Volume 124 Issue 109
kansan.com
Friday, March 2, 2012
COMMENTARY More to gain on Saturday
We're in somewhat of basketball limbo here in Lawrence. Kansas claimed its regular season Big 12 Conference title Monday after beating Oklahoma State 70-58.
After reviewing the jump-around celebration, Bill Self and the players had after the game, the Jayhawks seemed fairly pleased with their eight consecutive titles.
Nevertheless, this means Senior Night will have a little less significance than in years past. You could feel the somber mood throughout Allen Fieldhouse this week.
Camping at the Fieldhouse hasn't consisted of students being shoved into the hallway like sardines in a can, and Twitter isn't going into a complete frenzy like last week when Missouri and Kansas fans bantered. It feels like Kansas fans are in a state of contentment.
It's a rare occurrence for any team to have nothing to play for in its last regular season game.
But there is still plenty on the line for the Jayhawks.
For one, Kansas is playing Texas. It's been a roller coaster year for the Longhorns. They've underperformed on their preseason predictions and are now on the bubble with a 9-8 conference record and 19-11 overall.
Watching recent matchups between the two squads, Kansas does not want to give Texas any chances to make the tournament. Other than Missouri and Kansas State, Texas is one team that Jayhawk fans love to see Kansas put a beat down on.
Another thing to keep Kansas motivated is the pursuit for the fifth No.1 seed in NCAA tournament in the last sixth seasons.
That's a category only few programs in history have had the chance to experience.
In the early '90s, North Carolina went four out of five seasons with that many bracket toppers, but never five out of six like Kansas.
As long as Kansas can continue to win in the Big 12, it will join the company of only the few elite teams that have managed this feat.
The Jayhawks' streak of home-court victories is also on the line.
Kansas takes so much pride in their home court advantage. One of the one of the greatest regular season accomplishments any sports team can have is a zero next to its home mark.
Finally, you want to send the seniors out on the right note. It's almost a given every year that Kansas will win this game. Kansas hasn't lost a Senior Night contest since the Ronald Reagan administration.
These three seniors, Conner Teahan, Jordan Juenemann and Tyshawn Taylor have seen their roles change, but through everything they have four Big 12 Championship rings on their fingers. They all deserve to be shedding tears of joy while they address the crowd on Saturday.
Senior Night is a special tradition for this program, and should be topped off with a victory.
Plus, Tyshawn's speech will be worth the watch, no matter how the game ends.
Edited by Anna Allen
SENIOR STAGE
TAYLOR'S BIG NIGHT
MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
If senior guard Tyshawn Taylor had a choice, he'd skip his speech on senior night and just tweet it.
"Public speaking isn't my best thing," Taylor said. "I'd definitely rather do it over social media or something."
If only life was so easy, Tyshawn.
He'll have a couple of aunts in town from New Jersey and Florida, along with cousins and homeboys, as he calls them, from back from home. Oh, there's also an entire nation of Kansas basketball fans that will tune in for his last hurrah. No, Tyshawn, after all you've been through, a tweet just won't do.
"Now that I look back on it, it's like 'dang, it went fast,' Taylor said. "But it sure was a long process."
With much of the attention on the seniors and the looming postseason, coach Bill Self knows to not forget about the Longhorns, a team that nearly upset the Jayhawks earlier this season but lost by three points.
Taylor and fellow senior guards Conner Teahan and Jordan Juenemann will be honored Saturday night at Allen Fieldhouse after No. 3 Kansas (25-5, 15-2) takes on the Texas Longhorns.
"They could easily come in here and rock our world," Self said.
On Jan. 21 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, guard J'Covan Brown shot just 26.9 percent from the field, but he still scored 24 points. Self said that Brown's points are inevitable. The key is to limit his open shots and transition opportunities.
In Monday's 70-58 victory at Oklahoma State, when Kansas claimed its eighth consecutive Big 12 conference title, guard Keiton Page scored 12 points by halftime, but the Cowboys had just 22 points and trailed by eight.
