THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2020
SPORTS
7B
COLLEGE SPORTS
Dodd discusses KU sports
BY HALLIE MANN hmann@kansan.com
Dennis Dodd, senior writer for BCSports.com, spends most of his time traveling, watching games and writing sports stories. Dodd covers college football in his column but says it's a year-round job no matter what beat you are covering. On Tuesday, he took time from his busy schedule to talk Big 12 Football, the BCS Championship and Kansas basketball.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
The big story in Big 12 Football is the fight for the North. Dodd said that the jumble of teams and performances in the division make it the story to follow. Teams like Texas always do well, but this week the focus should be on Kansas vs. Kansas State Dodd said. Kansas State went 2-6 in Big 12 play last year.
"No one expected Kansas State to be any good," Dodd said.
With the return of coach Bill Snyder to Kansas State, the Wildcats have gone 3-2 in conference play with a surprising 62-14 victory against Texas A&M, Oct. 17. This was not the Kansas State team that writers, including Dodd,
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saw coming into the beginning of the season and the Sunflower Showdown could be an elimination game for the Big 12 North, Dodd said.
BCS
In the BCS race, Dodd is following the smaller teams such as TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State, who are all gunning for a bowl game. All three teams are undefeated going into this week with Cincinnati ranked 5th. TCU ranked 6th and Boise State ranked 7th in the BCS poll. Dodd said his biggest fear is that these teams will go up against each other, hurting their chances to play against some big schools in the postseason.
KANSAS BASKETBALL
Iowa, currently ranked 4th in the BCS polls is also on Dodd's radar. Iowa has crept up the BCS rankings after making their first appearance since their preseason rank of 22nd, in week 5 at 13th. The Hawkeyes are undefeated and beat teams such as Michigan and
Indiana already this season. Dodd said they could be on their way to the national championship game if Texas, Florida or Alabama have any upsets.
As football heads into the second half of its season, Dodd is already looking at the potential for the Kansas men's basketball team. Kansas is currently ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls and Dodd said he thinks they deserve it.
"They're like Lyndon Johnson becoming the president," Dodd said. "They're just a heartbeat away if one of those teams fall."
"I almost a curse being ranked No. 1 going into the season," Dodd said. "Luckily the rankings aren't as important in college basketball because of the tournament."
Two years ago, Dodd said that Kansas kind of came out of nowhere in the its rise to national champions. With returning All-Americans Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, and coach Bill Self, whom Dodd highly respects, he said he expects that the team can go all the way to the National Championship again this season.
Close game turned to total blowout
— Edited by Alicia Banister
NBA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic, foreground, of Slovenia, drives downcourt after grabbing a rebound in front of Orlando Magic forward Mickael Pietrus, of France, and center Marcin Gortat, background right, of Poland. This was at an NBA basketball game.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO. Fla. — Ryan Anderson had 20 and 10 rebounds, Dwight Howard scored 25 and the short-handed Orlando Magic defeated the previously unbeaten Phoenix Suns 122-100 on Wednesday night.
Playing without injured Vince Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis, the Magic built a 23-point lead in the third quarter to pull away from the Suns.
Amare Stoudemire finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix (4-1), which was looking to match the 1984-85 team for the franchise's best start. The Suns had come back from deficits in the first half but never did come close after the Magic built a big lead late.
Jamee Nelson added 16 points, and Mickael Pietrus had 15 points for the Magic. And they did it despite Carter miss the game with a sprained left ankle that coach Stan Van Gundy said doesn't appear serious, while Lewis is suspended for the first 10 games after testing positive for an elevated level of testosterone.
The Magic turned a close game into a blowout.
Led by a powerful performance by its front court, Orlando opened the third quarter with a 16-4 spurt. Howard and Anderson were slicing through the paint for dunks, and their dominant play inside opened up shots on the perimeter that Orlando — at times — couldn't seem to miss.
The Magic shot 52.2 percent from 3-point range and 52.3 percent from the field for the game. But they didn't get much resistance.
