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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, FEB. 1. 2016
Kentucky Coach John Calipari looks on from the bench. Over the weekend, a video surfaced apparently showing Kansas fans asking Calipari if he was ready to "take that L tomorrow," to which he responded, "yeah, we probably will."
Gracie Williams/Kansan ed "yeah we probably will"
Back in November, Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr. headed to the line against Vanderbilt with a chance to set a new career-high in scoring. He had 25 points, and needed just one free throw to set the mark.
▶ SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
He missed both and then two more later in the game.
A couple of months later, against Baylor in Allen Fieldhouse, Selden was in a similar position. With 9:25 to play, he scored his 24th point of the game, but still couldn't get over the hump.
Over the ensuing nine minutes, he missed a free throw, a jumpshot and a three-pointer, as the mark improbably remained.
On Saturday, it finally fell.
"That's probably as good a game as he played since he's been here," Kansas coach Bill Self said of Selden. "That looked like Wayne in Korea. He was great."
Against Kentucky, Selden knocked down a crucial go-ahead three with less than 40 seconds remaining to put Kansas in front. The shot gave him 26 points, but for the game, which Kansas won 90-84, he was far from done.
For Selden, the game was special for a few reasons. Not only did he post perhaps the best performance of his Kansas career, but his grandfather, who, according to Selden, drove to Lawrence all the way from Massachusetts, was in attendance.
In order to be there for the game, Selden's grandfather made the drive over the course of a couple of days, but his trip wasn't complete until he talked to Self pre-game and gave him a message.
Alex Poythress, Kentucky forward
"[It was] the loudest atmosphere I've ever been in."
["Wayne] told me this afternoon, 'He better play good. I came a long way to watch this," Self said. "I think grandpa got his money's worth."
Certainly, before the
game, the atmosphere fit the bill of a college basketball classic. The noise level in the arena reached over 117 decibels, according to the video board, which marked the first time it'd reached that level all year.
"It was crazy," Kentucky forward Alex Poythress said after the game. "[It was] the loudest atmosphere I've ever been in."
But as the game started, it was not quite the contest many had hoped for. Early, sloppy play and a host of whistles, hooped
down the game.
Kentucky guard
Isaiah Briscoe was whistled for a technical foul less than 90 seconds into the contest, while Kansas was over the foul limit before the second media timeout.
Throughout the first half, neither team was really able to take advantage, as they battled back and forth with clashing styles. Interestingly enough, it was Kansas, the team maligned for its use of freshman — or perhaps lack thereof — who was the first to turn to its less-experienced big man.
dropping.
In a tense, stressful atmosphere, it was clear Bragg was just having fun. He had a goofy smile on his face, moving his hands with a sort of "count-it" gesture.
Freshman forward Cheick Diallo was the first player off the bench for Kansas — or either team for that matter — entering the game after junior big man Landen Lucas committed an offensive foul.
The two freshmen combined for eight points in the first half, which Self noted was crucial with Ellis out of the game.
Diallo played eight minutes in his first stretch on the court, which was actually double what he had
"I thought they both played well," Self said. "With Perry out, [I wondered], 'How are we going to score inside?' So Carlton stepped out and made three
10-0f-12 from the field, the two kept Kentucky in front, as the visitors led by six at the half, much to the chagrin of those in attendance.
Freshman forward Carlton Bragg Jr., who accidentally started to say "Kentucky" when announcing his college decision last year, filled right in for senior forward Perry Ellis, who was saddled to the bench with a couple of early fouls. Often one of the most energetic players on the team, Bragg knocked down three shots, two of which rattled all the way around the basket before finally
However, the angst of the Kansas fans quickly turned to applause as a video package was shown honoring booster David Booth, who previously bought Dr. James Naismith's original rules of basketball to donate to the University.
ble what he 'mad
played in the team's
Missy Minear/Kansan
Junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. dunks the ball over Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere.
last two games.