"I've never been one to say:
'Let's stop him,' Self said. "I'd rather stop them."
Taylor said he will try to fight the emotions of the night and just play his game. Still, Saturday night will be a special time for him.
In his first three years at Kansas, fans maligned Taylor for his tiff with the football team and his suspensions, controversial tweets and turnovers. Now as a senior who has elevated his game and matured into leader, Taylor knows that he has grown.
"I feel like it's a big difference between the freshman Tyshawn and the senior Tyshawn," Taylor said. "I glad to see the change I made."
Teahan said that despite not playing often when he was younger, he never regretted his decision to come to Kansas.
“If I had that opportunity,” Teahan said, “regardless of what the opportunity was, I was going to take it.”
Juvenemann, a fan favorite who draws ovations every time he enters games, will start on Saturday in place of junior guard Travis Releford.
"I just wanted to be on the team, have a jersey and practice," Juenemann said. "Here I am four years later, and I'm going to give a speech on Saturday."
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Taylor said he knows that Juen-emann will take full advantage of the time he plays, just like he always has.
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor attempts a floater against Texas' defense during the second half of the game on Jan. 21. Taylor scored 22 points and Kansas won 69-66.
As for himself? He'll try to hold back the tears.
- Edited by Ian Cummings
"I'm definitely going to try," Taylor said. "But I know my mom's a crybaby. Once I see her up there bawling, I'll probably shed a few."
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas collecting close-game losses
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Coach Bonnie Henrickson strategizes with assistant coach Chester Nichols during the last minutes of Wednesday's game. Kansas lost 66-63 against Oklahoma State.
Coach Bonnie Henrickson realizes the trend, but is not making excuses.
The Jayhawks built up a nine-point lead in the second half, but gave up a 12-0 run and lost the game 66-63 to Oklahoma State with a turnover in the final minute.
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
This Kansas team is no stranger to a late-game heartbreak. Six of Kansas' 11 losses have been decided by six points or fewer and another game was added to the pile on Wednesday night.
"We talk about being in a one-possession league all year and we make too many mistakes in things that we can control." Henrickson said.
Kansas has dropped five of its last six games and fallen to 18-11 overall and 7-10 in conference play.
"We dug ourselves a hole now," junior guard Angel Goodrich said. "We have to win this next game."
Kansas will have one more chance to pull out a regular season victory when it faces Oklahoma at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Goodrich led the Jayhawks in scoring with 18 points followed by junior forward Carolyn Davis with 17 and junior guard Monica Engelman with 11.
The last game with Oklahoma was one of the two possession losses. The Jayhawks had the lead throughout most of the game, but allowed the Sooners to force overtime. Oklahoma outscored Kansas 10-4 in the final segment and won the game.
Freshman guard Sharane Campbell led the Sooners with 23 points off the bench. Junior guard Whitney Hand added another 16 points.
Oklahoma sits at 19-10 overall and 11-6 in conference play, which is third in the conference. The Jayhawks are in a three-way tie for sixth place. The Jayhawks are not only fighting for their record, but a higher seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland said the Jayhawks need to be more aggressive on offense and defense if they want to win this weekend.
Career-high performances from three different players drove the Jayhawks in the battle with the Cowgirls on Wednesday. Goodrich led the team with a career-high 11 rebounds. Freshman forward Chelsea Gardner scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds, both career highs. Sophomore guard CeCe Harper added a career-high 10 points.
"We need to go in there focused and go in there waiting to attack." Sutherland said.
However Sutherland was the star of the night. She led Kansas with 23 points and 10 rebounds on her senior night. She scored the first Kansas points and scored another six out of halftime to kick off her 17-point second half.
Inconsistency and poor shooting allowed Oklahoma State to battle back in the game and eventually win.
"There is nothing we can do about this game," Sutherland said. "We need to focus on the next game and win that one."
- Edited by Max Rothman