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Volume 128 Issue 74
kansan.com
Monday, February 9, 2015
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sports
COMMENTARY
Alexander should be starting over Traylor
JAYHAWKS LASSOED
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
Kansas struggles for second-half shots in 67-62 loss to Oklahoma State
Sophomore foward Landen Lucas jumps to score over Oklahoma State defenders. The Jayhawks traveled to Stillwater, Okla., to play against OSU on Saturday. The Jayhawks lost 67-62 against the Cowboys in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
At Oklahoma State this past Saturday, Kansas held a 41-30 halftime lead and appeared to be headed toward a sixthstraight win. Sophomore guard Frank Mason III, sophomore guard Brannen Greene and freshman forward Cliff Alexander dominated the first half, combining for 27 points and 10-of-11 shooting.
As usual, coach Bill Self opted to go with his first half starters to start the second. With that lineup, Kansas allowed an 8-1 Oklahoma State run before Self decided to reinsert Alexander.
Jamari Traylor per 40 minutes: 9.4 points; 7.4 rebounds; 2.5 blocks; 13.6 PER; 49.4 percent true shooting.
After things settled down, the Jayhawks got a couple of good looks at the rim, but on the other end, the Cowboys hit a pair of heavily contested threes. Self called a timeout where he replaced Alexander with sophomore forward Landen Lucas. Alexander was a little slow on his hedge of Oklahoma State junior guard Phil Forte, who scored 13 points for the night. Despite that, Kansas guarded Oklahoma State pretty well overall.
Across the board, Alexander has been playing better than Traylor. It isn't close.
It's time for something to be done. It's time for Self to change the lineup. It's time to start Cliff Alexander.
In the first half, Alexander played 12 minutes in which Kansas outrebounded Oklahoma State 20-9 and outscored them by 11. In the second half, Alexander played just four minutes. With him absent, Oklahoma State outrebounded Kansas 26-15 and outscored them by 16.
In its past seven games, Kansas has lost twice. Alexander played a total of 30 minutes while Traylor played 38. Alexander shot 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the field and Traylor is 3-of-12 (25 percent). Alexander had 10 rebounds to two turnovers. Traylor had eight and six, respectively.
Junior forward Jamari Traylor had another shaky outing. He scored only eight points and gave up six turnovers. Alexander scored the same amount of points while only turning the ball over once. Traylor played 23 minutes while Alexander totaled 16.
Cliff Alexander per 40 minutes: 17.2 points; 12.5 rebounds; 2.9 blocks; 24.7 PER; 60.9 percent true shooting.
— Edited by Samantha Darling
Now, despite the loss, Kansas is still first in the Big 12. Self is still a fantastic coach with a tremendous track record, but that doesn't mean he's perfect.
After the game, Self said he was unhappy with his team's rebounding. That is somewhat comical given that he handcuffed Alexander, one of his best rebounders, to the bench for much of the night.
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
For the second season in a row, No. 8 Kansas fought its way off Eddie Sutton Court through a mob of Oklahoma State students, only shaking the coaching staff's hands. OSU's players were busy celebrating a 67-62 upset victory against the Jayhawks at center court.
With three players shooting 60 percent or better from the three-point line, Kansas failed to get a shot up when it mattered most. Down three, with under a minute to play, a Brannen Greene two-point attempt was the only shot the Jayhawks could get off.
"We ran an elevator-door to Brannen [Greene] for a three," coach Bill Self said. "They ran through it and stopped it. We didn't execute all game."
The sloppy play continued after a missed Oklahoma State free throw with seconds to play. Greene hurried up the floor, looking to decrease the Cowboy's lead, but lost
the ball out of bounds with 2.3 seconds to play, ending all Kansas' hopes of a comeback.
The Jayhawks struggled to get shots up due to Oklahoma State's full-court pressure in the second half of the game. Kansas committed 18 turnovers against the Cowboys and was unable to set itself up for easy baskets.
"Eighteen turnovers are far too many," Self said. "Their pressure really got us out of our rhythm."
Kansas had trouble converting on offense all afternoon. Midway through the first half, Le'Bryan Nash and Michael Cobbins were on the bench with two fouls,watching as Kansas had gotten out to a 10-point lead. The Jayhawks have struggled with burying teams all season, and it finally came back to hurt them. While dominating most of the first half, Kansas was never able to extend its lead to more than 12.
Historically, the Jayhawks have not been as dominant in Stillwater as in most places.
now holding a slim 35-33 edge in the all-time series, with Oklahoma State having won four of the past six. This has been as competitive of a series as Kansas has had in recent memory. In the past seven meetings between the two teams, Kansas leads Oklahoma State 499-496 on the scoreboard.
The Cowboys played harder and faster than the Jayhawks, looking to prove their home court advantage is just as influential as that of Allen Fieldhouse. OSU is now 11-2 at home this season.
