Volume 124 Issue 119
kansan.com
Friday, March 16, 2012
COMMENTARY
Softball team gears up for Missouri PAGE 9
Games over brackets
I've seen more bracket challenges, bashes and insanities the last week than I can ever remember from past tournament:
remember from past memories.
Most publications in the country are trying to draw more attention to their work by sticking a bracket on any advertising space.
Pure, unprocessed emotion.
That's one of the things that the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament offers that no other sporting event can.
But the most important things get lost in all of this, because we hype it too much. I just hope people enjoy what the tournament is really all about.
Such as watching a player on a mid-major team hit a buzzer-beating upset shot and dive on the ground, waiting for the rest of his teammates to jump on top of him.
TAKING ON THE TITANS
These are my favorite sports days on the calendar. I sit down with a bag full of Chex-Mix and a case of Coca-Cola and watch 12 straight hours of basketball for four days.
The first weekend of the tournament is the greatest weekend of the year, because you honestly don't know what's going to happen.
What I'm trying to say is this: Don't be surprised if the lahawks struggle a little bit tonight. But they're still not going to lose this game.
Now for the real question that's on everyone's mind.
Many people have overanalyzed the Detroit matchup mainly because the media and fans have had nothing better to do all week.
The experts can talk and you can fill out a bracket, but by the end of this weekend, you'll stare at your bracket and realize all it's littered in red marks. (Or maybe you already tore it up and threw it away.) But by Sunday night, you'll say to yourself, "Man, that was a great weekend."
Eventually, the Jayhawks prevailed, led by Drew Gooden with 19 points and 13 rebounds, including an exclamation-point dunk at the end of the game, in the 70-59 victory against Holy Cross.
Edited by Anna Allen
Will the Jayhawks run into similar problems in past first rounds today against Detroit?
The Crusaders even led the Jayhawks in the second half of the game at one point.
Here's the honest truth: Since there've even been a sliver of a doubt about the Jayhawks winning this game, they're going to win this game. Self will have them motivated, and the team will win.
I see this game playing out a lot like a game I remember from Kansas' 2001-2002 run to the Final Four.The Jayhawks were matched up against Holy Cross, a No.16 seed at the time.
I remember watching this game in my living room with my family and being scared to death that Kansas would be the first team to lose as a No. 1 seed.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
KEEP COLLECTED
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor practices his three point shot during Thursday night's practice in Omaha. Kansas will take on No. 15 Detroit tonight at 8:57.
KEEP UP WITH THE TOURNEY See page 6 for the gameday page and follow @UDK_Bball and @UDK_B12bball for updates this weekend
Self tries to keep teams' nerves at bay before the Detroit game
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
OMAHA, Neb. — Get through it.
Just get through it.
At 8:57 tonight, the No. 2 seed Jayhawks will play the No.15 seed Detroit Titans in the last of four first-round games at the CenturyLink Center.
"We need to somehow shorten the day," coach Bill said.
Self may let his team sleep longer. He may change practice time to break up the day. Anything to prevent building anxiousness and visions of failure.
"The last thing you want to do is just lay around in your room and just watch other people play," Self said.
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said he doesn't like sitting around and waiting for his game to come. It's difficult to stay cool when you know that a win or go-home game awaits. That holds true especially against a team like the Titans, a No. 15 seed only in the name. It's a number that most know underestimates their considerable skill.
Meanwhile, one Detroit player sees an potential advantage over Kansas.
"I think we might be a little bit more athletic than them," Titans guard Chase Simon said.
Detroit may not resemble most undersized, three-point gunning Cinderella teams. But they can run in transition and dunk with the best. Junior forward Doug Anderson is YouTube gold and has graced SportsCenter's top 10 several times.
"He'll come into some practice
some days and not even stretch and be able to do between-the-legs," Titans guard Ray McCallum said of Anderson. "I just don't know how he does it."
