4B
UCLA 68 - KU 55
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
overs and rebounds keeping things moving even when there was no scoring.
None of the Kansas players admitted to feeling nervous, but they handled the pace by playing too fast, rushing shots and hurrying into plays that didn't exist.
"I think we got impatient and tried to score too fast," coach Bill Self said. "If we had shot the ball well, we could have scored quite a few points today."
The Kansas defense kept the team in the game. Chalmers and junior guard Russell Robinson forced turnovers at a steady rate. At the end of the game, UCLA had turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.
But for all their defensive success, the Jayhawks couldn't find a way to convert those turnovers into points on the offensive end.
"That was frustrating, because we just weren't able to convert," sophomore forward Julian Wright said. "One person starts missing, and then the basket seems smaller and smaller, and the other team gets confidence."
Going into the final timeout,
UCLA held an eight-point lead with
three minutes remaining. Sensing the
UCLA 68, Kansas 55
UCLA 35 33 — 68
Kansas 31 24 — 55
UCLA — Shipp 2-3-4-9; Mbah a Moute 3-8-2-2-8; Mata 1-2-0-2; Collison 4-8-4-14; Affalo 10-15-1-2-4; Westbrook 2-0-2-0-4; Abaya 1-2-2-2; Keefe 0-0-0-0; Roll 1-1-0-2-3, Totals 24-45-12-18-6
end of the season, the players threw themselves at the ball in an attempt to create something positive.
"We tried to go into scramble mode so we could force some turn-overs and get some easy baskets," Chalmers said.
Self credited UCLA with staying poised and fending off every Kansas rally. The Bruins made it to last year's Final Four, so the challenge was nothing new for them.
Three times in the second halt Kansas cut the lead to six, and each time UCLA responded, increasing the lead once again. The layhawks never found the momentum to sustain a run.
"We did a very poor job in key
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
**Kansas** — Rush 7-16 2-1 28;
Wright 4-7 0-2; Kaun 2-4 0-0;
4; Robinson 4-8-1 2-1 11; Chalmer
1-8 0-0; 2; Arthur 2-6 0-0; 4;
Collins 0-4 0-0; Stewart 0-0 0-
0; Jackson 3-3 2-5; Totals 23-56
5-11 5-15.
Records — UCLA 30-5, Kansas 33-5.
stretches," Self said. "Possessions are magnified when you're playing from behind, and you have to make the most of each one."
In the end, the loss boiled down to one key statistic: Kansas missed 19 layups and tip-ins. A deep tournament run ended on the most unlikely of cold streaks, as the Jayhawks couldn't play on the easiest of shots.
"It just wasn't our day," junior forward Darnell Jackson said. "The ball just wasn't going in."
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
Edited by Katie Sullivan
Brandon Rush, sophomore forward, soars past Darden Collison for a dunk. Rush was the leading scorer with 18 points, five rebounds and one assist. The Kansas offense scored six points off fast breaks but failed to pull out a victory against UCLA in the Elite Eight.
Top 3 Players
Brandon Rush scored the team high 18 points off 7-for-16 shooting. Read further.
Rush
Rush had one assist and two blocks.
Russell Robinson shot and made two three-pointers for six of
Robinson
his 11 points. Robinson also nabbed five steals.
Darnell
Jackson scored eight points off
3-for-3 shooting from the
Jackson
field, which was higher than his season average of 5.5 points. Jackson also had two steals.
1st Half
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Julian Wright, sophomore forward, grabs a rebound. Wright brought down five rebounds and scored eight points for the jayhawks.
Coach Bill Self looks up at the scoreboard during the
2nd Half
Jeremy Case, junior guard, holds his head in his hands, refocuses to watch the final minute of the loss against UCLA. Kansas missed easy points in the paint and struggled to keep up with the UCLA players shingots shot.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Michael Phillips/KANSAN Neither team was able to get much offense going in the second half, with Kansas shooting just 9-for-25. UCLA had a strong first half from behind the arc, making 39 percent of its three-pointers. The story of the game, obviously, was Kansas lack of success inside the paint. The usual swatch of green has been replaced by red. The layhawks also struggled from the free-throw line (not shown), shooting just 5-for-11.
Michael Phillips/KANSAN
How sweet it was!!
Thanks for the ride hawks! We loved it
SAVE ON ALL ART SUPPLIES, KU GIFTS AND C www.jayhawkh
ast two mi