2B
SPORTS TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I haven't been able to slam-dunk the basketball for the past five years. Or, for the thirty-eight years before that, either."
- Dave Barry, former NBA player
FACT OF THE DAY
Freshman Xavier Henry has scored 406 points this season and needs 90 points to break Kansas all-time freshman scoring record. Danny Manning set the record in 1985.
Kansas Athletics
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Who did Henry pass on the list Saturday?
A: Paul Pierce and Darnell Valentine. Valentine scored 392 points in 1978 and Pierce scored 404 points in 1996.
Kansas Athletics
SCORES
NCAA Men's Basketball:
No. 8 West Virginia 81, No. 11
Georgetown 68
No. 21 Texas 87, Oklahoma 76
Women's College Basketball:
No. 1 Connecticut 76, No. 7 Notre Dame 57
Syracuse 67, No. 8 West Virginia 48
No. 13 Georgetown 71, Seton Hall 49
No.18 St. John's 77, Pittsburgh 65
NBA:
Cleveland 124, New York 93
Philadelphia 126, Orlando 105
Dallas 89, Charlotte 84
San Antonio 106, New Orleans 92
CROSS COUNTRY
Bond nominated to All-Academic list
Kansas senior Lauren Bonds was named to the Division I Cross Country All-Academic list, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday.
This prestigious list honors student athletes who finished among the top 15 at their respective NCAA regional meet and carry a minimum 3.25 cumulative grade point average.
HOCKEY
—Jayson Jenks
Olympic hockey grabs record high views
Sunday's Olympic gold-medal hockey game was the most-viewed hockey game in the United States in 30 years and the most-viewed show of any kind in Canadian history.
Sunday's viewership peaked at 34.8 million.
Associated Press
Royals face another sad year
MORNING BREW
The old saying goes that hope springs eternal, which, with all due respect to Alexander Dune
is a crock. One need look no further than the Kansas City Rivals to see why.
Despite the fact that spring training has only just begun — the time when, spring puns aside, hope really is supposed to exist for every fan base — a cloud of resignation has already set in over Kansas City. Not without good reason, of course. The Royals were awful last year. They did nothing to get better in the offseason. Thus, they will be awful again this year.
It's a simple conclusion to arrive at, given the facts. And that conclusion stands starkly against the aforementioned trope regarding hope. Royals fans have none, and they shouldn't.
But give Dayton Moore and Co. this much: They aren't teases. They could have strung fans along with a series of just-good-enough-to-inspire signings and transactions like that other Kansas City pro sports franchise did for so long. But Moore didn't bother with that pretense. He didn't even try and trick Royals fans into thinking that this year offers even a hint of a glimmer of improvement.
It sounds awful, superficially. isn't it the general manager's job to make the team better? Of course. But only if it actually results in tangible positive results. I much prefer the "we're
BY ALEX BEECHER
abeecher@kansan.com
going to suck and we know it" signings Moore made this off-season.
Jason Kendall was a historically prolific base-stalking catcher in the late 90s, which is a bit like being the obligatory vaguely dorky member of the eight most popular boy bands of that year. It's something of a designation, technically. And it surely doesn't count for much now. Get ready to pine for the glory days of John Buck.
And how about Rick Ankiel? Isn't he a neat story? Sure, it's nice that he's no longer pitching, and thus not a threat to human life for several miles in the general direction of home plate. But he's also 31 years old and struck out more often than he hit safely last year. His career on base percentage of .311 would make a really nice batting average, though.
These are the signings of a team that isn't even bothering to pretend to try, like the 500-pound guy polishing off his fifth heaping mound of orange chicken at a Chinese buffet. It may be sad to see at
first, but ultimately you just have to respect the honesty.
But what about reigning AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and 23-year-old doubles machine Billy Butler? Aren't they young cornerstones around which the Royals could presumably build a competitive ball club? Maybe in several years with the right combination of smart signings and successful prospect development. But let's face it, those things are hard to do. Pining for them will only result in bitter disappointment.
