2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
33
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MARCH 22, 2008
'Five-Game' Ensures Victory
UNLV Stumbles Under Guard- Heavy Lineup
Junior guard Brandon Rush picks up his fifth foul blocking the shot of UNLV guard Wink Adams during the second half. Rush scored 12 points, grabbed six boards and dished three assists before fouling out of the game. Adams led the Rebels with 25 points, which included 15 points from the free-throw line.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
BY MARK DENT
mdent@kansan.com
OMAHA, Neb. — Joe Darger, UNLV's tallest starter, stood at 6-foot-7. Oh, and he preferred shooting threes to banging in the paint.
Seniors Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and sophomore Darrell Arthur wouldn't admit it, but they had to have been drooling. Those guys were almost that tall in middle school.
"We thought we'd play big," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
It just didn't happen. The Jayhawks beat the University of Nevada Las Vegas 75-56 on March 22 at the Qwest Center, pulling away when they started using a smaller, four-guard lineup in the second half. The victory moved Kansas into the Sweet 16, where it played Villanova on March 28 in Detroit.
By the 10:55 mark of the second half, Kaun, Arthur and Jackson all had at least three fouls. They had combined for a measly 18 points. The inside game wasn't working as planned. Kansas led 50-42 but showed no signs of putting UNLV away. Outside shots weren't falling. The Runnin' Rebels' Wink Adams kept getting to the foul line.
"You can't get scared at this point, but we were a little concerned," senior guard Russell Robinson said. "We didn't crack them like we wanted to, and we knew they weren't going to go away."
Something needed to change. It was time for "five-game," Kansas' name for its smaller offense that features four perimeter players. Self saw that UNLV's big men didn't post up much, so replacing a post player with a guard wouldn't hurt the defense. And hey, no offense to the Rebels'
guards, but sophomore guard Sherron Collins knew he and his teammates were much faster.
"Five-game" seemed like a perfect option, and it was. With Collins, Robinson, Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers on the floor at the same time, Kansas pulled away, outscoring UNLV 15-7 in a seven-minute stretch.
"I thought we'd be able to get the ball inside more than we did," Robinson said. "But we didn't. We adjusted. The main thing is we got the win."
Robinson also got an important boost of confidence. He scored 13 points for the game and scored on a three-pointer and a drive to the basket during the stretch Kansas used to pull away. In the previous four games, he'd scored just 12 points combined. As Robinson walked into the locker room with Collins afterward, he told him how much he needed a game like this.
"Midway through the second half," Self said about Collins and Robinson, "it was those two's game."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN