THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013
PAGE 58
MFN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks can still scrape together a passing grade
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
AP CHEMISTRY
Kansas was supposed to "come together as a team" in the Bahamas, according to coach Bill Self. When that didn't happen, Self extended the deadline to the Colorado-Florida road trip.
"We passed the ball miserably," Self said, after falling 67-61 to Florida on Tuesday.
That might be an understatement. As the Gators closed in on the Jayhawks it seemed as though the panic became contagious within the team.
Two more losses later, the team might not be showing many signs of chemistry, but Self has been able to identify why.
Perry Ellis, Frank Mason, Wayne Selden, Jr., Naadir Tharpe and Andrew Wiggins each had at least three turnovers, while Mason led the team with five on top of zero assists.
It was Mason's third start of the year yet Tharpe only played four more minutes than the freshman, while Selden was only on the floor for 14 minutes. It was the second time in as many games that Self has pulled Selden for long stretches while the lavahawks were trailing.
Part of that is because of poor play, while another part is that Self is forced to play those who have proven to help the team overall.
"Our guard play hasn't been very consistent so far," Self said. "I can't blame it all on youth. We could have come here and played great and got beat by six. A lot of it may be youth, but I think we can still individually play better."
A HEAD (AND SHOULDERS)
ABOVE THE CLASS
Apparently Joel Embid's transition to the starting lineup had been in the plans for a while.
When the team announced Em-
bidid would start at Florida it wasn't exactly a shock. Tarik Black hadn't been able to produce anything more than a personal foul while the seven-foot freshman continued to make promising plays. Add in the fact that Embid was returning to Gainesville, Fla., where he played high school ball and it was nearly a foregone conclusion that we would get his shot.
"He told me that last week," Embid said of Self's decision to start him. "I think because I was playing good."
Yet even while he was on the floor. Embidid couldn't figure out just why the Jayhawks couldn't stop Florida's commanding 21-0 run.
"I don't even know what happened," Embiid said. "We just turned the ball over way too much."
STUDYING ABROAD
Against Florida, the Canadian prospect exploded for 26 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks while making all eight of his free throws.
Over the last few games two chants have become very common when Andrew Wiggins is on the floor. In Colorado it was "U.S.A! U.S.A!" In Florida, it was "overrated". Regardless, no Jayhawk showed more in the two losses than Wiggins.
In Colorado, the freshman scored more than 20 points as well. Self has admitted that you can teach aggressiveness and it seems as though Wiegens has been paying attention.
"I thought he played pretty agressive for the most part the entire game," Self said. "I just don't think he got very many opportunities in the first half."
His athleticism and hustle have never been in question, but it's Self's job to get Wiggins to put it all together.
"It feels good," Wiggins said of his performance. "Even though we lost it just shows that we're not going to back down and we're fighting to the end."
Edited by Sarah Kramer
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Freshman center Joel Embiid shoots the ball during the Dec. 10 game against Florida. Embiid, who played high school basketball in Gainesville, Fla., made his first career start and scored 6 points during the game. Kansas lost the game 67-61.
NCAA BASKETBALL
No.4 Wisconsin beats Milwaukee 78-52, remains undefeated
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sam Dekker and Traevon Jackson scored 12 points each for Wisconsin (11-0).
MADISON, Wis. — Ben Brust scored 18 points and Frank Kaminsky added 16 as No. 4 Wisconsin remained undefeated with a 78-25 victory over in-state rival Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Kyle Kelm scored 17 points to lead Milwaukee (9-3), while Matt Tibv added 11.
The Badgers are 11-0 for the first time since 1993-94.
The Badgers took control in the first half after shaking off some early shooting troubles. Brust kept
the badgers afloat during their struggles, hitting his first six shots, including four from behind the 3-point line.
Up 22-13 more than midway through the first half, the rest of the team found its stroke. Wisconsin reeled off a 23-7 run that featured five 3-pointers by five Badgers to blow the game open.
Averaging nine turnovers per game, Wisconsin had three straight after missing a shot on its first possession. Outside of Brust, the Badgers were 3 of 11 to start from the field.
The Badgers finished the half 9 of 13 from beyond the arc but connected on just one of 13 3-point
attempts in the second half.
But Milwaukee couldn't get out of the hole it dug in the first half, when the Panthers turned the ball over 11 times and the Badgers turned them into 18 points.
Tiby came in as the Panthers' leading scorer, and though he scored in double figures, the Badgers played him physically all game. Kaminsky blocked Tiby's first shot and the Milwaukee forward was 3 for 10 for the game and had six turnovers.
Milwaukee cut the Badgers' lead to 16 points once in the second half, but that was snuffed out by a quick 10-0 Wisconsin run.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wisconsin's Sam Dekker (15) pulls down a defensive rebound away from Milwaukee's Kyle Kelm during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Madison, Wis.
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