THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON REVIEW WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4,2007 5B KANSAN FILE PHOTO Freshman guard Sherron Collins shoots over Missouri guard Steffon Hannah in a close Border Showdown game. The Jaways defeated the Tigers 80-77 in January. The month marked the start of Big 12 play, which began with a marquee match-up between Kansas and Oklahoma State. The contest quickly soured when Cowboys turned in the first of what would be many pitiful road performances, losing in the fieldhouse 87-57. A week later, fans were treated to a spirited Border Showdown game at the fieldhouse, as the Jayhawks defeated the Missouri Tigers 80-77. Sherron Collins had a breakout game, scoring 23 points. Most of those points came as Missouri abandoned its traditional pressure defense to play a zone, keeping the players fresh but also allowing Collins open looks from the three-point line all night. The Tigers compensated on offense, and the game came down to the final shots, where Collins delivered for the Jayhawks once again in the final seconds. "The rivalry is pretty intense, and I can't say enough about Missouri," Self said. "It was a heck of a basketball game." Februarv Things were different in February. Texas A&M's Acie Law was still Mr. Clutch, and nobody was sure who was the best team in the Big 12. Both those things came into play as ESPN's College GameDay visited Lawrence for the Kansas vs. Texas A&M game Feb. 3. Law emerged as the star of a close game, making a three-pointer with a hand in his face in the game's final seconds to lead the Aggies to a 69-66 KANSAN FILE PHOTO Junior forward Darnell Jackson watches as Texas A&M celebrates its victory at Allen Fieldhouse. Aggie guard Acie Law IV scored the game-winning shot to end the score at 69-66. KANSAN FILE PHOTO After the loss to the Aggies, the Jayhawks didn't lose again for the rest of the month. They went to Columbia and beat Missouri by 18 and defeated Kansas State both in Lawrence and Manhattan. Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers struggles to drive against UCLA forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and guard Josh Shipp. Chalmers scored just two points in the Jayhawks' 68-55 loss in the Elite Eight. Add a victory at the Big 12 Tournament against Kansas State, and the layhawks went 5-0 against their rivals in 2007. The second game against the Wildcats came at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, where a sellout crowd was waiting to see if new coach Bob Huggins would deliver on his guaranteed victory. victory. The Jayhawks fell a game back in the Big 12 race, meaning they would likely have to win out to be conference champions. He couldn't — the jayhawks are now 24-0 in Manhattan the past 24 seasons — but the Wildcats did come close. The game was kept tight until the final minutes, when Huggins was whistled for a technical and the Wildcats began to tire inside the paint, losing their rebounding edge. "We gave them too many second chances," Huggins said. "They're good, and we didn't do enough to win." Kansas also got the help it needed, returning to the conference phase after Texas A&M lost to Texas Tech. The players watched the game on their cell phones, watching the score refresh as they rode a bus to their hotel in Boulder, Colo. When the Red Raiders squeaked out a twopoint victory, even Self joined the players in a scream of excitement. One of the team's goals at the beginning of the season was to win the Big 12 title, and the Jayhawks again could do that. "It's a good feeling." Sasha Kaun said, "But we have a lot of games left." The Jayhawks were almost snagged in Oklahoma, as the Sooners applied stronger defensive pressure than the team had previously seen. The pressure rattled Sherron Collins, but the freshman survived, staying in the game and playing in most of the 67-65 victory. "Brandon has got to step up." Self said. "He can't just score eight points or five points. He's better than that." Leaving Oklahoma, the team's big story was Brandon Rush. Self called him out after the game, saying he have to be more aggressive if the Jayhawks were going to have a shot in March. March The biggest month of the basketball season came roaring in, as Kansas defeated Texas 90-86 to become the undisputed Big 12 Champions. From there, it was off to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament, where Kansas opened with ho-hum victories against Oklahoma and Kansas State. "They're just ready to get back to their rooms and play PlayStation." Self ioked. The team worked hard to keep their same focus amid the distractions of March. Coaches urged the players to turn their cell phones off, so they wouldn't be distracted by friends calling to wish them well or family members looking for tickets. "If our guys aren't focused, then we won't have a chance to go very far," Self said. "So many things could throw your focus off. It could be agents, runners, media requests, friends, girl-friends, family members, tickets, cell phones. All of a sudden you start trying to be something to a lot of people, and you've lost it." That wasn't road to the title in Chicago, where it faced Niagara and Kentucky in the first two rounds. National pundits were already beginning to pronounce Kansas the hottest team in America. A 40-point victory against Niagara, followed by a 12-point victory against Kentucky, brought even "The thing I'll take away from it is that we had a bunch of talented kids that sacrificed for the good of the program." the case at the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas defeated Texas 88-84 in an overtime game that was every bit as thrilling as the first one. The Jayhawks rallied from 22 points down to defeat the Longhorns, the largest come-from-behind victory in school history. They didn't have much time to savor the victory, as the NCAA tournament pairings were announced just minutes later. Kansas started its BILL SELF Men's basketball coach more national fans to the bandwagon. Being the best isn't good enough in March Madness, however. A team also has to play six consecutive flawless games. Headed into the second weekend in San Jose. it looked like the Jayhawks might be able to make that happen. Southern Illinois was able to rattle Kansas with its pressure defense, but Brandon Rush arrived right on time. He led the Jayhawks to a 61-58 victory by taking charge down the stretch, just the way Self had been urging him to do all season. Two days later, the season ended with a 68-55 loss to UCLA, a game in which Kansas missed 19 layups and tip-ins. After the game, but before the draft speculation began, Self looked back at the season that was. "The thing I'll take away from it is that we had a bunch of talented kids that sacrificed for the good of the program." Self said. "We liked sharing the ball." Unlike college football, the college basketball season ends with a loss for almost every team, in a conference tournament or the NCAA tournament. The Jayhawks prepared for an offseason of more practices and conditioning, reminded of just how close they had come. "It hurts," Self said. "I really felt like this was our year." Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com. C.J. Moore and Shawn Shroyer contributed to this article. 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