The fifth and final time to redeem men's basketball tickets will start today and end on Wednesday. The games will be for Missouri, Baylor and Colorado.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6. 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL
CJ Giles bounces back
Play time short, effects long
PAGE 1B
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITER
Two points and five rebounds in only 12 minutes of action does not look like an impressive game on paper.
CJ Giles
However, CJ Giles' effect on Kansas' 59-58
victory over Oklahoma Sunday afternoon goes beyond the box score.
Giles logged only three minutes in the first half, but was on the floor for the last nine minutes of the game, when Kansas made its run from 15 points down to eventually win the game.
"He was great today." Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Maybe this is what he needed to get his confidence back up. This game should do wonders for CI."
Giles blocked three shots in the last six minutes of the game, and Self said that he had probably altered about five more shots. He forced Oklahoma to settle for bad shots, instead of driving to the basket for easy lay-ups.
Giles' first block came with 6:04 to play. Oklahoma guard David Godbold went up for a shot and Giles rejected it and collected the rebound. Godbold then fouled Giles. Giles then went to the free-throw line for two shots.
When he stepped to the line, Kansas trailed by 10. Coming into the game, Giles was only 13-of-30 from the free-throw line. He calmly hit both shots
and cut the lead to eight.
Before Sunday's game, Giles had been struggling, playing limited minutes. He collected only three blocks in seven games. However, Giles said that the first block he had made had given him confidence for the rest of the game and then for the rest of the season.
"I feel like Coach has a lot more confidence in my ability to play defense than offense." Giles said. "I'm going to focus more on defense and I know the offense will come around."
Giles' second block came, with Kansas chipping away at Oklahoma's lead. Giles blocked Oklahoma forward Taj Gray's shot and it was deflected to freshman guard Mario Chalmers. Kansas would eventually score on the later possession to cut the lead to two.
Giles would get his final block during the last 29 seconds of the game on another Gray shot attempt.
Although he didn't hit any field goals, Giles said it had been his most memorable performance in a Kansas uniform. His younger brother Malcolm was at the game, which made the game even more special for Giles. It was the first time he had been to Kansas and seen a game at Allen Fieldhouse.
"Coach rates everything by your performance in practice," Giles said. "If you are dominating practice you are going to get some minutes. I wasn't playing as well in practice as I should have been. I thought I played real well this week in practice, though."
Edited by Hayley Travis
Jared Gab/KANSAN
Sophomore center CJ Giles blocks Oklahoma's Taj Gray under the basket Sunday. Giles and Brandon Rush both managed three blocks each against the Sooners.
THE COLUMN
BY JIMMY CHAVEZ jchavez@kansan.com
The Jayhawks' redemption
You can call it a beginning, a sign, a different feeling that hasn't swept
Ironically, about 20 minutes earlier, everyone thought all hope was lost. Fans held their heads in their hands and were on the verge of tears. Kansas had lost in Allen Fieldhouse by 16 points. The college basketball experts will look to this as a day when a team and a coach finally accomplished to their first "great" moment together. What transpired should give fans a reason to believe that there could be more to come in March.
This Jajahawks showed something in Sunday's 59-58 thriller against Oklahoma that hasn't been seen since the Final Four teams of 2002 and 2003. This team exhibits a genuine love for playing as a team and for its coach. Unlike the past couple of years, it's obvious that it has bought what Bill Self teaches.
For the past two years we have seen a team, though immensely talented, plagued by an inability to let go of the way they were used to playing.
On Sunday, a new face of Kansas basketball emerged. For now, this team is showing the leadership that many claimed it lacked earlier in the season.
Facing certain defeat, the Jayhawks turned to freshman Brandon Rush, who delivered by scoring a gamehigh 18 points. They turned to their defense, sparked by backcourt of Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers. If not for team defense, there would not have been a comeback.
What made this victory so remarkable was that everyone saw what is possible. After being out-rebounded by Oklahoma's duo of Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout, Kansas showed perseverance by fighting for rebounds and out-hustling the Sooners when it counted the most.
Granted, this was just one game, but what happened Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse should assure fans that this team may be able to answer a call to glory when it reaches a time when its fate is decided by one game. When that happens, fans and experts will all recall Super Bowl Sunday.
That may be when it all began.
NFL
Steelers: five-time champions
Anthony Mattingiv/KANSAN
Kyle Geiken, Burnsville, Minn., junior and Bryan Cisler, Leawood sophomore, both Pittsburgh Steelers fans, cheer after the Steelers scored a touchdown during the second half. Geiken said that he had thought the Steelers would win the Super Bowl since the beginning of the season.
Super Sunday: KU and the Super Bowl
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSIAN SANST WRITER
It takes a lot to overshadow the Super Bowl, but the Jayhawks might have done it with their 59-58 victory against Oklahoma. The big game did not keep the students away, and freshman forward Julian Wright knew why.
"The Super Bowl is small beans compared to KU-OU." he said.
For Jessica Wood, Olathe sophomore, being at the basketball game took precedence.
"I might watch the halftime show, if I wake up," she said. "I just don't think I'm going to
After a late Saturday night, Wood woke up at 8 a.m. Sunday to make it in time for the noon tip-off. Wood can take solace in the fact that she is in the majority. The NFL estimates that 133 million Americans tuned in for at least part of the 2005 game.
make it."
This still leaves 167 million people that didn't see Pittsburgh defeat Seattle last night. Engineering student Don Claus is a member of that group. Instead of watching the game, he spent Sunday at the Spahr library, studying engineering circuits.
Parker breaks record during Super Bowl
SEE FANS ON PAGE 6B
BY BARRY WILNER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — The Pittsburgh Steelers finally gave coach Bill Cowher some Super Bowl satisfaction.
Moments after the Rolling Stones rocked a Ford Field filled with Terrible Towels, Willie Parker broke a record 75-yard touchdown run, sparking Pittsburgh's 21-10 victory Sunday over the Seattle Seahawks.
The Steelers earned that elusive fifth championship ring, their first since 1980, and also completed a magic Bus ride that made Jerome Bettis' homecoming — and farewell — a success.
"I'm a champion. I think the Bus' last stop is here in Detroit," Bettis said. "It's official, like the referee whistle."
It was sweet validation for Cowher with a title in his 14th season as their coach, the NFL's longest tenure. The tough guy, who lost his only previous Super Bowl 10 years ago, teared up as he walked to midfield to embrace Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
"It's surreal," Cowher said, "I'm going to tell you, this is a special group of coaches, a special group of players. I was one small part of this."
SEE STEELERS ON PAGE 6B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphilips@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITE
Cyclones fall to Jayhawks
When she got the ball, she saw nothing but an open path to the basket.
By the time she was in the lane, Erica Hallman got knocked down, sending her to the free-throw line for the winning shot.
The Kansas women's basketball team survived a heart-stopping finish and defeated Iowa State 65-64 to preserve the team's postseason hopes.
The Jajahaws watched a 19 point lead disintegrate in the second half, but the senior guard Hallman hit the winning free throw with 5.5 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
Iowa State had one last chance to drive the length of the court, but a long was tipped by sophomore guard Taylor McIntosh and rolled around on the court as time expired.
"Those last three seconds felt like about 20 seconds," Hallman said.
"I knew I couldn't because of the way things were going," Kemp said. "As aggressive as I wanted to be, I would have probably picked
It was another full day of work for the Kansas seniors. Hallman logged 37 minutes while guard Kaylee Brown and forward Crystal Kemp each put in 38. Kemp was tagged for her first foul seconds into the game, but managed to stay out of foul trouble until she drew her fourth with five minutes to play. She petitioned with Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson to stay in the game, but she was denied.
up a fifth one."
The Cyclones struggled to stop the Jayhawks early. They ran a zone defense, which has become the accepted way to play Kansas. However, the Jayhawks' shooters hit shots and forced the Cyclones into a man-to-man defense in the second half.
Catic's improved play came at a critical time for the Jayhawks. She has been one of the team's star players, but has struggled in conference play.
Freshman guard Ivana Catic, who finished one shy of a career high with 15 points.
"She's working hard and she wants to get it right," Hallman said. "She's ran the team a lot better the last couple of games."
The victory advanced Kansas' record to 14-6 on the season, and guarantees the team will finish with a winning record. The Jayhawks are 3-6 in conference play and will likely need to finish 8-8 to make the postseason, meaning this won't be the team's last must-win game.
On Wednesday, the team will visit Norman, OKla., to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. Notebook
See you in Ames
Iowa State was playing without its leading scorer, junior guard Lyndsey Medders, who has a foot sprain and will likely miss one more game before returning. After the game, she had a message for Henrickson.
"She shook my hand and said she'd see me in Ames," Henrickson said.
Edited by Lindsey Gold