8B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GAMEDAY
THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2006
Jayhawks prepared for Panthers
KU Tip-off
LAST TIME OUT
The saying might be that it's hard to beat a team three times in a season, but it wasn't for Kansas State. At the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas, the Wildcats dispatched the Jay-hawks 72-52 in a first-round game. The Wildcats, led by freshman Shalee Lehning's 20 points, scored 15 of the first half's final 18 points to put the game out of reach. The Jay-hawks had no answer for the Wildcat shooters, who shot 52 percent from the field.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Freshman guard Ivana Catic. Since the emergence of junior guard Sharita Smith on defense, Catic hasn't been seen as much, but if the team falls behind, she will be the first one off the bench. As the team's only true point guard, she is the most proficient at running the KU offense. However, she doesn't provide the defensive presence of Smith, and if she enters with the Jayhawks trailing, the rest of the team will have to step up on defense to ensure that the Panthers' lead doesn't get out of hand.
2000 — The last time Kansas
5 QUICK FACTS
2000 — The last time Kansas made the postseason.
3 — The number of Kansas players (senior forward Crystal Kemp and sophomore forwards Taylor McIntosh and Jamie Boyd) named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team.
4-0 — The Jayhawks' all-time record against Northern Iowa.
1-3 — Both teams' record in their last four games.
1995 — The last time the Jayhawks and Panthers met. The game was also the debut for Northern Iowa head coach Tony DiCecco
SLASON IN REVIEW
The Jayhawks came down as fast as they went up. A 12-0 start had some speculating that the Jayhawks would get ranked, but instead they lost nine of their next 11. The team was able to pull off only one road victory all season, a 57-56 overtime victory against Iowa State. That, along with home victories against Texas and Missouri, are the marque victories for this year's team.
KEY TO VICTORY
As simple as it sounds, Kansas has to make shots. If the offense isn't clicking early, the players run the risk of getting frustrated and trying to force bad passes inside the paint to Kemp. It is important for the offense to run the fastbreak and create shots early in the possession. Kansas has struggled to create shots with the shot clock winding down. If the Jayhawks can score 65 points or more, look for them to come away victorious.
Kansas vs. Northern Iowa 7 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse
Kansas
OFFENSE
It was a tough end to the season for a team that prided itself on offense at the beginning of the season. Kansas has scored more than 60 points only once in the past eight games, going 2-6 during that time. To turn things around, Kansas will need a big performance from senior guard Kaylee Brown, who has been in a shooting slump since an ankle injury a couple of weeks ago. Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said after the Big 12 tournament game that she was disappointed with Brown's decision-making and performance. Tonight will be Brown's opportunity to re-establish herself as a legitimate three-point threat alongside senior guard Erica Hallman, who is ranked fourth in the Big 12 for three-point shooting.
DEFENSE
The offense might be on a decline, but Kansas' defense has shown improvement in the final weeks of the season. Junior guard Sharita Smith played herself into a spot in the starting lineup after holding Missouri's LaToya Bond to four points and Iowa State's Lyndsev Medders to seven points.
The challenge for Kansas will be to spread the defense across the court. Instead of just one offensive threat, Northern Iowa has four scorers on the court and three players who average double-digit point totals. Expect Northern Iowa to set many screens. Kansas has struggled against screens before, allowing opponents to create open shots. It may not be a Big 12 team, but Northern Iowa has the size to play with one and execute a similar game plan.
COACHING
Getting the Jayhawks into the postseason for the first time since 2000 is a sign that good things are in Henrickson's future. At times, Kansas has played above its potential and beaten better teams such as Texas and Missouri. But at times the Jayhawks have underperformed; Kansas lost to cellar-dweller Colorado twice during the regular season.
In the postseason there is no margin for error, and Kansas can't afford to fall into a hole early, as it has in the past two games. Henrickson and staff have done their homework, getting the scouting report assembled during a sleepless Monday night after receiving the WNIT bid. The Jayhawks also have a homecourt advantage, which they received after the Kansas administration lobbied for it with the WNIT.
Michael Phillips
Northern Iowa
OFFENSE
Despite being from a mid-major conference, the Panthers can compete with major conferences. Northern Iowa has four starters averaging double-digits, including two forwards each averaging more than 14 points per game. Senior Cassie Hager, the Panthers' 6-foot-7 center, can present a challenge to teams like Kansas, which is not accustomed to guarding players over 6-foot-3. Junior forward Tara King can also step out from under the basket and shoot the three, knocking down 48 percent of her three-point shots. Kansas has had trouble with post players who can shoot from behind the arc.
DEFENSE
Despite having one of the nation's best shot blockers in Hager, the Panthers have struggled at times defensively, like the Jayhawks. In the Panthers' losses late in the season, the team is giving up more than 60 points per game, yet struggling to score near its average of 62.8 per game. Even though the team features one of the nation's tallest players, the Panthers struggle to out-rebound opponents. Teams have struggled against Kansas when senior guards Erica Hallman and Kaylee Brown knock down three-point shots. If Northern Iowa allows Kansas' guards to get open looks on the perimeter, the Panthers winless streak in the post-season should continue.
COACHING
Northern Iowa coach Tony DiCecco is wrapping up his 11th season in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers have over-achieved at times this season, starting the season with two victories against Illinois and Colorado. They also dropped several games that could have put them on the NCAA bubble. The team dropped both games to WNIT top seed Indiana State as well as a game against NCAA Tournament bound Iowa. Northern Iowa's sloppy finish to the season didn't help its tournament chances. The team dropped three of its last four games. This is DiCecco's third WNIT appearance. The Panthers have yet to win a postseason game under DiCecco, though.
