THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13,2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 10B
NCAA tournament revives Border War
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Junior forward Liana Salazar gathers herself before a free kick in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinal. Salazar made the shot, tying the game, but Kansas fell to Oklahoma 2-1.
AMIE JUST
The dormant Border War will be temporarily resurrected Sunday.
@Amie Just
the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship slated Kansas and Mizzou against each other in the first round.
"I'm thrilled for the girls that they get this opportunity," said coach Mark Francis. "Getting selected to play in this tournament is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication this year. And as if the stakes weren't already high enough, getting to play our rival Missouri will make this game much more special. It should be a great atmosphere out here on Sunday."
This will be the second time Kansas and Missouri have played each other in any sport since Missouri's departure for the SEC. The first time the two schools met post-conference realignment was during the 2014 NCAA Softball Tournament.
The last time Kansas and Missouri met on the pitch was back in 2011, when the Tigers won, 3-2. Missouri also owns the all-time series against Kansas by a narrow margin of 10-9-1.
This is the sixth time for both Kansas and Missouri where both teams made postseason appearances. Kansas' last appearance in the Big Dance was back in 2011. Missouri last advanced in 2012.
Heading into the tournament, Kansas is ranked No. 18 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire top-25 poll. Missouri is ranked No. 37.
Kansas boasts a record of 15-5 and finished third in the Big 12. The record is the third-best record in program history and the best outing by the Jayhawks in the past
10 seasons. Kansas has defeated three NCAA tournament teams, including Colorado, Oklahoma State and Texas.
Junior midfielder Liana Salazar, senior defender Caroline Van Slambrouck, junior forward Ashley Williams and senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Stroud lead the charge for the Jayhawks. Salazar, Van Slambrouck and Williams
were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Stroud led the Big 12 with a 0.61 goalsagainst average and a .867 save percentage.
Other Jayhawks recognized by the Big 12 are senior midfielder Jamie Fletcher (All-Big 12 second team) and freshman defender Kalyrie Morrison (Big 12 All-Newcomer team).
Stroud was red carded at the
1 conference record. The Tigers have four wins against other tournament teams: Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia and Arkansas.
Missouri holds a record of 11-6-3 and finished fourth in the SEC standings with a 6-4-2.
90-minute mark in the final game of the regular season. Under the rules, she was ruled ineligible for the following game — the game in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma. She should be eligible for the game against Missouri.
named to the All-SEC first team. Senior midfielder Kaysie Clark, All-SEC first team, leads the Tigers with 16 points on three goals and 10 assists. Junior defender Candace Johnson and junior forward/ midfielder Reagan Russell were named to the All-SEC second team. Freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Clark was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
The faceoff begins at 1 p.m. Nov. 16, at Rock Chalk Park. Tickets are free for students with a valid student ID.
COMMENTARY
Kansas needs to patch things up before Kentucky
Kansas men's basketball learned on the fly last year, and it
will attempt to do the same this year as it prepares it for next week's matchup with Kentucky.
For one, Kansas still need to find a consistent outside shooter. This was one of the worries that came with Conner Frankamp's departure, and many are hoping Sviatoslav Mykhaliuik or Brannen Greene can fill that void.
The final score against Emporia State wasn't any indication of the struggles still facing this Kansas team; it still has many shortcomings to polish.
The Jayhawks dismantled both of their exhibition opponents, and the season will truly get underway when they face UC Santa Barbara Friday night. But everyone is still expecting that game to be a tune-up for KU's match-up with blue-blood Kentucky in Tuesday's Champions Classic in Chicago.
The Jayhawks started Tuesday night's game off 1-of-9 from the perimeter, but finished 6-of-18. While you don't want to base an argument on two games, early indications haven't necessarily been promising.
Teams can get by with a lack of shooting by crashing the glass and scoring in transition, but an outside threat that can scare teams would open things up for the offense.
Another problematic area is the point guard position, which seems to have been an issue for Bill Self's teams the last four years. Kansas still needs to figure out if Devonte' Graham or Frank Mason is the best starting option moving forward.
Mason will probably get the nod early in the season, but if Graham can get past the typical freshman mental errors, there's no question that he has a higher ceiling than Mason.
With all of the other weapons on offense, all Kansas needs a point guard to do is to facilitate and control the tempo of the game. If Mason or Graham can separate themselves, it will make it easier for Kansas' offense to thrive.
Kansas looked further along than perceived when it took down Duke last year, but still had problems even after that.
Kentucky has its share of problems as well and will have to manage the overload of talent present on its roster.
For teams trying to find their identity, non-conference play is no walk in the park.
Edited by Jordan Fox
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