KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2010 / SPORTS
7B
BASEBALL
Kansas faces weekend series with defending champs
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm dub
Senior pitcher Cameron Selik remembers sitting at home last summer and watching the College World Series.
He recalled watching LSU win the national championship, and wishing he could be out there competing against them.
"We want them to be No.1 when we go down there," coach Ritch Price said.
This weekend in Baton Rouge, he and his fellow teammates will get that chance, as Kansas (9-3) will play three games against the top-ranked ranked defending national champions.
If the Jayhawks feel any nerves heading into their series against the Tigers, they aren't showing them.
After winning the College World
Series last season, LSU has rolled out to a 12-0 start this year as they look to repeat as national champs. And the Tigers boast an imposing home field advantage
— the always-packed Alex Box Stadium — which can hold more than 10,000 fans.
Though Price said the main goal was to go into Baton Rouge and play well, his players were more openly optimistic.
"I wanted us to go into a tough environment to play in and be prepared when we open up Big 12 play here in two weeks." Price said.
Price said the road test would provide a good gauge of where his team stood before it opened its conference season at Baylor and later traveled to Texas.
KANSAS VS. LSU
Friday (3/2) - 7 pm.
PLAYERSTO WATCH
Saturday (3/3) - 2 pm.
And though the Jayhawks are excited to play against a top-tier team in a raucous environment, they won't be awestruck by the Tigers.
"I know coach Price set this up for us to get the chance to go out and beat the No. 1 team in the country," Selik said.
Sunday (3/4) - 1 pm.
Edited by Taylor Bern
SP - senior Cameron Selik
Selik's wish to face LSU will come true, as he'll get the start in Saturday's contest. The burly right-hander has been dominant to begin his
Selik
senior campaign. Selik has won all of his three starts while throwing a quality start (six-plus innings, three or fewer runs allowed) in each game. On the year, Selik has tossed 19 and one-third innings with 16 strikeouts and has only allowed three earned runs.
IB - senior Brett Lisher
After putting up modest statistics in 20 appearances last season, Lisher has smashed those numbers during the nine games
in which he's played this year. The former Free State standout has gone 15-for-30 this season with six runs scored and 10 RBI. Especially with the struggles of sophomore Zac Elgie, Lisher needs to continue to produce in the middle of Kansas' lineup.
Lisher
GAME NOTES
While the Jayhawks spent the past few weeks feasting on the Tabors and lowas of the baseball球, the Tigers, too, have faced less than stellar competition — with their opponent's collective record standing at 27-32.
-LSU has gone 45-9 since moving into the new Alex Box Stadium last spring, and has continued the trend of drawing the highest attendance in the country. The Tigers have drawn the highest total attendance for 14 straight seasons heading into 2010.
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Weston White/KANSAN
Texas A&M guard Donald Sloan hits a shot against Nebraska Thursday night. Texas A&M won 70-64 and will play Kansas Friday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Top seeds defeat underlings
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was evident that it was Jamar Samuel's night long before he hit a three with five seconds left in the first half to give second-seeded Kansas State a 25-point halftime lead in an 83-64 victory over Oklahoma State.
KANSAS STATE DROPS OKLAHOMA STATE
The three just made it painful for anyone wearing orange.
Samuels matched his career high with 21 points before the first half buzzer ever sounded and finished with 27 and 10 boards.
With the Wildcats in complete control, Frank Martin sat Samuels and most of the rotation for a majority of the second half as they coasted to Martin's first Big 12 tournament win.
"I can tell you I'm happy," Martin said. "It's the first time in my career I get to wear a second suit in the Big 12 tournament."
Damion James led the Texas effort with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but was matched shot for shot by Ekpe Udoh, who finished with 25 points to lead the Bears.
Texas failed to take advantage with Baylor's leading scorer LaceDarius Dunn forced to the bench for all but four minutes of the first half with three early fouls, and the Bears found a way to squeak out a 86-67 victory.
BAYLOR TOPPLES TEXAS
Baylor's victory means the top-four seeds will advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 2005 Big 12 tournament. The Bears will face second-seeded Kansas State Friday at 8:30 p.m.
Baylor, which led by four at the half, came out of the intermission on a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach early in the second.
AND KANSAS'
NEXT OPPONENT IS...
Donald Sloan scored 23 and
It looked like the Cornhuskers had a chance to steal the game late with a couple threes by Sek Henry, but Sloan and Co. were just too much.
Texas A&M beat Nebraska 70-64.
Nebraska never led in the second half, but they did bring the deficit to one with 4:24 to go in the game.
Now the Aggies get to try to exact revenge on the same jayhawks that squeaked out a 59-54 victory at College Station last month. But with the Sprint Center as close to a home game as there is away from Allen Fieldhouse, Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon is expecting it to be a road atmosphere.
"We won't care what comes out of the stands," he said. "And seeing Bill (Self)'s face at the end of the game, I don't think he was happy with his guys so I imagine the Jayhawks will be ready to play."
Team glad to play at home
TENNIS
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
twitter.com/kqier
Tim Dwyer and Corey Thibodeaux
After a month of matches on the road, the tennis team returns home for matches Saturday and Monday against Saint Louis University and Cleveland State.
Last weekend the Jayhawks traveled to New Orleans to play against Tulane and The University of New Orleans. After losing 7-0 to Tulane, Kansas bounced back with a 4-0 victory over New Orleans, which was cut short because the opponents had played a double header the day before and their coach wanted to end the match to give the athletes a break since they were already down.
"We used it as an experience," Freshman Sara Lazarevic said. "I think we all learned something from each of the matches and we
specific goals that we wanted to accomplish the next match."
T h e J a y h a w k s return home after a month of away matches with important lessons.
Lazarevic said.
The Jayhawks are set to play two matches at home, one at 3 p.m. Saturday and one at 12 p.m.
"I think that we are able to take each win and build our confidence off of it."
Monday.
SARA LAZAREVIC Freshman tennis player
"It showed us that we need to know how to adapt, and be ready to switch back and forth and take every match and build off of it,"
"It is great playing at home because you are in a comfort zone, you don't have to try out courts or balls," Lazarevic said. "I think that we are able to take win
and build our confidence off of it."
Edited by Kelly Gibson
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