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SPORTS
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Rolstad: KU on the fast track to 13-straight
▶ SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
The final stretch of the season for the Kansas Jayhawks will surely feel like a victory lap.
Associated Press Kansas guard Frank Mason III reaches out to secure a rebound in front of Baylor's Jake Lindsey, center left, and Nuni Omot in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, in Waco, Texas.
With a 67-65 win over the No.4 Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas, No.3 Kansas removed any and all doubt not that there was any to begin with — that it could be unseated as Big 12 champions.
Associated Press 15 of an NCAA
It comes as no surprise that Kansas is set to be the Big 12 champion for a record-tying 13th year in a row. What does comes as a shock to the world of college basketball is how quickly its achieved that feat.
Kansas has not yet officially claimed even a share of the Big 12 title, but it couldn't be any clearer that Kansas is on its way to securing the ring.
The Jayhawks lead the conference by three games with a 12-2 conference ledger. Baylor, West Virginia and Iowa State lie in second with 9-5 records.
With four games remaining, Kansas' eases into
games against TCU, at Texas, against Oklahoma and at Oklahoma State. These games might be considered "trap games" if they were scheduled in the middle of the season, but Kansas benefits from taking care of business much earlier.
While other leading teams in the nation were losing those trap games in their respective conferences, Kansas seemed to face a new, more impossible challenge every week.
Kansas showed little sign of slowing down while it was facing top-10 teams in the Big 12 so far this season. Senior guard Frank Mason III's 23 points against Baylor made for the latest moment Kansas fans can point to as a defining one for the season. The Jayhawks could have afforded to squander a home loss to West Virginia on Feb. 13, but they stormed back to make winning the conference that much easier.
Getting these difficult matchups out of the way paves the way for Kansas to consider resting players for a tournament run in
March. That's a debate that starts a lot later than February every season. Will Bill Self benefit from giving a few key players rest during meaningless conference games at the end of the year and in the Big 12 tournament?
Self seems to keep the
starters in games most seasons, but this one is a lot different. Kansas might finally find its first blowout game in the Big 12 season. That performance was supposed to be at Texas Tech — it finally looked like Kansas caught a break — but Mason's trouble battling the
flu, plus a prepared Tecn team kept things just as close as every other game. Kansas won that game 80-79 in Lubbock, Texas.
Kansas is a tired team, but at least this season the Jayhawks got it done early. A 13th Big 12 title appears to be only a matter of time
for Kansas thanks to a number of outstanding performances in tough games.
- Edited by Omar Sanchez
Pair of relay teams set program records in Indiana
MATT HOFFMANN
@MattHoffmannUDK
Junior Strymar Livingston finishes the 4-x-400 race at the end of the 2016 Kansas Relays
A pair of Kansas track and field foursomes set school records at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday. Both the women's distance medley relay and the men's 4-x-400 meter relay set the new fastest marks in Kansas history.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
The meet was hosted by Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. It was also the last before the Big 12 Indoor Championships next Friday and Saturday.
"In the distance medley, the purpose of the first three legs is to get the team in a good position heading into the last leg, and I thought our first three runners did a great job of doing that," said Kansas coach Stanley Redwine in a Kansas Athletics news release.
The last leg, the 1,600 meters, came down to senior distance runner Hannah Richardson. Her time of 4:36.4 would have been a school record on it's own, had the final leg been
a stand-alone event.
"The fourth leg is what makes the difference in that race though, and Hannah [Richardson] was great," Redwine said in the release. "She closed strong
and rounded out a great performance by the team."
Sophomore Nicole Montgomery, sophomore Riley Cooney and senior Whitney Adams made up the rest of the women's
distance medley relay.
The other relay team, the men's 4-x-400 meters, broke their own school record they had set Feb. 4 by almost two seconds. Their time of 3:05.57 was
good for second behind Alabama, who ran the third-fastest race by any school so far in 2017.
The team of sophomore Ivan Henry, junior Tre Daniels, junior Jaron
Hartley and senior Strymar Livingston are now No. 7 in the division one men's 4x400-meter rankings.
"Everyone ran a total team race," Redwine said in the release. "Each individual did well on their legs and really competed well. From Ivan [first leg] to Strymar [anchor leg], everyone ran a great race."
The Jayhawks will now turn their attention to the Big 12 Indoor Championships next week. The meet runs Friday and Saturday and will be held at the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, Iowa, for the fifthstraight time.
"It all comes down to what happens on that day," Redwine said in the release. "The coaches have done a good job of getting the athletes in shape and prepared. Now it's all about going out there and competing and executing. If we do those two things, we'll hopefully have a successful meet."
Football hires Jesse Williams as defensive line coach
Coach David Beaty watches from the sideline against Ohio on Sept. 10.
► WESLEY DOTSON
@WesDotsonUDK
Missu Minear/KANSAN
Next season, the Kansas football defensive front will receive coaching from a veteran voice.
Kansas coach David Beaty announced the hiring of defensive line coach Jesse Williams Friday morning.
Williams joins the Kansas coaching staff after spending the previous five seasons at Ohio under the same position.
Ohio ranked No. 3 in total defense in the MAC conference last season. The team was led by 2016 MAC Defensive Player of the Year Tarell Basham, who became the school's all-time sack leader under Williams.
"Jesse brings a wealth of technical knowledge that will be extremely
valuable in our defensive line room because it all starts with those guys up front, especially in the Big 12 Conference," Beaty said in a Kansas Athletics news release. "The productivity
he has gotten from his players from a run and pass rush standpoint is impressive. His defensive lines have consistently become a unit other teams game plan around
because of his ability to find, evaluate and teach the position."
Williams will help continue to improve a Kansas defense that made noticeable strides this past
season. The Jayhawks ranked first in the Big 12 in pass defense, but the team will likely turn its focus to improving the rush defense, which ranked ninth in the conference (236.6 rushing yards allowed per game).
"I'm extremely excited to be able to work with Coach Beaty and his staff," Williams said in the release. "I'm looking forward to working with the caliber of a guy like [defensive coordinator] Clint Bowen and the talent that is already in that defensive line room — I can't help but be excited. I've never heard a bad thing about Lawrence and my family and I are extremely grateful for this opportunity."
Williams brings with him 25 years of defensive coaching experience, which includes stints at New Mexico State, Nebraska-
Kearney, Colorado State,
San Jose State, Eastern
Washington, Holy Cross,
Portland State and Sonoma.
The productivity he has gotten from his players from a run and pass rush standpoint is impressive."
David Beaty Kansas coach
.
Williams replaces former Kansas defensive line coach Michael Slater, who spent one season with the team in 2016. Slater spent the previous four seasons at Rice under the same title. He didn't have his contract renewed this offseason.
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