4B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009
Notre Dame defeats Kentucky
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Notre Dame guard Tory Jackson, right, drives the lane as Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson defends during the first half of the NIT quarterfinals on Wednesday. Notre Dame defeated Kentucky 77-67.
The Irish will go on to NIT in New York
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — By the time Jodie Meeks got going for Kentucky, Notre Dame was all but packing its bags for New York.
The Irish were up by 15 points before Meeks made his second basket, on just his fourth shot with 12:18 left in the game, and the Irish survived a 17-5 run late by the Wildcats to end a 10-game losing streak to Kentucky with a 77-67 victory Wednesday night to advance to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals.
"They did a great job of guarding him," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispe said. "You think about what he's been through all season, as far as the physical stress, the mental stress, he's handled it well."
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said the Irish (21-14) threw a variety of defenders at Meeks, who finished with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, although Ryan Ayers had the most success against Meeks.
"He only had three shots in the first half," Brey said. "But a guy like that, he got going a little bit in the second half. But overall I thought we did a really good job."
Kentucky, meanwhile, had no answer for Luke Harangody, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds.
"He was pretty much scoring all over the court," said Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson, who guarded Harangody.
Kentucky (22-14) cut the lead to 67-62 on a slam dunk by Perry Stevenson with 2:42 left. But the Irish were 8-of-8 from the free-throw line over the final 1:29 to end the game on a 10-5 run to hang on.
"We're all super excited," said Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarne, who added 15 points.
"This was our goal coming into the NIT. We put all the talk about us getting to the NCAAs way behind us and we focused on getting
back to New York."
The Irish, who hit 12 3-pointers in the win, will face Penn State (25-11) Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
A large number of Kentucky fans, including its pep band, made the trip to South Bend, which is about 325 miles away from Lexington.
It appeared about a quarter of the 7,636 fans were wearing Kentucky blue. When Meeks hit a pair of 3-pointers midway through the
They were quickly drowned out by Notre Dame fans charting: "Let's go Irish"
"They brought their band and cheerleaders like a high school game," Harangody said. "It was kind of fun, the fans going back and forth. It was neat. It was a good crowd."
The scene was reminiscent of
when red-clad Nebraska fans filled about a third of Notre Dame Stadium for a football game in 2000 and chanted: "Husker, home game!"
It was Notre Dame's first win over the Wildcats since an 80-67 victory in 1990 during Rick Pitino's first year as Kentucky coach.
Gillipie now returns to Lexington with many fans wondering about his future.
MLB
Angels' Torii Hunter leaves the game after being hit in the nose with baseball
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEMPE, Ariz. — A stiff wind blowing out to center field made things difficult for the pitchers Wednesday. Torii Hunter had it worse, though.
The Angels center fielder had a ball deflect off his nose in the first inning, turning a drive by Jeff Baker into a two-run inside-the-park homer, but Los Angeles beat the Colorado Rockies 18-11.
Hunter tried to make a leaping catch at the wall but the ball hit the padding and struck him in the face. He had to leave the game. X Rays
game. X-Rays were negative.
"I thought he went head first into the wall. I think for the most part, his playing hard keeps him away from injuries. That was a fluke." Angel!
manager Mike Scioscia said. "He wants to play tomorrow, but I don't think we're going to. We'll give him a little time to (recuperate)."
"I think for the most part, his playing hard keeps him away from injuries. That was a fluke."
Jered Weaver was hit hard again, giving up seven hits, six runs — five earned — and three of the homers in 4 1-3 innings.
Weaver made his fourth spring start after a slight delay at the start of camp due to shoulder soreness.
He was coming off his best outing on March 20, when he limited Arizona to one run and four hits in four innings, but he has a 7.94 ERA.
MIKE SCIOSCIA Angels manager
"I thought his stuff did better than the results would show," Sciosia said. "His arm felt great. His stuff was good. Just a couple of his fastballs they got out of here."
Weaver was considerably better than Rockies right-hander Jason Marquis, who allowed 10 hits, 12 runs — 11 earned — with four walks over 3 1-3.
Marquis, who was making his fourth Cactus League start and sixth appearance of the spring, has allowed 22 earned runs over his last 14 innings.
"It goes without saying, he's still trying to get some things squared away," Rockies acting
manager Jim Tracy said.
"He had a very good first inning. From there, he was doing a decent job of getting ahead of hitters but then he'd give the count right back to them.
"He got some pitches up and they
hit him. When he gets pitches up, they hit him."
Manager Clint Hurdle stayed back in Tucson with the Rockies that were playing in a minor league game.
Baker finished 4-for-4. Baker's homers were his first two of the spring. Ryan Spilborghs hit his fourth and Yorvit Torrealba his second.
Sean Rodriguez hit his first spring header.
Erick Aybar had four hits in five trips to the plate, raising his spring average to .389.
EAT
PRESENTS CONCERT READINGS OF FOUR NEW ONE-ACT PLAYS BY K.U. STUDENTS
AND YOU GET TO PICK THE WINNING BABIES IN THIS FINAL FOUR!
7:30 PM Friday March 27:
Vote for "Cheeseburger Nation" by Brian Highberger or "The Importance of Conversation in a Monologue" by Joe Scott
7:30 PM Saturday March 28:
Vote for "The Tragedy of Empty Streets" by AJ Matthews or "Eli Touched, Whitney Ginned" by Brett Runyon
2:30 PM Sunday March 29:
The two winning babies get paired in one final showdown!
Directed by Paul Stephen Lim
ADMISSION FREE!
Lawrence Arts Center 9th & New Hampshire
NOW ACCEPTING BEAK-EM BUCKS!!!
Lunch'n Learn You're invited
Noon-1 p.m., Tues., March 31 Adams Alumni Center 1266 Oread Avenue 2nd floor, Bruckmiller Room
to a free lunch with your KU Alumni Association and Office of Student Financial Aid
We are offering a free pizza lunch and informational session about paying off your student loans, creating a budget and evaluating your financial planning. This program will help you prepare financially for your future. Join us for free food and prizes!
RSVP to sgerson@kualumni.org by March 30. This event is free and open to all students.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The University of Kansas
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THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Office of Student
Financial Aid
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