6B
KU 83, UT 73
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009
TEXAS 44 29 - 73
KANSAS 37 46 - 83
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
21
Sherron Collins
Rebounds
Assists
Cole Aldrich 10
Sherron Collins 7
KANSAS (25-6, 14-2)
| Player | FG-FGA | 3FG-3FGA | Rebs | A | Pts |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Marcus Morris | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Cole Aldrich | 4-9 | 0-0 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| Sherron Collins | 7-19 | 1-4 | 3 | 7 | 21 |
| Brady Morningstar | 3-6 | 3-4 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| Tyshawn Taylor | 4-9 | 1-1 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| Quintrell Thomas | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyrel Reed | 1-1 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Markieff Morris | 3-5 | 0-1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Mario Little | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Travis Releford | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Matt Kleinmann | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brennan Bechard | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | | | 4 | | |
| Total | 27-54 | 6-11 | 32 | 17 | 83 |
TEXAS (20-10, 9-7)
<table border="1"><tr><td>Player</td><td colspan="2">FG-FGA</td><td colspan="2">3FG-3FGA Rebs</td><td>A</td><td>Pts</td></tr><tr><td>Damion James</td><td>8-14</td><td>2-4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>Dexter Pittman</td><td>5-11</td><td>0-0</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>16</td></tr><tr><td>A.J. Abrams</td><td>2-11</td><td>1-6</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Dogus Balbay</td><td>2-4</td><td>0-0</td><td>6</td><td>6</td><td>4</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Justin Mason</td><td>4-6</td><td>0-1</td><td>7</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Gary Johnson</td><td>1-5</td><td>0-0</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>1</td><td>1</td></tr><tr><td>Harrison Smith</td><td>0-1</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Connor Atchley</td><td>1-3</td><td>0-1</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Varez Ward</td><td>0-0</td><td>0-0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Clint Chapman</td><td>2-4</td><td>0-0</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Team</td><td></td><td></td><td>33</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>25-59</td><td>3-12</td><td>33</td><td>13</td><td>73</td><td></td></tr></table>
SCHEDULE
| Date | Opponent | Result/Time |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 11/25 | Syracuse (in Kansas City, Mo.) | L, 89-81 (OT) |
| 11/28 | vs. Coppin State | W, 85-53 |
| 12/1 | vs. Kent State | W, 87-60 |
| 12/3 | vs. New Mexico State | W, 100-79 |
| 12/6 | vs. Jackson State | W, 86-62 |
| 12/13 | vs. Massachusetts (in Kansas City, Mo.) | L, 61-60 |
| 12/20 | vs. Temple | W, 71-59 |
| 12/23 | at Arizona | L, 84-67 |
| 12/30 | vs. Albany NY | W, 79-43 |
| 1/03 | vs. Tennessee | W, 92-85 |
| 1/6 | vs. Siena | W, 91-84 |
| 1/10 | at Michigan State | L, 75-62 |
| 1/13 | vs. Kansas State | W, 87-71 |
| 1/17 | at Colorado | W, 73-56 |
| 1/19 | vs. Texas A&M | W, 73-53 |
| 1/24 | at Iowa State | W, 82-67 |
| 1/28 | at Nebraska | W, 68-62 |
| 1/31 | vs. Colorado | W, 66-61 |
| 2/2 | at Baylor | W, 75-65 |
| 2/7 | vs. Oklahoma State | W, 78-67 |
| 2/9 | at Missouri | L, 62-60 |
| 2/14 | at Kansas State | W, 85-74 |
| 2/18 | vs. Iowa State | W, 72-55 |
| 2/21 | vs. Nebraska | W, 70-53 |
| 2/23 | at Oklahoma | W, 87-78 |
| 3/1 | vs. Missouri | W, 90-65 |
| 3/4 | at Texas Tech | L, 84-65 |
| 3/7 | vs. Texas | W, 83-73 |
MEN'S BASKET
Collins, Aldrich All-Big 12 First Team performers; new seven get own rings
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor slams down a dunk after receiving a pass from junior guard Sherron Collins. Taylor scored 11 points in the Jayhawks 83-73 win against the Longhones Saturday afternoon.
