty smart offensively."
When layhawks can't score from deep, more times than not, they find themselves in
hot, if not boiling, water.
In early February, Kansas shot just 3-of-11 in the second half en route to a 67-62 loss at Oklahoma State. In Monday's loss to Kansas State, the Jayhawks shot just 2-of-13 from three. In its worst Big 12 shooting performance since Feb. 20, 2013 — a 1-of-11 showcase against Oklahoma State — Kansas had to find other ways to score.
"We just had to stay aggressive and not be scared to shoot just because they blocked a few of our shots." Mason said.
He finished the day with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
Attacking their big bodies was definitely key in the game..." freshman forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said. "Being able to find other ways to score rather than the outside jumper was definitely a big factor tonight in the game."
Oubre Jr. chipped in 15 points, three blocks and two steals.
So Kansas, a team many consider dependent on outside shooting, sunk just one of its eight attempts Saturday.
"We just had to stay aggressive and not be scared to shoot just because they blocked a few of our shots."
FRANK MASON III Sophomore guard
Self and the layhawks got a stalwart effort out of junior forward Perry Ellis, who finished the victory with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
"Perry Ellis is the best player in the league," Self
said. "He was absolutely dominant."
In a game that saw 19 lead changes, Ellis made his own luck, making the basket that put Kansas up 64-61 with just 2:05 left.
"The ball was just bobbling around," Ellis said of the play. "I just happened to be there and got it and tried to put it up really quickly and that was the play. I knew we needed to get a bucket so I was trying to be in the right position at the right time, and I happened to be."
The Texas wall of defense stood tall on Saturday. Ellis didn't go the game without a shot blocked. The Longhorns swarmed and rejected 14 on the day. But Ellis was resolute, scoring 16 of the Jayhawks' 36 points in the paint this game, including 10 of the Jayhawks' 18 points in the paint in the second-half.
When it comes to breaking down a barrier, no matter how tall, pertinacity — not statistics — wins out.
As for the rest of the Big 12 teams, originally second-placed Iowa State coughed up a potential win as Kansas State closed the game on a 22-9 rally, putting Iowa State in a three-way tie for third place. West Virginia mourned a similar fate after a loss to Baylor. The Sooners joined Kansas and Baylor as the title-contending teams that took care of business Saturday.
With just two games to play, the Jayhawks somehow hold a one-game lead on a potential 11th-consecutive title.
"It's hard to say that our brethren helped us out," Self said. "But they did... It was a good day."
Edited by Yu Kyung Lee
Kansas forward Cliff Alexander will be held out of games due to a potential eligibility issue
Cliff Alexander
SCOTT CHASEN
@SCHasenKU
"The NCAA has alerted us to an issue that could affect Cliff's eligibility," Kansas Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger said. "As a precautionary measure Cliff will not take the court until we have resolved the issue."
"We want to make sure that we take every precaution to minimize the impact on Cliff."
BILL SELF
Kansas basketball coach
There is no current information as to whether
or not Alexander will miss any more time this season, and the University stressed it is just a precautionary measure for now.
"We are committed to NCAA rules compliance," Self said. "We want to make sure that we take every precaution to minimize the impact on Cliff"
Kansas coach Bill Self said Alexander will be able to practice during the NCAA investigation.
Alexander, who had started each of the previous five games for Kansas, is averaging 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in conference play, although he did have 15 points and nine rebounds in the two teams' previous meeting this year.
Aldridge serves as unsung hero in Oklahoma victory
SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
Following Kansas' loss to Kansas State on Wednesday, freshman guard Lauren Aldridge made it quite clear the jayhawks weren't giving up, even with just one game remaining in the Big 12.
On Saturday, Aldridge backed up that claim.
"I don't think that our team has any quit in it." I don't have any quit ... Our coaching staff hasn't quit," Aldridge said.
Aldridge and the Jayhawks defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 65-58 on Saturday, but it wasn't smooth sailing for the entire game. The Jayhawks dominated the Sooners for most of the first half, but a late 6-0 run kept the margin close. But the Jayhawks didn't back down, and they didn't allow the Sooners to regain the lead. Simply put, they did not quit.
Aldridge finished with 10 points, six of which came at the line. But even more impressive, the freshman posted a game-high nine assists, accounting for more assists than the rest of her team combined, ending the
For Aldridge, assists have not been hard to rack up as of late, as she has averaged nearly eight assists per game in her past four contests, and she has been able to do so as coach Bonnie Henrickson has given her the reins to the team.
game just one shy of a careerbest total.
Since the start of league
LAUREN ALDRIDGE Freshman guard
"I don't think that our team has any quit in it. I don't have any quit... Our coaching staff hasn't quit."
Dating back to the season opener, Aldridge started alongside seniors Natalie Knight, Asia Boyd, Jada
play, Aldridge has played less than 35 minutes in a game just once, and she's hit the 40-minute total on 10 different occasions, all as one of the team's youngest players. However, her output in conference play doesn't reveal the full story of her season.
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Over the next three contests, Aldridge failed to put together a complete performance, but Henrickson didn't lose faith. She stuck with Aldridge at arguably the most important position on the basketball court. She let Aldridge help lead the team.
Since that time, Aldridge has turned things around, gaining the respect of her teammates in the process. At various points in the year, seniors Natalie Knight, Chelsea Gardner and Asia Boyd have complemented the poise of the freshman, while Henrickson has raved about her maturity.
Simply put, Aldridge has taken a major step forward, and it's promising to think of where she could end up a couple of years from now.
"The possibilities are endless in postseason," Aldridge said.
Brown and Chelsea Gardner,
and she struggled out of the
gate. Aldridge missed all seven
of her field-goal attempts and
racked up more turnovers
(four) than assists (three).
Edited by Lane Cofas
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