10
---
---
2008-2009 KANSA5 BASKETBALL
Road woes no more
BY CASE KEEFER
ckeefer@kansan.com
BOULDER, Colo. — It counts as a road victory.
In the record book, Kansas' 73-56 victory against Colorado was its first victory away from home this season. Sherron Collins does not care about the record book.
"It really doesn't feel like a road win," Collins, a junior guard, said. "We know we're on the road, but our fans here were great."
Kansas coach Bill Self estimated that 6,000 people out of the announced attendance of 10,212 were Kansas fans. A number of them held up signs proclaiming Colorado's home court as "Allen Fieldhouse West."
Other than the Buffalo logo at the center of the court and the picture of former Colorado great Chauncey Billups on the south side of the gym, there was no indication that the Coors Events Center belonged to Colorado.
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman forward Marcus Morris shoots over Colorado's Austin Dufault during Kansas' 73-56 victory.
Not even a minute from Mass Street
Support 55 years of the best local burgers, pizza and beer.
Jayhawks out-tough Aggies
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Kansas coach Bill Self and his players love to talk about toughness.
They swear it's more than a sports cliché but sometimes struggle to define exactly what they mean by the term. Sophomore center Cole Aldrich won't have that problem anymore.
If someone asks, Aldrich will reference
Kansas' 73-53 victory against Texas A&M. To Aldrich, it embodied everything he means by "toughness."
"We just kept going at it. When balls were on the ground, we were diving for them. We were trying to fight with them," Aldrich said. "We did a good job today."
And it started at the beginning. The Jayhawks welcomed their first Big Monday game of the year by, well, making big plays. Junior guard Sherron Collins hit two three-pointers to start the game as Kansas ran out to an 18-4 lead.
"We just kept going at it. When balls were on the ground, we were diving for them."
The pummeling continued as junior guard Mario Little scored seven points in three minutes to extend the lead to 30-10. The Jayhawks kept pounding the Aggies with the intensity of a boxer determined to make his opponent suffer for an entire 12 rounds. Texas A&M barely landed any counter-punches.
"We just tried to give them the first hit," Aldrich said. "We knew they were going to try
COLE ALDRICH Sophomore center
to come out and hit us. We just tried to come out really strong and I think we did a really good job of that."
Little specifically. He recorded 15 points and was 6-for-6 from the field in only 14 minutes of playing time as he continues to recover from injuries in his lower left leg and left hand.
"That's basically what I've been doing all my life," Little said. "I've just been a scorer. I'm big enough to post some guys, and I can
step out."
A 17-point lead after 20 minutes didn't satisfy Little. It didn't satisfy any of the jayhawks.
"That was our main focus," Little said. "We're just trying to — once we get people down — keep them down and not let them back in and make it a game."
As they came out for the second half, Collins — who had 16 points, seven assists and three
steals — clapped his hands together and energized his teammates.
Allowing a possible comeback was not an option. Aldrich, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, scored 10 points down low in the second half. Freshman forward Marcus Morris, who scored 10 points, knocked down two three-pointers in less than a minute.
"It was a complete game," Self said. "Probably about as complete as we've been on both ends."
Sophomore guard Brady Morningstar dives on the floor for a steal against Texas A&M. Morningstar finished with two steals against the Aggies in Kansas' 73-53 victory on Big Monday.
Weston White/KANSAN
APRIL 27, 2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN