4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU 55-UT80
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006
Key plays:
Julian Wright scored on Kansas' first two possessions, helping Kansas build a 4-0 lead. Kansas would lead only once from that point on.
- Wright threw down a huge dunk midway through the first half, which cut the Texas lead to two points.
LaMarcus Aldridge tipped in a shot at the halftime buzzer to give Texas a nine-point lead at halftime.
P. J. Tucker converted on a hook shot off the glass that helped Texas continue to build it's lead.
Scoring coincidence
Basketball Notes:
For the past two seasons, the winning team in the game has won by 25 points. Texas won 80-55 on Saturday and Kansas won 90-65 last season.
UT shooting best in season
Texas' 55.1 percent shooting was the best against Kansas this season. St. Joseph's shot 46.9 percent against Kansas on Dec. 6, which was the second best a team has shot against Kansas.
Self's worst loss
The loss was the biggest under Kansas coach Bill Self, topping a 21-point loss last season against Villanova.
Zone doesn't stop shooting
Kansas scored only one field goal during the final minutes of the first half.
Kansas tried a three-two zone during the second half, but was unable to stop the red-hot Texas offense.
Javhawks ice cold
Rush ineffective
Rush's three three-point shot attempts were the least of his career.
Ryan Colaianni
Harry Cobluck/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas sophomore guard Russell Robinson, right, looks to pass under the close defense of Texas sophomore forward Mike Williams during the first half in Saturday's game at Austin, Texas. Kansas lost the game 80-55.
Texas sophomore forward LaMarcus Aldridge blocks Kansas sophomore forward Darnell Jackson during Saturday night's game in Austin, Texas. All points during Texas' 80-55 victory against Kansas.
Texas' forwards stun Kansas Bench players, not Aldridge, surprise many
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN dENRIER SPORTSWITTER
It came as a bit of a surprise, considering Aldridge had just poured in 18 points on 9-for-10 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked four shots in the victory.
AUSTIN Texas — After Kansas' 80-55 loss at Texas, Kansas coach Bill Self couldn't quite remember LaMarcus Aldridge's name.
Self was talking about the dominance of the starting front line of Aldridge, Brad Buckman and PL. Tucker.
He remembered Buckman's and Tucker's names, but couldn't quite come up with Aldridge's name.
"Aldridge, yeah I should remember his name." Self said. "When their three big men combine for 25 boards and our three combine for 10 and our guys played more minutes, it tells you something. It was a lot of mature guys playing against guys not as physically strong."
In total, Texas outrebounded Kansas 36-19 in the game. Buckman had nine rebounds and Tucker and Aldridge each grabbed eight.
Aldridge was the most dominant, controlling Kansas' sophomore centers Sasha Kaun and CJ Giles throughout the game. It didn't take long for Aldridge to get involved, scoring Texas' first bucket; a jump shot over Kaun at the top of the key.
After the game, with a big smile on his face, Aldridge said he had rushed that shot and that's what caused him not to be perfect on the night. Aldridge said the team had worked all week on exploiting the match-up down low and tried to make a conscious effort to get the ball in the hands of the three big men.
Aldridge's pace didn't slow much as he racked up 12 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting and also grabbed five rebounds in the first half.
He finally missed his first shot with 6:53 to play in the same.
"Coach talked all week about how they crash the boards," Aldridge said. "So, we just wanted to make sure we did that and were real physical with them. It wasn't easy. We had to fight for position and follow the game plan coached laid out."
Self said after the game that he wasn't surprised by Aldridge's performance. It was another player on the Texas roster, freshman guard A.J. Abrams that Self said was the game-changer.
"We all knew LaMarcus was going to come out and put up boards and score points, but for Abrams to come out and score the way he did. He was the best player in the first half," he said.
Abrams was a perfect 4-for-4 from three point distance in the first half. Most of his attempts were wide-open looks because Kansas' defenders were double-teaming Tucker.
Abrams was not the only bench player to produce for Texas Freshman center Connor Atchley had five points and four rebounds in ten minutes.
"The key tonight for us was our bench play." Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "A lot of people have doubted our bench, but they showed up and played extremely well tonight."
- Edited by Janiece Gatson
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