Famed Kansas shot-putter William "Bill" H.
Famed Kansas shot-putter William "Bill" H. Nieder was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. Nieder has two Olympic medals and has broken several records.
Gene Chizik, former Texas assistant coach, is named Iowa State's new football coach after Dan McCarney's resignation.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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PAGE 10A
FOOTBALL
Kansan file photo
The Jayhawks must wait another week to find out if they are headed to a bowl game. After losing to Missouri on Saturday, Kansas' record doesn't leave many options for postseason play.
Kansas awaits bowl decision
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
Four months of work has come down to this.
The Kansas football team must wait another week before its post-season fate is decided.
The Jayhawks likely won't know until after Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game if they'll be selected for a conference-affiliated bowl game. If not, Kansas will have to hope to be selected to fill an at-large spot.
"I'm hopeful," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "I think our players deserve it. I'm hopeful that we get what opportunity."
That opportunity will be tough to get.
It's possible, but highly unlikely, that the Houston Bowl, which selects a team last among the Big 12 bowls, could pick the Jayhawks. Houston Bowl officials are expected to pick another 6-6 team; Oklahoma State. OSU is likely to get the nod because of a head-to-head victory between the two teams and the fact that the school is located closer to Houston.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
But before the Jayhawks can be talked about as an option for either bowl, all Division I-A teams with a 7-5 record and no conferenceaffiliated bowl game must be slotted. That means a Mid-American Conference team, like Northern
There will likely be two at-large spots, in either the Poinsettia Bowl or the Motor City Bowl, for Kansas to contend for. The Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego has an at-large team built into its rotation and the Motor City Bowl in Detroit has an open spot because the Big 10 Conference didn't have enough bowl-eligible teams.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 9A
SWIMMING & DIVING
Kantan file photo
Invite finishes season
The Kansas swimming and diving team will attempt to end its fall schedule on a high note when it competes at the Kenyon Invite. The meet begins Thursday in Gambio, Ohio.
The swimming and diving team continues its fall campaign Thursday at the Kenyon Invite in Gambier, Ohio.
BY DANIEL C. WEIXELDORFER
The invite will feature a championship meet format that will provide the Jayhawks with the necessary preparation for the Big 12 Conference and NCAA Championships.
The all-day meet, which continues during the weekend and wraps up Saturday, will conclude the team's fall schedule.
The meet will feature a select group of swimmers and divers that will represent the University among the featured teams.
"We will use the Kenyon Invite to set us up for Nationals," Kansas head coach Clark Campbell said in a previous press release statement. "We will have a select team of 12 athletes who may make national times at the Kenyon to prepare us for fall 2007 and the USA National Short Course Championships."
"There were over 600 athletes from teams all over the map and we represented Kansas well at such a large-scale college meet," Campbell said. "We raced well in terms of where we are at this point in the season because we will peak in February."
The team recently placed second, finishing just behind West Virginia, in the Terrapin Cup invitational, which was held Nov. 16 to 18 in College Park, Md.
Kansan sportswriter Daniel C. Welxeldorfer can be contacted at dwexeldorfer@kansan.com.
SPORTS
Edited by Nicole Kelley
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Julian Wright helped Kansas defeat No. 1 Florida on Saturday on its way to winning the Las Vegas Invitational title. Wright was named MVP of the Invitational, the Jawhacks will next face the Dartmouth Bio Green at 7 tonight in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansan file photo
Jayhawks to play winless opponent
Kansas must stay focused after Vegas victories
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Kansas fans should be on their feet tonight to give a hearty welcome to the No. 5 Jayhawks after their upset victory against then-No. 1 ranked Florida.
They won't, however, have much reason to get excited about tonight's opponent because its not a team of the same caliber.
Dartmouth is losing games by an average of 23.6 points per game and has lost by double digits in all five games. This will also be Dartmouth's fourth road game and the Big Green are losing by an average of 30.7 points per road contest.
The Dartmouth Big Green enter tonight's game 0-5 and haven't been close to winning a game yet.
"We've still got a lot to learn," junior guard Russell Robinson said after the Florida game. "If you look at the tape, there's going to be a lot of mistakes."