That is why Dayton Moore's offseason plan was brilliant, and, ultimately, merciful. Why get your fans' hopes up only to let them down? Better to kill the dream before it can turn into a nightmare. So thanks Dayton Moore. You did the right thing. Bring on 90+ losses. Or — who am I kidding? — let's go for 100.
Edited by Anna Archibald
BASKETBALL
Syracuse passes Kansas in ranking
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Syracuse took quite a route to its first No.1 ranking in 20 years.
The Orange werent in the preseason Top 25 and, just days after it was released with them in "Others Receiving Votes," they were beaten by Division II LeMoyne in an exhibition game.
But they were back in the poll — at No.10, in fact — just two weeks into the season after impressive wins over California and North Carolina in the 2K Sports Classic.
ASSOCIATED
PRESS TOP 10
The Orange haven't been out of the top 10 since and on Monday moved from fourth into the No.1 spot, taking advantage of a weekend that saw the top three teams lose.
Syracuse (27-2), which received 59 first-place votes from the national media panel, moved
1. Syracuse (27-2)
"It's a great honor, a great testament for these players, these kids, to be number one," Syracuse coach Jim Boehm said. "We all know it doesn't matter that much in the big picture, it's where you are at the end of the year. These kids have worked hard, been unselfish. They deserve it. They really do."
This is the third time the Hall of Fame coach has had the Orange at No. 1. There was the preseason plow in 1987-88 and a six-week stint in 1989-90.
2. Kansas (27-2)
3. Kentucky (27-2)
4. Duke (25-4)
5. Kansas State (24-4)
6. Ohio State (23-7)
7. Purdue (24-4)
8. New Mexico (27-3)
9. Villanova (23-5)
10. West Virginia (22-6)
As always, it's Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense, which it didn't use in the loss to LeMoyne, that is drawing all the attention in the rise up the polls.
to the top off its 95-77 victory over then-No. 7 Villanova in front of an on-campus record crowd at the Carrier Dome.
"The biggest thing is that we've been the biggest we've been inside in a long time and we just cover better. These guys have worked
a little harder at it," Boeheim said. "We're also still leading the nation in field goal percentage (52.2) so we've also been a very good offensive team. They really move the ball and pass the ball extremely well. We've been good on both ends of the court. It's not one thing really."
Syracuse is the sixth team to go from unranked in the opening poll to No. 1. Kansas was the last, reaching No. 1 on Jan. 9, 1990.
Kansas, which had been No. 1 for the last four weeks and 13 polls overall this season, had the other six first-place votes and dropped to second. The Jayhawks (27-2) lost at Oklahoma State on Saturday, the same day Kentucky (27-2) lost at Tennessee.
The Wildcats, who were No. 1 for one week in January, fell one spot to third.
Texas, the fourth team to hold the No. 1 position this season,
rankings from 21st. The Longhorns became No. 1 for the first time in school history in January, but have dropped seven of 12 after their 17-0 start.
Indiana was the last to do it in 1979-80.
Duke and Kansas State each moved up one place to fourth and fifth, while Ohio State jumped three spots to sixth. Purdue dropped from No. 3 to seventh following Sunday's 53-44 loss to Michigan State, the Boilermakers' first game since losing second-leading scorer and rebounder Robbie Hummel to a knee injury.
New Mexico was eighth, followed by Villanova and West Virginia.
They are the fourth team to hold the No.1 ranking and drop out of the poll in the same season
Michigan State led the second 10, followed by Butler, Vanderbilt, BYU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, Georgetown and Temple.
Maryland (21-7), which is second to Duke in the ACC, was ranked for the first two weeks of the regular season. UTEP (22-5), which has won 12 straight, is
"We've been good on both ends of the court. It's not one thing really."
