TALK TO US:
Contact Sarah Warren or
Levi Chronister at (785) 864-
4858 or sports@kansan.com
DIVING: Team members go to Zone meet. SEE PAGE 3B. BOXING: Mike Tyson awarded license in Washington, D.C. SEE PAGE 3B.
SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2002
Andy Davies adavies@kansan.com
Men's season? Mary Poppins assessed it best
A team beyond words has a chance to finish beyond great seasons of past
It's hard to find the proper adjective to describe the Kansas basketball team's season.
Sensational? Sounds too much like Dick Vitale praising Duke.
Incredible? Sounds like one of those late-night infomercials Nick Collison loves to watch so much.
No, what's needed is a word that, just by its usage, denotes a season better than even Jayhawk fans expected. A word that describes the brilliance of a 29-3 season. A word such as supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
The word is certainly fitting. It's as long as the list of awards the Jayhawks have won this season. It's hard to say, just as putting together separate 13 and 16 game winning streaks is difficult to do. And it's rarely used, just like going undefeated in conference play is rarely accomplished.
All in all, the 'Hawks put together one of the best seasons in the long, proud history of the Kansas basketball program. The only thing left to complete the season is to reach the Final Four and win Roy Williams' first national championship.
Unfortunately, if the Jayhawks don't fulfill expectations in the NCAA Tournament, this season won't be remembered as anything but disappointing.
You don't have to remember too far back to know that is the case.
Take the 1998 team. That squad ran through the Big 12 with a 15-1 record, captured the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship and headed into the NCAA Tournament with a 35-3 record and ranked No.2 in the nation.
Kansas, however, lost to unheralded Rhode Island, and a Final Four favorite was eliminated in the second round.
But this year's version of Kansas appears to be different than past squads.
These Jayhawks don't worry about anything but the current situation they're in.
There's no looking forward to the next game, the next half or even the next possession. Kansas simply focuses on the current situation in the game and goes to work with surgical precision. The Jayhawks have a killer instinct. Kansas attacks its opponents, searching for the right time to deliver a knockout punch. And when the time is right, the Jayhawks deliver that punch.
I traveled to Columbia, Mo., and watched the 'Hawks slip by the Tigers. It was one of the most impressive Kansas wins I've seen.
The Jayhawks faced an inspired team playing before a frenzied crowd on senior day, foul trouble and an early deficit. Yet it didn't matter. Kansas, like it had done at Iowa State, at Texas and at Nebraska willed itself to victory.
Although the loss to Oklahoma caused some fans to be concerned, don't let it bother you, faithful readers. This Jayhawk team has shown the ability to do whatever it takes to win. Kansas has out-run, out-gunned, out-muscled and out-thought its opponents. And when that didn't work, the Hawks willed their way to victory.
But if you're still concerned about an upset, just remember one thing.
After its first loss, Kansas reeled off 13 straight wins. After its second loss, Kansas reeled off 16 straight. This time, the Jayhawks only need to get six.
Davies is a St. Mary's senior in journalism
Coach's enjoyable journey
Roy Williams says he won't judge his worth by an NCAA trophy
By Brent Wasko Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Roy Williams must be getting tired of being asked the same old questions every March.
Reporters sound like broken records each year before Kansas enters the NCAA Tournament, asking questions such as, "Do you feel like you're on a quest for a national championship?" and "Does it upset you when people say you're the best coach never to win a national title?"
Williams always answers politely, but it's obvious that deep down he wishes the questions about his past NCAA Tournament slip-ups would never be asked again.
"I try not to get too caught up in that at all," Williams said. "You know that you're human just like everybody else, that people are going to throw things at you, and people are going to
NCAA tickets still available
Tickets for Kansas' first-round and possible second-round games on Thursday and Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis are still available. Prices range from $60 for a single session to $150 for all three sessions. To purchase tickets, call Ticketmaster in St. Louis at (314) 421-4400 or (314) 241-1888 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.
say some negative things. You just have to be able to handle it."
After 13 years as the Jayhawks' coach, this being his 14th, a national title has eluded Williams. Kansas has been in prime position to hoist up a championship trophy on many occasions during that time span, qualifying for the Final Four twice and entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed twice.
But hot-shooting teams such as Texas-El Paso, Rhode Island and Arizona have all gotten in the way, spoiling the Jayhawks' opportunity to celebrate in the end.
This season is no different for Kansas. The Jayhawks are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and begin their journey through the bracket at 6:50 p.m. tomorrow against No. 16-seed Holy Cross.
"I do have a passion for it. I'm not hesitant to say that," Williams said. "To say that I'm maniac, that it's the only way I'm going to judge my worth, that's far from the truth. I've had 13 great, great years with kids that I've truly loved and truly enjoyed with great relationships. If I have 13 more years just like that, I'm going to feel very satisfied with everything we've done."
Williams doesn't deny that he badly desires to win a national championship, but he said whether he did or not would not define his career or his life.