Orlando used a flurry of 3-pointers, including a pair by Anderson, to take a 14-point lead in the first quarter that didn't last long. The Magic started missing, the Suns started running — as they so often do — and ended the period on a 12-2 run that tightened the gap to 29-25.
The Suns started slow for the
second straight night.
The Magic's starters returned in the second quarter and, at first, hardly missed. That potent 3-point attack was in full force, with J.J. Redick and Pietrus connecting to open up an 11-point lead.
That seemed to be the early pattern.
Head first
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rubin Kazan's player Cristian Kassal, right, fights for the ball with FC Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Group F Champions League soccer match was in Kazan, Russia, Wednesday.
NBA
Dwayne Wade snags 40 in victory against Wizards
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Dwyane Wade scored 40 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 25 seconds left, to lead the Miami Heat in a 93-89 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
It was the first time Wade reached 40 points since getting a career-high 55 in April against New York. Quentin Richardson had 19 points and nine rebounds for Miami (4-1).
Miami Heat guard Dorell Wright goes between Washington Wizards guards Gilbert Arenas (0) and Randy Foye, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, in Washington. Miami heat Washington 91-80
Wade took the spotlight away from Washington's Gilbert Arenas, who scored 32 but was 9 of 27 from the field.
Arenas missed a layup with 17 seconds left after Wade's jumper, falling hard to the ground after driving through traffic, and rushed a short jumper on the next possession with the Wizards trailing by three points to end Washington's chances.
Arenas gave Washington an 89-87 lead with 1:30 remaining, driving the lane for a layup with 1 second showing on the shot clock. Jermaine O'Neal hit a jumper to tie it 19 seconds later.
DeShawn Stevenson missed two free throws with 44 seconds left to set up Wade's jumper.
Brendan Haywood had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Caron Butler had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.
The tight final minutes came after Miami opened up a big early lead. Haywood opened the game with the dunk, but the Wizards didn't hold the lead again until Haywood's hook shot at 6:28 left in the third quarter gave Washington a 57-56 edge.
The rest of the quarter belonged to the team's dueling stars. Arenas scored nine of Washington's final 13 points in the third quarter. Wade outdid
him, tallying Miami's final 10 points, including a last-second layup to tie the game at 66 entering the fourth quarter.
Miami had led by as many as 19 in the opening quarter, going up 27-8 with three-and-a-half minutes left in the first.
The Wizards clawed back in the second period. With Arenas on the bench, Washington went on a 17-2 run over a nearly 5-minute span to pull to 37-36. Wade made sure the Heat would hold on to the lead with a pair of 3-pointers, and Miami led 50-41 at halftime.
The Wizards finished the game without starter Mike Miller, who left in the fourth quarter with a
left shoulder sprain. Miller first hurt the shoulder in the third quarter in a collision with the Heat's Mario Chalmers. Miller was taken to the locker room and returned to the bench a few minutes later with his shoulder taped. He re-entered the game late in the third quarter.
Miller, who was acquired by Washington in a trade with Minnesota in June, aggravated the injury with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter when he fell to the court on a foul by Miami's Joel Anthony. Miller completed the 3-point play and stayed in the game for about another minute before again leaving for the locker room.
NBA
Raptor player picks up first double-double of this year
TORONTO — Andrea Bargnani had 22 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, Chris Bosh scored 25 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons 110-99 on Wednesday night.
Hedo Turkoklu added 16 points and Antoine Wright had 12 for the Raptors, who had lost seven of their previous eight games against the Pistons.
Toronto became the first team
this season to score more than 100 points against Detroit, which came in second in the league behind Boston in points allowed at 85.3.
Ben Gordon had a season-high 30 points, former Raptors player Charlie Villanueva and Will Bynum each scored 16 for the Pistons, who have lost three of four. Rodney Stuckey added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Associated Press
Gordon went 4 for 5 from the floor in the first as Detroit built a nine-point lead before Toronto closed the quarter with an 8-3 run
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