Kansan photo by Jim Wheeler
Rebound struggle
Battling for a rebound underneath the Kansas basket are KU's Bruce Sloan (31) and Dave Robisch (40) and Missouri's Don Tomlinson (50). Tomlinson's 15-of-18 free throw shooting helped Mizzou to 30-of-38 at the charity stripe and a 56-55 upset victory Saturday.
Frenzied Big Eight race heads into stretch drive
KANSAS CITY (UPI)
KANSAS CITY (61) Thirteenth-ranked Colorado puts its precarious Big Eight basketball lead on the line twice this week as the conference race hits the stretch drive.
The Buffs, who were edged 70-68 by Kansas State Saturday night, will carry a 7-2 conference record into tonight's battle at home against Oklahoma State.
Twelfth-ranked Kansas, which blew a golden opportunity to take the lead when it dropped a homecourt decision to Missouri, 56-55. Saturday, is idle until next Saturday. The Jayhawks, now 18-4 overall, are only one-half game behind the Buffs with a 7-3 league mark.
Kansas State, very much in the race with a 5-3 record after its win over Colorado, plays Oklahoma (1-7) tonight.
Feb. 17
1969 KANSAN 7
Missouri and Iowa State tangle at Ames in tonight's other conference match.
The defending champion Wildcats had to hold off the rallying Buffs for their victory Saturday. Kansas State surged to a 67-52 lead with 4:22 remaining in the game, but Colorado kept closing the gap until time ran out.
Kansas State, now 10-10 for the season, was paced by Jerry Venable and Steve Honeycutt each with 16 points. Cliff Meely connected on 10 field goals and 11 free throws for Colorado as the Buffs dropped only their fourth game in 21 outings.
Iowa State won its third straight overtime victory over Nebraska this season by a 75-74 mark at Lincoln, Saturday.
Oklahoma State pushed its league record to 4-5 with a 55-52 overtime win over rival Oklahoma.
First loss at home
By BOB KEARNEY
Kansan Sports Editor
Mizzou breaks KU charm; squeak by Jayhawks, 56-55
Missouri's basketball hex-that of upsetting KU's Jayhawks by razor-thin margins-did the work of a double-whammy Saturday, 56-55.
The Jayhawks in general, and 6-9 sophomore pivot Dave Robisch in particular, were at least that tight for the first 30 minutes. Missouri forged a 23-21 halftime edge and had a 37-36 lead at 9:32 of the second half see-saw.
The Bengals handed Kansas its third one-point setback in the last four meetings between the two clubs. In the process, Mizzou broke the Allen Field House spell that doomed eight previous KU opponents this season.
Missouri cashed in 30 to 38 free throws, including Don Tomlinson's 15-of-18 harvest at the charity stripe. The two Tomlinson sank at :11 clinched the triumph and steered the Big Eight championship chase into another madcap scramble.
But Coach Ted Owens discounted the notion of any MU mystique. The Jayhawks bowed 67-66 last year at Lawrence, then 47-46 at Columbia this year.
Charity case
Then Robisch-at that juncture 0 for 8 from the field while muffing 6 of 7 free throws—canned his pet turn-around jumper at 9:17. Robisch followed his own misfire for a bucket at 8:27, and with Rich Bradshaw's 15-foot jumper at 7:21, the Jayhawks reached high water, 43-37.
"We had our opportunities but just couldn't produce," Owens remarked. "We were tight as a drum—I think it was obvious."
"There's not such a thing as a hex," said Owens. "Missouri took advantage of their opportunities down the stretch; we didn't. It's that simple."
A near-fatal Missouri string of 10 points, eight of those free throws along with a goal-tended layup, obliterated that cushion. Near-fatal, though, since Bradshaw's 20-footer at :58 pulled KU into a 53-53 deadlock.
Strategy fails
Kansas called timeout at :42.
down 54-53, to plot the go-ahead points. "First, they were overplaying us," Owens explained. "We thought we'd try to backdoor them on the side with Bradshaw, or else come back around to Robisch."
Instead, Bruce Sloan fired a long jumper at :30, and Missouri's David Pike claimed the rebound. Tomlinson drew a foul seconds later and put the game on ice.
"Our players wanted to win in the worst way," Owens said. "Sometimes you can over-try. Sometimes when it looks like you're not trying, it's not a matter of not wanting to."
New life was breathed into the Jayhawks Saturday night when Kansas State squeaked past Colorado, 70-68. Now headed into the homestretch, KU plays 3 of 4 conference games at home -journeying only to Colorado March 1 in that week's televised Big Eight scrap.
Remaining schedule
COLORADO (7-2)—Feb. 17, Oklahoma State, home; Feb. 22, Iowa State, away; Feb. 24, Nebraska, away; Mar. 8, Missouri, home
KANSAS (7-3)—Feb 22, Nebraska
home; Feb 24, Oklahoma, home;
March 1, Colorado, away; March 8,
Kansas State, home.
KANSAS STATE (5-3)—Feb. 17.
Missouri, home; March 24.
State, home; Feb. 24, Missouri, away;
March 1, Nebraska, away; Mareh 3,
Missouri, home; March 8, Kansas
HOURS: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
2 p.m.-6 p.m.
5 p.m.-9 p.m.
12 p.m.-5 p.m.- Sundays
Red-hot race
Colorado still sets the pace at 7-2, just a shade ahead of Kansas (7-3), Kansas State (5-3), and Missouri (5-4). The race could become even more interesting should Big Eight officials rule in favor of Missouri on the disputed loss to Oklahoma State — when OSU's later-to-become-ineligible Amos Thomas played.
HALFTIME: Kansas 34, Missouri 29
MISOURS (67) — Allen 7-2-3; Colbert 3-2-1; Flaker 8-0-4; Gillman 8-2-4; Rea 1-0-1; Allirch 2-1-0; Safes 0-0-0; Kreish 0-2-0. Totals: 29-9-3.
The Buffs face what could be a decisive road test next weekend, meeting Iowa State and Nebraska, before closing at home with KU and Missouri. Either Kansas State or MU will be eliminated when those clubs clash twice between now and the March 8 curtain call.
KU FrOshSO so. MU FrOshSU b 7
MU FrOshSU b 7
6-6-3, Pointedex 4-4-2, Stallworth
10-0-3; Mask 5-4-4; Peterson 1-0-0;
Cubckeb 0-9-0; Totals: 32-16-13
Colorado will also make a TV appearance this weekend at Iowa State.
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BOXSCORE
KANSAS (55) — Robiché 5-6-4; Sloan 4-3-4; Brown 0-1-4; Harman 2-0-0; Russell 1-2-5; Nash 3-1-3; Bradshaw 6-0-3; Nuncker 0-0-1; Lawrence 0-0-1;
"It's still an open race." Owens remarked prophetically, just a few hours before the K-State win over Colorado.
MISSOURI (5-4)—Feb. 17, Iowa State, away; Feb 22, Oklahoma, home; Kansas State, home; March 3, Kansas State, away; March 8, Colorado, away.
Missouri 34, Missouri 21
MOSQUIRI (56)—Johnson 0-6-4,
Timmonsion 2-1, Pike 3-2, H-imbock
0-0-1, HALTENI 0-1-0, Totals 13-30-6
HALFTIME 6-Missouri 23, Kansas 21
9-2-8, Iowa 11-7
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