THE UNIVERSITY OF DARY KANSAN MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2007
KU 92 - NU 39
5B
get Saturday against Nebraska. Wright finished the game with ten points and seven rebounds.
Anna Faltermieier/KANSAN
Jeremy Case, junior guard, shoots a three-point shot during the final minutes of the game against Nebraska in Allen Fieldhouse. Case shot 2-for-3 on three-pointers. Kansas scored 51 points from the bench and beat Nebraska, 92-39.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Freshman forward Darrell Arthur goes up for a basket in the second half of the game against Nebraska Saturday. Arthur finished the game with 13 points.
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
Balanced attack leads Jayhawks
BY MARK DENT
The former North Carolina coach and Kansas player, who was honored at Saturday's game for his role on the 1952 national championship team, watched the Jayhawks practice on Friday. Kansas coach Bill Self thought his players were too "loose" and asked for Smith's opinion.
Dean Smith didn't even see thus one coming.
Being loose must have been the best thing for Kansas as it turned in its most balanced effort of the year Saturday in a 92-39 demolition of Nebraska.
"I said, 'Have you ever had a bad practice the day before a game?'" Self said. "He said, 'Yes.' A lot of people think if you practice bad play better, but he said he didn't believe in that. So he had me pretty worried going into today."
It turned out Self had nothing to worry about.
All 13 players who entered the
Kansas couldn't have been so balanced if not for the play of the bench. Starters Rush, Wright and sophomore guard Mario Chalmers all scored in double digits, but the reserves made the difference.
"Our second unit shot the ball great." Self said. "I don't know if I've
One reason for this point-scoring parity was the layhawks' willingness to pass. Kansas had 25 assists on 35 field goals. The layhawks hadn't handed out that many assists since a December game against Winston Salem State.
game scored. Six players had nine or more points, but no one had more than 13. This balance came one week after the exact opposite occurred against Missouri. Kansas scored the same amount of points, but against the Tigers, sophomores Julian Wright and Brandon Rush combined for 54. Only seven players scored in that game.
"I thought we played really well" Self said. "We shared the ball very well."
ever been in a game where our second group shot the ball so well. You don't see that very often."
Kansas' bench players made 7 of 13 three-point attempts. Freshman guard Sherron Collins had three of those and jumpstarted the jayhawks, just as he has all conference season
In the second half, Kansas continued to build on its lead because of its reserves. Freshman forward Darrell Arthur, junior guard Jeremy Case, junior guard Rodrick Stewart and junior forward Darnell Jackson all scored four or more points in the second half.
With Kansas only up 20-18 with about seven minutes left in the first half, Collins took over. He scored on a layup in transition and made a free throw to stretch his team's lead to five. Then, he rebounded a Nebraska miss, ran down the court and made a three-pointer. Largely because of Collins, the layhawks had a comfortable 14-point lead at half.
"We got Sherron coming off the bench who gives us a great spark,
then Shady coming off the bench" Rush said. "Our bench players give us the biggest sparks of the game."
Knowing that the bench could be counted on to score help Kansas considerably in its race for the conference title and later on in the NCAA Tournament. In last year's first-round loss to Bradley, only two non-starters made a field goal. Now, if teams are able to prevent Kansas' starting five from taking over, several reserves could step up.
The confidence the layhawks have in their bench is helping them gear up for the stretch run of the Big 12 Conference season that starts today at Kansas State.
"Everybody's just trying to focus in," Chalmers said. "We're trying to win the league. Everybody's trying to play better every day."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
SFC
— Edited by Ashley Thompson
START ST. PATTY'S DAY EARLY AT JBS
R“MONDAY MADNESS” — ONLY AT JAYHAWK BOOKSTORE
view from press row
It was a rough day for the pregame crew. First, the alma mater was sung without a couple words. The modified version was "Far above the golden valley, glorious to view ... Noble alma mater towering toward the blue." Then, sophomore guard Mario Chalmers was introduced as being from Anchorage, Alabama. He's actually from Alaska.
> if statistics were kept for the number of passes in a game, Saturday's would rank near the top of the Big 12 Conference. Both teams kept the ball on the perimeter, passing it around until an open shot was created. Consider how long each possession was, it's surprising that there weren't more shot clock violations.
first year, but has the opportunity to finish out the conference season on a high note. The 'Huskers' last five games are all against lower-tier opponents, with the toughest match-up being a game against Oklahoma State. That will be played in Lincoln, and the Cowboys have yet to win a road game this season.
> Nebraska coach Doc Sadler has struggled against Kansas in his
One thing that continues to impress me about Russell Robinson is how well he can play inside the paint. The junior guard is obviously a terrific shooter and ball handler, but he can also contend for rebounds and create plays when he steps inside. There aren't a lot of ball-handling guards who can do that.
The 1952 championship team reunited at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, including former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. Kansas coach Bill Self said the team also visited practice on Friday, and he was glad that his players and fans had the opportunity to see the team and, in particular, Smith. "I hope that Kansas fans and students — maybe not the students, because they haven't been alive long enough — understand that KU produced as good a coach as our profession has ever had. Period. And we're so proud of that." Self said.
> Afternoon games in Allen Fieldhouse just don't have the same feel as the night games. From the sun shining in to the late-arriving students, things are different when a game is played during the day. Perhaps that's because Kansas is on national TV so often that afternoon games have become a rarity.
Michael Phillips