But the Titans aren't just a dunk show. They can play fast with McCallum, the coach's son who was once unsuccessfully recruited by Self. Or they can play tough by the hoop with center Eli Holman, a transfer from Indiana.
"Detroit's here too now," Holman said. "We come to play. We're tough just as well as Kansas is."
The Titans shoot just 30.2 percent from three-point range, so, like the Jayhawks, they prefer to defend and initiate the fast-break. This allows their group of athletes to run loose and take advantage of their jumping ability and speed.
"I don't know if he's played with anybody who's 270 that can run the floor," Holman said of junior forward Thomas Robinson.
The Jayhawks think they'll be ready. Taylor said that the last couple of practices have been his best of the season. The Jayhawks haven't talked about Baylor since Selection Sunday. They've simply spun the loss into a way of learning more about their weaknesses and how to correct them.
"I don't like playing the last game," Taylor said. "But that's the draw and we've got to take advantage of the situation the best we can."
On Friday night, in the final game of the day, all will discover if Kansas is stuck in the past or braced for a tournament run.
— Edited by Ian Cummings
BASEBALL
Indiana's pitcher too strong for Kansas
ANDREW JOSEPH
ajoseph@kansan.com
A late-inning rally fell short on Thursday as the Kansas baseball team (8-8) dropped the first game of the Irish Baseball Classic 2-1 to Indiana State.
Both Kansas and Indiana
Sophomore outfielder Tucker Tharp gets out before he makes it to first base-during game one against North Dakota earlier this season. The baseball team lost its first game of the Irish Baseball Classic to Indiana State, 2-1.
State entered the game riding winning streaks, but the Sycamores' seven-game tear produced a more confident team in the afternoon matchup.
Playing in San Antonio, Texas, for the second time this season, the Jayhawks struggled against Indiana State.
Price
Bacus
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Ameri Dakota Bacus' fastball. Bacus went eight innings, surrendering one run on five hits — three coming from senior catcher James Stanfield. Head coach Ritch Price wanted to see Kansas continue its winning ways, but Bacus' command took the Jayhawks out of their rhythm offensively.
"He was one of the best guys we've seen all season," Price said.
"He dominated us with the fastball, and it took us five innings to catch up as the game wore on."
Kansas was able to tack on a run in the eighth inning when freshman center fielder Dakota Smith's groundout scored freshman outfielder Michael Suiter on the fielder's choice. The Jayhawks would get the go-ahead runner on base in the ninth, but they failed to draw even.
Freshman pitcher Drew Morovick was coming off a disappointing outing against North Dakota, and he showed clear improvement on Thursday. Morovick went 5.2 innings, allowing one run on nine hits. Morovick pitched every inning with runners on base, but his poise in pitching out of the jams encouraged the coaching staff.
"He got into some trouble, but when he got into trouble, he found a way to get out of it," Price said. "That was crucial. He found a way to get that big out each time, and that's what you have to do."
Redshirt senior pitcher Jordan Jakubov relieved Morovick in the sixth inning, and he continued to be one of the Jayhawks' most dominant bullpen arms. Jakubov pitched the final 3.1 innings giving up one run on three hits and striking out three. The Sycamores' seventh-inning run was the first run Jakubov had surrendered all
season in 12 innings pitched.
With the offense struggling to score runs, Jakubov was focused on keeping the Jayhawks within striking distance.
"The main thing coming out of the bullpen is to go in and do the best you can," Jakubov said. "You have to keep your team in the game to give them a chance."
Jakubov's 0.75 ERA and one save
The loss dropped Kansas to a
all comes after the senior right-hander endured two Tommy John surgeries in his Kansas career.
"He's been outstanding, and I'm really happy for him," Price said. "He's been through as much adversity as anybody I've coached in my career. It's really amazing to see him be rewarded for his perseverance."
0-4 record in Texas this season. The Jayhawks will look to rebound against Notre Dame Friday at noon. Sophomore pitcher Frank Duncan (3-1 3.90 ERA) faces the Irish seeking his fourth win of the season.
Edited by Bre Roach