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Volume 128 Issue 81
kansan.com
Thursday, February 19, 2015
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COMMENTARY
Kansas is more than just a basketball school
The University of Kansas is a basketball school; always
This past weekend I had the opportunity to watch Kansas baseball take on No. 2 LSU in Alex Box Stadium in front of roughly 11,100 fans; nearly every seat was occupied. I was initially in shock. That many people would come out to a college baseball game in the middle of February? Then I got to thinking: Why can't Hoglund Ballpark be this full?
ball school; always has been and always will be. I'm not deluded enough to believe differently. The fact that the sport's creator was the first coach here has a bit to do with that. You may have also heard about a conference streak over the past decade.
But I'm not here to talk about basketball. Instead, I'm here to pitch why I think other sports at the University deserve some attention.
The obvious answer is "The Hog" only seats 2,500 at full capacity. But the point is, come March, even with fewer seats, there are going to be far more empty seats in the ballpark.
Sure, one could say it's easy to get behind a program that is ranked second in the country and consistently a national powerhouse, but Kansas baseball is no slouch. Just last year the Jayhawks were picked to finish last in the Big 12 before finishing third en route to a regional berth.
It's not just baseball. The students' lack of interest in other sports is campuswide.
Kansas volleyball has now been to the Big Dance three years in a row, including a Sweet 16 appearance just two years ago. The women's basketball team, which is often viewed as the "little sister" to the men's basketball team, made consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013. Kansas softball made the NCAA Tournament last year and is currently 10-0 as they get ready to take on the No. 1 ranked Florida Gators. How many readers actually knew that?
No, I'm not talking about the football program, which has become the punchline in many conversations over coffee at the Underground. Last year alone, Kansas sent six teams to the NCAA tournament in its respective sport.
The list goes on and on, but the point is Kansas is the cream of the crop when it comes to collegiate athletics. The best part is we, as students, have the luxury of going to these games for free.
I can't convince everyone to start following Kansas Athletics religiously in 440 words, and I am not foolish enough to believe you'd do it if I wrote 10,000. But the point is, if you truly consider yourself a Jayhawk, then go show these other sports some love. You might actually like it.
Edited by Callie Byrnes
Kansas returns to the Phog to face TCU
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
After a dramatic last-second loss to No. 23 West Virginia, Kansas will host TCU at 3 p.m. Saturday for the finale of its season series. Kansas defeated the Horned Frogs 64-61 in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this season.
The Horned Frogs will come into the game with a 16-10 record and a 3-10 conference record. TCU lost seven of its past eight games but won its previous game against Oklahoma State on Valentine's Day.
Kyan Anderson leads TCU in scoring at 13.1 points per game, adding a team high of 102 assists, while Kenrich Williams leads the team in rebounds with 6.8 per game. Anderson scored 14 points in the team's previous victory against the Cowboys.
TCU is third in the Big 12 in scoring defense, allowing only 60 points per game; however, it comes in seventh in the league in scoring offense. Statistically, TCU has held its own, but it can't seem to get away with victories.
Junior Perry Ellis is coming off a 19-point, five-rebound effort in the loss to West Virginia. Ellis missed a go-ahead layup with three seconds left that led to Kansas' loss. Sophomore Frank Mason scored 18 points of his own.
Kansas has not lost to TCU since 2013, in which the Horned Frogs won their first Big 12 victory. Mason led the Jayhawks in scoring in their previous matchup with TCU, scoring 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Sophomore Landen Lucas and junior Jamari Traylor each had three blocks in the previous game against TCU.
Kansas' 12 blocks against TCU marks its highest amount of the season and the only time double-digit blocks were recorded all year.
The Jayhawks have a onegame lead in the loss column atop the Big 12. If Kansas had found a way to defeat West Virginia, it would have gone a long way in securing an 11th-straight Big 12 championship.
