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University Daily Kansan / Friday, March 20, 1992
NCAA: FIRST ROUND
Jayhawks respect Howard's potential
By Lyle Niedens
Kansan shortwriter
The Howards, Campbells and
TOSHIPPLE DEVELOPMENTS
But despite the fact that no No. 16 seed has ever defeated a No. 1 seed in the first round of the tournament, Kansas coach Roy Williams isn't
"I don't plan on looking at Evansville or Texas-Eli Paso for one second," Williams said, referring to the No. 1 seeded Jayhawks' possible second-round opponents if Kansas defeats Howard University tonight in its first-round tournament game in Davton. Ohio. Gametime is 7:05.
"We're looking at it as a one game season right now... survive and win."
But Kansas players aren't listening to the oddsmakers.
Las Vegas oddsmakers don't think the Jayhawks will have much trouble doing that against Howard, from Washington, D.C. Hoon won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season title and conference tournament championship. Kansas has been installed as a 32-point favorite in the Midwest Regional first-round game.
Point guard Adonis Jordan said he was not worried about looking past the
"You can't look past them," center Eric Pauley said. "There are a lot of upsets going on at this time of the year. We could be upset just like a lot of people."
be any utterer now." The Bison are 17-13 overall and were 12-4 in the MEAC. They are coached by Butch Beard, who was an All-American at the University of Louisville and played nine years in the National Basketball Association.
Beard took over a Howard program in 1903 that had won only 17 games in its previous two seasons.
After going 8-20 overall in his first season, Beard led the Bison to victories in 12 of their last 14 games this season after beginning the season 1-8.
Most of those early losses came to big-name schools, including a season-opening loss at Louisville, who also dealt Kansas its only non-conference loss at home this season. Louisville defeated the Jayhawks 85-78 on Jan. 12. Nevertheless, Beardsaidhelfelt the competition was good for his team.
"It gave us an idea of how well we could compete against the top Division"
Williams also said he felt the Bison gained a great deal from their tough schedule. He said he liked Howard's character more than anything else.
FIRST ROUND
(1) KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
Coach: Roy Williams
Record: 26-4
(16) HOWARD BISON
Coach: Alfred "Butch" Beard
Record: 17-13
Game time: 7:05 tonight at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. It will be televised on channels 5 and 13 in Lawrence and broadcast on KLZR 105.9 FM.
Probable Starters
Position/Player Height Year PPG RPG
24-F Alonzo Jamison 6-6 Sr. 10.0 4.6
34-F Richard Scott 6-7 So. 10.1 4.5
51-C Eric Pauley 6-10 Jr. 9.0 4.0
23-G Rex Walters 6-4 Jr. 16.3 3.3
30-G Adonis Jordan 5-11 Jr. 13.1 3.4
| Position/Player | Height | Year | PPG | RPG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 23-F Julius McNeil | 6-6 | Sr. | 12.4 | 5.5 |
| 50-F Kelsey Sturdivant | 6-8 | Sr. | 7.0 | 1.4 |
| 42-C Charles Solomon | 6-9 | Jr. | 6.9 | 5.7 |
| 15-G Martin Huckaby | 6-2 | Sr. | 6.0 | 5.4 |
| 10-G Tommy Broun | 6-2 | Fr. | 5.3 | 2.0 |
Source: Kansas Sports Information Department
"More than any of the X's and O's. I'm impressed with their makeup," Williams said. "Any team that starts 1-8 would have to be quite tough mentally to stick with it. That's a credit to Coach Beard."
The Bison are led by senior forward Julius McNeil, who is averaging 12.4 points a game. But the Bison do not have one star. Like Williams, Beard likes to substitute often. Howard has 11 players that average more than 10 minutes a game.
"They're very similar to us in that they make a lot of substitutions and defensive changes." Williams said.
However, unlike Kansas, Howard is not a good shooting team. As a team, the Bison are shooting just 42.1 percent from the field.
"Kansas is a very good team," Beardsaid. "It would take a lot for us to pull off an upset.
"But we've been underdogs all season. We've been outrebounded in almost every game and we don't shoot well. However, if we stay in our defensive concept, we have a chance.
*And in a one-game situation, the
touch that the most talent doesn't*
*allowwin*.
The Jayhawks seem to be on a roll after winning their first Big Eight Conference tournament championship since 1866. Kansas guard Steve Woodbury said it was important that the Jayhawks not stay on that roll against the Bison.
"It's very important to play well in the first round." Woodberry said. "We
need to start off the tournament in a positive way."
If Kansas wins tonight:
If Kansas defeats Howard, it will face the winner of the game between Evansville and the University of Texas-El Paso. That game will come after the Kansas-Howard game tonight in Dayton. Game time for that second-round match would be approximately 2:50 p.m. Sunday in Dayton.
Evansville, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference champion and No. 8 seed in the Midwest region at 24-5 overall, is led by sophomore guard Parrish Casebier, who was named the MCC Player of the Year. Casebier led the conference in scoring with 25.9 points game and, at 6-foot-3, led the conference in rebounding with 9.5 game.
One of Evansville's losses came at Oklahoma State, where the Cowboys dismantled the Aces 86-57.
Texas-E El Paso, 25-6 overall and the No.9 seed, lost in the finals of the Western Athletic Conference championship to Brigham Young University.
