THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
MONDAY, FERRUARY 2, 2004
KU 66,CU 61
5B
BALL REWIND
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Weston White/KANSAN
Ryan McGeenev/KANSAN
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich gets tied up with Colorado Cory Higgins for a jump ball. Kansas defeated Colorado 66-61 Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
Weston White/KANSAN
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ing — but only four seconds on the shot clock — switched the ball to his right hand and floated a shot into the hoop.
"I was able to get past the first guy," Collins said. "At least that was one of my shots that I knew was going."
Collins shook his head and called the performance "nonchalant" after the game. But sometimes, that's how talented teams win.
Edited by Jesse Trimble
**IYNAK MKEGGEER KANSAK**
Jayhawks coach Bill Self protests to the referees after what he sees as a travel on the plane of Colorado goes into during Saturdays game in Allen Fieldhouse. Self and his staff wore tenniel shoes in support of the American Gamer's Soccer队 vs. Canada team.
Quick turnaround forces Kansas to forget about shaky victories
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
The one-game-at-a-time mentality in Kansas' locker room means that the next opponent rarely comes up in a postgame press conference. That time is normally reserved for reflection on the game that was, not for forecasting the game that will be.
"We've got to get off our feet and get some rest," junior guard Sherron Collins said. "Baylor is very good. It's going to take a lot of effort from everybody."
However, on Saturday, Kansas coach Bill Self and players addressed the media after an ugly victory knowing that there was just a little more than 48 hours until their next game.
Kansas and Baylor are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. in Waco on ESPN's Big Monday.
It's the layhawk's second Big Monday match-up. While the first one, a 73-53 drubbing of Texas A&M, turned out to be more of a normal Monday, tonight is loaded with big game potential.
The Bears score 81,7 points per game — third most in the league — and five players average at least 10 points per game.
Coach Scott Drew can't fix that with one game, but a win over 6-0 Kansas would do wonders for his team's confidence.
That's because it's desperation time in Waco. The Bears are on a three-game skid and a team with preseason hopes of a conference title now rests in the middle at 3-4.
Self knows that his team hasn't played well in the last two games, especially giving up a 21-point lead on Saturday. That's why he's glad there no time for his team to dwell on the negatives before getting back on the court.
"I'm glad it's a quick turnaround," Self said. "We're going to
have to play better against Baylor and I think we'll be excited to play on Big Monday against a really talented team."
"They can score from all five spots and they've got a guy off the bench who's probably about as good a scorer as anybody in our league." Self said.
That's LaceDarius Dunn, who's good enough to start anywhere,
Like the layhawks, Dunn and the Bears played on Saturday. But it's a different scenario when you're going home on short rest as opposed to traveling into hostile territory.
but provides a huge spark off Baylor's bench.
In order to get ready, freshman forward Markieff Morris said he would try to pretend he's playing club basketball again.
"It's just like AAU," Morris said. "In AAA you play four games in one day, so just look at it like that."
Four Big 12 games in one day would be a daunting task, but two in less than 72 hours with significant travel time isn't easy, either.
There are two positives, though.
One is that Kansas will have to make a quick turnaround on the road twice more, including next week's Big Monday in Columbia, Mo., and a final Monday night showcase in Norman, Okla., on Feb. 23. Those trips will be routine once the lajawhacks do it once.
Also, as Self said, limited prep time means there's not time to dwell on bad performances. Collins, who shot 1-for-10 behind the three-point line, couldn't agree more.
"I'm looking forward to making this quick turnaround so I can get back on track," Collins said. "I'm ready to get this out of the way."
Edited by Brandy Entsminger
VIEW FROM PRESS ROW
IT WAS OVER WHEN ...
Colorado point guard Nate Tomlinson fell over trying to guard Sherron Collins with 24 seconds remaining. After Collins beat Tomlinson, there was little doubt he would finish with a basket to finally finish off the Buffaloes. That's just what Collins did after eluding a couple more Buffaloes. He tossed the ball in with his right hand to make the score 64-59 and Allen Fieldhouse erupted.
GAME TO REMEMBER ...