However, it was the other freshman that really left his mark on the game.
"Your excitement makes it all worthwhile," he said to the crowd, walking off with a "Rock Chalk Javhawk."
Missy Minear/Kansan
jumpers."
Sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis and senior forward Alex Poythress were dynamic, answering whenever the Kansas crowd came to life. Poythress even knocked down a corner three, which was significant considering he entered the game making just one of his last 24 from distance.
jumpers In the first half, the freshman advantage went to Kansas. But Kentucky was able to swing the tide another way.
Shooting a combined
finally tightened, and the Jayhawks had a chance to tie the game at the line and even take the lead.
"They were ahead most of the game, but we all knew deep down that we were going to come back," Selden said.
In the second half, Kentucky kept the lead at a similar margin, as Kansas reverted to a triangle-and-two defense. However, it wouldn't be the team's defense that would grab the attention of the fans as much as the offense from junior guard Wayne Selden Jr.
However, the game was far from over.
Selden scored 10-straight Kansas points over a three-minute stretch, leaving him two shy of his career-high. With Selden carrying the load on one end, the defense
A few missed free throws by Ellis and Graham left the door open for Kentucky to pull back in front, as the heavyweights went back and forth over the final few minutes.
minutes.
With 40 seconds to go, down by two, Selden made a play that could've won Kansas the game. He knocked down a corner three-point jumper to put Kansas in front. For Selden, that would give him his career-high. For the Jayhawks, it was much bigger.
However, as the crowd roared back, Kentucky freshman Jamal Murray quickly answered with a two-point basket right around the free throw line.
After getting fouled the other way, Ellis stepped to the line with the chance to give Kansas the lead. He missed the first free throw, and Kansas was in danger of falling at home for the first time in two years. However, before shooting the second, Ellis received a few words of encouragement from his point guard.
"I told him to take his, time," Graham said. "We needed one. So he knocked it down."
With less than five seconds to play, the Wildeats turned the ball over on their final regulation possession. Junior guard Frank Mason III had a half-court shot to win at the buzzer, but it wouldn't fall, although it certainly made Kentucky coach John Calipari sweat a little bit.
"I looked [at it, and] I said, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" Calipari said. "That thing almost went in."
In the extra period, Selden continue to provide
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the hot hand, managing to impact the game from all areas of the court and even outside of it, at least briefly.
For the third time in his career, Selden ended up deep in the Kansas crowd after diving after a loose ball. That effort showed in all phases, as moments later he pulled off an emphatic poster slam over Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere to put Kansas up two.
"He was going in there a couple times and getting his shot blocked, so he decided to go and turn it over on somebody's head," Graham said.
That dunk gave Selden his first career 30-point game, and it gave him 1,000 points for his career. He'd finish with 33, as Kansas finally converted from the free throw line to ice the game.
After checking the other cup on the table and letting out a pretty big sigh, Chris Theisen, Kansas' assistant athletics director, handed Selden a cup filled with water. Selden took the cup and looked over and nodded, while Graham, who was sitting next to Selden, gave Theisen a point and a wink
However, after playing 44 minutes against the Wildcats, it made sense that Selden would be tired. In fact, in the postgame press conference, as he reached for a cup of water on the table, he was disappointed to learn it was empty.
In overtime, it seemed like Kansas had an extra boost of energy that Kentucky lacked, which Selden attributed to the team's experience in close games this year.
"We've played games longer than that this year," Selden said with a smile.
It was a different mood from the teams' last meeting, when Self jokingly said he wished the cup on the table was filled with vodka after losing by 32.
Instead, the players were all smiles, although Self was quick to note they couldn't afford to dwell on the win for too long, knowing that the team has to get ready for it's next game against Kansas State.
.
"The reality of it is, this is just a small step to get us positive momentum to go back to what is really important: conference play." Self said. "K-State is a rivalry game, and you can't take games for granted."
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