JIM BOEHEIM Syracuse coach
ranked for the first time since February 1992. Xavier (21-7), co-leaders of the Atlantic 10, moved in for the first time this season, knocking out Richmond
(22-7) with a double overtime win over the Spiders on Sunday.
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
Baseball at Arkansas, 3 p.m.
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
Men's Basketball vs. Kansas State, 7 p.m.
Women's Basketball at Nebraska, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Women's Golf
Baseball vs. Iowa, 3 p.m.
SATURDAY
at Duramed/ Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitational,
Rio Verde, Ariz. all day
Baseball
Softball at UIC, Carbondale, III., 10 a.m.
Baseball vs. Iowa, 12 p.m.
Tennis at Tulane, 12 p.m.
Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball
vs. Missouri,
Colombia, Mo., 1 p.m.
Baseball
vs. lowa, 3 p.m.
Softball
football
vs. Southern Illinois-
Carbondale, 4 p.m.
Women's Basketball vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
Track & Field
Track & Field
Track & Field
at Alex Wilson Last
Chance, South Bend, Ind.,
all day
Women's Golf
at Iowa State—NCAA qualifier, Ames, Iowa, all day
at Duramed/ Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitational,
Rio Verde, all day
Softball
SUNDAY
at Western Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 9 a.m.
Softball
at Southern Illinois-
Edwardsville, Carbondale,
Ill., 11 a.m.
Tennis at New Orleans, 12 p.m.
Baseball vs. Iowa, 1 p.m.
Women's Golf
at Duramed/ Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitational,
Rio Verde, Ariz., all day
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
While UConn has been the unanimous choice as No. 1 over the past two years, Stanford has remained a steadfast running mate.
Top two teams remain unchanged in AP poll for first time since 1982
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Connecticut ran its remarkable streak atop The Associated Press
that the top two teams remained unchanged. The only time the top two teams were the same for an entire season was in 1982, when Louisiana Tech and Southern Cal held those spots. That year, though, the two flopped places in early January when the Lady Techsters won the game
women's basketball poll to 41 weeks Monday, while the Cardinal remained a stalwart No.2 for the 20th week. They easily surpassed North Carolina's 15-week run at No.2 in 2006-07 to set a new standard.
It's the longest streak in the 34-year history of the rankings
The Huskies (29-0) have won 68 consecutive games after beating Georgetown on Saturday. They finish the regular season at No. 6 Notre Dame on Monday
Nebraska, Tennessee and Xavier rounded out the top 5 for the second straight week.
between them.
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City of Lawrence
PARKS AND RECREATION
For more information,
call (783) 832-7920 or
visit the Community Building
at 115 W. 11th Street
night. After wrapping up its 18th Big East regular season title on Saturday, UConn has a bye until Sunday's quarterfinals, where they will try and match their own NCAA record of 70 straight wins.
The Musketeers became the sixth Atlantic 10 team to go undefeated in the conference with their victory over Fordham on Sunday. "I'm happy for the kids, but I worry about where we are ranked at the end of the season," Xavier coach Kevin McGuff said.
The Irish were followed by West Virginia, Florida State, Duke and Ohio State. The Blue Devils fell three spots after losing to rival North Carolina on Sunday.
Oklahoma remained 11th while Georgetown moved up one spot to 12th after its loss at UConn. The Hoyas were followed by three
The ACC, Big Ten and SEC have all finished regular-season play and begin their conference tournaments this week. The Big East finishes its regular season Monday night.
1. Connecticut (29-0)
3. Nebraska (27-0)
2. Stanford (27-1)
4. Tennessee (27-2)
5. Xavier (24-3)
Big 12 teams — Iowa State, Baylor and Texas A&M.
St. John's moved up to 16th, and was followed by Gonzaga, Texas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State. LSU, Georgia, Hartford, Virginia and Michigan State rounded out the Top 25.
Michigan State re-entered the poll this week; Georgia Tech was the only team to drop out.