THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008
SPORTS
3B
》 TENNIS
Kansas to host two Oklahoma
BY ALEX DUFEK
adufek@kansan.com
A couple of dual meets versus some Midwestern foes prevented the Kansas tennis team (5-8) from soaking up any sun during spring break.
The Jayhawks suffered road losses to Colorado and Missouri as well as a home loss in their nonconference finale against Iowa over the break. After three tough losses the team will be looking to get back to its winning ways this weekend as it faces off against a pair of Oklahoma schools.
Despite the difficult losses, coach Amy Hall-Holt said the team was playing at a very competitive level and was focused on this weekend's matches.
"The girls are practicing hard. Their level of competitiveness increases every time I see them out here. It was a disappointing loss against Missouri and it got to us, but I think the girls are bouncing back," Hall-Holt said. "I think the girls see that we're right there and we just got to keep pushing."
Kansas ended its nonconference schedule with a 4-3 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 20. The Jayhawks finished non-conference play with a record of 4-6.
The Jayhawks record is impressive considering the daunting nonconference schedule laid out for them. Seven out the Jayhawks' 10 nonconference opponents are ranked in the only ITA collegiate rankings. The only team to beat Kansas this season and not be
named in the latest poll is the University of Missouri.
With the heart of Big 12 play approaching, the Jayhawks are not likely to see a letdown in quality of the competition. The team will play eight meets, four against ranked opponents, over the next 23 days in preparation for the Big 12 championships in College Station, Texas.
"We definitely have a lot of tough matches ahead of us," Hall-Holt said. "Oklahoma and Oklahoma State who we're playing this weekend are always tough."
Senior Elizaveta Avdeeva knows winning is important, especially down the stretch, in order to keep the team's morale high.
"When you win, you don't think if you're tired or not, but if you lose
it can get you down and then it can get tougher to play," Avdeeva said.
Kansas will continue its five-game home stand Friday when it takes on the Oklahoma Sooners and then again on Sunday when the Jayhawks face-off against the Cowboys of Oklahoma State. The decision to play indoors or outdoors will be determined based on weather the day of each contest.
Hall-Holt said she believed Lawrence acted as a comfort zone for the team and gave the Jayhawks an extra edge.
"It's your territory. It's your home court. It's where you practice," Hall-Holt. "You get a crowd behind you and it definitely helps."
—Edited by Samuel Lamb
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tar Heels cruise past Cougars
North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, right, shoots over Washington State's Aron Baynes during an NCAA East Regional basketball semifinal on Thursday in Charlotte, N.C.
BY AARON BEARD ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Roy Williams never stopped pushing his North Carolina team to play better defense, not even as it piled up lopsided wins and crowd-pleasing offensive displays that few teams can match.
The Tar Heels gave their Hall of Fame coach what he's been asking for in the East Regional semifinal against Washington State — and it has them a game away from the Final Four again.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the top-seeded Tar Heels held Washington State to 32-percent shooting in a 68-47 victory Thursday night, sending North Carolina back to the NCAA tournament's round of eight for the second straight season.
Danny Green had 15 points to help the Tar Heels (35-2) set a school record for victories while continuing their dominant tournament run. The No. 1 overall seed won its first three NCAA games by 20 or more points for the first time in program history as it chases a record 17th trip to the Final Four.
North Carolina will play Louisville winner Saturday with a clear home-court advantage, playing in an arena located about two hours from its Chapel Hill campus.
On this night — facing a team that had completely shut down its first two tournament foes — everything started with a defensive performance that was the school's best in the tournament since before Williams was born.
"We continued to talk about this throughout the year, the fact that
we're tired of hearing that North Carolina can't play defense and that's going to be our weak link," junior Marcus Ginyard said. "But tonight, I think you see that this team has the capability of buckling down and being that great defensive team."
There was no room to argue with the Tar Heels' vocal leader. Fourth-seeded Washington State (26-9) managed just 18 field goals for the game while scoring 20 points below its average. The Cougars also went 2-for-16 from 3-point range as the Tar Heels pulled away.
The 47 points were the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels in an NCAA game since 1946.
"Defensively we thought we were really good," Williams said, "but yet let's be honest: they missed some open shots."
North Carolina improved to 24-1 in NCAA games played in its home state and is 7-0 all-time in Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Now they can focus on erasing the lingering memories from last year's final game: a blown double-digit lead late in the second half of an overtime loss to Georgetown in the regional finals.
