Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JAYHAWKS DEFEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN
Aggies slid past Jayhawks in second half. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL I 6B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2009
MANGINO GIVES OUT AWARDS TO PLAYERS
COMMENTARY
Darrell Stuckey led recipients with three awards. FOOTBALL 17B
Collins continues to shoot
KANSAS 66, COLORADO 61
PAGE 1B
Sherron Collins just kept shooting. That's what he does. It didn't matter that
Edited by Sam Speer
does. It didn't matter that shot after shot failed to go in, or that Collins, a junior guard, was 1-for-10 from behind the three-point line against Colorado on Saturday. The next shot was going in.
Collins is Kansas' Best Player. This is essentially an official title. This isn't something you need to deliberate; you don't make any head-to-head comparisons, pro- and con charts or anything like that. He's the team's Best Player. It's etched in stone somewhere.
Collins wasn't the best player against Colorado. That would be sophomore center Cole Aldrich, though you wouldn't know it from how rarely he got the ball in the second half when the game got close.
It just wasn't Collins' day. He shot 4-for-16. He rarely got into the lane against Colorado's zone defense. He looked tentative. At halftime, he had as many fouls (2) as he had points. Hed been scoring an average of 18.7 points per game before Saturday.
Collins said his shot felt fine, that the ball felt good when it left his hands every time.
"I just try to forget about it," Collins said. "Coach told me to just keep shooting, keep shooting. That's what I did, and it just wasn't falling."
So he kept shooting. That's what a team's Best Player does. He doesn't let silly things like a 25-percent shooting day get to his head.
Kansas coach Bill Self agreed Collins's shot looked fine.
But Collins reminded everyone that he's this team's Best Player. That's why, even after two straight uninspired efforts against mediocre opponents, fans can still feel good about this team as it heads into the tough stretch of its Big 12 schedule.
"That's what scorers are supposed to think — that there's probably something wrong with the ball," Self said. "I'm sure he'll think that the ball had too much air in it or something, which is the way they should think. The next one's going in."
It didn't change the fact that Collins had a bad game.
So though Collins wasn't his usual electrifying self on Saturday, he was the one who finally put the game out of reach at the end.
With about 30 seconds left in the game,4 seconds left on the shot clock,and Kansas ahead 62-59, Kansas called time-out. Self drew up a play that he said was designed to get the ball to Aldrich or Reed.
"It made me think the basket was opening up for me again," Collins said. "It had a lid on it at first."
After Colorado scored on its next possession, Collins got fouled and made both his free throws, and the game was over.
But Aldrich and Reed were covered, so Collins got open outside the three-point line. He got the ball and held on to every last sliver of those 4 seconds on the shot clock as he hit jeried his way to a few feet from the basket. He floated the ball above the Colorado defense, and it went in.
Junior guard Sherron Collins attempts to steal the ball as Colorado's Dwight Thorne II drives for an open lane to the basket during the second half of Saturday's game in Allen Fieldhouse. Although Kansas was expected to easily overpower Colorado, the team struggled throughout the game, narrowly escaping with a 66-1 victory.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Kansas climbs sluggishly to win
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Kansas coach Bill Self has a theory about talented teams.
Self says teams with "really good players" — like the laywahows — can win games in two different ways. Preferably, they play great and cruise to victory. If not, they play poorly and are forced to make something happen late when it matters. There's not much in between.
For the second straight game.
Kansas used the second option. It resulted in a sluggish 66-61 victory against Colorado on Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
"Individually, we played terrible. It wasn't very good." Self said. "We're a lot better basketball team than we played today."
Self shared similar feelings after Wednesday's 68-62 victory against Nebraska. If Kansas (17-4, 6-0) doesn't play up to its potential again at 8 tonight against Baylor at the Ferrell Center, it could result in its first Big 12 Conference defeat.
Collins, who finished with 11 points on 4-for-16 shooting. missed seven of his first eight shots.
For now, the Jayhawks are happy they escaped the Buffalooes. Kansas extended the nation's longest home court winning streak to 36 despite an off-day from junior guard Sherron Collins.
