SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, February 18, 1994
11
Kansas' Big Eight title hopes faltering
William Alix / KANSAN
Kansas senior guard Steve Woodberry, who suffered a cut just below his left eye, tried driving Wednesday night against Randy Rutherford. Senior forward Richard Scott, right, played just 10 minutes before fouling out with zero points.
Loss to Oklahoma adds importance to Missouri game
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
Hopes have dimmed for the No. 4 Kansas men's basketball team after losing against Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Kansas coach Roy Williams was no longer optimistic about the Big Eight Conference race.
"It would be a miracle if Missouri doesn't win it now," Williams said. "It's hard to believe what Missouri is doing."
The 63-59 overtime victory in Stillwater, Olda, oversided Oklahoma State into a tie with Kansas for second in the conference at 6-3. The Cowboys improved to 17-7 overall, while the Jayhawks dropped to 21-4.
The Jayhawks' next game is against No. 12 Missouri at 2:45 p.m. Sunday in Allen Field House. The Tigers enter the game with a 19-7 record overall, and they are first in the conference at 10-0. Missouri escaped an upset by Iowa State on Wednesday and won 79-72 in overtime.
The Tigers are led by a group of seniors. Missouri guard Melvin Booker, forward Lamont Frazier and center Jevon Crudup are all senior starters. Williams said that experience had helped them this season.
"They are an exceptional team." Williams said. "They're a tough team to beat. You look at the best teams in the conference, Oklahoma State and Missouri, and experience is a big factor."
Booker is a Big Eight Player of the Year candidate. This season he is averaging 18 points and 4.6 assists a game. In six conference categories,
Booker is in the ton 10.
"Booker has done a great job this year," Missouri coach Norm Stewart said. "He has got to be one of the most underrated guards in the nation. He wasn't that highly recruited out of high school, but he has improved every year."
Kansas freshman guard Jacque Vaughn, a conference Freshman of the Year candidate, may be assigned to guard Booker. Vaughn also excels in the classroom. He was named to the academic All-Big Eight team yesterday with a 3.77 fall semester grade point average.
"For a freshman, he's picked up things faster than any other player we've ever had." Williams said.
In the last game between the two Jan. 31, Missouri defeated Kansas 79-67 in Columbia, Mo. It was the third game that Kansas senior forward Richard Scott played with a sore left shoulder. He played 24 minutes but was mostly ineffective.
Scott played 10 minutes against Oklahoma State on Wednesday, but he was held scoreless and fouled out. Before his injury, Scott was averaging 15.3 points a game and joined senior guard Steve Woodberry as the only players averaging more than 10 points.
Williams said scoring had been a concern from the beginning of the season.
William Alix / KANSAN
"I basically knew that Nov. 1," he said of the scoring problem. "Richard Scott's injury has made it a little different, but it hasn't changed anything. You've got to go with the guys you have. Hopefully the guys other than Richard will step up and take his place."
"Steve has approximately six to eight stitches underneath his eye," Williams said. "It was a pretty good
Woodberry joined Scott Wednesday as one of Kansas' walking wounded when he was elbowed under his left eye after a jump shot.
Kansas junior center Greg Ostertag scored 18 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the loss to the Cowbys.
blow, considering there was no foul called. We anticipate him playing Sunday, but he couldn't play today. He looks like one of those guys who just came out of a heavyweight fight and lost."
Missouri contrasts with Kansas' injury and scoring problems. The Tigers have many scorers to bring in off the bench, but Williams said Booker was always a constant threat.
"They have tremendous depth, and it's talented depth," he said. "They have interchangeable parts. If one of them falls down, somebody else just closes in and carries on."
The game against Missouri begins the last five remaining games on Kansas' schedule. Williams said he hoped less emphasis would be placed on a team's postseason success.
"I do hate that we start pointing to the tournaments," he said. "I hope it doesn't get to that point. We just want to improve each game. I know that sounds corny, but it's true."
Pitcher's rule in game: It's all a 'no-brainer'
By Andrew Gilman Kansan sportswriter
"I'm a lot better when I don't think," Rude said.
Thinking is something junior Dan Raund would not like to do this weekend when the No. 25 Kansas baseball team travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to play a three-game series against the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.
"When you think too much, it clutters your mind," he said. "When your mind is cluttered, that creates worry, and worry creates doubt."
The mind of the Billings, Mont., infielder and pitcher was blank last weekend at the Olive Garden Classic, where he accumulated six hits in 14 at-bats. He also knocked in four runs and scored five on the way to being named to the All-Tournament Team.
Even after a great weekend, Rude said he was still concerned about the mental aspects of the game.
"One of my weaknesses is confidence," Rude said. "That and my mind. Baseball is such an easy sport to get down about. If you fail 70 percent of the time, you're considered a successful player. It takes a lot to control that."
"If you start to hang your head about something, then it will happen again. You've got to stick your nose right in there and go after it."
Kansas coach Dave Bingham thinks that Rude has done just that.
Rude, who batted ninth most of last year, has moved to the top of the order and now bats first.
"It's a big assignment for him to bat first," Bingham said. "He had a great weekend, he was outstanding."
Rude also contributed with his arm. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He also struck out eight.
"I felt good pitching," he said. "I gave up two homers and struck some people out. There were a
Rude was pleased with his effort on the mound.
couple times when I lost my couple time, but I thought it was a positive five and two-thirds outing."
Although the Jayhawks won only one game out of four during the weekend, Bingham was concerned about his team's performance, not winning or losing.
"We're just going to try and play a full game," he said. "The main thing is to sustain a three-game series."
Bingham also mentioned that the Jayhawks were looking to play their type of game.