Kansas' next four games against Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia will all be tough contests and will factor largely in settling the Big 12. Kansas cannot lose another game if it wants to have a good chance at retaining the Big 12 title.
In 2013, Kansas only won a share of the Big 12 titles. While it still counts, coach Bill Self would prefer the Jayhawks win the Big 12 title outright and get that much closer to John Wooden's record 13-straight conference titles at UCLA.
Edited by Lane Cofas
Sophomore gaurd Frank Mason III drives the ball in to the basket against a Baylor defender. The Jayhawks defeated Baylor 74-64 on Feb. 14. Kansas will take on TCU at 3 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
BEN LIPOWITZ/KANSAN
Softball to face No.1 Florida in invitational
@derek_skillett
DEREK SKILLETT
@derek skillett
The undefeated Jayhawks will face their toughest test of the season this weekend in Gainesville, Fla., for the Aquafina Invitational.
The Jayhawks will face off against Mercer, No. 1 Florida, Liberty and Illinois State. After this weekend, it will be clear whether the Jayhawks will be serious contenders for a potential NCAA title run.
GAME ONE, MERCER
The Jayhawks will begin the tournament by taking on the Mercer Bears (6-4) on Friday at 10:15 a.m. (CT). The Bears are coming off a 2-3 record in the Auburn Tiger Invitational,
where they lost two games against Auburn by a combined score of 16-4.
Statistically, the Bears are led by sophomore outfielder Taylor Miller, who sports a .500 batting average, has recorded 14 hits and two RBIs. Junior catcher Natalie Shiver leads the team with 11 RBIs, three home runs and has a .657 on-base percentage. Shiver also has a .478 batting average.
Mercer is led by fourth-year coach James DeFeo, who had previously spent 11 seasons as an associate head coach at LSU, racking up a 526-171 record.
The biggest games of the weekend, as well as the
GAMES TWO AND THREE,
FLORIDA
Jayhawks' season, will be played at 3 p.m. (CT) Friday and at 3:30 p.m. (CT) Saturday.
After winning the 2014 NCAA Women's College World Series, the Gators began the 2015 season with an 11-0 record. They have a number of impressive victories, having handed No. 4 Michigan its first loss of the season, as well as defeating North Carolina State, a team that received votes in many Top 25 polls.
Florida senior pitcher and infielder Lauren Haeger, who was recently named the National Player of the Week and SEC Pitcher of the Week, leads the Gators. Haeger boasts a 464 batting average, recording 13 hits, scoring nine runs and hitting 28 RBs. As a
Statistically, senior catcher Kelby Allen, who has recorded 10 hits, scored six runs and has hit six RBIs with a 400 batting average, leads the Flames. Junior shortstop Mickey
After the tough games against Florida, the Jayhawks will face off against the Liberty Flames at 5:45 p.m. (CT) Saturday. The Flames have a 4-5 record this season, sporting a 5-2 victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks, a team the Jayhawks defeated 4-3 in the first weekend of the season.
pitcher, she has allowed nine hits and only two doubles with a 0.00 ERA and 37 strikeouts. Haeger also has a 5-0 record.
GAME FOUR, LIBERTY
Loveridge leads the Flames with nine RBIs on a 333 batting average.
GAME FIVE. ILLINOIS STATE
The Jayhawks will close out the weekend against the Illinois State Redbirds at 8 a.m. (CT) Sunday. The Redbirds have a 4-6 record this season, having lost to No. 4 Michigan and No. 3 Oklahoma.
Statistically, junior Regan Romshek leads the Redbirds with a .419 batting average and leads the team with 13 hits and five doubles. Sophomore Jordan de los Reyes leads the team with 14 RBIs and six home runs on a .387 batting average.
— Edited by Lane Cofas
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Kansas welcomes sophomore infielder Chaley Brickey at home plate after Brickey hit a home run to put Kansas ahead of Oklahoma State last season. This year's team remains undefeated at 10-0