"We know what happened. We know that feeling," Hansbrough said. "We don't want to have it again. That's kind of our attitude, and that's the mentality we have."
For the first time in this tournament, the Tar Heels, the nation's second-highest scoring team, didn't crack 100 points. It didn't matter. Nor did it matter that Hansbrough struggled much of the way. Instead, facing a deliberate Washington State team that had held Winthrop and Notre Dame to a combined 81 points in the tournament, the
Tar Heels looked determined to prove they could play some tough defense, too.
Washington State missed shot after shot — sometimes open, more often not — while the Tar Heels kept pushing forward with their slowed-
but-effective transition attack. The Cougars got little from the perimeter, with Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie scoring a combined 12 points on 4-for-21 shooting.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
No.13 Louisville defeats No.5 Tennessee 79-60
LOUISVILLE 79
TENNESSEE 60
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Earl Clark scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds, and coach Rick Pitino's mix of defenses made life miserable for Tennessee and put the third-seeded Cardinals in the East Regional final.
After two blowout wins last weekend, Pitino's signature zone and pressure limited the high-scoring Volunteers to 34-percent shooting. The veteran coach improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals.
Terrence Williams and Andre McGee each added 13 points and David Padgett had 10 points and eight rebounds for Louisville (27-8), which nearly blew all of a 16-point first half lead, only to take control midway through the second half and keep alive its hopes for a second Final Four berth in four years.
Chris Lofton scored 15 points for Tennessee, but hit only 3 of 15 shots in his final game with the second-seeded Volunteers (31-5), who have never advanced beyond the round of 16.
B. J. Raymond made two 3-pointers in the last 1:18 of overtime Thursday night and the Musketeers advanced to the West Regional final with a 79-75 victory over coach Bob Huggins' Mountaineers.
Third-seeded Xavier (30-6) will seek its first Final Four appearance when it plays top-seeded UCLA in the regional final on Saturday.
XAVIER 79,
WEST VIRGINIA 75
PHOENIX — Three-pointers saved Xavier. Missed free throws doomed West Virginia.
Raymond, who had made only one field goal all night, hit a 3-2
pointer from the top of the key to put the Musketeers ahead 75-74 with 1:18 to play. He then shook loose on an inbounds play, took a crosscourt pass and made a 3 with the shot clock expiring with 30 seconds to go for a 78-74 lead.
Josh Duncan scored a career-high 26 points, despite foul trouble, to lead Xavier. Joe Alexander scored 18 and had 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers (26-11).
West Virginia missed four of six free throws in the overtime. Alexander missed one with 14.2 seconds left in regulation that would have given his team a 65-64 lead.
defeat Western Kentucky.
PHOENIX — With Kevin Love scoring a career-high 29 points, the Bruins nearly frittered away a 21-point halftime lead and hung on to
The top-seeded Bruins (34-3) are a win away from their third consecutive trip to the Final Four.
UCLA 88,
WESTERN KENTUCKY 78
Love also had 14 rebounds. He hit 10-of-14 shots from the floor and helped rescue the Bruins for the second time in as many games. James Keefe had 18 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs for UCLA.
Tyrone Brazelton scored 31 points — 25 in the second half and Courtney Lee added 18 for 12th-seeded Western Kentucky (29-7).
UCLA 88.
UCLA led 41-20 at halftime, but the Hilltoppers began pressing and whittled the lead to 61-57 with 6:50 to play. But then Love scored from close range and Josh Shipp hit a 3-pointer to push UCLA's lead to 68-59.
Associated Press
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There, it met Arizona, a team on a mission. Arizona won 87-81.
Self, whol taken over for Lon Kruger, molded an already rugged bunch into a group of warriors who wouldn't be out-toughed by anybody. Frank Williams, a gritty point guard, teamed with a frontline of Sergio McClain, Brian Cook and Marcus Griffin. Lucas Johnson, who was so aggressive that he often got accused of dirty play, came off the bench.
Sean Harrington was a sophomore guard that season who led the Big 10 in three-point field goal percentage. He remembers how Self taught the Illinois players that the season was broken down into four parts: the nonconference, conference, conference tournament and NCAA Tournament. Self wanted to win a "championship" in all of those areas. Illinois did well in nonconference play then won the Big 10. The Illini also secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and rolled to the Elite Eight.
