6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
On the flip side, Texas A&M players will want to keep the game under the basket. The Aggies are out-rebounding opponents by almost six boards a game, largely because of the efforts of Jones and Kavaliauskas.
When those two get rebounds, opponents are denied second chances or easy tip-in points, which helps keep scoring low. The Aggies have allowed opponents to shoot just 35 percent this season.
"They're leading the country in field goal percentage by a pretty
large margin" Self said. "They've done a real good job making it hard for people to score."
No matter how ugly it gets inside, Kansas's and Texas A&M's focus is unlikely to be rebounding. Aggie guard Acie Law and Jayhawk guard Brandon Rush were both named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American team earlier this week. They are among the best in the country, and will look to dazzle on the national stage Saturday.
Jones and Kavaliauskas will try to occupy an area that's not big enough for all four of them.
Dominating the glass could be enough to tip the scales in favor of one of the teams. And if the jayhawk forwards need additional help with that, football coach Mark Mangino is free this time of year.
- Edited by Kelly Lanigan
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
GAMEDAY (CONTINUED FROM 1R)
basketball," he said, referring to the Scottish town known as "the home of golf" and a frequent host of golf's oldest major tournament.
"There's nowhere better," Bilas said. "It's where basketball was born."
So far, Bilas said fans at Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh have impressed him the most this year.
"They just had fun, and we got wrapped up in that," he said of the student section at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh. GameDay covered their match-up against Georgetown on Jan. 13.
If past results are any indication, Kansas should be ready to go this Saturday. So far this season, the
Jayhawks are 2-0 against Top 10 teams, pulling out a victory against Florida in Las Vegas and blowing out Oklahoma State at home.
"We're just looking at it like it's another game, but we're probably going to come out more enthusiastic and eager to play," freshman guard Sherron Collins said.
Self seemed wary of letting the hype get too big.
"I don't want them spending all their energy" he said of the players. "It's not the Super Bowl, but it is a very important game."
This is GameDay's second trip to Allen Fieldhouse and doesn't figure to be their last.
"They haven't talked about the
future, but I think they will certainly come back," Marchiony said.
He said ESPN informed the Athletics Department over the summer of their plans for the game.
The national spotlight will be on the Jawahshaws this Saturday, but Bilas said a few Kansas players caught his eye already this season.
"Sharron Collins is tremendous," he said, "and Brandon Rush, obviously, is one of the best players in the country."
Kansan staff writer Kyle Carter can be contacted at kcarter@kansan.com.
Edited by Trevan McGee
DAVISON (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
is a sentimental game, as it was my first "real" experience of Allen Fieldhouse as a student. Sure, there was one regular season game earlier that season, but this was against one of the best teams in the country. It showed me the full game day experience — from camping to throwing newspaper to heckling opposing teams. It was a good win, too, as the Spartans' highly touted Paul Davis was held to just 12 points.
4. Last season, Kansas beat Oklahoma, 59-58. This was the most impressive comeback in recent memory. The lajahaws trailed by 16 in the second half, but came back to win on a Mario Chalmers
jumper. The atmosphere was great and I actually had a good seat in the student section. This was the best game in the Fieldhouse last season. Plus, KU alumnus Kevin Harlan called the game for CBS.
5. Kansas edged by Nebraska, 59-57, on Jan. 18, 2005. This game cracks the top five simply because I was born in Nebraska. It was a good game, one that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the last second. Husker guard Joe McCray had an open three-point attempt that rattled in and out of the basket in the final seconds of the game.
Honorable Mentions: Kansas
vs. Missouri, 2006-07; Kansas vs.
Kentucky, 2005-06; and Kansas vs.
Texas, 2004-05; when ESPNGameDay first
drove to the fieldhouse.
I predict Saturday's game will sneak its way into this group. The contest will showcase some of the best players in the Big 12, KU's Brandon Rush and Julian Wright and Texas A&M's Joseph Jones and Acie Law. While I expect a grind-it-out game that will come down to the wire, the Jayhawks should win on their home court.
Davison is an Overland Park senior in journalism.
- Edited by Kelly Lanigan
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BASEBALL
Preseason predictions Fresh faces prepare Big 12 Conference for the unknown
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Editors Note: Below are Big 12 baseball reporter Shawn Shroyer's selection for Big 12 preseason awards.
The first pitch of the Kansas baseball season was thrown last night, but it's still the preseason for the rest of the Big 12 Conference.
The conference lost a lot of star power from last season. As a result, plenty of schools will be vying for the Big 12 supremacy. Along with the possibility of new schools sitting atop the conference, there will be some fresh faces taking home post-season awards.
2. Nebraska — With a one-two punch for the weekend rotation in pitchers Johnny Dorn and Tony Watson and mainstay infielder Ryan Wehle still around, the Cornhuskers' foundation is in place.
3. Texas — Drew Stubbs, Carson Kainer and Kyle McCulloch have moved on, but the Longhorns will inevitably find the new weapons to replace them.
