Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSASTO HOST WNIT AGAINST CREIGHTON
Women's team fails to make NCAA tourney. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL I 10B
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2009
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JAYHAWKS TRIUMPH BY BREAKING RECORDS
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Members place in top 20 in NCAA competition. SWIMMING & DIVING 13B
TRIPLE-DOUBLE TIME
PAGE 1B
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich smacks away a shot for one of his ten blocks during Kansas' 60-43 victory Sunday against Dayton. Aldrich is the first player since March 19th, 1992, to record a triple-double with blocks, the last to do so was Shaquille O'Neal.
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Jayhawks soar past Flyers on the way to the Sweet Sixteen in Indianapolis
Minneapolis block party
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
MINNEAPOLIS Five national championships. Fifty-two conference titles. Forty one straight home victories.
And now, one official triple-double. Cole Aldrich accomplished something nearly impossible Sunday at the Metrodome: He became the first player in Kansas' storied basketball history to reach a milestone.
"This will go down, because of the stage, as one of the best individual performances we've had," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Aldrich, a sophomore center, scored 13 points with 20 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 60-43 second round NCAA Tournament victory against Dayton.
Kansas, a three-seed, is headed to the Sweet Sixteen in Indianapolis where it will play Michigan State on Friday. At the beginning of the season, a sweet Sixteen berth for the Jayhawks would have sounded even more
improbable than an Aldrich triple-double.
"I couldn't write it any better," Aldrich said. "You couldn't have a Hollywood writer write it any better."
But Aldrich's speedy maturation process has allowed the Jayhawks to exceed expectations. Therefore, it's fitting that Aldrich — in his hometown, nonetheless — was the centerpiece of the Jayhawks' triumph against the Flvers.
Aldrich's triple-double was the first recorded in the NCAA
Tournament in the last six years — ironically, the last one also came in the Metrodome when Dwyane Wade did it for Marquette. It was the first triple-double to include blocks since Louisiana State's Shaquille O'Neal had 10 for Louisiana State in 1992.
So yeah, Aldrich put together a performance for the ages.
"But I could also say this."
Self said, "for the weekend, have
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Kansas vs Michigan State Friday, TBA Indianapolis, Ind.
BASEBALL
Jayhawks sweep No.1 Texas Longhorns
BY JOSH BOWE
ibowe@kansan.com
David Narodowski couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
LAST WEEKEND AT HOGLUND BALLPARK
Friday — Kansas 5, Texas 4
Saturday — Kansas 4, Texas 3
Sunday — Kansas 4, Texas
In fact, none of the Jayhawks could stop smiling, laughing, or even dancing for that matter as they completed their first-ever series sweep of the No. 1 Texas Longhorns with a 4-3 victory at Hoglund Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
"I've never been apart of anything like that ever," Narodowski, junior shortstop, said. "Just feeling that, I don't know, it's definitely good."
Sunday's contest wasn't for the faint of heart. It took a sacrifice fly to dead center in the seventh inning from senior catcher Buck Afenir to bring sophomore right fielder Brian Heere home. It broke the 3-3 tie after Texas (14-6, 2-4) scored one run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the game.
"The wind was blowing in," coach Ritch Price said. "So I thought we did a nice job of executing and moving guys into scoring position and finding a way to get the runs home as well."
Freshman pitcher Lee Ridenhour hurt a fast pitch over the plate during the fifth inning of Sunday's 4-3 victory over the No. 1 Texas Lonhouks in the final game of a three-game series.
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Kansas (13-7, 3-0) scored in only one other inning, a three-run outburst in the fourth. It wasn't a power showcase to say the least as the Jayhawks only sent only two hits to the outfield. Senior first baseman Preston Land had a bunt single to third that loaded the bases and Narodowski also had an infield single to third base that scored the last of the runs in the fourth inning.
Freshman pitcher Lee Ridenhour impressed yet again.
"We knew going into the game we couldn't count on the long ball," Narodowski said. "Everyone worked hard before the game, prepared to get bunts down."
But the only reason Kansas was able to win the game with the small ball approach was the effective pitching the Jayhawks delivered all afternoon.
He played six and two-third innings, allowing the three runs while surrendering eight hits and zero walks, and picking up four strikeouts.
He also threw 63 of his 91 pitches for strikes, keeping the Texas hitters on their toes.
Pricehas raved about Ridenhour all season and it looks as though it wasn't for nothing. Although he didn't pick up the victory, Ridenhour still leads all Kansas starters in victories and ERA.
"Every time I go out it seems all the teams are amazing." Ridenhour said. "I just have to go out there and pound the zone."
"He's a very special freshman," Price said. "He's done a really nice job of making adjustments."
After Price handed over a tieball game to his bullpen in the seventh inning, junior Travis Blankenship,
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freshman Colton Murray and senior Paul Smyth pitched an almost perfect session, allowing only one hit and no walks.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 5B
Smyth picked up his third save in a row, all against Texas this weekend, and sixth of the season. Smyth blew a save last
For complete coverage of the KU baseball game against Texas, check out PAGE 5B
Go to Kansan.com for more coverage at the First Pitch blog and The Strike Zone podcast.
COMMENTARY
Jayhawks close to sweet perfection
Good (or terrible) storylines often are the difference between successful network dramas and early flameouts. In sport, they fill the margins of newsprint and oftentimes give a father something to point out to his son while in the seats.
That Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins comprised 63 percent of the Jayhawks' offense during Sunday's 60-43 victory over Dayton after combining for 55 points in the tournament opener would be one of them — albeit a story as original as Lost's plotlines.
Aldrich's triple-double on the other hand (13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks) was the stuff of headlines, billboards and history books. His performance earned him a spot next to Wilt Chamberlain on Kansas highlight tapes and in the same sentence as Shaquille O'Neal (Louisiana State, 1992) as NCAA tournament masters of the paint.
The sophomore center and Bloomington, Minn., native was at home inside Minneapolis' Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, having his way below the basket early and earning Kansas' first six points. The bulk of his game afterwards saw him tear down all those rebounds and block seemingly all Dayton upset hopes.
Per usual, Collins also jumped out early to lead Kansas as the junior point guard — coming off a career-best 32 points in the first round against North Dakota State — combined with Aldrich to score 23 of Kansas' 29 first-half points.
Storylines preceding Sunday's tip-off warned of Dayton's sophomore Chris Wright, whose 27-point 10-rebound game fueled a first-round upset of West Virginia. Also in the papers, Dayton's full-court, high-pressure defensive attack, reminiscent of Missouri and Michigan State.
The Big Two couldn't say they didn't try to share Sunday. Collins often found his teammates for open looks as all great floor generals do. Trouble was, tew outside junior guard Mario Little (seven points off 3-for-4 shooting) could convert. Freshman guard Brady Morningstar — among the best in the Big 12 beyond the arc — missed every one of his shots and freshman guard Tyrel Reed was 1-of-5 in comparison.
Overall, Kansas players not named Aldrich or Collins shot 6-of-22 Sunday. That is 27 percent. That is also terrible.
The stat sheet tells us freshman forward Marcus Morris played 14 minutes but I'm not so sure he left the hotel. One foul, a turnover, a steal and zero points.
Wright got in a dunk or two but was effectively silenced, finishing with just six points off 4-for-16 shooting. Dayton's defense kept it close at times and held Kansas to its second lowest first half total this year. But 22 percent shooting offensively grounded the Flyers and earned the Jayhawks all superlatives to be bad
Dark clouds encase the news-
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