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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19,2002
Big 12title clinched
COMMENTARY
Jeff Denton
jdenton@kansan.com
Roy should let team run all the way to Atlanta
College basketball's most vicious storm came down in sheets last night, attacking with the ferocity of El Niño.
Iowa State was the victim. The damage spread early. And when the Jayhawks plaved, it poured.
With just under eight minutes left in the first half, Kansas had cruised to a 25-10 lead. Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy had a lifeless expression on his face. After he motioned for a timeout, Eustachy sauntered onto the court to meet his defeated troops, then shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.
There were few answers for the carnage on the court. Crowned No.1 in the nation just a day before, Kansas opened the game with an insatiable hunger that had not been seen since its early-January stomping of Oklahoma State. There was little indecision, doubt or hesitation. No set plays. No structured offense. No slowing it down.
Kansas just played.
Don't blink. Kansas' game may pass you by. You might miss the greatest show in college hoops.
Unmerciful. Unforgiving. Unbelievable
The most explosive and ferocious stock car in Big 12 basketball played its game at a warped speed unparalleled in the college game. And last night at the Allen Fieldhouse 500, the bloodthirsty Jayhawks ran circles around the Cyclones as if they were orange cones. Each trip down the court for Kansas was a race for the checkered flag. The 24-2 team is at its best when it never slows down — when it creates the tempo, forces the flow and pushes the basketball.
But the biggest change this season has been made by the biggest name in Lawrence.
Everyone understands the level of Kansas' talent. No 6-foot-10 athlete in the country is more graceful and gifted than Drew Gooden. No post player has the finesse and fanciness of Nick Collison. No one player is more invaluable to one team than Kirk Hinrich. And it took just three months for the three freshmen to find their niche.
Coach Roy Williams has modified his system. Yes, he still coaches. And yes, he still teaches. But the times Williams is most effective are when he sits on the sideline and watches his team play.
After the final horn sounded, Kansas players took turns climbing a ladder to cut the white-nylon nets. The Jayhawks captured a new crown, one they've been without for three seasons — Big 12 Championship. And if they emulate last night's play in the next few weeks, there will be another snipping session at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
But the only nets that have immortal value are the ones that dangle from the rims in Atlanta, the home of this year's Final Four.
Denton is a Dallas senior majoring in journalism.
When those come down, the storm can stop.
Victory against Cyclones secures top conference spot for Hawks, but it will take at least one more win if they don't want to share it
By Doug Pacey Kansan sportswriter
Kansas junior forward Drew Gooden, right, tips in freshman swingman Keith Langford's shot during the second half of yesterday's 102-6 victory against Iowa State. Gooden scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds, helping the Jayhawks beat the Cyclones for the first time in Allen Fieldhouse overwhelms.
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Kansas has played high-ranked opponents and in games with more intense rivalries this season, but none of those contests were as important as last night's match-up with unranked Iowa State.
Ranked No.1 for the first time in seven weeks and playing in a nationally-televised game as part of ESPN's "Big Monday," the Jayhawks needed a win to clinch a share of its first Big 12 Conference championship since 1998.
Fittingly, the Jayhawks had to get the victory against the Cyclones, winners of last two Big 12 titles.
Kansas did more than win the game, the Jayhawks (24-2 overall, 13-0 Big 12) routed the Cyclones (11-16, 3-10) 102-66 for their third Big 12 title and 46th conference championship in school history.
"This was one step, one of our goals and we're striving for some more," said junior forward Drew Gooden, decked out in a conference championship T-shirt and hat.
After the game, the Jayhawks climbed a ladder under the north basketball goal and each snipped a piece of the net away from the rim. Junior guard Kirk Hinrich pointed his index finger in the air to signal Kansas being No. 1. Gooden bounced up and down on the ladder and waved his arms as the crowd chanted, "One more year, one more year." Roy Williams simply clenched his fists and raised his arms over his head.
But after everyone had cut their keepsakes from the hoop the net still hung by two strands.
"That's unfinished business," Gooden said. "Not to take anything away from all the teams we've got to play coming up, but we did clinch tonight and it's the best time to cut the nets down as far as a home game because our next home game is Senior Night and you know how long those speeches go."
Those two strands might just turn out to be a formality. If Kansas plays as well as against its final three regular season opponents as the Jayhawks did against Iowa State, there's no doubt they will be the Big 12's champions.
Kansas dominated Iowa State every way possible. The team jumped out to a 16-2 lead eight minutes into the game and used a 16-3 streak later in the first half to power its way to a 49-25 halftime advantage. Kansas made 23 of 35 first-half shots, 65.7 percent, to the Cyclones' 10 for 29 performance, 34.5 percent.
