Sports
NCAA Final Four
Ben Antonio
2004
Read between the brackets
Read between the brackets Kansan sportswriter Ryan Greene will take a look at another NCAA men's basketball region tomorrow.
1B
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
East Rutherford winners picked
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
East Rutherford Region
No.1 St. Joseph's (27-1) vs. No.16 Liberty (18-14)
t. Joseph's Jameer Nelson, right, tried to steal the ball from Xavier's Dedrick Finn in Xavier's 87-67 victory in the Atlantic 10 Tournament on March 11.
Don't expect a Liberty team that has been streaky all season to contest the nation's best backcourt for long. St. Joseph's became the first team this season to have an undefeated regular season since the 1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Despite a pummeling in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals from Xavier, the Hawks are hungrier than ever now that many pundits are doubting their ability to advance past the first two rounds. Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, who combine for an average of 38.8 points per game, will have a field day against Liberty. Prediction - St. Joseph's 75, Liberty 44
No. 8 Texas Tech (22-10) vs. No. 9 Charlotte (21-8)
Bobby Knight is as seasoned of a coach as you'll find in the NCAA Tournament. Knight's team can be as good as any in this bracket, and that's because Texas Tech has a lot of guys who can score. All five of the Red Raiders' starters average at least eight points per game. The offense runs through senior forward Andre Emmett, who scores 20.8 a game. If Emmett is in the zone, Charlotte may have no chance. The
Now that the NCAA Tournament brackets have been set for next weekend, it's time to bust out the pencils and erasers to predict this year's National Champ. In the spirit of the season, the Kansan's Ryan Greene will take an in-depth look every day this week at a different region of the bracket.
49ers are deep with a huge frontcourt, and also have a knack for pulling off upsets. Charlotte has no star players, but lots of solid contributors. Still, with the way Texas Tech has played of late, it's awfully hard to pick against them. Prediction — Texas Tech 65, Charlotte 63
No. 5 Florida (20-10) vs. No. 12 Manhattan (24-5)
tournament earned the Gators a spot in the championship game and their No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. Manhattan is the little engine that
24-3 The Florida Gators are college basketball's biggest disappointment this season. Most of it has to do with a brutal non-conference schedule, and losing sophomore swingman Christian Drejer at mid-season. Drejer left the team play professional basketball in Spain. Even without Drejer, the Gators have a solid trio in Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh and David Lee, but all three are inconsistent. Roberson's huge games in the South Eastern Conference
could. The Jaspers boast one of the nation's hottest young coaches,
SEE BRACKET ON PAGE 3B
Tournament tickets hard to come by
By Joe Bant jbant@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Another year of March Madness has officially begun, with the 64th seed of the NCAA Tournament decided last night.
The rest of the tournament will begin in full force tomorrow, with half of the 64 teams squaring off in first round games. Days of 12-hour basketball coverage will follow, creating a feast for fans everywhere.
But for those at the University of Kansas wanting to see the tournament live and in person, the window of opportunity is closing fast.
The University of Kansas Athletics Department has already held a lottery to distribute its tournament tickets, and the general public seats at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. — where the Jayhawks will play in the first round— are already sold out. Students who beat the rush and snagged tickets can be thankful. But
Hammer time
SEE TICKETS ON PAGE 3B
Brent Carter/Kansan
Adam Fitts, Lawrence sophomore, practiced the hammer throw yesterday near Memorial Stadium. The track and field team is preparing for a meet tomorrow in Emporia.
Kansas softball wins two games
By Jonathan Kealing
jkealing@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
Kansas' softball team (17-8) kicked off the UMKC's (2-10) home season with an 8-0 victory in the first game of the doubleheader yesterday.
"I think we played really well, coming out of the Saluki Tournament," sophomore shortstop Destiny Frankenstein said. "Everyone strung our hits together, and we were able to dominate."
The game was scoreless in the first inning, until the Jayhawks notched a run on a series of Kangaroo mistakes.
Sophomore designated hitter Serena Settlemier was hit by a pitch, and was
replaced on the bases by sophomore pitcher Ashley Goodrich. Goodrich stole second and advanced to third on a passed ball. A fly ball to leftfield by sophomore third baseman Nettie Fierros drove Goodrich in.
The gap between the two teams would only get larger through the game. The Jayhawks scored three in the third, three in the fourth and added one more in the fifth to wrap up game one.
Leading the team Frankenstein was, Frankenstein.
who went 1-2 and had three RBL
Settlemier went 2-2 and also contributed an RBI. Also batting in runs were senior centerfielder Mel Wallach with two, Fierros with one and sophomore leftfielder Ashley Frazer.
"Destiny's playing all around great ball. She's hitting well, and she's showing great leadership on the field," assistant coach Julie Wright said.
Wallach notched two home runs on the day, including one homer in game one and a second in game two.
"She's on fire right now," Wright said. "She came out of the SIU tournament on fire and she's continued into this week."
The Jayhawks had nine total hits, producing eight runs and just one error
Game two proved to be a little more difficult for the team,but it still led beginning to end in the 4-2 result.
in five innings. Freshman pitcher Kassie Humphreys got the victory and recorded three strikeouts. Her record now stands at 9-4.
"Kassie pitched the first, and I think UMKC was a little upset that we were able to run over them in five in game one," Frankenstein said. "They got a few key hits that allowed them their two runs."
Kansas exploded out of the gate with three runs in the first inning of the second game. Wallach notched her second
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 3B
BASEBALL
Baseball's streak ended after loss to Oral Roberts
The Jayhawks lost a heartbreaker yesterday in a 2-1 game against Oral Roberts University.
The Golden Eagles struck first in the game with a RBI single in the second inning by third baseman Boomer Welles. Kansas did not answer until the seventh inning. Senior infielder Ryan Baty singled and was then driven in by senior offense Matt Tribleb's double off the right-center field fence to tie the game at 1-1. The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth inning when ORU's Josh Lex doubled to left field end the game.
The 'Hawks (18-9-1 entered the game with momentum, after going 11-1 in the last 12 home games. That momentum hit a brick wall yesterday when Oral Roberts hit a game-winning double in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Sophomore infielder Matt Baty and Tribble led the way offensively for the Jayhawks with two hits each. Both junior infielder Travis Metcalf and sophomore infielder Ritchie Price saw the end of their hitting streaks by going 0-for-4 at the plate.
Kansas will return to Hoglund Ballpark Saturday for a two-game series against Western Illinois, starting at noon.
Sharpe
—Shane Kucera
The Jayhawks scattered six hits over nine innings in what proved to be a pitching dual between Kansas junior left-handed pitcher Scott Sharpe and Oral Roberts pitcher Justin Ramsey. Sharpe went six innings, allowing only five hits and one run. Ramsey managed to shut down the Jayhawks for seven innings, allowing only three hits and one run.
BOX SCORE:
R H E
Kansas: 000 000 100 0 1 6 0
Oral Roberts: 010 000 0001 2 8 0
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggle Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
Double Plays - Oral Roberts 4.
Left On Base - Kansas 2,Oral Roberts
10.
Doubles - Tribble, M.; Lex.
2
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