SEASON IN REVIEW 21
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KANSAS 67 69 NORTHERN IOWA
MARCH 20, 2010
Jayhawks' season ends with stunning loss
By Corey Thibodeaux cthibodeaux@kansan.com
OKLAHOMA CITY — Sometimes, a scene doesn't need setting.
In the wake of top-seeded Kansas' 69-67 loss to Northern Iowa Saturday, the locker room was unlike anything it has been this entire tournament: silent.
"We take this loss together,"a sobbing Sherron Collins said."It hurts.We're grown men,but it hurts."
Throw out all the numbers you want — the questionable fouls, the surprising Panther threes, and the starting Jayhawk frontcourt combining for 20 points.
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris doesn't care about why they lost. The team considered the best in the nation is going home after two games.
"There's no way this isn't a disappointment," Morris said."I still think we're the best team in the country and I think we deserve it more than anybody because of how hard we worked during the year."
Now the team will not have a chance to solidify its stellar season. The Big 12 championship,the 33 wins, the All-American selections all for naught.
"They played so good all year long that they raised everybody's expectation level and everybody's hope level to an all-time high because they were so good," coach Bill Self said."When you set yourself up like that sometimes things don't work out."
The start of the game was all too familiar for the Jayhawk faithful — The Panthers couldn't miss a shot and burst out to a 10-2 lead. They didn't get called for a foul until halfway through the first half and went 15 minutes without a turnover.
In a half they were never in, the Jayhawks went to the locker room facing a 36-28 deficit.
But it's a long game and a situation like this called for one of those big runs the Jayhawks are notorious for shooting off. This time
nothing came, but they were close.
The Jayhawks had an 8-2 run late in the second half and brought the lead down to three. It looked like Kansas was about to erupt, but Northern Iowa kept hitting the needed shots.
With 1:24 to go, Northern Iowa had an offensive rebound with a dunk to make the lead seven. Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor followed by hitting two free throws. The Panthers turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Marcus Morris turned it into two points from the free throw line.
Clinging to a three-point lead, Northern Iowa's Kwadzo Ahelegbe stepped out of bounds on the inbounds pass and Collins scooped up a two-point layup. All the Jayhawks needed was a stop and a score.
This was the moment the Jayhawks were waiting for.
"I never lost hope," junior guard Tyrel Reed said. "I love all my teammates to death. I'd go to war with any of them and I knew that we wouldn't quit. We didn't and we came up short."
But instead of running the clock out, Ali Farokhmanesh hit an open three. Reed raced down the court to drop off a pass to Morris, but was called for a charge.
"I was pretty upset with myself," Reed said. "It was a stupid mistake on my part."
Now the Jayhawks have extra time to reflect on this season — to grieve and to grow. Junior guard Brady Morningstar said they would continue implementing the quality that brought them to this point unity.
Looking back, Reed said he would have dumped the ball off earlier or pitched it out wide. He admitted it was a straight up charge, but he can't turn back the clock.
Down by four with 26 seconds left, the fate of the No.1 team in the nation was sealed. And all they accomplished this season was lost in an instant.
Weston White/KANSAN
Senior guard Sheron Collins sits alone in the locker room after being questioned by members of the media for nearly 20 minutes. Kansas is now 15-6 under coach Bill Self in NCAA Tournament play.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE APRIL 7,2010
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