Williams said he didn't think his
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 3B
Junior forwards Drew Goooden and Nick Collison share a courtside moment at the Big 12 Championship game against Colorado. Basketball fans have high hopes that the frontcourt duo will help lead the team to an NCAA championship, and coach Roy Williams thinks they will be able to handle the expectations. Still, he has instructed the players not to talk about former teams that were upset in the postseason to avoid pressure based on previous teams' disappointments.
CHRIS BURKET/KANSAN
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Senior pitcher Jeff Davis suffered his first loss of the season yesterday against Southwest Missouri State, giving up eight runs on seven hits. Kansas lost 15-7, their third straight loss.
Kansas falters early in loss
After winning the first 10 games of the 2002 season, the Kansas baseball team's slide in the opposite direction continued yesterday.
The Jayhawks lost a sloppy contest to Southwest Missouri State 15-7 yesterday in Springfield, Mo. Their third straight defeat drops their record to 10-3. The Bears improved to 6-2 on the year.
Down 1-0 early, Kansas evened the score in the top of the third, when sophomore outfielder Matt Trible scored on an error by Bear third baseman Matt Gardner.
It was never close again. Southwest Missouri exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the third, taking senior pitcher Jeff Davis out of the game after just 2/3 innings.
Kansas answered with two in the fifth, but the Bears added six more in the sixth, fueled by two home runs. The 15 runs was the most Kansas surrendered since March 4. 2001 against Oklahoma State.
Southwest Missouri committed six errors on the day, but made up for it by pounding out 20 hits
Kansas vs. Southwest Missouri State
Southwest Missouri State 15, Kansas 7
Kansas — 001 020 103 — 7
Southwest Missouri — 017 006 01X — 15
Win: Ziegler, Brad (2-1), Loss: Davis, Jeff (3-1)
Kansas highlights: Tribble 4-5, 3B, RBI (11). Baty, 2-5,
RBI (20). Wheeler, 2-5, RBI (17)
against five Jayhawk pitchers. Davis suffered the loss, falling to 3-1 on the season. Brad Ziegler pitched seven innings to earn his second win of the year for the Bears.
Tribble went 3-for-4 with a triple and four runs scored to pace the Kansas offense. Sophomore second baseman Ryan Baty and junior first baseman Kevin Wheeler each contributed two hits and two RBI.
Kansas travels to Waco, Texas, to take on No. 10 Baylor starting Friday. The team's next home game is March 22 against Michigan.
Ryan Wood
Tough matchups may empty your wallet this March
Ah, March Madness.
Small schools winning their conference to make the NCAA Tournament, even if for only one game. Mid-majors creating exciting TV viewing by beating higher seeds. And, most important to those not actually involved in the games—office pools.
The not-so-clandestine gambling goes on everywhere, from state offices to media outlets, and makes for even more water cooler chatter than the day after the Christmas boozefest — I mean party.
Not that I'm admitting to taking part in these illegal pools — not to any law enforcement officials that are reading anyway. There is a certain enjoyment to filling out a bracket, though, picking underdogs to advance and trying to determine who really is the best team in the country — for a couple of weeks, at least.
This year, that task could be daunting thanks,to the number of high quality teams as well as the selection committee's questionable decisions. Raise
Levi Chronister
lchronister@kansan.com
your hand if you think the committee didn't have the brackets drawn up before noon Sunday. Anyone? Anyone?
The Bearcats did win 30 games, the most in the nation and should have little trouble with first-round opponent Boston University.
But it's that second-round match-up
that looks troublesome — a potential face off against UCLA, which can play like a top-10 team when it faces one. Don't be afraid to pick against the Bearcats after the first round because the Bruins or any of a number of other teams could topple them before the Final Four — or even the Sweet 16.
Two of those schools may face off in the tournament's best and most intriguing second-round matchup.
Arizona, winner of the Pac 10 Tournament, has a case for a No.2 seed and Gonzaga, winner of the West Coast Conference tournament and owner of wins against tourney teams Texas, Montana, St. John's and Pepperdine should be at least a No.3. This game, possibly the best second-round matchup ever, is between two top-10 teams and could make or break many people's brackets.
If they both win their first-round games, No. 3 Arizona could face No. 6 Gonzaga, which received the biggest shaft from the committee since Richard Roundtree patrolled Harlem.
That's not to demean the importance of a possible Kansas-Stanford showdown in the second round and its potential for office pool mayhem, but I think the Jayhawks can take care of business in this tournament.
Just as they did for 13 games after a loss to Ball State and for 16 games after falling to UCLA, the Jayhawks should be ready to go on a six-game winning streak after Sunday's loss and make the rest of the NCAA tournament meaningless.
Kansas has proven it doesn't like to lose, and the Jayhawks have the perfect stage to show the nation that this is their year and that coach Roy Williams isn't jinxed.
They better, at least, or I'm out some serious cash.
Chronister is a Pittsburg senior in journalism. He is the Associate Sports Editor.
kansan.com
Check out Kansas staff picks and how they compare to what happened.
.
O