SEASON IN REVIEW
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KANSAS 84 52 TEMPLE
7
JANUARY 2, 2010
Z
Morris twins, Jayhawks roll past Temple
By Corey Thibodeaux
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
PHILADELPHIA — Before the game, Temple fans chanted, "This is our house." They must have forgotten it was also the home of the Morris twins.
Marcus and Markieff Morris, the Philadelphia natives, had quite the homecoming, easily handling No. 18 Temple with an 84-52 victory Saturday.
"Coming home and getting a victory, thats always nice," Marcus said.
The twins combined for 18 points and seven rebounds and they even brought a little piece of home court to the Liacouras Center.
Given 30 tickets to bring whomever they wanted, the twins filled the whole section behind the Kansas bench with Morris fans.
A surprising amount of other Jayhawk fans made it to the game as well.
"It was big to play in front of my family and my friends,to finally get a game at home,"Markieff said. "I haven't played here since high school and it felt good to play in this building."
Markieff finished with five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench.
His brother Marcus had 13 points, with a shining moment coming early in the second half.
Temple guard Ryan Brooks passed the ball to teammate Craig Williams, but instead of catching it, Williams let it bounce off his face. It seemed the players thought the ball went out of bounds and play would come to a halt.
In wake of the odd occurrence, Marcus Morris took the live ball and ran it down for a one-handed slam in front of his home crowd. He said he was tired and could have done something more with it, but it was enough to send the Kansas fans into an uproar.
Upon further inspection on the dunk, you could see Morris cupped the ball instead of palmed it.
"I've got small hands, so I never
palm it," he said. "I always cup it and dunk it.
"It's kind of like my trademark, you know what I mean?"
It was evident from the get-go the Jayhawk fans wouldn't let the Temple fans overwhelm them. Cole Aldrich, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, was even shocked at the amount of blue in the stadium.
"We have a great following," he said. "I was a little surprised at how many people were there. The great thing is there's Jayhawk fans all across the country."
The Jayhawks came out with a 10-3 run, while creating a lot of missed opportunities. The Owls eventually found their stroke, bringing the score within two with about eight minutes to go in the first half.
An 8-0 run broke the game open for the Jayhawks, slowly building their way to a 40-23 lead at the half.
Much to the Jayhawk's benefit, the Owls kept jacking up ill-advised threes and eventually went ice-cold, going 5-29 from three-point range. Temple shot an abysmal 25 percent from the floor for the game.
Despite his displeasure of giving up 29 three-point shots, Kansas coach Bill Self said this was a step in the right direction for his team finding their identity.
"That was the most in-tune we've been defensively all year," he said.
Temple fans expressed their displeasure, saying this was their worst performance of the season and started leaving eight minutes before the game was finished.
After the game, hordes of friends and family engulfed the players, showing not only how close the team is, but how the whole Kansas following is connected.
Self said this game was crucial in getting his team to become an actual "team."
"Something happens where they kind of grow and bond together and I don't think we've achieved that yet," Self said. "I thought today was a big step forward in doing so."
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris stretches back for a dunk off a fast break on Jan. 2 at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. Morris scored 13 points in his return to his hometown.
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