Sports
IMM SIDE CYCLONES
Revenge game
The University Daily Kansan
Revenge game The Cyclones came from behind to defeat the Jayhawks the first time in Ames, Iowa. Preview coverage tomorrow of this Saturday's rematch.
7A
Thursday, February 19, 2004
sports commentary
Kellis Robbinet
krobbinet@kansan.com
Past years show team may reach Final Four
Losing at Oklahoma State by 20 points made jayhawk fans scratch their heads. Following it up with a blowout loss at Nebraska left some of us foaming at the mouth. But before you go starting up www.firebillself.com, remember this is not an all-time low for Kansas men's basketball.
basketball.
It wasn't even that long ago that Kansas had a string of mediocre seasons similar to this one. During the '99 and '00 seasons, the Jayhawks struggled as much, if not more, than they are right now.
Those two teams each lost ten games, went 11-5 in Big 12 Conference play, produced six and eight seeds in the NCAA tournament, and failed to advance past the second round of the big dance.
In the '99 season Kansas lost to lowly UMass, a pre-Bob Knight Texas Tech team, Missouri at home, and got swept by Nebraska.
It wasn't even that long ago that Kansas had a string of mediocre seasons.
The '00 team got blown out against Illinois by 14 points, at Missouri by 22, at Texas by 14, at Oklahoma State by 33, and then again by 19 in the Conference tournament.
The two seasons between '98 and '00 were dark times, but they were also the beginning of a great era of Kansas basketball.
The list goes on and on.
The '99 and '00 teams struggled because they had to replace two NBA lottery draft picks — Paul Pierce and Raef Lafrentz — with role players who did not have the necessary experience to lead.
Sound familiar?
They suffered endless growing pains and humiliating losses, but the experience that those underclassmen gained in those seasons translated into back-toback Conference championships and Final Fours once they became juniors and seniors.
They relied heavily on the contributions of underclassmen Jeff Boschee, Drew Gooden, Nick Collison, and Kirk Hinrich who were still adjusting to college basketball.
and seniors.
The challenges of replacing lottery picks, relying on role players to lead the team, and starting freshman are all challenges that this year's Kansas basketball team is also facing.
They are not going to win the Conference championship this year. They are not going to receive a top seed in the NCAA Tournament this season. They will probably lose another game fans did not expect them to lose along the way.
But the core of this team is 9-2 in the NCAA Tournament, and just like a few years ago, they might come together in March.
they might be. In '99 Kansas won the Big 12 Conference tournament, and the NCAA tournament's second round gave defending national champion Kentucky all it could handle before losing in overtime.
The '00 team led first seed Duke with less than a minute remaining in the game and eventually lost by five points.
Kansas74 Baylor54
But even if something like that doesn't happen this year, Kansas basketball will rebound because talented young players will get experience as more than role players, and, when they become upper-classmen, will be ready to lead the Jayhawks back to the Final Four.
Robinott is an Austin, Texas junior in journalism
J. R. Giddens, freshman guard, defended Baylor's Matt Sayman, senior guard, last night at Allen Fieldhouse. Giddens finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds in the Jayhawks 74-54 win over the Baylor Bears. Annie Berneth Kansan
Jayhawks keep promise
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
Guaranteed win reverses recent skid
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Maybe it was the red uniforms. Maybe it was the return of Jeff Graves. Maybe it was even the below-capacity crowd in Allen Fieldhouse.
Alen Fieldhouse. Whatever it was, something jolted the Jayhawks on their way to a 74-54 victory over the Baylor Bears. The win for Kansas (16-6, 8-3 Big 12 Conference) ended a two-game losing streak and kept Baylor (7-17, 2-9) winless at Allen Fieldhouse.
house. Despite the 20-point margin of victory, the game was not as easy for Kansas and the numbers indicated that.
and the numbers indicated Either way, the Jayhawks are content with another notch in the win column.
"Let's say you're running a race for a million dollars," freshman guard J.R. Giddens said. "You can be like, man you barely won, and I'm like I got a million dollars. Hey we can say it's ugly and work on it later. We're ugly winners."
