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2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
FEBRUARY 25, 2008
Sadness in Stillwater
Senior guard Russell Robinson and sophomore guard Sherron Collins lead the rest of the Jayhawks off the court after losing to Oklahoma State 61-60 on Feb. 25 in Stillwater, Okla. Kansas fell to 9-3 in the Big 12 with the loss and dropped to second place in the conference behind Texas.
Rush misses last-second shot; Collins barely plays because of injury
BY RUSTIN DODD dodd@kansan.com
STILLWATER, Okla. — With two seconds left in Kansas' 61-60 loss to Oklahoma State, junior Brandon Rush found himself with the ball in the corner. Rush head-faked once and hoisted up a last-second heave. Rush's shot drew nothing but rim.
"I thought it was going to bounce in," Rush said. "A miracle was going to happen."
Go figure. Kansas needed miracles to beat a normally toothless Oklahoma State team.
Who would have ever thought that?
Certainly not the folks who witnessed Kansas' 20-0 start, and certainly not the Jayhawks themselves. And unlike in Kansas first two road losses against Kansas State and Texas, which were deemed as excusable losses to good teams in tough environments, the Jayhawks looked shockingly ordinary on Feb.25.
"We stunk, I mean, we stunk," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
It didn't get much prettier.
Arthur's technical gave him two fouls in
the first half, and he played only 17 minutes, finishing with six points.
"There's not many good players out there that can produce if they're only playing 15 minutes a game," Self said.
Kansas was also hamstrung by Sherron Collins' knee injury. The sophomore guard played only 11 minutes and missed his only shot.
Self said Collins practiced only 15 minutes the entire week.
"He's a shadow of what he can be," Self said. "Hopefully, he'll get back where he can
help us. I certainly would have played him more, if he was capable."
The Jayhawks did show some resiliency in the second half. Down 48-39 with 10:20 left in the second half, Rush sparked a 19-6 run that gave Kansas a 58-54 lead.
"We had the game sealed," Rush said.
Rush's performance mirrored the Jayhawks' day. The junior was abysmal in the first half, going scoreless and missing all five of his shots. Rush rebounded in the second half with 12 points, but his miss in the waning second sealed Kansas' loss.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN