Sport THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSA
Shots of the madness The NCAA tournament ball keeps on rolling BASKETBALL | 6B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010
Road trip proves trying Jayhawks drop five out of seven road games. BASEBALL | 3B
NO.9 NORTHERN IOWA 69, NO.1 KANSAS 67
PAGE 1B
'We're grown men, but it hurts.'
High expectations for postseason play come crashing down in second round
Weston White/KANSAN
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c/thibodeaux
Junior guard Tyrel Reed drives into the lane before dishing the ball off to a teammate. Reed was whistled for a charge on the play, giving Northern Iowa the ball back with 24 seconds on the clock.
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 threees, 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."
minutes without a turnover.
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
In a half they were never in, the jayhawks went to the locker room facing a 36-28 deficit.
The Jayhawks had an
But it's a long game and a situation like this called for one of those big runs the layhawks 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.
"I love all my teammates to death. I'd go to war with any of them and I knew that we wouldn't quit."
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 kawadzo Ablegbe stepped out of
TYREL REED Junior guard
bounds on the inbounds pass and Collins scooped up a two-point layup. All the layhays needed was a stop and a score.
came up short.
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
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.
SEF RECAP ON PAGE 4B
**Western White/KANSAN**
Senior guard Sheron Collins hung junior guard Brady Morningstar in the locker room after Kansas' season ending 69-67 loss to Northern Iowa. Collins finished his career as the winning player in Kansas basketball history.
Weston White/KANSAN
See more photos of the game at kansan.com/photos/galleries
Jayhawks advance to WNIT Sweet Sixteen
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
twitter.com/kgier
With Kansas holding a twopoint lead, the layhawks botched an inbounds pass with 10 seconds left to give Creighton a slim chance at a comeback.
But Creighton freshman Jasmin Corbin missed the ensuing three-point shot and Kansas held on for a 71-68 victory Sunday.
"It was ridiculous," freshman guard Monica Engelman said. "A lot of up and down and even when I was on the court, I was grinding my teeth. I would never have predicted for that to happen that late in the game".
Kansas soundly defeated Creighton, 77-56, earlier this year on Jan. 2. And for much of Sunday, the Jayhawks looked to be headed
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
SEE WNIT ON PAGE 8B
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Members of Kansas' bench erupt in celebration after senior guard Kelly Kohn hit a three pointer late in the second half of the Jayhawks second round WNIT game against Creighton. The Jayhawks led by 13 with just less than three minutes to play, and survived a Creighton run to win 71-68.
COMMENTARY
Aldrich to pronounce No. 5's name
A reporter innocently pointed at a Northern Iowa roster Friday and asked Cole Aldrich to pronounce No. 5's name
Aldrich nailed the first name: Ali. As for Farokhmanes, the last name that millions of Kansas fans will vaguely know but never try to spell for the next 20 years, he didn't even try.
"Mr. F" Aldrich said grinning.
BY CLARK GOBLE cgoble@kansan.com
He probably knows the name now, and I bet he doesn't grin when he says it.
Northern Iowa shocked the Jayhawks Saturday for a mirid of reasons, including the Panthers grabbing key offensive rebounds, the Jayhawks choosing to not press early (more on that in a bit), and the brilliance of Mr. E.
Farokhmanesh sunk a three on a fast break when dribbling the clock out and getting fouled was the only smart decision. If you ever need a
guy to save a baby from a perilous bridge wobbling over a volcano, you now know who to call. If he misses that three, Sherron Collins probably drives, scores and helps Kansas survive a serious scare.
However, the loss simply boils down to this: Kansas, and coach Bill Self, thought that playing their own game well would be enough to take down the Panthers.
It wasn't. Kansas needed to
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 5B