The Miners are coached by Don Haskins, who guided the team to an NCAA championship in 1966 when the school was known as Texas Western. On the way to that championship, the Miners defeated Kansas 81-80 in double overtime in the Midwest Regional finals.
Senior forward Marlon Maxey leads the Miners with 14.9 points a game and 7.3 rebounds a game.
Eric Pauley and Richard Scott battle Oklahoma State's Byron Houston for a rebound in Sunday's championship game of the Big Eight Conference tournament. Kansas will play Howard University in the NCAA tournament at 7:05 tonight in Dayton, Ohio.
TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS
Midwest
No.8 Southern Cal 84, NE Louisiana 54
At Milwaukee, little-use freshman Tremayne Anchrum set career highs with 16 points and eight rebounds as Southern Cal tied the school record for most victories in a season. It also was the first tournament win for the Trojans since 1979. Harold Miner scored 23 points for Southern Cal.
No. 9 Arkansas 80, Murray St.69
Oliver Miller scored 21 points and Isaiah Morris had eight of his 16 in a 17-5 spurt that helped Arkansas get past Murray State. The Racers are coached by Scott Edgar, a former assistant under Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. Arkansas' Todd who, sat out 71/2 minutes with a foul trouble in the second half, finished with only nine points — 15 below his average.
Anfernee Hardaway scored 21 points and took control down the stretch for Memphis State, which recovered after blowing a 13-point halftime lead. Billy Smith added 19 points for the Tigers, making their first NCAA tournament appearance in four years.
Georgia Tech 65; Houston 60
Matt Geiger hit two baskets and Travis Best made a 3-pointer in a game-ending 11-0 run that pushed Georgia Tech past Houston. Jon Barry led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points.
Memphis St. 80, Pepperdine 70
Southeast
Connecticut survived the one-game suspension of center Rod Sellers, getting 44 points from the back-court tandem of Scott Burrell and Chris Smith. Sellers, Connecticut's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, had to sit out the game for flagrant misconduct in the Huskies' tournament loss to Duke last year. Nebraska, 19-10 overall, was eliminated in the first round for the third time in its three NCAA appearances.
At Cincinnati, Ohio State got the most lopsided NCAA tournament victory in its history. The Buckeyes blew Mississippi Valley away in the first half by running off 20 consecutive points Lawrence Funderburke led Ohio State with 19 points.
No. 3 Ohio St. 83. Miss. Vallev St. 56
connecticut 86, Nebraska 65
The outcome of the North Carolina-Miami game was in doubt until Miami's Jamie Mercuro, who scored a career-high 24 points on eight three-pointers missed a desperation 30-footer with four seconds left. North Carolina's Hubert Davis then was fouled and made both free throws to clinch it. Eric Montross led the Tar Heels with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
No.18 North Carolina 68, Miami of Ohio 63
No.13 Alabama 80, Stanford 75
Stanford managed to slow down Alabama's fast-paced offense until he mined six minutes and dominated inside behind Adam Keefe's 22 put shots.
East
No.1 Duke 82, Campbell 56
Christian Laetner scored 22 points and Thomas Hill 20 as Duke opened its bid for consecutive national championships. The Blue Devils, playing just an hour's drive from home, are trying to become the first team in 19 years to win back-to-back titles. Campbell, making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, shot only 18 percent in the first half.
No.16 Missouri 89, W.Virginia 78
Missouri turned out the lights on West Virginia's season after an electrical storm blacked out the Greensboro Coliseum three times in the game. Anthony Peeler scored 25 points as the Tigers pulled away in the second half. Chris Leonard led West Virginia with 25 points.
Iowa 98. Texas 92
Acie Earl scored 25 points as Iowa beat Texas. The Hawkeyes never trailed after an 11-0 run early in the first half gave them an 18-9 lead. The victory set up a rematch against Duke, which beat Iowa 85-70 in the second round of last year's Midwest Regional.
No. 19 Seton Hall 78, LaSalle 76
Terry Dehere made a 17-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left as Seton Hall barely survived a scare in its opening-round game. La Salle led Seton Hall for most of the game and was ahead 70-62 after Randy Woods made a 3-pointer with 4:13 left.
Woods scored 33 points, including 12 during a crucial stretch of the second half. Dehere led the Pirates with 24.
West
No.5 Indiana 94, E. Illinois 55
At Boise, Idaho, Damon Bailey and Alan Henderson scored 14 points each in the first half as Indiana blew open a 31-point lead. The Hoosiers scored the first 10 points, sputtered briefly, then buried the Mid-Continent tournament champions with a 21-0 run. No. 20 Florida St. 78, Montana 68
The quicker Seminoles used a harrassing defense to take control midway through the first half and build a 23-point lead with 13:47 left in the game. Montana cut the lead to 72-66 on a 3-pointer by Roger Fasting, but Doug Edwards sank four throwts and Cassell made a layup in rescuing Florida State.
No. 22 Georgetown 75, South Florida 60
Alonzo Mourning led the Hoyas with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Georgetown outscored South Florida 14-2 in the final 3 minutes, 40 seconds, making 12 of 14 free throws down the stretch.
No. 25 LSU 94, BYU 83
Shaquille O'Neal had 26 points, 13 rebounds and an NCAA tournament-record 11 blocked shots for LSU. Maurice Williamson added 30 points as the Tigers held off the Cougars despite BYU's nine second-half 3-points.
From The Associated Press