THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008
SPORTS
9B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Party at Allen Fieldhouse
Big Jay celebrates with Kansas fans at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday night. The fieldhouse was open to the public and fans watched the Jayhawks play the Tar Heels on the video board. Fans are invited to watch Kansas Play Memphis at the fieldhouse tonight. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Dianne Smith/KANSAN
Take that, Tar Heels!
BY WHITNEY HAMILTON whamilton@kansan.com
A sea of blue scattered all around Allen Fieldhouse. News crews surrounded the court and photographers took pictures of crazy fans decked out in crimson and blue garb. The mascots jumped around the court and the band played music to get the fans pumped up. Just another scene of Allen Fieldhouse during a home basketball game, right? With two minutes left before tipoff, there were no players on the court and the baskets weren't set up.
Don't fret Jayhawk fans. This was not an episode of Ashton Kutcher's "Punkkd," and Kansas wasn't the laughing stock. Instead, fans came to Allen Fieldhouse to watch the Jayhawks' game against the University of North Carolina on the video board.
Fans got there early and sported their Kansas spirit with Jayhawk apparel from head to toe.
Fans that didn't get a chance to snatch a coveted hot spot on Massachusetts Street or grab tickets to the game in San Antonio got the experience without ever leaving campus. Russel Paulsen, Topea sophomore, said Massachusetts Street would be too packed and decided that Allen Fieldhouse was a safer bet.
Getting up early to wait for the bars and restaurants around Lawrence was not an option for Monisha Bruner, Leavenworth freshman, who didn't want to get up that early for such a late game.
Others believed in superstition and wouldn't want to watch the game any other way.
"Kansas hasn't lost this season since I've been in the fieldhouse," Chris Pham, Hays sophomore, said. Others decided that watching the game at Allen Fieldhouse and traveling downtown after the game would be fun, such as Sam Keller, Cincinnati, Ohio freshman, who was "still going to party afterwards" to celebrate the victory.
As snippets of Kansas came onto the screen, fans cheered louder and the energy was felt around the field-
house. In between commercials, fans got up and cheered while waving flags and doing "the wave."
Even though the Hawks were nowhere to be found in a 50-mile radius from the fieldhouse, the energy was high, and fans cheered just as if the team was on the court.
"I wanted to come here to get the experience of being at the game without actually spending all that money to be there," Jacki Gariglietti, Pittsburg freshman, said. Like Gariglietti, many came for the experience and just wanted to be amongst other Jayhawk fans in a place that was special to them and their families.
The Jayhawk fans kept all the traditions at the fieldhouse the same, such as joining together and singing the alma mater followed by the rock chalk chant. Even the band played upbeat songs that got fans into the game during halftime and commercial breaks. Big Jay and Baby Jay gave
away T-shirts to the fans to help continue the spirit of the fieldhouse.
Fans booed when UNC coach Roy Williams' face appeared on the screen, and roared and applauded when Cole Aldrich slammed the ball away from UNC's hands.
The Kansas spirit could have been felt all the way in San Antonio as the crowd grew louder and realized that the Jayhawks would be going to the national championship on Monday. Although not all the fans could witness the Jayhawks defeating the Tar Heels on Saturday night in the Alamodome, the atmosphere made fans feel like they were there.
Fans can experience being at the game in San Antonio without having to pay the big bucks by watching it at Allen Fieldhouse again tonight. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the event is open to the public. Tipoff will be approximately at 8:15 p.m.
Fans shout out in celebration during the rush on Massachusetts Street after Kansas advanced to the NCAA national championship. The Jayhawks defeated North Carolina 84-66, despite not being the favored team for the game.
Photo contributed by Michelle Sprehe
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Standford's Wiggins scores big to advance to title game TAMPA, Fla. — The bigger the stage, the better Candice Wiggins performs.
Wiggins continued her electrifying run through the NCAA tournament, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while getting some timely help from Kayla Pederson and JJ Hones as Stanford shocked Connecticut 82-73 in Sunday night's national semifinals.
Back in the Final Four for the first time in 11 years, the Cardinal (35-3) avenged an early season loss to the Huskies (36-2) and advanced to Tuesday night's title game, where they'll put a 23-game winning streak on the line against Tennessee or LSU.
Wiggins, the first player to have two 40-point performances in the same NCAA tournament, finished five assists shy of the first triple-double in women's Final Four history.
She didn't shoot particularly well, going 7-for-19, but made two huge 3-pointers to help Stanford pull away for good after UConn trimmed a seven-point halftime deficit to 47-46 and appeared to be taking control.
Hones hit a deep 3-pointer to put Stanford up 10 with 3:20 to go, then Pederson answered a 3-pointer that drew UConn within 71-66 with a long jumper of her own to send Cardinal fans into celebration mode.
Down the stretch, the Cardinal's lone senior starter got lots of help from her supporting cast.
Pederson finished with 17 points, and Jayne Appel added 15. Maya Moore led UConn with 20 points on 8-for-19 shooting.
UConn won an earlier meeting in November, but both teams made significant changes during the last four months of the season
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer tinkered with her team's triangle offense following the 12-point loss, which showed the Cardinal exactly what type of team it needed to become if it hoped to be able to keep pace in a rematch.
Associated Press.