Ryan Schneider
UNI Tip-off
LAST TIME OUT
Northern Iowa lost to eventual Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State 62-59 in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Junior guard Jessie Biggs led the Panthers with 18 points and seven rebounds in 40 minutes on the court. Northern Iowa also had forward Tara King and center Cassie Hager in double figures. It was Northern Iowa's first loss to Missouri State this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Hager.The Panthers' 6-foot-7 center leads the team in scoring, averaging 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks per game. Perhaps most impressive is that she also averages less than two fouls per game.In last week's Missouri Valley Tournament, Hager averaged 16 points and seven blocks per game.
5 QUICK FACTS
2 — Hager's rank in average blocked shots per game in Division I.
3 — Number of WNIT appearances for Northern Iowa under coach Tony DiCecco.
29. 75 — Kansas' average margin of victory in its four meetings — all victories
against Northern Iowa.
2 Two consecutive WNIT champions have come from the Missouri Valley Conference.
14 — The number of players, out of 16 total, on Northern Iowa's roster from the state of Iowa. The other two are from Minnesota
SEASON IN REVIEW
The Panthers enter the preliminary round of the WNIT losing three of their last four games by a combined 10 points. Despite playing in a mid-major conference, Northern Iowa went on the road and defeated two major conference teams. It defeated NCAA Tournament-bound Missouri State twice this season, proving it can beat a tournament-quality team.
KEY TO VICTORY
Hager is tallest player the Jayhawks have faced this season. Her height is an obvious advantage for Northern Iowa in the paint. She has not faced an opponent as skilled as Kansas senior forward Crystal Kemp. Whoever wins the battle in the post will control the pace of the game. Kansas likes to run in transition, which could eliminate Hager's height advantage. If the Panthers control the tempo and maximize Hager's abilities, though, the Jayhawks' postseason visit could be short lived.
NBA
Carmelo finishes in the clutch, Nuggets beat Pacers
BY MICHAEL MAROT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS — George Karl figured there was only one option when the Denver Nuggets needed a last-second shot Wednesday night — Carmelo Anthony.
So Karl did the obvious thing after calling time-out with 18.6 seconds left. He called for Anthony to isolate himself on the right side and back away from a defender. Anthony executed the play perfectly, hitting an 18-foot fadeaway with 2.2 seconds left to give the Nuggets a 101-99 victory at Indiana.
"He's a special guy, he was almost perfect tonight," Karl said. "If he misses, we probably get the tip-in anyway."
Although Andre Miller was
effective, scoring 21 points and handing out nine assists, and Marcus Camby and Ruben Patterson both scored in double figures, Anthony has simply been too good lately.
He entered the game averaging more than 29 points and connecting on more than 58 percent of his shots in March, and delivered in a similar fashion Wednesday.
He shot 12-of-25, finished with 31 points — his third straight game topping 30—and was flawless on the final play as Denver (37-29) improved to 4-1 on its seven-game road trip.
The Pacers (32-30) struggled again in the first half, falling into a deep deficit in the game's opening 6 minutes. They spent the rest of the night trying to play catch
up and have lost four of six.
Stojakovic led the Pacers with 22 points, while Stephen Jackson finished with 21 despite shooting just 6-of-21 from the field.
Indiana did manage to erase a 16-point third-quarter deficit and had a chance to win when Peja Stojakovic lined up a 3-pointer at the buzzer. But the ball rimmed out.
"The first half was disappointing again and we have to solve that," Carlisle said. "This is a very important time for us if we're going to be a team that makes the playoffs."
What upset coach Rick Carlisle was another poor start.
Both teams were short-handed.
Pacers forward Scot Pollard sat out with a bothersome foot,
and Carlisle tried to improvise by starting Austin Croshere. It was Croshere's first appearance since sustaining a concussion on Jan. 31. He logged less than 5 minutes.
"In all fairness to Austin, it was probably a mistake to put him out there." Carlisle said.
Karl had a similar issues. Before the game, the Nuggets announced that Kenyon Martin would sit out because of tendinitis in his left knee, and Camby needed X-rays on his sore left hand.
There was worse news afterward. Backup point guard Earl Boykins apparently banged his left hand during the fourth
Camby played, Martin did not. Strangely, the Nuggets are now 27-11 when either Martin or Camby don't play.
The Nuggets got started quickly, building a 21-10 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Pacers got as close as 40-35 in the first half and trailed 61-47 at halftime after the Nuggets, who shot 58 percent in the first two quarters.
Still, the injuries could not tarnish another solid shooting night from Denver — or Anthony.
The Pacers finally got going late in the third quarter, rallying from a 16-point deficit with a 7-1 run to close out the quarter. They opened the fourth with three
quarter, an injury that was later diagnosed as a fracture. He's expected to return to Denver on Thursday for further evaluation, but Karl said it's likely he could miss up to five weeks.
"I thought in the second half, we did a good job of sticking with what we had to do to give ourselves a chance," Carlisle said.
Jackson made two free throws with 3'01 left to get the Pacers within 95-93, and when Stojakovic and Anthony Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers, Indiana had finally tied the score at 99 with 1:10 left.
straight points to make it 82-77.
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Both teams had chances to take the lead in the last minute, but Anthony delivered with usual clutch shot.
"I couldn't make a layup in this place, but I hit that shot," Anthony said. "They were all banging me a little bit. Bang me all you want, I'm going to make the shot when it counts."
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