THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20. 2007
KU 71 - KSU 62 5B
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Amanda Sellers/KANSAS
Fort Kansas State's guard Clent Stewart. Collins was 8-11 for field goals and pulled down three rebounds. He was
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers had a huge offensive output with 17 points. Chalms netted 4-for-5 free throws and had one steal.
(CONTINUED FROM 1B)
of the first half when he was whistled for charging Wildcat freshman Jason Bennett.
He didn't need to worry. Sophomore guard Mario Chalmers and freshman forward Darrell Arthur picked up his slack in the first half, and freshman guard Sherron Collins came up big in the second half.
Freshman forward Darrell Arthur had a double-double on the night with 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
"We gave them too many second chances!" Huggins said. "They're good, and we didn't do enough things to win."
The jayhawks dominated the boards, collecting rebound after rebound even when their shooting touch was off.
"Mario kept us in the game during the first half with his offensive presence," Rush said.
Doing enough may be the best description of how the layhawks were able to leave victorious. They didn't want to be dragged into a physical game, but that's what happened, and coach Bill Self said his team was better for it.
"It was a grind-it-out game at times," he said. "We're a finesse team, and we needed a grind-it-out game."
He had been preparing his team for it all week, allowing the practice team defense more leeway on fouls to
Edited by Joe Caponio
What remained to be seen was how the Jayhawks would handle the rowdiest crowd in Bramlage Coliseum history. They passed the test easily, tuning out the distracting noise around them that never seemed to end, even during time-outs.
"Thank you," he said, "Thank you so much."
The crowd became hostile near the end, but other than a few thrown newspapers, it didn't get too out of hand. After the game, Huggins spoke briefly to his team in the locker room before returning to the court. About 500 fans, mostly students, remained. They greeted him with a standing ovation. The coach took a deep breath, then acknowledged the people who helped bring intensity back to the rivalry with their boisterousness on Monday night.
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips.ekanans.com.
toughen up the offensive unit.
"I don't think you can practice for that." Chalmers said. "It's just a mindset you have."
SCHNEIDER
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game tied at 43, he answered a three-pointer by Kansas State's Lance Harris. After that, the Wildcats never got any closer.
"Sherron was on a roll tonight," Self said. "He was our best player tonight."
On a night where Kansas State had guaranteed victory, the freshmen wouldn't let the black-clad faithful have any of it.
With Kansas' usual scoring threats mostly absent, Collins and Arthur's performances will certainly go down in Allen Fieldhouse West lore.
Schneider is a Lawrence senior in journalism. He is the Kansan sports editor.
—Edited by Darla Slipke
**ANTHUS SERIES/KARMA**
Freshman forward Darrell Arthur goes up for a dunk while K-State guard Lance Hanna looks on. Arthur had 12 rebounds and 10 points in Jonny Vaughn's game
Amanda Sellers/ KANSAN
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Sophomore forward Julian Wright pushes through a Wildcat defender during Monday's game. Wright played 33 minutes but contributed only 4 points in the victory.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Coach Bill Selfylls at officials off was called on Kansas during the first half of Monday's game. Kansas had 34 points in the paint, beating Kansas State 71-62.
RT ST. PATTY'S YEARLY... JBS
GARMENTS — ONLY AT JAYHAWK BOOKSTORE
view from press row
The tradition of throwing live chickens onto the court, which had taken a couple years off, resumed before introductions Wednesday night. The "chickenhawks" were promptly captured and removed from the arena.
"》 Say what you will about Kansas State fans, but the atmosphere in Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night was very impressive. The "blackout" worked, with everyone in the crowd wearing the color, and even the alums stood for a large part of the game. The noise level wasn't what you'd get in the Field-house, but still very loud for a place that used to be filled with Jayhawk fans. There were hardly any to be found on Monday.
A double technical against
Russell Robinson and Cartier Martin in the second half was an attempt by the referees to instill order into the game without impacting the score in any way. Kudos to the officials for not becoming the show, but still managing to regulate it.
>>> Bob Huggins did something that Bill Self has so far been unable to do. Former Mr. Jessica Simpson and teen-heartbrob Nick Lachey appeared on the video board with a taped message to fans before the game.
>>> A strong effort by the K-State students, who appear to have put their entire academic muscle behind Monday's sign-making effort. Some examples included "Tim Hardaway hates KU,""Spoon Sucks,""Lack of institutional control,"and one in
Russian — we're guessing it had a message for Sasha Kaun.
» Sherron "Big Game" Collins showed up again Monday night. The freshman guard has been sensational in conference play this year, and Self didn't hesitate to use him for a large portion of the game. Don't read into the fact that he's not a starter: what matters is who finishes the game.
Live by the three, die by the three. Kansas State is the type of team that nobody wants to play in March, because when they have a hot night, they're going to be able to hang with anybody in the country. However, when the shot goes cold, it's going to be tough for the Wildcats to win.
Michael Phillips