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Volume 128 Issue 33
kansan.com
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
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COMMENTARY Texas, Iowa State may pose threat to Kansas' Big 12 basketball title
Last season, the big 12 was a powerhouse of college basketball excellence. The conference finished top in the RPI rankings and had an astounding 70 percent of its teams reach the NCAA tournament.
For the past 10 seasons, the Big 12 has belonged to Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. With the longest active conference winning streak, Kansas will go into the 2014-15 campaign looking to extend its streak to 11.
Even with the departures of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, the jayhawks still sit atop the preseason conference projections. Their No.4 ranked recruiting class in the nation is largely responsible for that.
"The two rookies at Kansas, Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre, I really think both of them will make an impact," Chip Patterson of CBS Sports said. "I think they've had such great talent at Kansas that Perry Ellis gets overshadowed. I think Perry Ellis is their best player, at least in regards to production, and I think Perry Ellis will be in [the Player of the Year] discussion."
Junior Perry Ellis was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team. With Wiggins gone and the rest of the roster still young, Ellis will be the team's go-to scoring option this season.
Oubre, Alexander and freshman Devonte Graham are all large parts of Kansas' recruiting class. Alexander hopes to fit in down low to replace the big bodies of Embiid and Tarik Black. Oubre is a strong wing player with lock-down defense similar to Wiggins, and Graham is one of the first true point guards Kansas has had in a while.
Ellis has already won two Big 12 championships at Kansas, and if he hopes to keep his perfect championship slate clean, he will really have to step into a leadership role on the court.
Kansas is not the only Big 12 team with a strong incoming recruiting class. Texas is bringing in the No. 2 center in the nation in Myles Turner, who chose Texas over Kansas.
Turner and Alexander will have a lot of battles down low in the two meetings between potential Big 12 powerhouses. Kansas has Iowa State to worry about, as well.
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg is quietly becoming one of the best coaches in the nation, and is projected as the preseason Big 12 coach of the year. Iowa State thrives at receiving transfer students, as they have had three out of the last four Big 12 newcomers of the year.
Kansas will have trouble fending off Texas and Iowa State at the top of the Big 12 this season, but with coach Bill Self on the sidelines, I've got my money on the Jayhawks taking home an 11th straight Big 12 regular season title.
Edited by Alyssa Scott
Junior midfielder Liana Salazar works to get by two Texas Tech defenders during Kansas' 1-0 loss on Oct. 17. Kansas lost two straight games this weekend, dropping to 14-3 overall.
NO WORRIES
Kansas not discouraged after two consecutive weekend shutouts
BEN CARROLL
@BCarroll91
For most teams in any sport, changes are made to get back on the winning track after a two-game losing streak, but that isn't the case for the Kansas soccer team.
Despite dropping a pair of games over the weekend, both to top 25 conference rivals, Kansas's locker room has no cause for concern, coach Mark Francis said.
Kansas lost a nailbiting match Friday evening to
"We feel like we have a good team; we won 14 games," Francis said. "There's a reason that we won 14 games. We just got to keep maintaining and doing the small things that have allowed us to be in that situation."
Texas Tech 1-0. According to both Francis and junior midfielder Liana Salazar, the lone goal was a once-in-a-lifetime goal, and Texas Tech's forward likely won't hit it again in her career. But it was enough to lift the Red Raiders over the Jayhawks. For Kansas, there are plenty of positives to take away from the match.
"I thought we played well, and in the second half I thought there were glimpses where we looked really good," Francis said. "We have to stick to what we're good at. When we start to play long or bang it in the box from deep, things like that, we're not good at that. When we stick with what we're good at, we're pretty good, so we have to be more consistent."
The Jayhawks were denied a comeback victory Sunday
"We're playing good. It's just soccer, it's just like that sometimes."
LIANA SALAZAR
Junior midfielder
against West Virginia, which won 2-0. The Mountaineers, who were projected to win the Big 12 this season, made some key plays defensively, and their goalkeeper refused to allow a Kansas shot between the pipes.
Francis said his Jayhawks played one of the best games he's seen out of his players in
many years, and, although they lost their second conference game, they have nothing to hang their heads about.
"I thought the second half was the best 45 minutes we've played all year," Francis said. "We were phenomenal in the second half. I think if you ask [West Virginia's] staff, they would say the same thing. We were all over them."
Salazar, who is second in the Big 12 with nine goals, agrees with her coach.
"We're playing good," Salazar said. "It's just soccer, it's just like that sometimes."
Even though the Jayhawks likely will not win the conference after last weekend's two losses, there is still a lot to play for leading up to the
conference tournament, and eventually, the NCAA Tournament.
A rematch against West Virginia in the near future could happen, but Francis said he has no plans to change anything if the match with the Mountaineers takes place in Kansas City, Mo.
"We're coming off of a half where we've played as well as we've played all year." Francis said. "That has to be the level and the standard that we expect now from here on out as the minimum that we should be playing. If that's the case, then we're starting to play very, very well at the right time."
— Edited by Alyssa Scott
Jayhawks to face inconsistent Iowa State
BEN LIPDOWITZ/KANSAN
Middle blocker Janae Hall and outside hitter Chelsea Albers go up to block the ball against Texas on Oct. 14.
After dropping its first three Big 12 matches of the season, the Kansas volleyball team (15-5, 3-3) bounced back in a big way over the past week, winning all three of its matches while sweeping the Big 12's weekly individual awards.
KYLE PAPPAS
@kyleappas
"We had a good week and can get right back into the top-half of the league standings," coach Ray Bechard said. "At 3-3 in the league and 15-5 overall, we've done that, but we've got a huge week coming up at Iowa State and with Texas Tech at home. If we could finish on a positive note after the first half of Big 12 play, I think that sets us up with really good momentum."
The Jayhawks will look to continue their hot streak Wednesday when they travel to Ames, Iowa, to take on Iowa State (10-7, 2-4).
Though taking on Iowa State on the road won't be the easiest environment in which to keep that momentum, the Cyclones have won their last six games within the confines of Hilton Coliseum.
Texas Tech despite gaining an early 2-1 advantage. But the week prior, they handed a talented Oklahoma squad its first Big 12 loss of the season in an impressive four-set victory.
Outside of its recent string of success at home, Iowa State has been anything but consistent, managing just a 5-5 record over its past 10 contests. Their last time out, the Cyclones fell in five sets to
"They're good at home," Bechard said. "They've got some great support, they've played at a high level for the past several years, and I'm sure that's not going to be different when we roll in there on Wednesday."
Despite its inconsistencies, Iowa State sits atop the Big 12 in a number of statistical categories, including kills (14.03 per set), assists (13.31 per set) and digs (16.43 per set). It is led by freshman outside hitter Alexis Conaway (2.22 kills per set, .337 hitting percentage) and sophomore setter Suzanne Horner (11.20 assists per set, 2.16 digs per set).
The layhawks are fresh off snagging all three of the conference's weekly individual awards for the first time in team history. Sophomore middle blocker Tayler Soucie, sophomore libero Cassie Wait and freshman setter Ainise Havilli were all honored. Soucie was awarded Offensive Player of the Week, Wait won Defensive Player of the Week and Havilli took Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
"All of them are very deserving and it's fun to see them getting recognized, but we'll see it as team recognition as well," Bechard said.
soucie recorded the best game of her young career last Saturday against TCU, notching a career-high 16 kills on a ridiculous .652 hitting percentage. Bechard has stressed the importance in setting up the Jayhawks' middle blockers with more opportunities as of late and that added emphasis has been apparent over the team's past few matches.
Edited by Lyndsey Havens
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