Weston White/KANSAN
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
It didn't matter that they were young and untested. And it didn't matter that they were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 during the preseason with the weight of a national championship on their shoulders.
After Saturday's 83-73 victory against Texas, Kansas' seven newcomers have their own rings now. And as much as Kansas' fifth straight Big 12 title belongs to All-Big 12 First Team performers Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, the program's seven new faces helped earn this one too.
"It feels good to have our own because it is Kansas and this is just what everybody expects," freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor said. "If we didn't do it, I feel like it would have been a failure almost. I'm just glad we got it done and it's going to feel good when I have this ring on my finger."
Taylor said afterwards that he had grown tired of hearing how this team of mostly freshman and sophomores hadn't earned anything. And after losses to Syracuse, Massachusetts, Arizona and Michigan State in nonconference play, the celebration that occurred at the final whistle seemed like an unachievable dream.
Against the Longhorns, the seven players who replaced the core of last season's national championship squad combined for 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 12-19 shooting from the field and a nearly perfect 13-14 from the free-throw line.
"I think if you asked a lot of people in this room if they thought we could do it at the beginning of the season, they would have said no." Taylor said. "I feel like we kind of proved some people wrong."
The Jahawks may have even proved Kansas coach Bill Self wrong. Self said Saturday that he never expected this sort of improvement from a team that suffered through a disappointing nonconference season.
But in the midst of adversity, Taylor, the Morris twins, Travis Releford, Mario Little, Quintrell Thomas and Tyrone Appleton
matured. The young Jayhawks bought into Self's vision for them, and victories followed.
Kansas won eight straight to begin the conference season — including victories over Kansas State, Texas A&M and Baylor — and the newcomers took turns stepping up and helping Collins and Aldrich carry the load offensively.
Taylor scored 20 points to help put away the Wildcats. Little dropped 15 points to keep the Aggies from spoiling the Jayhawks home winning streak. Marcus Morris had 13 points and six rebounds against the Bears on Big Monday.
And when every game became crucial, they stepped up again to ensure Kansas would-finish the season on top. Against Oklahoma, Taylor poured in 26 points, and the Morris twins helped shut down Missouri's Demarre Carroll to keep
"Not only to win the league, but win it outright and match our team from a couple years ago with a 14-2 record speaks volumes for these guys maturity and how far they've come." Self said.
And although Self said the seven newcomers arrived on campus with a slightly skewed idea of what it would to succeed both individually and collectively, they figured it out in time to earn a ninth Big 12 title in 13 years.
Kansas atop the Big 12 heap.
"They just keep impressing us, and they impress me more and more," Collins said. "I think its good for them to finally earn something so everybody can stop talking about last year's team."
Edited by Sam Speer
Junior guard Sherron Collins drives toward the basket during the second half of Saturday's game against Texas in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhaws defeated the Longhorns 83-73 in the final
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
FIVE JAYHAWKS HONORI BY BIG 12 CONFERENCE
A day after officially winning the Big 12 Conference championship, Kansas unofficially won the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 award. Including Kansas coach Bill
Texas guard A.J. Abrams falls over freshm
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Collins scored 21 points and had seven assists. Aldrich recorded his 18th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"But to me, the player of the game for us was Brady Morningstar, with out question." Self said.
MEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
and sophomore center Cole Aldrich would have. Collins and Aldrich led the Jayhawks to a 14-2 Big 12 record, a game better than last year's national championship team, and topped it off by starring against Texas on Saturday.
Self assigned Morningstar, a sophomore guard, to defend the Longhorns' A.J. Abrams, who is one of the Big 12's best shooters and
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For more men's basketball coverage, check out Case Keefer's "Blog" Allen on Kansan.com. If you would rather kick back and rest your eyes, listen to the postgame edition of The Jay Report podcast.
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