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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2016
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Villanova celebrates behind senior Perry Ellis after defeating the Jayhawks 64-59 to advance to the Final Four.
EVAN RIGGS @EvanRiagsUDK
OUISVILLE, Ky. After the final buzzer, not even freshman forward Carlton Bragg Jr. could muster a smile as he entered the handshake line.
Sophomore guard Devonte' Graham remained on the bench for a few moments, and, once he hopped at the end of the line, it was clear he was fighting back tears.
Senior forward Jamari Traylor — who was moments removed from seeing his college career end — remained on the bench with his head buried in his jersey. It wasn't until former Kansas player and assistant director of student athlete development Aaron Miles, made his way to the bench to console Traylor that he finally got up and joined his teammates.
"He was just there for me," Traylor said of Miles. "It's] just a terrible feeling right now. I was just depressed that it was over."
Sixty-one days had passed since the Jayhawks last lost, and the argument
could be made they played as well as anybody in the country in that stretch. For the first time in awhile, Kansas had an off day, and it couldn't have come at a worse time, as the team fell to Villanova 64-59 in the Elite Eight.
"For a team that's played so consistently well for over two months, tonight was a night that we were out of sync as much as we have been for a long time," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We seemed like we were out of character all night."
The Jayhawks' 59 points on Saturday was their lowest point total of the season, which coincided with a season-low four points for senior forward Perry Ellis. He was just 1-of-5 from the field and finished with four turnovers.
"They did a great job of just trying to swarm me at times, and somebody was always there," Ellis said.
While Ellis struggled, the Jayhawks backcourt did their best to pick up the slack. They combined for 49 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a bad shooting night from three-
point range (6-of-22) and 16 turnovers.
Despite all of that, the Jayhawks still had a chance to steal the game late.
They missed a few opportunities to tie or take the lead down the stretch, but the Jayhawks made enough defensive stops to have the ball, down just 56-54 with 41 seconds remaining.
However, Graham had the ball poked away from behind. And, in an attempt to secure the loose ball, he dove into the legs of Villa-nova guard Josh Hart and was called for his his fifth foul.
However, the game was not over.
After Villanova senior guard Ryan Arc迪iacono made two free throws, Kansas junior guard Frank Mason III nailed a defiant three-pointer to breathe life into his team.
Arcidiacono was fouled and knocked down two free throws again, but the Wildcats lead was only three; the Jayhawks had one last chance.
After dribbling to the left wing, Mason picked up his dribble, waiting for
sophomore guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk — who replaced Graham after he fouled out — to circle around for handoff.
He never did.
After holding the ball for a few seconds, Mason was stripped, and Villanova dove on the loose ball and called timeout with 4.6 seconds remaining. Villanova hit two more free throws to officially seal the win.
"Coach told us to do a pitch-back play, and I didn't execute that well," Mason said of his turnover. "I was expecting Svi to come for a handoff, but he faked backdoor."
But Kansas had plenty of opportunities to make sure it wasn't in that situation late in the game.
In the first half, the Jayhawks fought through some early adversity to take a 16-12 lead. After Graham picked up his second foul on a charge about 40 feet from the basket, Kansas went scoreless for seven minutes and turned the ball over seven times in that stretch. Meanwhile Villanova scored 13 consecutive points and took a 25-16 lead.
"That's probably about the worst ball we've played in a long while, during that stretch," Self said.
However, the Jayhawks fought back.
Kansas closed the gap to four, 29-25, before Villanova junior Kris Jenkins hit a three-pointer to put his team up 32-25.
But to start the second half, the Jayhawks scored
It's hard when people tell you not to hold your head down. We could have done something special."
Devonte' Graham sophomore guard
four points in 19 seconds, and eventually took the lead at 37-36 with just over 13 minutes remaining.
In the ensuing minutes, Graham banked in a three, and junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. hit a circus shot off the top of the backboard while being fouled to put Kansas up 45-40.
The Jayhawks had finally snatched momentum, and, like they had done so many times over the last few months, it seemed like they would snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
"That was the run that we were looking for and that we usually make," junior forward Landen Lucas said. "Usually we build off of it a little better. We missed some shots that could have built on it."
Villanova took advantage of the Kansas lull and went on a 10-0 run, which was capped off by back-to-back three-pointers by Hart and Arcidiacono. Villanova never trailed again.
In the grand scheme of things, the Jayhawks had a successful season. But when it's all said and done, the Jayhawks failed to accomplish their biggest goal. They failed to make it to the Final Four in Houston, which was a bitter pill to swallow.
"It's hard when people tell you not to hold your head down," Graham said. "We could have done something special."
- Edited by Skylar
Rolstad
Jayhawks face World Cup heroes and sprinkler malfunction in 3-0 exhibition loss to FC Kansas City
File Photo/KANSAN
Grace Hagan keeps the ball away fom Oregon State.
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
When the United States women's national team won the 2015 Women's World Cup last summer, Grace Hagan and her Kansas soccer teammates were at Dempsey's in downtown Lawrence to watch.
Saturday, Hagan was face-to-face with one of the standout players of the tournament: US women's national team captain and
"It's just so cool playing against those girls that
center back Becky Sauerbrunn. Sauerbrunn and FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League defeated Kansas 3-0 in a preseason exhibition.
you watch on TV and from watching their YouTube videos and all of a sudden you're going against them one-on-one," Hagan said. "I remember [the World Cup] vividly, it was so fun to watch. And those girls were like heroes to us, so it's crazy that we get a chance to play with them."
Scoring began early in the first half with a goal from Shea Groom. Groom received the ball near the six-yard box and dribbled past two defenders before rifling a shot into the top right corner. Groom scored again in the 63rd minute to make it 3-0.
While Hagan lined up on the right side and forward Ashley Pankey matched up directly with Sauerbrunn, Hagan will lead the team's offense in 2016 having scored four goals last season, the most of any returning player on the team.
FC Kansas City's Erika Tymrak scored the second goal of the game in the 16th minute by sliding a pass from FC Kansas City midfielder Mandy Laddish past the goal line from short range.
During the first half, the sprinklers in one corner of the field were activated. Some players were sprayed by the sprinklers as they rose from the ground and the game was delayed for a short period of time. The issue was quickly taken care of by the Rock Chalk Park grounds crew.
"We knew it was going to be tough," Francis said. "Spring's all about getting better and playing these two teams (the men's club team and FC Kansas City) is helping us get better. I'm not worried about the result," Francis said. "I thought 3-0 against these guys is a decent, respectable result."
Kansas has started the preseason against heightened competition. The team's first preseason game was a 4-0 loss to the KU men's club soccer team on March 5. Against a professional team, Kansas coach Mark Francis said he was pleased with the performance.
In their own respect, FC Kansas City is an elite team. The Blues won the National Women's Soccer League title both of the last two seasons.
"It's like our baseball team playing the Kansas City Royals, it's essentially what we're doing," Francis said. "I thought the first half we were a little bit intimidated; we panicked a little bit. In the second half we calmed down and I thought we did a better job possessing [the ball.]"
Former Kansas soccer player Caroline Kastor took the field for FC Kansas City during the second half. Kastor is the only former Jayhawk to have played for FC Kansas City.
Kansas soccer's preseason continues Saturday, April 9, in Tulsa, Okla. against Tulsa. The next home preseason match is Saturday, April 16, against Iowa.
Edited by Shane Jackson
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