"The crowd was unbelievable," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "We really appreciate all the fans and their support, and it was loud. It was very, very loud and that made a difference for us."
After heading into halftime with an 11-point deficit, the Cowboys emerged out of the locker room ready to play. OSU started the half on a 14-1 run, eventually taking the lead from Kansas for the first time since early in the
first half.
Nash was the Cowboys' motor in the second half, recording 12 points and being nearly automatic from the free-throw line. Nash played bigger than Kansas' forwards all game and it showed in the eventual box score.
["Le'Bryan] Nash was the best player on the floor," Self said. "He outplayed whoever of our bigs were out there all game."
Nash finished the game with 18 points and five rebounds while shooting 8-9 from the free-throw line. Junior forwards Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor combined for 18 points on 7-19 shooting from the field.
Sophomore Wayne Selden Jr. stayed hot in the second half of the contest, converting on 3-4 from beyond the arc. Selden is now 9-11 from behind the arc in his last two games.
Selden's efforts fell shy, due to the lack of help received from his teammates. Aside from Selden's 4-6 from the field, the rest of the team shot
36 percent from the floor, including a 4-12 night from Ellis.
"We never got Perry [Ellis] going at all." Self said. "We need to get him going and be a numbers guy. He's our best offensive player."
On an off-night from Kansas' point guard, sophomore Frank Mason III managed to 'extend his streak of double-digit scoring and two or more assists to 20 straight games. Mason finished the first half 3-3 from deep with nine points, but like most of his teammates, his second-half efforts fell short, finishing with only 10 points total.
Up next, the Jayhawks will travel to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Kansas defeated Texas Tech 86-54 at home earlier this season.
"We have to regroup and get ready to go to practice tomorrow and get better," Ellis said. "This hurts, but we have to regroup."
Edited by Kayla Schartz
Softball completes weekend sweep in Florida
DEREK SKILLETT
derek_skillett
For the Kansas softball team, the Florida Atlantic Tournament ended almost exactly like it began on Friday: with an 8-0 fifth inning blowout victory against an overmatched team. Kansas dismantled the Penn State Nittany Lions, capping off an incredibly encouraging 5-0 start for the Jayhawks.
Senior pitcher Alicia Pille was the star of Sunday's victory, throwing a perfect game and shutting out Penn State. Pille only allowed one walk to the second batter of the game. Pille struck out six Nittany Lions in what could be the first of many
JAYHAWKS DISMANTLE
NITTANY LIONS
"We're going to enjoy today's win and this weekend's performance for the rest of the day," Smith said in a press release. "I'm really proud of our girls for coming out early this morning, having energy and being ready to attack. I'm proud of Pille for her performance in the circle."
dominant performances for the senior.
Kansas coach Megan Smith gave some perspective on her team's performance this weekend.
On offense, the Jayhawks scored runs in four of the five innings played, including three each in the second and third innings. Senior infielder Chanin Naudin led all players with three hits and two RBIs. Sophomore Taylor McElhaney continued her strong start to the season with one hit on two at-bats and one RBI. Senior Maddie
Stein reached base four times in the game.
"We think (our hitters) have been too aggressive in the last few games, so we really wanted them to focus on getting their pitch and not just swing at the first one that's close," Smith said in a press release. "We challenged them to be aggressive, but be smart and aggressive, and they did that very well today."
WEEKEND RECAP
The Jayhawks had a strong start to the 2015 season. Through a combination of blowouts and come-from-behind victories, Kansas has a 5-0 record. In wins against Arkansas and Georgia Tech, the Jayhawks showed a lot of toughness and grit to come back and get the victory against tough teams.
Some of the most encourag ing weekend
performances came from Stein, McElhaney and senior Challey Brickey. On the new season, Stein is tied for the lead in hits for the Jayhawks with five and has the best batting average on the team (.500).
Brickey, who led the Jayhawks in almost all offensive categories in 2014, continued her strong showing as the team's best power hitter, coming up with several big hits in the Georgia Tech and Arkansas wins. She is also tied for the lead with four runs scored and one home run. In addition to these stats, Brickey also leads the team with two stolen bases.
McElhaney has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. She came up with one of the biggest hits of the weekend, hitting a clutch RBI in the seventh
inning against Arkansas to give the Jayhawks a walk-off win. McElhaney has shown she could be one of the big breakout stars this season.
Kansas' performance in the Florida Atlantic Tournament showed the Jayhawks are more than ready for the challenging nonconference schedule ahead of them. This 5-0 start should give the Jayhawks confidence that they have the ability to compete and win against teams like Florida, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
The Jayhawks will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Las Cruces, N.M., to compete in the Troy Cox Classic to play Bradley, New Mexico State and Weber State.
— Edited by Kayla Schartz
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