6B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU 80 - UT 68
MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2006
Tony Gutierrez/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tony Gutierrez/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas center Sasha Kaun stuffs the ball against Texas in the first half in the Big 12 Men's Championship basketball game Sunday in Dallas.
Kansas guard Jeff Russell Robinson pulls down a rebound in front of Texas guard Daniel Gibson in the first half the Big 12 Men's Championship basketball game Sunday in Dallas.
Boxscore
KANSAS (25-7)
| | PTS | REB | AST |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Robinson, Russell | 14 | 6 | 6 |
| Chalmers, Mario | 15 | 3 | 6 |
| Kaun, Sasha | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Rush, Brandon | 12 | 5 | 1 |
| Wright, Julian | 12 | 7 | 4 |
| Hawkins, Jeff | 13 | 2 | 5 |
| Jackson Darnell | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Giles, CJ | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 80 | 31 | 23 |
TEXAS (27-6)
Matt Slocum/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
| | PTS | REB | AST |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Gibson, Daniel | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Tucker, PJ | 16 | 8 | 4 |
| Paulino, Kenton | 19 | 2 | 2 |
| Buckman, Brad | 12 | 9 | 1 |
| Aldridge, LaMarcus | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Abrams, AJ | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Winder, Craig | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atchley, Connor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Williams, Mike | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 68 | 37 | 15 |
Texas guard Daniel Gibson is stopped by Kansas center CJ Giles in the first half in the Big 12 Men's Championship basketball game Sunday in Dallas.
Title
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
That dunk gave Kansas a four-point lead, and from that point on, it was all Kansas. The Jayhawks were avenging their 25-point loss to Texas a few weeks ago.
Chalmers showed emotion on the floor after he hit a three-pointer and followed that shot with a steal that he drove the other way to the basket before being fouled. A media time-out was called and Chalmers threw his arms in the air trying to get the Kansas faithful on their feet.
Wright joined Chalmers on the all-tournament team, proving that the Kansas freshmen have grown since their early struggles.
"We were able to just bounce back from when we were 1-2 and look at us now,
Wright's dunk wasn't the only highlight play — he capped his game with a 360-degree dunk in the final seconds that sealed the victory. He also passed the ball exceptionally well, specifically to sophomore center Sasha Kaun. Wright finished the game with four assists and 12 points.
"Every time we made a run, they made plays to get back in it. We knew it was going to be a dog fight. Down the stretch we got some key stops," Robinson said.
we just try to, you know, listen to coach Self and coaching staff and try to get better day by day," Wright said.
The game was a three-point barrage in the first half, with Texas and Kansas combining for 11 three-point shots in the half.
Despite the game featuring a team that is just three hours
Texas' star center LaMarcus Aldridge was a non-factor during the game, scoring just five points and playing 28 minutes because of foul trouble. The last time the two teams met, Aldridge dominated, scoring 18 points.
Freshman guard Brandon Rush hit his first two three-point shots but then went cold, missing his next five shots. Rush finished with 12 points on four of 14 shooting, but the victory was what was most important to Rush.
driving distance from Dallas, the American Airlines Center was just three-quarters full and the arena lacked atmosphere all week.
"It feels great. It feels good right now." Self said. "We finally proved to people that we can win a tough game."
Edited by Vanessa Pearson
Selecting one MVP proves to be impossible
Cheers to the KU guards. Not even a gash to the face could slow Robinson down this weekend. He had 22 assists during the tournament and scored 13 and 14 points in the final two games respectively. But most of all, he's the leader of this team.
By C.J. MOORE
jmore@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWISER
No one plays harder.
Chalmers led the team in scoring during the tournament, averaging 16 points per game. He plays fearless and he is the man that Kansas looks to when it needs a big shot now — not freshman guard Brandon Rush.
MVP of Big 12 Tournament: In an effort to imitate the so-called bracketology experts, who think 176 teams will make the tournament, I'm not picking just one MVP I just can't do it. Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, Russell Robinson and Jeff Hawkins are all just too good. I think they can share the honor.
Cheers to Kansas coach Bill Self. Self transformed the baby Jayhawks into a team nobody wants to see in March. Self should be the national coach of the year. Kansas breezed through the Big 12 Tournament like a senior-laden team who had been there before, and they definitely haven't.
Cheers to Darnell Jackson, who had his best game of his career against Nebraska — 13 points and 10 rebounds. But Jackson's best contribution was backing up Hawkins after Hawkins got fouled hard against Oklahoma State. Jackson is this team's enforcer. And that moment showed how tightly-knit these guys are. That closeness is something last year's team didn't have.
him called a few nicknames this season, but we might as well starting callight Wright Mr. Top 10, because that's where he belongs. In the Texas game, Wright made his own highlight reel and tore up Texas' 2-3 zone with his passing ability. His left-handed, 360 dunk at the end of the game should be a staple on the pregame video at games next year. His line against Texas wasn't bad either - 12 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and 6 rebounds.
Mr. Top 10: The Raptor, the Spider, the Elastic Man. I've heard
Cheers to Hawkins. I've been a critic of him, but he has showed up to play lately. His four three-pointers in the finals were huge and timely. Hawkins knows his role and I take back everything bad I've said about him this year – well, most of it.
Jeers to the announcers at the Big 12 tournament. Fred White called Brandon Rush Jaron multiple times in the Oklahoma State game. And Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla also had problems in the name game. Darnell Jackson got called Darnell Robinson by Franklin and Mario Jackson by Fraschilla.
Jeers to Dallas. The Big 12 Tournament belongs in Kansas City. Dallas showed no one cares about basketball in Texas by not attending the games. There wert less people in the audience that a well-attended K-State game.
Self knows a lot about Bradley because he coached in the same state when he was at Illinois.
Tournament CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
Hawkins said that the players weren't disappointed and were just happy to see their names on the screen while they watched the selection show while in Dallas.
"I know they know their ball there." Self said. "It is a very tough first-round match-up. Whichever team, Bradley or
Sophomore center CJ Giles said he hoped the team would travel to San Diego so he could play closer to his hometown of Seattle.
Kansas is in the bracket with No. 1-seed Memphis, which likely was the weakest of the four No. 1-seeds; other No. 1-seeds included Duke, Connecticut and Villanova. Should Kansas beat Bradley, it would likely face No. 5-seed Pittsburgh in the next round.
ourselves is fortunate enough to advance, you definitely got a tough five seed."
"If you based it on seeds, I felt like we deserved a three," Self said. "How could we get a three, because it had to be done before the game is over?
"That is one of the unfortunate things of playing the late game," he said. "Based on our circumstances, we should be pleased with our seed."
Kansas fell in the first round of the tournament last year to No.14-seed Bucknell.
"I know our approach needs to be a lot better than it was last year going in to the tournament," Self said.
The Jayhawks, who are coming off a Big 12 regular season and Big 12 Tournament championship, will need to change their mindset going into the tournament. Self said.
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The Big 12 got four teams into the NCAA tournament: Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Self said that there were only four teams in the Big 12 that deserved to play in the NCAA tournament.
- Edited by Hayley Travis