Kansas shot a mere 27.3 percent from the field in the first half of
Kansas played its first two road games of the season last week in the Las Vegas Invitational and saw mixed results. Despite coming away with two victories and the "Invitational title, the Jayhawks looked rusty in their 64-46 victory against the Ball State Cardinals.
Still, Kansas will most likely enter this game more focused on areas it can improve, rather than on its opponent's struggles.
that game. Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers had the highest field goal percentage of any Jayhawk with 5-for-7 and led the team with 13 points, connecting on three of five three-point attempts.
with a remarkable overtime upset of undefeated Florida. Kansas shot 53.6 percent from the field for the game and outrebounded a bigger Florida frontcourt, 38-35. Sophomore forward Julian Wright solidified Invitational Most Valuable Player honors with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.
Kansas made up for the lackluster performance against Ball State
"We've still got a lot to learn. If you look at the tape, there's going to be a lot of mistakes."
must avoid letting the guard down against the victory-less Big Green.
RUSSELL ROBINSON Junior guard
As a team, Kansas showed a change in mentality during the Florida game.
Physically, Dartmouth is similar to Ball State in that it is significantly undersized. The Big Green's two tallest players - standing 6-foot-9 - are combining for only 16.3 minutes per game. One of Dartmouth's six play
"Before, subconsciously, there were some thoughts on trying to please other people, trying to play a certain way, or we need to be doing this more, or people are expecting this from me," Self said after the Florida game. "Tonight, there was none of that. It was just about Kansas winning."
Gaming off such a major and emotional victory, the fashyhawks
ers taller than 6-
6 has yet to play
this season.
This could mean big numbers for Kansas' starting front-court, Wright and freshman forward Darrrell Arthur. Arthur leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per
game and Wright leads the team in rebounds with 9.3 per game.
With such a mismatch under the basket in Kansas' favor, the Jayhawks should be able to extend their winning streak to five games, especially if they utilize their big men like they did against the Gators.
"Our guards did a fabulous job of getting the ball to the paint. Fabulous job." Self said. "As well as we've probably done since I've been here."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland
'HORN BORN,'HAWK BRED
Inconsistent team makes tournament play uncertain
BY TRAVIS ROBINETT
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
ROBINETT@KANSAN.COM
One word can describe the Kansas basketball team so far: inconsistent.
How Kansas' season ends will depend on which team shows up in the NCAA Tournament. Will it be the one that defeated No. 1 Florida on Saturday, or the one that apathetically trudged out a victory against Ball State the night before? No one knows.
The former could win it all. Those Jayhawks looked brilliant against the defending national champions. They shot well, worked together on both sides of the ball, set screens, blocked out, made free throws, forced timely turnovers with terrific defense and had some brilliant assists. They started strong and, except for the last 20 seconds of regulation, finished strong.
They were also poised. Every time Florida made a run to tie the game or take the lead, Kansas responded. And, for once, Kansas responded at the free throw line too. Darrell Arthur looked like a professional, not a freshman, when shooting free throws during the game's most important moments. He calmly walked to the line, then quickly went through his routine. He didn't give himself time to think about what was at stake.
If it wasn't for the collapse at the end of regulation, when Kansas made two inexcusable fouls and didn't pick up the rebound after a Florida free-throw miss, the team would have plaved a flawless game.
But as well as Kansas fared against Florida, it looked worse against Ball State. Maybe it was the left-over turkey sandwiches or maybe it was just boring basketball, but I fell asleep watching the game. At one point late in the first half, Kansas wasn't even shooting better than 20 percent from the field.
It was like two different teams made the trip to Las Vegas. Why can't Kansas play focused for 40 minutes against everyone? Whether the opponent is Florida or Ball State, Kansas needs to bring it every game. If the Jayhawks don't, they will be vulnerable and probably won't make it far in the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas was looking forward to the Florida game and it showed. Kansas would have been in big trouble if Ball State had shot the ball like Oral Roberts and had made 58 percent of its three-point shots rather than 13 percent.
I hope the Las Vegas Invitational taught the Jayhawks a lesson: Playing an entire game of focused basketball is a lot of fun.
Ropinett is an Austin, Texas, senior in Journalism.
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