Give the Bears credit. For a team that suited up only seven scholarship players and has fought for every break they've received this season, they hung around longer than anyone anticipated.
Baylor's two leading scorers for the season, forwards Harvey Thomas and Terrance Thomas, kept the Bears hanging around early.
Baylor even had a 7-0 run late in the first half to take a 25-24 lead with 4:32 left before halftime.
Guard Matt Sayman hit a pair of free throws late in the first to tie the game, 28-28.
The Kansas squad that was on the floor in the first half resembled the team that has shown up in the losses at Oklahoma State and Nebraska. However, the second half showcased a mirror image of the team that scored 96 points against Texas Tech in their last home game.
"Hey we can say it's ugly and work on it later. We're ugly winners."
28. Then Kansas senior forward Jeff Graves made his first appearance on the floor since last Monday's 80-60 loss at Oklahoma State because of what coach Bill Self called a lack of effort. Graves crashed the boards and the Jayhawks fed off of the crowd's energy with a quick 5-0 run to take a 33-28 lead at the half.
"It was just good to see him in the locker room before the game joking around, playing the music, jumping around," junior guard Keith Langford said. "Any time he's out on the floor he does a lot of intangible things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He's a real knick-knack guy.
J. R. Giddens Freshman guard
Jeff Hawkins, sophomore guard, and junior guards Michael Lee and Aaron Miles celebrated Kansas's victory over Baylor last night in Allen Fieldhouse.
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
With Baylor still hanging close at 39- 37, Kansas unleashed a fast-paced 17-4 run to create a 15-point lead in a matter of minutes. The outburst included eight points from Giddens, including two three-point bombs that brought the crowd to its feet.
"Coach looked at me and said J.R. you're going to hit your next shot," Giddens said.
Giddens attributed his open looks in the second half to Keith Langford penetrating and drawing defenders. Langford had arguably his best all-around game of the season. The junior guard finished
with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Even more impressive was the fact that Langford did not turn the ball over once.
"We can talk all about making shots, the alley-oops, the threes or whatever," junior guard Aaron Miles said. "But the
way Keith was aggressive, attacking, that opened it up and allowed some of that stuff. I think Keith was a big part of our success tonight.
access tonight.
The Jayhawks 44-point second half
SEE PROMISE ON PAGE 12A
Jeff Graves made his return to the lineup and contributed seven rebounds.
Baylor shot just 31 percent in the second half after 64 percent in the first half.
The Jayhawks committed just 10 turnovers, compared to Baylor's 18.
Baylor stays upbeat after loss
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
Keith Langford, junior guard, defended R.T. Guinn, Baylor senior center, last night in Allen Fieldhouse. Langford scored 19 points in the win.
First-year coach Scott Drew keeps the Bears focused
By Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
With 12:34 left in the second half last night, the Baylor Bears believed they could win.
But a 39-37 deficit soon turned into a blowout as Kansas chalked up a 17-2 run, sparked by two J.R. Giddens three pointers.
Unfortunately for Baylor, situations such as this have happened a lot this season. With just six scholarship players on the roster, fatigue seems to set in late in the game.
But their two Big 12 Conference victories are two more than most experts
After an off-season that included the death of a player and the correlating transfers of two key players, no one expected much from the Bears.
expected. After the game, the team was so upbeat it was hard to tell it had lost.
so open.
"We just have a great team," senior forward Terrance Thomas said. "We just play with a lot of heart."
Thomas, the conference's second leading scorer with an average of 16.6 points per game, chose to stay with the program despite the off-season events.
"I'm just so glad to be here," Thomas said.
Perhaps that positive attitude is what kept the Bears in the game for the first 28 minutes last night.
A zone defense, and 64 percent shooting in the first half proved that the Bears were not intimidated by the jayhawks, who only led by five at halftime.
The Bears could only rely on heart for so long as the jayhawks wore down the
SEE BAYLOR ON PAGE 12A
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C, Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
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