6A
KU 76 - NU 56
THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS KANSAS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2007
'Hawks thrash'Huskers
BY MARK DENT
Kansas 76 Nebraska 56 January 29, 2007
LINCOLN, Neb. - This was not a run.
Runs are short scoring bursts. They span a few minutes and lead to scores such as 12-2 or 16-4.
It allowed a marathon
No, Nebraska didn't allow a run. It allowed a marathon
Nebraska went 13 minutes and 43 seconds without a basket, and Kansas took advantage by scoring 27 straight points. The drought allowed the jayhawks to coast the rest of the way for a 76-56 victory.
"The game was over early really," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. "I told the guys at halftime the game is over."
Yes, the game was over really early, at the 16:09 mark to be exact.
Cornhuskers' freshman guard Ryan Anderson then sank a three-pointer to cut the Jayhawks lead in half at 12.6. From then on, the unimaginable happened.
Sophomore guard Brandon Rush hit two straight three-point shots, and Kansas was up by 12. Freshman forward Darrrell Arthur grabbed an offensive rebound and tipped it in. 20-6. Rush scored a couple more points. Then it was freshman guard Sherron Collins' turn. He gave the
Jayhawks a 23-point lead. Nebraska especially had nothing going its way when sophomore forward Julian Wright made a three-pointer. It was only the third one he's made all season.
"I think we were just star-struck; I really do," Sadler said. "I think they got hit so hard, so quick that it dominoed, and it was over."
Kansas made everything on its way to a 39-6 lead, but Nebraska's players couldn't hit any of their shots. Seven different players combined to miss 13 shots and a free throw. That free throw could have snapped the Huskers out of the slump a couple of minutes earlier, but junior center Aleks Marie's attempt rimmed out.
Free throw shooting was actually Maric's smallest problem. Nebraska's leading scorer at 17.6 points per game didn't even attempt his first field goal until 12 minutes had already elapsed, Arthur, junior center Sasha Kaun and junior forward Darnell Jackson took turns holding him in check.
They bumped and bruised the taller Maric every time he entered the paint. Their physical play forced him into two travels and limited him to only five touches in the first 10 minutes. The banner defensive performance against Marc came only two days after Kansas coach Bill Self called his big men "soft."
"He got a couple of fouls early, which helped us a lot," Self said. "I thought we defended him well in the first half."
For a while, Nebraska seemed destined to go to the locker room with only six points, but it heated up enough at the end to score 10 quick points and finish with 16. In the second half, the Huskers shot much better. Anderson even ended up with 19 points on six three-pointers. But in the end, the first half drought was too crippling for Nebraska to have a prayer in the final 20 minutes.
The Jayhawks, who had a reputation for letting teams stay in the game too long earlier this season, suffocated the Huskers shortly after the opening tip.
"They're a great basketball team all-around," Anderson said. "They don't change. They just keep doing what they do and play hard."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
Edited by Sharla Shivers
Kansas 76, Nebraska 56
Kansas 43 33 — 76
Nebraska 16 40 — 56
Goals
Kansas:
Wright 5-10 6-6 17,
Kaun 0-5 0-0 0,
Robinson 4-6 0-0 9,
Chalmers 3-9 1-2 9,
Rush 7-13 3-4 20,
Arthur 5-7 2-3 12,
Collins 3-7 2-2 9,
Stewart 0-1 0-0 0,
Case 0-0 0-0 0,
Bechard 0-0 0-0 0
Morningstar 0-1 0-0 0
Jackson 0-1 0-0 0
Kleinmann 0-1 0-0 0
Totals 27-61 14-17 76
Nebraska:
Maric 3-8 3-5 9
Richardson Jr. 0-5 0-0 0
Perry 3-6 0-0 9
White 1-5 3-4 6
Anderson 6-11 1-2 19
Henry 2-6 2-2 6
Strowbridge 1-3 0-1 2
Marks 1-1 0-0 2
Smith 0-0 0-0 0
Velander 1-1 0-0 3
Balham 0-0 0-0 0
Totals 18-46 9-14 56
Records
Kansas 19-3,6-1 Big 12
Nebraska 12-8,1-5 Big 12
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
1st Half
Julian Wright, sophomore forward, shoots during Monday's game in Lincoln, Neb. Kansas beat Nebraska 76-56.
2nd Half
Sasha Kaun, junior center, and Darrrell Arthur, freshman forward, fight for a rebound during Monday's game in Lincoln, Neb. The Jayhawks defeated the "Huskers" 76-56.
In the first half, the Jayhawks were hitting from everywhere and the Cornhuskers were missing from everywhere. Especially notable was Nebraska's lack of an inside presence. With Aleks Maric, junior center, shooting only twice in the first half, it was hard for the team to get the ball moving through the paint.
Michael Phillips/Kansar
Brandon Rush, sophomore guard, moves past Nebi
Shot chart information compiled by Nebraska Athletics
Julian Wright, sophomore forward, dunks during the second half of Monday's 76-56 victory over Nebraska.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
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