The second half was more of the same. The Jayhawks abused Iowa State inside, they out-scored the Cyclones 66-30 in the paint, and Kansas' reserves even scored 13 points in the final three-and-a-half minutes.
Gooden said there was pressure on the Jayhawks to perform well because of Kansas' new No. 1 ranking and the possibility of winning a share of the title, but he didn't play like anything affected him.
The junior Wooden and Naismith awards finalistsmade 12 of 16 shots and finished with 26 points
in 26 minutes.
120 minutes.
"We got to be ranked No. 1 today and there was a lot of pressure to clinch the conference tonight," he said. "Ranked No. 1 for the first day and it was a big time day. There was a lot of pressure and expectations, too. A lot of people were watching us to see what we were going to do and we got a win."
Contact Pacey at dpacey@kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Warren.
Kansas backs up top ranking in Big Monday rout
By Brent Wesko Kansan sportswriter
The No. 1 ranking hasn't always been kind to the Kansas basketball team during the Roy Williams coaching era.
Kansas once again regained the top spot in the Associated Press Poll with Iowa State coming into town last night for a nationally-televised game in Allen Fieldhouse, where the Cyclones had won two straight games.
Williams has seen very good teams under his direction lose big games in the hot glare of the spotlight almost too many times to count. The previous time the Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 in the country this season, the team fell on the road to UCLA. 87-77.
But this time, Kansas did not succumb to the pressure of being the No.1 team, stomping Iowa State 102-66 and claiming at least a tie of the Big 12 Conference title.
"The season has a lot of obstacles. We lost our first game after becoming No. 1, and now we're No. 1 again." Kansas jun-
10r forward Drew Gooden said, "There was a lot of pressure on us, and it was a big game, but I think we responded."
Jayhawk freshman forward Wayne Simien said after the game he was concerned about the team's top ranking.
"We kind of look at the No. 1 ranking as a curse, but we just wanted to put that behind us and focus on the game," Simien said. "It's always good being No. 1, but with our previous history, games like this make you a little nervous."
Gooden thought differently. He said the team doesn't even talk about its ranking much during the season.
"The team doesn't care if we're ranked one, two, three or four," Gooden said. "We just want to go out there and take care of business every game."
Kansas' blowout of Iowa State with the pressure on should come as no surprise. The Jayhawks haven't let being the spotlight rattle them all season.
The Jayhawks' triumph against the Cyclones was the third straight victory in as many weeks for Kansas on ESPN's "Big Monday." The squad is 7-
1 this season when playing in front of a national television audience, with its only loss coming against UCLA.
In addition to playing a lot of games on national television, Kansas has also had to deal with the pressure of always playing the role as the favorite. The Jayhawks have been ranked among the nation's top five teams all season with the exception of two weeks, and they have never relinquished the No.1 spot in the Big 12 standings.
Simien said having such a high ranking and receiving so much exposure had helped to motivate the team at times this season, including the game last night against Iowa State.
Williams said his team hadn't been looking down the road, which has helped the Jayhawks keep their focus, whether they're matched up against a strong opponent or playing on
"With the whole country watching, you want to show everyone that you deserve the No.1 ranking," he said. "We always get a little extra hyped for games like this on television."
national television.
"I have been big all season in getting our guys to enjoy the journey and not just be thinking about the outcome in the end." Williams said. "I want them to enjoy what goes on in college basketball."
Contact Wasko at
Contact Wasko at bwasko@kansan.com. This story was edited by Anne Mergenmeier.
No.1 KANSAS 102,IOWA STATE 66
IOWASTATE(11-16)
Bynum 5-7-3-613, Pearson 1-91-23, Sullivan 5-122-214, Morgan 2-74-48, Power 4-92-311, Nicoil 0-0-00, Varley 2-30-04, Fries 0-0-0-0, Jefferson 1-3-0-0-2, Human 3-4-5-11, Totals 23-54-17-226. KANSAS (24-2)
Gooden 12-16-22-2, Collison 8-12-01-6,
Hirnich 4-19-0-6, Milles 2-5-1-2-5,
Boschem 3-5-0-9-8, Harrison 2-2-0-4-4,
Ballard 1-10-0-3, Langford 4-80-0-8, Nash
1-0-1-0-0, Carey 0-0-0-0, Simien 7-10-1-1,
15 Leo 1-0-10-0, Zerbe 1-1-2, Kappelman
1-11-1-3, Totals 45-72-81-02.
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