Monday April 7,2003 Vol.113. Issue No.128
Today's weather 44°
Tonight: 29°
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
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Contact Kristi Henderson, Jenna Goepfert or Justin Henning at 864-4810 or editor@kansan.com
Soccer sweeps two spring matches, battles against harsh weather p.3B
Kansas' Nick Collison keeps the ball away from Marquette's Todd Townsend after snatching the defensive rebound. Collison led the team in defensive rebounds with a total of 11 for Saturday night's game in New Orleans.
Aaron Showalter/Kansan
Kansas cruises past Marquette into first title game since 1991
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
NEW ORLEANS — There were no white knuckles or held breaths on Saturday. There was no need.
After beating Duke and Arizona by a combined 7 points, Kansas blind-sided Marquette with the force of a Mack truck. Or maybe it was a Ferrari.
Regardless of the analogy, the Jayhawks stomped on the gas early in the 94-61 victory, outrunning the Golden Eagles from the word go. Their 29-point lead after the first 20 minutes was the second largest
For fun and interesting facts about Saturday's game, see page 8A.
halftime advantage in the history of the Final Four.
And if you were wondering who was driving the Jayhawk Express, look no further than sophomore guard Keith Langford and his navigator, senior guard
Kirk Hinrich. Langford made 8-of-10 shots and scored 17 points in the first half, while Hinrich wasn't far behind with 5-of-12 shooting for 15 points.
Langford said he knew early on that Marquette was going to have a difficult time stopping him from reaching the basket.
"I think I realized it the first time I went baseline," Langford told reporters.
That first time was a two-handed slam after the left-hander slipped past his defender on a quick move to the right.
between Langford slashing to the basket. Hinrich burying three-pointers — 3-of-7 in the first half—and the rest of the Jayhawks filling any leftover holes, the Golden Eagles never seemed to know which way to turn. If they contained Langford and Hinrich, sophomore guard Aaron Miles would hit a layup between defenders, sophomore guard Michael Lee would knock down a three-pointer from the corner, or senior forward Nick Collison would tip in a missed shot.
SEE FINAL FOUR ON PAGE 8A
KANSAS 94 - MARQUETTE 61
KANSAS 94 - MARTINEZ
Player Min. FGM-A FTM-A TP Reb. A
Keith Langford 32 11-14 1-3 23 5 4
Kirk Hinrich 25 6-13 1-4 18 1 4
Nick Collison 26 6-7 0-4 1 1 3
Jeff Greaves 29 7-4 1-4 5 1 9
Michael Lee 22 4-8 2-2 13 6 4
Bryant Nash 28 1-4 1-1 3 4 0
Jeff Hawkins 6 0-3 0-0 0 0 0
Stephen Vinson 5 0-2 0-0 0 1 0
Moulaye Niang 4 1-3 0-0 0 1 0
Brett Olson 3 0-1 0-0 2 0 0
Christian Moody 3 0-0 0-0 2 0 1
Team
Totals 200 38-71 10-17 94 52 22
Player Min. FGM-A FTM-A TP Rob. A
Travis Dianer 35 1-11 2-2 5 1 2 0
Jackson Dickson 30 6-12 3-4 15 1 0 0
Downey Wade 39 2-12 3-4 19 6 4 10
Jones Krause 24 5-14 2-12 19 6 14 0
Todd Townsend 22 1-8 1-2 1 2 0 0
Steve Novak 22 0-3 1-2 1 2 0 0
Karon Bradley 18 1-7 0-0 3 1 0 0
Torin Sanders 18 1-7 0-0 3 4 0 0
Torine Chapman 10 0-3 0-0 2 4 0 0
Chris Hines 5 1-1 0-0 2 1 0 0
Jared Saiching 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Tony Gries 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Team 1
Totals 200 23-74 12-18 61 39 7
Aaron Showalter/Kansan
Keith Langford drives past Marquette's Todd Townsend during the second half of the seminal game in New Orleans. After gaining a 59-30 lead at halftime, Kansas steadily dominated Marquette in the second half, eventually winning 94-61.
Fans old,young,drunken,sober celebrate KU victory
Kansan staff reports editor@kansan.com
As the fight song toled from the Campanile, throngs of Kansas basketball fans flocked to Wescoe Beach to celebrate the Jayhawks' victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles on Saturday.
Revelers came from all over Lawrence, including Memorial Stadium, downtown Lawrence and nearby homes and bars.
"When we were 3-3, they all doubted," said Jimmy Dwyer, Overland Park freshman. "Who didn't doubt? I didn't doubt. Kansas fans didn't doubt. Where are we now? The national championship!"
houses and barns Fans screamed, blew air horns, shot fireworks and yelled the "Rock Chalk" chant.
"It's surreal out here," said Emily Zimmerman, Denver sophomore. "It's awesome because it really brings students together."
Strangers moshed and embraced while people crowd-surfed, and a small band on the stairs outside Wescoe played fight songs and the alma mater, "Crimson and the Blue."
Wescoe Beach stank of alcohol despite the patrolling KU police officers who asked people to dump their beer at the edge of campus. Beer bottles littered Jayhawk Boulevard. One fan crowd-surfed with a beer in hand. Others just held their
Others shouted into cell phones to share the post-game atmosphere with friends and family.
Fans of all ages yelled support for the Jayhawks in front of television cameras.
drinks at mid-level taking discrete sips.
Mardi Gras moyamay
Mardi Gras mayhem
Thousands of rallying fans filled downtown after the game, turning Massachusetts Street into a virtual Bourbon Street. A constant stream of revelers walked past immobile cars down the middle of the road, greeting each other, drivers and passengers with high fives and enthusiastic cheers.
Those in automobiles responded with horn honks and music, starting frequent dance parties that transformed car roofs into dance floors.
Disc jockeys in an apartment above Massachusetts Street blasted music out of their windows, inspiring more dancers on the ground below.
SEE FANS ON PAGE 8A
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Jordan Harding, Wichita sophomore, plays the KU fight song to the crowd on Massachusetts Street. Harding plays with the band but was in Lawrence during the game.
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