SELF (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
shut down the guards of UNLV, Cincinnati and Miami. The Golden Hurricane, a seven seed, had to defeat eighth-seeded North Carolina to make the Final Four.
Fouls prevented it from happening. Coley sat 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul seven minutes into the second half. Forte scored 28 points, his career high. Tulsa lost 59-55.
"If our guys hadn't gotten into foul trouble," Phillips said, "it probably would've gone the other way."
MARCH 28, 2004
MARCH 25,2001
One year later, Self got another attempt at the Final Four. This time, he was coaching Illinois.
"It was just two great teams," Harrington said, "and Arizona was just a little better."
Michael Lee, a junior guard at the time, doesn't remember much about the Georgia Tech Elite Eight game. He just remembers that Self prepared for it like any other game.
It didn't matter that it was the third time Self was there in five years, he didn't feel like he had anything to prove. Lee said Self just showed them a lot of tape, worked them through the shootaround and didn't give any special speeches or use motivational tactics. Self knew they were prepared enough.
His team had more than enough advantages: it was playing in St. Louis, had Final Four experience from the previous two seasons and Tech's leading scorer was injured. The Jayhawks had them all. Except one.
Kansas didn't count of Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack. Jack, a sophomore guard for the three-seeded Yellow Jackets, shot the four-seeded Jayhawks out of the tournament. He scored 29 points, and Tech won in overtime 79-71. Kansas missed 16 of its first 18 shots, and star players Keith Langford and Wayne Simien made just eight of their 25 attempts.
"Some people call it luck," Lee said. "Some call it preparation. It depends on how you look at it. There's no special formula."
MARCH 24, 2007
After close losses, Self often laments that his team missed too many "bunnies," his word for close shots.
Against UCLA in the Elite Eight last season, the Jayhawks missed plenty. More than 10 shots from inside or layups didn't fall in for
"Coaches know there's an element of intangibles out there that some people catch breaks and some people don't," Self said. "All we want to do is prepare our guys to be the best they can be and hope that's good enough. A lot of factors go into playing well this time of year that are unknown to everyone else's eyes so I won't feel the pressure."
the Jayhawks.
While they missed, UCLA turned up its offense. The Bruins made 58 percent of it's shots in the second half, including 75 percent from long distance. It's defense proved better than Kansas', which had been regarded as one of the best in the country.
Good fortune should be on Self's side. If any team was built for a run to the Final Four and National Championship, this one is it. Kansas has a myriad of scoring options and five seniors and two juniors who have seen just about everything possible in their college careers.
"It hurts." Self told the Kansan after the game. "I really felt like this was our year."
MARCH 30,2008
They were the ones who helped build Self's team at Kansas, along with sophomores Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins. They want a Final Four and national title for themselves and for their coach.
Everything has to be just right. Self knows that already. He's seen Final Four dreams disappear because of foul trouble against North Carolina, an inspired team with Arizona, a hot performer with Georgia Tech and missed layups against UCLA.
Will this be the day? Will Self finally get fans off his back and take Kansas to the place he hasn't been able to reach in four tries?
"He loves us and we love him," senior guard Jeremy Case said. "We're going to do everything we can to get him that national championship just like he's going to do everything for us to get us that national championship."
This group won't be around forever. Seniors Russell Robinson, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson are all gone after this season. Junior Brandish Rush is a lock to enter the NBA Draft, and Arthur will probably join him. Heck, Collins and Mario Chalmers might even leave.
He's watched the team and seen how they play defense as good as any Self team. They also have the necessary focus, and Phillips knows that Self always finds the perfect playing style to suit his team during the postseason even if it comes at the expense of some sub-par regular season games. More than anything, Phillips is just confident in Self's competitive nature.
"He's still a young man," Phillips said. "He'll get there. There's nobody I know that is more of a competitor than Bill Self. He wants to win at marbles, at ping-pong. Desire on his part is there. Once he breaks in, he'll be there a lot."
Kansas is two games away from a Final Four berth, and the Jayhawks will be favored in both. Everyone will expect them to beat Villanova tonight and Wisconsin or Davidson on Sunday.
It's now or never for most of the players, and it could be a while before Self gets another team as good as this one. That's why Phillips thinks this could be the year for his former boss.
Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
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