sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, FEB. 22, 2016
Scherzer: Kansas City is NBA- ready
- ADAM SCHERZER
@AJscherz
Kansas City has estab lished itself as a sports town.
The Royals just won the World Series while the Chiefs made the playoffs and advanced to the second weekend. These teams gave a city of nearly half a million something to cheer about. Not to mention, Sporting KC won the MLS Cup not long ago in 2013. These fans rally around their teams and support them through the highs and lows.
What is preventing Kansas City from having a basketball team? Is the market too small? Is there not enough interest?
However, there seems to be one thing missing in Kansas City—a basketball team.
In terms of metropolitan population, Kansas City, Mo. is a larger market than Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, New Orleans and Cleveland, all of which have NBA teams.
Kansas City also has a stadium in-place that could hold a basketball team. The Sprint Center sits directly downtown and is home to concerts, the Big 12 Men's Basketball tournament and NBA preseason games. Outside of that, the stadium is up for grabs.
There is plenty of basketball interest in the Kansas City area. This is evident by how much buzz and attention the Kansas men's basketball team receives, but if an NBA team would move to Kansas City there would be enough attention to go around. Large markets like Chicago and Los Angeles balance multiple professional sports teams while still shining the light on local collegiate teams.
And even if there isn't necessarily a big NBA presence already, that may actually make some sense. Part of being a fan is attending the games. Because there isn't an NBA team in Kansas City, many basketball fans root for the Oklahoma City Thunder—the closest team geographically. In this case, "close" is a more relative term than anything else, as it's a five-hour drive to go see them play.
Kansas City fans are clearly passionate about their sports teams and they could certainly handle another. The stadium and the fans are there, now a team needs to join them.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Coach Jerrance Howard talks to junior guard Frank Mason III in the second half against West Virginia
Kansas looks to take control of Big 12 race
EVAN RIGGS
@EvanRiggsUDk
A after a road loss to Iowa State on Jan. 25, Kansas found itself in unfamiliar territory. Through eight conference games, the Jayhawks were just 5-3 and one game out of first place.
With Oklahoma, West Virginia and Baylor - three Top 25 teams - all ahead of Kansas in the standings, it seemed like the Kansas streak of 11 consecutive conference titles was in serious jeopardy.
In the last three weeks all three of those teams have come back to the pack and are now tied for second place with a 9-5 conference record. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks have separated themselves.
With just four games remaining in conference play, the Jayhawks have won six
consecutive Big 12 games, and they are now two games ahead of the rest of the conference at 11-3.
If the Jayhawks hold serve at home, they would likely win at least a share of the Big 12 title. But they don't just want to win a share; they want it all to
We want to win it outright. We've got to take care of business.
themselves.
"We want to win it outright," senior forward Jamari Traylor said. "We've got to take care of business. Our destiny is in our own hands. We've just got to go
out there and win one game at a time, but we can definitely achieve our goal."
On Tuesday, Kansas has an opportunity to inch even closer to a 12th consecutive Big 12 title when they travel to Waco, Texas to take on Baylor.
Although the Jayhawks have been the most consistent team in the conference as of late, they will have to try to extend their winning streak with their most consistent player at less than 100 percent after senior forward Perry Ellis received 12 stitches and was scratched in the eye on Saturday.
If the Jayhawks are going to leave Waco with a win, they will need a few guys to pick up the slack for Ellis.
After a rough stretch, junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. has scored in double figures in consecutive games, and sophomore guard Devonte' Graham has proven himself on the big stage this season.
Then there's junior guard Frank Mason III, who has looked more like he did when the Jayhawks were surging in December, and not struggling in January. In his last three games, Mason has scored 14 or more points in each game while recording 14 assists and two turnovers.
"He's still not shooting it great, but he's on an uptick," Bill Self said. "He's playing well."
A lot of what happens Tuesday will depend on which Baylor team shows up. The Bears have been one of the most perplexing teams in the conference, especially over the past two weeks.
Last week, Texas Tech marched into Waco and dominated Baylor in all facets of the game on its way to winning by 18 points. Last Tuesday, Baylor bounced back with an overtime win over Iowa State. On Saturday, Baylor dominated Texas on the road and won by 14, leading by more than 20 points for a majority of the game.
"I don't think they've had bad losses," Self said. "I just think our league is [that good.] I don't know if they're hard to figure out, but if you look at our league, nobody is very consistent. We've probably been as consistent as anybody."
The last time these two teams met, Kansas won by 28 and looked like one of the best teams in the country. After an up and down January, the Jayhawks are playing as well as anybody, and a win on Tuesday would put them in a commanding position to capture their 12th consecutive Big 12 title.
"We want to win the Big 12 again," Traylor said. "We can't drop games any more."
-Edited by Cele Fryer
Jayhawks look to build off near-win vs. OU
Two Kansas teammates celebrate a field goal in the "Pink Out" game against Oklahoma
DYLAN SHERWOOD
@dmantheman2011
The Kansas women's basketball team is coming off its best performance in conference play against No. 20 Oklahoma. The Jayhawks came up six points short against the Sooners, but it was a vast improvement from the previous loss against TCU, in which Kansas coach Brandon Schneider voiced his displeasure.
"I was proud the way they responded," Schneider said. "But that is what is required to compete in this league."
All season, Schneider has wanted to see his whole team complete a four quarter game. He felt his team played with passion and energy every second against Oklahoma.
Hannah Edelman/KANSAN
Schneider also knows the effort shown on Saturday will help the team in the near future.
"I think it's important for everyone in our program to see that this is that type of effort that is required every night, if you are gonna compete in this league," Schneider said.
With this being the closest game of the Big 12 season,
Schneider believes his team can win at least one of their final three remaining regular season games. The team doesn't have many practices left, but more games are available. Schneider recognizes Saturday's performance is a confidence booster.
"Well I hope it gives them some positive feedback that we still have the opportunity
to win a game or two," Schneider said.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the drastic improvements in the last game had less to do with what the coach said and more to do with the actions taken by the players. Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge admitted that after the lackluster effort in the TCU game, a team meeting was held on
Thursday.
Going on the road is no easy task in the Big 12, as the Jayhawks have not won a true road game this season. Their
"We had a 'Come to Jesus' meeting in the film room and it was just about how we had to represent ourselves, this University, and more than anything just play for each other." Aldridge said.
last win carae on Feb. 28, 2015 at Oklahoma.
On Wednesday, Kansas will head south to Stillwater, Okla. to take on the Cowgirls. The Cowgirls won the first matchup on Jan. 24 in Lawrence 74-46.
Tip is 7 p.m. Wednesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
- Edited by Cele Fryer