"We want to control how we play, whether that's versus Sisters of the Poor or No. 1 Georgia Tech," he said. "But overall, we want to win."
They absorbed a 21-4 beating on Saturday, and then turned around on Sunday and no-hit the Horned Frogs for eight innings, while leading the game 4-0. But a two-run home run in the ninth inning and another two-run shot in the 13th inning proved to be too much, and the Razorbacks lost a heartbreaker.
The Razorbacks are 0-3 on the season, with all three losses coming at the hands of Texas Christian University.
"They're a lot like us," he said. "They have a strong group of veteran guys with some holes in their lineup. They'll run the bases and hit and run. They have a multi-dimensional offense. They're definitely a NCAA-caliber type program."
Even though Arkansas has not won yet this year, Bingham said the Razorbacks would be formidable opponents.
Arkansas finished fourth in the Southeast Conference and ended the season 33-26.
"Arkansas will be a good test," he said. "We just want to see who can handle the pressure for us. We want to control how we play."
But Bingham was more worried with his team.
"I can't let things distract me," he said. "Worrying is a big part of the game, and I can't let it bring me down."
Rude agreed.
Jayhawks to face Cowgirls, Sooners in weekend trip
'Hawks head to Oklahoma
By Matt Siegel
Kansan sportswriter
Oklahoma State will have some added incentive when it faces the No. 10 Kansas women's basketball team tonight in Stillwater, Okla.
"We have had some good wins," Oklahoma State coach Dick Halterman said. "We beat Colorado, which was No. 3 at the time. We defeated Creighton and Texas A&M, both of which are leading their conferences. If we beat Kansas I think it would lock up an NCAA berth for us."
Halterman said that Kansas had a lot of motivation as well. He said Kansas was jockeying for a high seed and possible home court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Despite a 6-4 conference record, Oklahoma State is peaking at the right time. The Cowgirls are 5-1 in their last six games and 15-6 overall. The Jayhawks are 9-2 in the conference and 18-3 overall.
Kansas junior forward Angela Aycock scored 23 points against Oklahoma State in a 79-68 Kansas victory in Allen Field House Jan. 23. Halterman said it was important for his team not to let a similar situation occur.
"Angela is possibly the premier player in the conference," he said. "We made a big run last time and she just took the game over. We can't focus on her entirely because they have Tate, Dixon, Halbleib. You can go right on down the line. They have nine or ten players that will step up for them."
Halterman said that equally important was containing Kansas' athletic prowess because he felt that the Jayhawks were the most athletic team the Cowboys would face this season. He said that the Cowboys needed to handle Kansas' pressure better, especially in the first half. As for the offensive end, he said he was hoping for high production out of his post players.
"We're relatively small in there." Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "In terms of bulk and power, I think we are one of the smallest inside teams in the conference. We're challenged in the paint."
The Jayhawks may face an increased challenge because Oklahoma State freshman center Dawn Burnett, has returned from an injury. Halterman said that she was the team's best post player. She missed the first game against the Jayhawks.
"Oklahoma State is very difficult to beat at home," she said. "Colorado found that out. It's going to be a big challenge. They will have a lot of incentive. They are going to get up for Kansas."
File photo / KANSAN
But Washington said her biggest concern was playing well on the road.
Kansas also plays the Oklahoma Sooners at 2 p.m. Sunday in Norman, Okla. After beginning 10-3, the Sooners have gone 4-4 after losing to Kansas 85-78 on January 21. Still, Washington said the Sooners were a team to fear.
"Anytime you can beat a nationally ranked team, there are bonus points," Washington said. "We're at a point now where a lot of teams we're playing have nothing to lose. I always felt that Oklahoma had a lot of talent and that for some reason it didn't jell. This year, their coaching staff should be commended because it seems they are playing better basketball."
Kansas senior center Lisa Tate blocks a shot in the Jahawks' previous game against Oklaheim. Kansas plays both Oklahoma schools this weekend.
Men's tennis looks to build on 7-0 streak
A second tournament crown is what the No. 33 Kansas men's tennis team will be looking for when it travels to Bloomington, Ind., to partake in the Indiana Invitational. Last weekend, the Jayhawks won the Minnesota Invitational by upsetting the No. 27 Golden Gophers from Minnesota in the championship match.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Kansas is off to a 7-0 start, its best since 1986 when it went 8-0. Kansas
coach Michael Center was the No. 2 singles player on that 86 squad.
The Jayhawks face Vanderbilt at 9 a.m. today in the first round of the round robin tournament. Other teams participating in the tournament include Indiana and West Virginia.
Next week the Jayhawks will play in the United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoors in Louisville, Ky. Kansas earned the right to play in the USTA/TA by defeating Wichita State in the Regional Team Playoff finals in Des Moines, Iowa. The victory against the Shock-
Big Eight All-Academic team chooses Vaughn
ers gave Kansas its second Regional Team Championship in three years.
The No. 15 Kansas women's tennis team travels to Fayetteville, Ark. this weekend to play Arkansas Friday and Alabama Saturday. On Sunday the Jayhawks will travel to Little Rock, Ark., and play No. 9 Mississippi.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Freshman Jacque Vaughn was named to the Big Eight All-Academic team yesterday. Vaughn, asociology major,
has a 3.77 grade point average.
Nebraska forward Bruce Chubick was named to the team for the third straight year. Chubick, a history major, has a 3.50 GPA.
Iowa State had three players round out the team. They were Fred Hoiberg, junior, 3.28; marketing; Julius Michalik, junior, 3.29; physical education; and Marc Carlson, senior, 3.47; management.
To qualify, athletes had to be regular competitors and have at least a 3.00 GPA, either cumulative or in the previous academic year.
Compiled from staff and wire reports.