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KANSAS FACES EMPORIA TONIGHT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jayhawks hope for improved play from freshmen against the Hornets. MEN'S BASKETBALL | 7A
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TWO PLAYERS RECEIVE FIRST WEEKLY HONORS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11,2008
Karina Garlington and Nicole Tate are the first players to be awarded since 2007. VOLLEYBALL |10A
HAPPY NEW YEAR
PAGE 1B
Speculation puts Hawks in Phoenix
If the most likely scenario pans out, Kansas will play in the Insight Bowl
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
How does spending New Year's Eve in Phoenix sound? For Kansas football fans, it's becoming a likely possibility.
With more than a month left before the college football bowl season begins, the postseason picture is starting to become clearer for Big 12 teams, and the Insight Bowl in Phoenix is looking like the Jayhawks' eventual destination.
The scenario is lengthy, confusing and deals with hypotheticals — but it ends with the Jayhawks likely heading out west for the Dec. 31 game.
Here it is: The Big 12 Conference is assured of getting two teams in the Bowl Championship Series, or BCS, from the trio of No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Texas and No. 5 Oklahoma. One will likely play for the National Championship and a sec-
and will be chosen for one of the other four BCS Bowls — The Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl or Rose Bowl. Only two teams from the same conference can play in BCS bowls in the same year, so it's impossible for all three to reach the BCS.
The Big 12 has ties with eight bowls and each bowl goes one-by-one in selecting a team that they want. The Cotton Bowl has first pick, followed by the Holiday, Alamo, Sun, Insight, Independence and Texas. The team left out of the BCS will end up in the Cotton Bowl, leaving Oklahoma State, Missouri and Nebraska all ahead of the Jayhawks in the pecking order for a bowl.
The Jayhawks, who sit at 6-4, could improve their status and possibly get a better bowl by winning their final two games of the season, but that seems like a slim possibility considering they are both against top-15 teams (No. 3 Texas and No. 12 Missouri).
After the Cotton Bowl, the Holiday Bowl could pick Oklahoma State. That leaves Missouri to the Alamo Bowl and Nebraska, with its well-travelling fans, to the Sun Bowl. The seventh pick then would go to the Insight Bowl, with the layhawks being possibly the only other Big 12 team eligible for a bowl with six wins still available to be picked. Kansas State and Colorado each have a chance to become bowl-eligible.
but because the Jayhawks beat both teams. Kansas would likely be selected ahead of both if the teams tied at 6-6.
The Insight Bowl kicks off at 4:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve and is televised by the NFL Network. It would match the Jayhawks against the sixth-rated team from the Big 10 Conference. Collegefootballnews.com currently projects that Kansas will play northwestern in the Insight Bowl.
If the unlikely scenario plays out, and the Big 12 only gets one team in the BCS, then the Jayhawks would slide down to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
While these scenarios are speculation, its almost certain that Kansas will be going to a bowl somewhere. In 2006 the Jayhawks were 6-6 but were skipped over for a bowl because all of the Big 12 bowls were filled up with better teams. But there doesn't appear to be enough teams that will have the required six wins in the Big 12 this season — guaranteeing that the Jayhawks' worst pos
A look at the three most likely destinations for the Jayhawks come bowl season.
Insight Bowl
Insight Bowl
Dec. 31, 4:30 p.m., Tempe, Ariz.
NFL Network
Tie-Ins: Big 10 No. 6 vs. Big 12 No. 6
Sun Bowl
Dec. 31, 1 p.m., El Paso, Texas, CBS
Tie-ins: Big 12/Big East/
Notre Dame vs. Pac-10 No. 3
PetroSun Independence Bowl
Dec, 28, 7 pm, Shreveport, La, ESPN
Tie-ins: Big 12 No. 7 vs. SEC No. 8 (Or Sun
Belt if no big 12 or SEC team available)
Graphic by Drew Bergman
COMMENTARY
Kansas shouldn't dwell on Saturday
Kansas dropped the ball in Lincoln - literally and figuratively.
Kansas literally dropped it on special teams. They mishandled punts and kicks. Kansas's average field position was an eye-popping 12 yards worse than Nebraska's. That's tough to overcome on the road in a hostile environment.
The first punt and kickoff returns weren't even caught out of the air. On both occasions the ball nearly ricocheted off the return man and then rolled by him. The punt was downed by Nebraska, and Kansas managed next to nothing on the kick return.
Marcus Herford, a pre-season All-American, was fantastic last year, but he has been a disappointment this season. Freshman receiver Daymond Patterson impressed many in the non-conference season and thrilled the crowd with spectacular returns. That's all in the past now. It's straight up scary to watch Patterson field pints these days. The special team's success is in the past, along with Kansas' 5-1 record to start the season.
However, the special teams weren't even close to the worst aspect in Saturday's loss. It's the fact that the team mishandled a terrific opportunity. The Jayhawks had their best chance to win in Lincoln in the last 40 years and they let it slip by.
SEEDUFEK ON PAGE 10A
SOCCER
Jayhawks make NCAA tournament
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
But in the back of her mind she tried to stay positive, refusing to believe her career at Kansas was concluding without any tournament appearances.
"All day I just thought that this wasn't going to be the end of the season for me," Bush said.
Jessica Bush didn't have time to dwell on Kansas' uncertain NCAA tournament fate yesterday. The senior midfielder had more urgent things on her plate, namely a microbiology exam.
After suffering heartbreak at the hands of the selection committee in 2005, Kansas earned an at-large bid largely on its strength of schedule and performance against ranked teams. Francis's team was 40th in RPI when the most recent rankings were released and can count eight NCAA Tournament teams among its opponents this season.
The jahwaks (12-7-2) will make their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the 14-year history of the program when they meet Sun Belt Conference champions Denver (19-2-2) in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday.
Kansas is 3-3 in three previous appearances, all coming under coach Mark Francis' guidance. The Jayhawks best showing was in 2003 when they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to No. 2 UCLA 1-0.
Turns out she had nothing to worry about. Kansas was among the 64-team tournament field for the first time since 2004, joining five other Big 12 teams in the chase for the NCAA Championship.
Kansas watched the selection show as a team, and Bush said the squad let out a loud shriek when the bracket was announced.
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 10A
Jon Goering/KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Freshman forward Quintrell Thomas shoots a free throw during Tuesday's game against Washburn. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
Jon Goering
Freshman rocks the rebound but strives to shine offensively
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Coach Bill Self asked his players to fill out a short questionnaire during the first week of practice.
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor thought one question on the sheet was easy: "Which player will be the biggest surprise?" He quickly jotted down freshman forward Quintrell Thomas and moved on to the next question.
"I put him on my paper because I think he's going to be really good," Taylor said.
"He's going to surprise some people."
Thomas' performance surprised Self.
While the rest of the freshmen struggled, Thomas thrived. He played physical below the basket and frequently worked his way to the foul line, making six-of-eight free throws.
Taylor's proclamation proved to be prophetic in Kansas' first exhibition game of the season, a 98-79 victory against Washburn. Thomas, who was the least-heralded of the Jayhawks' seven newcomers, finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
He said Thomas was sent in to the game to rebound and show off his strength in the paint, but Self said he wasn't confident that would happen after two weeks of practice. He said he thought Thomas was behind the rest of the freshman class.
"If you're going to grade our newcomers, he's probably graded out fifth as a freshman in practice," Self said. "In practice leading up to that point, he's been thinking instead of playing."
Against Washburn, he just played. Since
SEE QUINTRELL ON PAGE 10A