THE UNIVERSITY DALY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19,200
3B
BIG 12FASTBREAK
Big 12 writer Mark Dent's take on the men's conference race.
Raise your glasses to...
Raise your glasses to... Texas (13-4, 3-1) and
Oklahoma State (16-2, 2-1)
These two teams deserve all the praise in the world after playing one of the best games in Big 12 history Tuesday night. In case you missed it, here's the summary. Oklahoma State won in triple overtime 105-103, after Cowboy Mongoose and Longhorn Kevin Durant put their teams on their shoulders for the extra 15 minutes.
Send a congratulations Facebook message to...
D. J. Augustin, Texas
Picking Durant would be too easy for this week's honor. Don't worry, the leading candidate for National Player of the Year will have plenty of opportunities to be chosen. Anyway, the freshman Augustin is averaging 14.3 points per game in Big 12 play and leads the conference in assists at 7.5 per game. In the Oklahoma State game, Augustin tied the game at the end of regulation, and again at the end of the first overtime.
Start off conversations with these topics...
Snow Daze — No winter wonderlands here. Oklahoma State coulddrive to Lincoln to play Nebraska because of bad weather last weekend, and snow also caused Colorado to cancel two non-conference games
this season. Now they're expecting major snowfall in Lubbock, Texas, forcing Kansas to leave a day early.
40 Minutes of "What the Hell?"
- Missouri ran Mike Anderson's full-court pressure to perfection in non-conference play, losing only two games, but the Tigers have lost all four of their conference games. The problem? Matt Lawrence. He struggled in Missouri's first three Big 12 losses, but scored 19 points against Kansas. If he plays well, the Tigers could still win seven conference games.
Eddie Must Be Proud — Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton did his best to mimic his dad Eddie's trademark grimaces Tuesday night against Texas. Sean's facial expressions were almost as goblin-like as his father's, and he even one-upped the former coach by nearly fainting in the huddle during a time out.
Iowa State's True Colors? — The Cyclones seemed to have put their last place finish in the Battle of Iowa behind them — Iowa State (11-7, 2-2) lost to Northern Iowa, Iowa and Drake — by beating Missouri and Nebraska and taking Kansas to overtime. But after Wednesday's loss to Colorado and two upcoming road games against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, first year coach Greg McDermott's team is likely to endure a four-game losing streak.
Keep a close watch on the race for irrelevance...
Colorado (5-9, 1-3) appeared to be a shoe-in for this award, but Missouri has really made a strong case with an 0-4 start in conference play. The Tigers played masterfully in their first Big 12 game, choking away a 16 point second half lead and then losing at the buzzer like only Missouri could. The Buffaloos looked good early with three losses by an average of 22 points, but they really hurt their cause by defeating Iowa State on Wednesday. Look for Colorado to get back on the right track by losing at Nebraska on Saturday.
You probably said 'Oh my God'about...
Byron Eaton, Oklahoma State
This one was unbelievable. In the second half against Texas, Eaton sprinted to the sideline on the right wing as the shot clock wound down. In the same motion, Eaton jumped to save the ball, turned around slightly in the air and scooped and shot the ball for a 30-foot three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer.
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
- Edited by Joe Caponio
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Missouri on Monday. The nail-bitter included 20 lead changes and a last-second three-point attempt from Missouri that would have tied the game.
"They did a lot of running," freshman forward Darrell Arthur said. "That pressure was pretty tough."
In the second half, the Tigers backed off into a zone defense, allowing Collins to get open from behind the arc and play his best game as a lavihawk.
"I don't know if I remember one individual taking over a big game quite like Sherron did," Self said.
Arthur and Collins showed no signs of their youth down the stretch
— the two freshmen scored 14 of the lavhaws' last 16 points.
The last time the Red Raiders played host to Kansas, it was freshman Sasha Kaun who found himself in the spotlight. Texas Tech's Darryl Dora hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the second overtime to win the game 80-79. Kaun was defending Dora at the time, and was able to get a hand in his face.
"It was just a great shot," Kaun said. "And it was a really good game."
The team will have plenty of time to watch tape of that game
After that, they'll face the motion offense that is unique among Big 12 teams. But that's the way they want it, because it helps them prepare for March.
ing snowstorm. Self said the players and coaches will have a team dinner together, which is something they haven't had the opportunity to do on the road this year.
the lajayhaws flew into Lubbock on Thursday to avoid an approach
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be reached at mphillipsa kansan.com
Edited by Joe Caponio
ASSAULT
Navy player faces court-martial
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Rape and drug charges were dropped against a former Navy football player, but the Naval Academy said Thursday it will court-martial him on lesser counts.
Kenny Ray Morrison was accused of using a date rape drug to assault the women in separate incidents,
but testimony from expert witnesses during pretrial hearings cast doubt on whether the women had been drugged.
Morrison is now charged with two counts of indecent assault and two counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. He previously faced more serious charges of rape and distribution of the drug GHB.
Despite the lesser charges, academy Superintendent Vice Adm Rodney Rempt decided that Morrison will face the most serious form of military hearing; a general court-martial. In a statement, the academy said Rempt made the decision "after careful consideration of all available evidence."
"These cases are always sad," Rempt said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal kept his composure in a 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win Thursday over Philipp Kohlschreiber and reached the third round of the Australian Open.
After zinging a shot into Nadal's left hand at 1 1 in the second set, Kohlschreiber went right at Nadal again in the next game, knocking him down with another laser. Nadal blocked it back as he fell away and dropped his racket, allowing the German to hit an easy winner. Nadal got up slowly, looking over his shoulder and shaking his head.
Rick Stevens/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nadal makes third round
Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after winning his second round match against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Thursday. Nadal won in four sets, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 2-1.
It took more than a few stingers to intimidate Nadal, who spent a record 78 weeks at No.2 in the rankings behind Roger Federer. But the Spaniard did not help himself, losing his serve three times in the third set.
PRO-TENNIS
Top seeded Maria Sharapova was even faster, winning 6-0, 6-3 over Russian compatriot Anastasia Rodionova in 58 minutes. Three other Russians — No. 9 Dinara Safina, No. 12 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 22 Vera Zvonareva — joined Sharapova in the third round in her half of the draw.
Today Russian women feature in all the singles matches on the center court.
Fifth seeded Nadia Petrova opens against 2005 Australian Open winner Serena Williams followed by an all-Russian match between No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Kirilenko.
Another Russian, U.S. Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny faces top-ranked Federer in a men's match. Defending champion Federer is on a 32-match winning streak overall and has lost only once in his last 22 matches at Melbourne Park.
In other matches fifth-seeded James Blake defeated Alex Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. He now faces another American, Robby Ginepri, and has no plans of shaving for the occasion. Blake said he never shaves while he's winning in a tournament.
In the women's bracket Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis moved closer to another quarterfinal showdown as they raced into the third round. Clijsters, who recently decided this will be her last season on the tour, took 59 minutes in a 6-3, 6-0 defeat of japan's Akiko Morigami. Hingis was nine minutes slower in her 6-2, 6-2 win over Russian Alla Kudryavtseva.
Third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, No. 8 David Nalbandian, No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez, No. 15 Andy Murray and local favorite Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the third round.