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JAYHAWKS LOSE LAST CHANCE TO REACH TOP
Men's team drops to 11th and women's to 9th. TRACK & FIELD 17B
MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2009
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TENNIS TEAM SWEEPS UMKC, 7-0, AT HOME
On Sunday, Jayhawks play with new doubles teams. TENNIS 18b
PAGE 1B
SWEET REVENGE
Jayhawks take out Tigers
BY CASE KEEFER
ckeefer@kansan.com
Call it perfection. Call it revenge
Call it a statement.
Really, Kansas' 90-65 victory against No.11 Missouri (24-5, 11-3) Sunday was a combination of all three.
Kansas coach Bill Self said the first half, where No. 15 Kansas (24-5, 13-1) flew out to a 45-19 lead, was the best he had seen the jayhawks play since last year's 84-66 Final Four victory against North Carolina. Junior guard Sherron Collins said the performance came out about anger of the way Kansas lost to Missouri 62-60 earlier in the season. Whatever it was, Kansas' victory put it alone in first place in the Big 12 Conference and one game away from clinching the regular season championship.
"We expected to win," Collins said. "But who knew the score would be like this?"
Actually, freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor did. Taylor hated thinking about last month's defeat at Mizzou Arena. He said he knew Kansas was better than Missouri. He said he knew the Jayhawks would prove it Sunday.
But the true triumph of the first half came on the defensive end. Kansas held Missouri to 21 percent from the field and only three of its players — DeMare Carroll, Leo
That much was obvious. Kansas began to separate itself from Missouri almost immediately, Two minutes into the game, the Jayhawks trailed 4-3. That was the last time Missouri was ahead.
"I thought the score was going to be like this the whole time," Taylor said. "I just felt that we were better than before to be honest with you. I knew we were going to come out with a different mindset than before."
Collins — who scored 25 points with six assists and five rebounds in the game — keyed an 18-1 run over the next six minutes with an open three-point shot and a layup following a viper-like slither through the lane. It made the score 20-5.
SEE MEN'S ON PAGE 4B
MEN'S REWIND PAGE
COMMENTARY
For full coverage of the men's basketball game against Missouri, check out the Rewind on page 4B.
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich flies in on a two-point flight after receiving a full-court pass during Sunday afternoons 90-65 victory over the Missouri Tigers in Allen Fieldhouse. Aldrich achieved his 17th double-of-double, scoring 19 points and capturing 14 rebounds during the Jayhawks' 40 consecutive homecourt victory.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Junior forward Porscha Weddington a bisonive rebound during the first half of Saturday night's 70-57 victory over the Nebraska Crookinskis in Alli Fieldhouse.
Weston White/KANSAN
Hawks start to gain momentum
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY JAYSON JENKS
ijenks@kansan.com
Strong defense and energized team lead to three-game streak
Every day before practice, a member of Kansas' staff hauls an old lunch box clanking with pennies onto the court.
Throughout the season, coach Bonnie Henrickson has used the lunch pail as a symbol of hard work and improvement, awarding pennies for various well-performed tasks. Recently, Kansas' penny intake has swelled — evidence of its defensive revival.
"These kids can't get enough credit for their resiliency, their persistence, their perseverance. They've listened to me say every day that I need more when I know they say, 'I can't give anymore.' Henrickson said. "You know, that's how you get better and win in this league. But we've got a lot of work to do yet. We've got a lot of work to do."
For the third consecutive game, lockdown defense fueled Kansas as it defeated Nebraska 70-57 on Saturday.
That Kansas is improving at this point in the season after suffering through two four-game losing streaks is no small accomplishment.
games, the Jayhawks have displayed improvement in several aspects.
The Big 12 is an unforgiving women's basketball conference. One loss can easily accumulate to three or four. But in their last three
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 6B
WOMEN'S REWIND
PAGE 68
For full coverage of the women's basketball game against Nebraska, check out the Women's Rewind on Page 68.
Fieldhouse still electric for Hinrich on return
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Kirk Hinrich took the microphone, and the words came to him slowly.
氧气 空气 二氧化碳 一氧化碳
He thanked his teammates, coach Roy Williams and his friends and family. Covered all the bases.
But then Hinrich took a look around Allen Fieldhouse — the building in which he spent four years developing into the player, and man, he is today — and voiced what was on the minds of the 16,300 fans who watched as his jersey was hung in the rafters.
"There is no place like it," Hirnick said to the sell-out crowd, giddy at the Jayhawks' 45-19 halftime lead. "This place, in my mind, is the greatest basketball venue in the world."
In a building that has played host to so many wonderful moments, this was just another special day in Kansas basketball history.
Hinrich and running mate Nick Collison sat side-by-side behind the Jayhawks' bench joined by Scot Pollard, Erie Chenowith and former Roy Williams assistant Neil Dougherty.
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With their forbearners looking on approvingly, this generation of Kansas basketball players ran Missouri off the court, stretching their home winning streak to 40 games and exacting revenge for what is their only conference defeat thus far.
But the lahaykws' thorough 90-65 statement against the No. 11 Tigers wasn't just revenge. It was another building block in what looks to be a fifth-consecutive Big 12 championship season that could be the most impressive yet.
And while Missouri's players crumbled under the pressure applied by Kansas and its frenzied crowd, Hirnrich finally joined his friends in lorel. He is the third, and final, of the Roy Williams-coached triumvirate, which includes Drew Gooden and Collison, to have his jersey hung from the Allen Fieldhouse rafters.
Sensing the gravity of the game and the recognition of Hinrich's role in Kansas basketball history, the raucous crowd made this Border Showdown unforgettable. Kansas coach Bill Self and guard Sherron Collins swore afterward that this might have been the loudest environment they had ever been a part of in Allen Fieldhouse.
With only two games remaining on its conference schedule, Kansas controls its own fate. Win at Texas Tech on Wednesday and it clinches at least a share of the title. Win again against No. 25 Texas next Saturday at home and the team picked to finish fourth before the season began will stand atop the Big 12 alone, one last-second shot in Columbia, Mo., from perfection.
With sunlight streaming in through the old barn's windows and Kansas running roughshod over their border rivals on national television, Hinrich's No. 10 took its place among all the other Kansas legends
The game, the moment and the man cementing their places in Kansas basketball history.
"it's been awhile since I've been in the building." Hinrich said. "it's definitely still electric. This is the greatest honor I could have, to have my jersey hung up there with all the tradition. It was so historic. It was a great day."
Edited by Liz Schubauer
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