"It was just one of those games."
Although Collins came into the game shooting 40 percent from three-point range, he missed nine of his 10 three-pointers Saturday.
Collins said. "My teammates carried me — especially Cole"
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich particularly carried the Jayhawch for the first 21 minutes. Aldrich, who wore a mask to protect the broken nose he sustained against Nebraska, scored 15 points with 10 rebounds one minute into the second half.
Aldrich appeared to be making up for Collins' rough start as the Jayhawks led 46-25. The Buffaloes
SEE MEN'S ON PAGE 4B
For full coverage of the Kansas vs. Colorado men's basketball game, check out the Men's Basketball Rewind on page 48.
SUPER BOWL
Steelers defeat Cardinals with last-minute play
BY BARRY WILNER
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. — Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense ended a Super Bowl of incredible swings with a final-minute touchdown for a historic victory.
Santonio Holmes made a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining Sunday night, lifting the Steelers to a record-setting sixth Super Bowl win, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes catches a touchdown pass as Arizona Cardinals safety Aaron Francisco and his teammate Ralph Brown watch during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla.
"Scramble right, scramble left, find someone open," Roethlisberger said.
It was one of the most thrilling finishes to the NFL title game, certainly equaling last year's upset by the New York Giants that ended with Plaxico Burress' TD catch — with 35 seconds left, too.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Steelers (15-4), winning their second Super Bowl in four seasons, led 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see Kurt Warner and the Cardinals stage a remarkable rally to go in front 23-20 with 2:37 remaining.
But this one was even wilder.
X
Fitzgerald could only watch from the sideline as Roethlisberger engineered a 78-yard drive to win it in what resembled Heinz Field South. With waves of twirling Terrible Towels turning Raymond James Stadium into a black-and-gold tableau — Steelers fans supporting their beloved team, the economy be damned — Pittsburgh's offense rescued the title.
Larry Fitzgerald in stride for a 64-yard touchdown with 2:37 left. Already owning a slew of post-season receiving marks this year, Fitzgerald sped down the middle of the field, watching himself outrun the Steelers on the huge video screen.
Warner hit All-Pro receiver
throw haymakers of their own.
Big Ben and Holmes struck the last blow, and when Warner fumbled in the final seconds, the Cardinals' dream of winning their first NFL crown since 1947 were gone.
Holmes was selected the game's MVP.
"I said it's now or never, I told the guys all the film study you put in doesn't matter unless you do it now." Roethlisberger said. "I'm really proud of the way they responded."
"Great players step up in big-time games to make plays," Holmes said. "I kind of lost a little composition, you know, but I knew our defense would give us a chance to make it back."
The stunning swings overshadowed Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison's record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown to end the first half. That looked like the signature play until the final quarter, when both teams shook off apparent knockout punches to
The Cardinals (12-8), playing in their first Super Bowl and first championship game of any kind since 1948, lost their composure after Harrison's heroes. They had three penalties to keep Pittsburgh's 79-yard drive going, a 16-play match that ended with Jeff Reed's 21-vard field goal for a 20-7 lead
And they couldn't get Fitzgerald free until very late. But boy did he get free.
The All-Pro who already had set a postseason record for yards receiving and had five touchdowns in the playoffs was a nonentity until an 87-yard fourth-quarter drive he capped with a leaping 1-yard catch over Ike Taylor. He made four receptions on that series on which Warner hit all eight passes for all the yards.
It seemingly had when Roehlisberger's short run was ruled a TD. Whisenhunt challenged, and the score was over-
Pittsburgh looked like the offensive juggernaut to open the game, smoothly driving 71 yards in eight plays. But the 72nd yard that would have given the Steelers a touchdown never came.
passes — and one huge play.
Warner had enough time to shine the NFL Man of the Year trophy he received just before kickoff, then hit Anquan Boldin streaking from left to right. He was upended at the Pittsburgh 1, and Warner's lob to Ben Patrick got Arizona on the board. It was the tight end's first touchdown this season.