4B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2003
Editor's note. The following stories cover Kansas men's basketball games played during spring break. In an effort to keep Kansas students and fans informed about the tournaments, each of these stories was run on Kansan.com as games ended.
58
NCAA passes up Kansas for top bid
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswinter
Kansas coach Roy Williams doesn't understand it, but his Jayhawks are not a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas (25-7 overall before the tournament, 14-2 Big 12 Conference) instead faced Utah State (24-8 before the tournament, 12-6 Big West Conference) on Thursday in Oldahoma City as the second seed in the West Regional
"I'm confused, folks," Williams said at a press conference.
Two other Big 12 teams were selected as top seeds — Oklahoma in the East Regional and Texas in the South. Kentuckywas designated the best team in the Midwest Regional and Arizona was the No. 1 in the West.
Williams said he thought the selection committee had overlooked the Jayhawks' regular season accomplishments and had put undue weight on the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Kansas won the Big 12 regular season title, but lost to Missouri, 68-63, in the tournament's semifinals. Oklahoma defeated Missouri in the championship, 49-47.
Williams had said he expected Oklahoma to receive a No.1 seed but thought his team should have been selected in lieu of Texas, who Kansas beat 90-87 in Lawrence and in the conference race. Williams said Texas had played well enough but thought the Jayhawks would get the nod because they had won the regular season title, defeated the Longhorns head-to-head and advanced a game beyond them in the Big 12 tournament.
"I'm not against Texas," Williams said. "But again, that's what it boils down to."
But Kansas sophomore forward Keith Langford said he didn't know what all the fuss was about.
Langford said he wouldn't worry about what the selection committee might have done differently.
"I'm not going to sit around and say they should have done this,this and this;" Langford said. "That's childish. We've got to worry about Kansas."
It was a message Williams ultimately agreed with.
"I'm confused, I'm mystified," he said. "It makes no freakin' difference. You goa go out and play."
— Edited by Lindsay Hanson
'Hawks eliminate 'Clones in Big 12 tournament game
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswinter
DALLAS — Iowa State has got to be getting tired of playing Kansas.
As if it wasn't enough that the No. 4 Jayhawks (25-6 overall, 15-2 Big 12 Conference) swept the Cyclones (15-13, 5-12) in two regular season meetings, on March 14, Kansas knocked them out of the Big 12 Tournament, 89-74.
Led by junior forward Jeff Graves, the Jayhawks got off to a quick start, hitting 63.3 percent of their shots in the first half and opening a 15-point lead by halftime. Graves scored two of the Jayhawks' first three baskets and hit all four of his shots in the first 20 minutes. But it was more than a just a few early buckets. Graves avoided foul trouble — committing just three in his 26 minutes of play — and dominated Iowa State's physical front line all game. He finished the day with a career-high 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. For Graves, the game plan was simple.
"Play well," he said after the game. "Play smart.Make everyone swallow their words about me fouling."
While critics were busy digesting their vocabulary, Graves and his teammates made sure the Jayhawks didn't choke in their first game of the post season. All five Kansas starters scored 14 or more points in what may have been the Jayhawks' most balanced attack this season.
The quality of Kansas' team performance made a believer of Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy.
"I think we just met a team that has a chance to win a national championship," Eustachy said. "I'm really proud of our team. They tried really hard. They just overpowered us throughout the game."
The victory moves Kansas into the tournament quarterfinals, setting up a rematch with Missouri, who beat Oklahoma State 60-58 in the following game. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers 79-74 on March 9 in Columbia, Mo., when Kansas sophomore guard Aaron Miles and senior guard Kirk Hinrich drilled two late three pointers, sealing the victory. Miles called his two-handed, line drive shot lucky, but Missouri junior forward Travon Bryant disagreed.
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Jeff Graves, junior forward, goes for a layup against Iowa State defender Jackson Vroman. In the game against Iowa State, Graves racked up 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Jayhawks beat the Cyclones 89-74.
"It was a horrible shot," Bryant said. "He is a better shooter like that than he is with his feet set. He can't shoot the ball a lick, and he throws that up."
Miles said he had heard about Bryant's statements but refused to say whether that would motivate him if the two teams met again.
Kansas sophomore guard Keith Langford said the Jayhawks weren't listening to any talk about a fortunate victory.
"Luck, luck," Langford said. "We won, five straight. Go home and cry."
Edited by Lindsay Hanson
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansar
Kansas coach Roy Williams hangs his head in the final minutes of the game against Missouri. The Tigers' 68-63 upset against the Jayhawks ended their losing streak, "I think Missouri had just a little extra want-to," Williams said after the game.
Team fizzles in Big 12 semifinal match
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
DALLAS — There weren't any last-second threes to save the Jayhawks this time. Kansas had simply run out of magic, losing to Missouri 68-63 on March 15 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
The 5-point loss came just six days after the No.4 Jayhawks (25-7 overall, 14-2 Big 12) escaped with a 79-74 victory against the Tigers (21-9, 9-7) when sophomore guard Aaron Miles and senior guard Kirk Hinrich buried two late threes.
In the third meeting between the teams, Miles and Hinrich didn't hit any game-winners. In fact, the pair made only one
three-pointer between them. Miles was 0-4 from behind the arc and Hinrich was 1-4.
"We didn't make shots," Miles said after the game. "We didn't make plays. I give them credit for making plays."
Miles was referring to the shooting woes of the entire team, and it's fair to say he and Hinrich weren't the only Jayhawks to struggle. Junior forward Jeff Graves recorded a career-best 16 points to go along with 12 rebounds while leading Kansas to a 89-74 victory against Iowa State the day before, but foul trouble kept him from a repeat performance against Missouri.
After scoring a couple quick buckets, including a violent rebound dunk in the first half, Graves picked up his third foul
less than a minute and a half into the second stanza.
When he earned his fourth foul with just less than 12 minutes to play, Kansas coach Roy Williams confined him to the bench for the next eight minutes, and Graves never recovered. After the game, Graves said he was a different player in the second half.
player "I felt like it was there in the first half," he said. "In the second half, I don't know what happened."
What happened to the Jayhawks in the second 20 minutes was a 14-5 Tiger run that left Kansas trailing 55-56 with seven minutes to play. The Jayhawks battled back but could never take more than a 3-point advantage.
When Missouri junior forward Arthur Johnson put the
Tigers ahead 65-63 at the 2:08 mark with his 11th and 12th points, Kansas would never lead again.
The Jayhawks had another opportunity to tie the game or take the lead when sophomore guard Keith Langford drove the lane with 38 seconds left, but Langford fired a pass to sophomore guard Michael Lee that caromed off Lee's hands and out of bounds.
Missouri made three of four free throws in the final seconds, avoiding a third loss to Kansas this season.
"We're very discouraged, disappointed, upset, you can describe it any way you want to." Williams said at a postgame press conference.
— Edited by Lindsay Hanson
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