Freshman forward Markieff Morris
Well, maybe. If Markieff builds off his solid performance against the Buffaloes, he could look back on it as the turning point of his season. If not, it will be remembered as a decent performance. Markieff, however, did look motivated Saturday. He had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Fouling continues to be an issue as Markieff recorded three in 12 minutes of playing time.
Morris
GAMETO FORGET ...
Junior guard Sherron Collins
Collins
Collins seemed off the entire game. If he ever shoots 4-for-16 from the field again this season, it's likely the Jayhawks will lose. The defensive letdown in the second half also started with him and Self said he was disappointed with his effort on that end of the floor, Good news is Collins is experienced enough to not let one bad game get him down. By now, it's a distant memory.
STAT OF THE NIGHT ...
65 percent. That's Colorado's field goal percentage in the second half. Self said it was the worst defensive effort he could ever remember from one of his Kansas teams in the second half. That statistic does nothing but support Self's claim.
PRIME PLAYS
Case Keefer
FIRST HALF
— this time driving for an easy layup. That would be Collins' only make of the first half, though, and he went on to have one of his worst games of the season.
19:43 — For the second straight game, Sherron Collins scored within the first 20 seconds
6:17 — Colorado's Cory Higgins couldn't do anything against Brady Morningstar. As soon as Tyrel Reed stepped in to guard him, Higgins hit back-to-back buckets. Coach Bill Self called a timeout and used most of it to yell at Reed.
4:08 — The first half was still tight until Morningstar hit a jumper to put Kansas up 10. That triggered a 10-2 Kansas run to close out the half.
0:07 — Morningstar blocked Higgins, gathered the rebound then hit a three-pointer to put Kansas up 16 at halftime.
SECOND HALF
18:13 — Nate Tomlinson drove the lane and banked a high layup over Cole Aldrich. It was Tomlinson's first field goal in 52 minutes against Kansas this season.
6:08 — Underneath Colorado's basket, Mario Little leapt out-of-bounds to save a loose ball. However, the Buffers' Jermyl Jackson-Wilson corralled the save and layed it in to cut the Jayhawks' lead to 54-52.
4:39 — What Tyrel Reed is to clutch shots, Morningstar is to hustle. A loose ball was headed out-of-bounds until Morningstar snatched it and tossed it to Collins. Morningstar ended up on top of press row while the play resulted in a pair of Marcus Morris free throws.
0:22 — With four seconds on the shot clock and the game hanging in the balance, Collins juked his way to the lane and beat the buzzer with a floater to push Kansas' lead to 64-59.
— Taylor Bern
GAME NOTES
FOOTBALL FLAVORED
Sure, it was a basketball game but the Kansas football team also stole some of the attention.
The Jayhawks were recognized and presented with the Insight Bowl trophy at halftime of the game. A number of players walked to center court led by junior quarterback Todd Reesing, senior linebacker Joe Mortensen and senior linebacker Mike Rivera. Coach Mark Mangino then addressed the crowd.
Watching from the stands was Shane Gordon, a three-star linebacker recruit from Weston, Fla. According to Rivals.com, Gordon already gave a soft commitment to Pittsburgh but was on an official visit to Kansas before Tuesday's signing day.
STREAK CONTINUED
Junior guard Sherrron Collins has now made 29 straight free throws after sinking two at the end of the game.
It is the third longest streak in Kansas history — trailing only Wayne Simien's 34 in 2004-2005 and Calvin Thompson's 33 in
It's becoming increasingly difficult for Collins to not pay attention to it as teammates have begun to marvel at his efficiency from the line.
SELF, BZDELIK SUPPORT COACHES VS. CANCER
1984. A reporter kept asking Collins about the streak after the game, but Collins has said he doesn't want to discuss it.
"I don't even know how many I need," Collins said. "I think about it, but I don't even really count it."
Kansas coach Bill Self and Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik didn't purposefully dress like slobs Saturday.
Self and Bzdelik both wore tennis shoes with their normal game attire to support the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. Saturday was the annual "Suits and Sneakers" event where coaches around the country unite by wearing tennis shoes to raise cancer awareness.
Case Keefer