5. Kansas — The Jayhawks have the potential to run up the score on opponents, but that will depend heavily on their young pitching staff.
4. Baylor — The Bears are young this season, but after two straight impressive recruiting classes, they're not wanting for talent.
1. Oklahoma State - Add two preseason All-American infielders to a pitching staff with proven experience and talented youth and the Cowboys could run away with the conference.
6. Oklahoma — The Sooners' top four hitters and weekend starters from 2006 are gone and their returning hitter, Aaron Reza, is out four to six weeks with a broken hand, but coach Sunny Golloway proved last year he can get the most out of what he has.
7. Texas Tech — Very little was lost from Last year's team, but Matt Smith and Roger Kieschnick can't do it all.
8. Texas A&M — The pitching
staff should be solid, but the offenses could be atrocious.
9. Missouri — Losing Max Scherzer and Nathan Culp decimated the Tigers' pitching staff.
10. Kansas State — The Wildcats are third on the totem poll in Kansas and they'll be in the Big 12 cellar.
Who will make the field of 64?
Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Texas are locks. The only question is whether they will hold Regionals at home. Baylor is also a safe bet to make the tournament, but probably not hold a Regional. Kansas and Oklahoma lost a bevy of key players from last season, but if they can manage 40 win seasons with the schedules they have to navigate, there no way they'll be denied tournament bids.
Texas Tech is my sleeper pick to make the tournament, but Texas A&M, Missouri and Kansas State will basically be playing the spoiler role come March.
Player of the Year:
Tyler Mach, Oklahoma State senior, second baseman
Last season's Big 12 Co-Player
of the year will have the award all to himself in 2007. Despite being drafted last spring, he came back to school and changed positions to make room for transfer
Matt Mangini. An ultimate team player, Mach is also one hell of a hitter.
Pitcher of the Year:
Johnny Dorn, Nebraska junior,
right-handed starter
Mach
It's funny that a 9-4 season with a 3.89 ERA seemed like an off year for Dorn, but he went 12-2 with a 2.16 ERA as a freshman. If he can match his
Dorn
2005 numbers, the Big 12 could be Nebraska's for the taking.
Newcomer of the Year: Matt Mangini, Oklahoma State junior, third baseman
Mangini moved into Mach's spot
Mangini
at third and,
along with Mach,
was named a
Louisville Slugger
preseason All-
American. At
North Carolina
State last season,
he hit .343 with
seven home runs
and 60 RBI. He was also the batting champion in the Cape Cod League this summer. All of these things spell trouble for opposing Big 12 pitchers.
Freshman of the Year:
Clint Stubbs, Texas, outfielder
Stubbs has a tough act to follow after his brother, Drew, went eight overall in the MLB Amateur Draft, but Clint wouldn't be wearing burnt orange if he wasn't worth
Stubbs
Freshman Pitcher of the Year:
left- handed starter
Freshman Pitcher of the Year:
Andrew Oliver, Oklahoma State,
left-handed
"Baseball America" recognized him as a key member of the Cowboy's No. 7 recruiting class last season. If he's as good as advertised, he should land a weekend spot. If he holds his own, Oklahoma State will go deep into postseason play.
Oliver
Kansan senior sportswriter Shawn
Shroyer can be contacted at
sshoyer@kansan.com
SUPER BOWL
- Edited by Katie Sullivan
BY BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
Manning creates magic at line
MIAMI — He points, he pivots, he harks out more orders than a coffee shop waiter at lunchtime.
When Peyton Manning is running the show for the Indianapolis Colts, it's difficult to decipher if he is performing magic or just blowing smoke.
"That would be impossible to answer without giving away secrets," Manning said with a smile.
When Manning brings his offense to the line against the Chicago Bears in Sunday's Super Bowl, at times he will resemble a maestro conducting a finely tuned orchestra. Other times, he'll look like a disoriented traveler seeking directions.
"To me, our offense, like any offense, is about execution," said the NFL's leading passer. "We do call certain plays at the line of scrimmage, that's no secret there."
No other quarterback performs all those machinations. Few — Brett Favre, Tom Brady on occasion — call or change plays at the line as much as Manning.
In offensive coordinator Tom Moore's system, which Manning has played under since he was the No. 1 overall draft choice in 1998, most of the decision-making is left in the quarterback's hands.
"I think you have to be confident in your offense. That's part of playing in the NFL, and the reason you have confidence is because of how hard you worked and how hard you
"They're successful, so I don't know how you can say it's annoying when all they do is move the ball on pretty much everybody," said Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. "If we stop them it will be really fun."
"I'm not going to try and change our defenses for what he does, because I don't know what they're doing, number one. He may not be changing the play at all, so we're just going to line up, read our keys and try and play fast," he said.
prepared. I've used this quote before, but my dad gave it to me when I was a kid. It was by Chuck Noll, which said, 'Pressure is something that you feel only when you don't know what you are doing.' "Manning said.
But don't watch the hands if you're playing defense against him.
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