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Tomorrow Full coverage of tonight's Kansas vs. Kansas State in Manhattan.
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The University Daily Kansan
1B
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Southpaw flies into new season
By Shane Kucera
skucera@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The lucky undershrift he worn for three years hasn't let down Mike Zagurski yet. And considering Kansas' new pitcher allowed only two earned runs this season, it won't anytime soon.
Zagurski, one of eight junior college transfers the Kansas baseball team has acquired this season, is expected to make an immediate impact.
A Nebraska All-State pitching selection in his senior year at Millard North High School,
Zagurski
Zagurski has continued his success at the college level. Attending Hutchinson Community College, he earned First-Team AllConference honors his sophomore year.
In his first two appearances for Kansas, the 6-foot, 220-pound lefty has proved to be a threat from the mound. Zagurski has struck out four batters and held opponents to a .200 batting average.
Despite walking four batters and hitting another with a wild pitch in his first start, Zagurski remained calm to earn a 14-2 win against Hawaii-Hilo.
In his second game Zagurski struck out every batter he faced in one innning.
"I haven't been nervous on the mound. I had some walks and wild pitches early because I wasn't comfortable, but I settled in after a while," Zagurski said.
The transition from junior college to the Division 1A level has not proved to be difficult for Zagurski. He attaches the smooth transition to the positive energy of coach Ritch Price and the strong core of players around him at Kansas.
"Coach Price makes practice, games and baseball in general enjoyable," said Zagurski. "The only major difference between junior college and Division one baseball is that now the team is much more solid one-through-nine."
The team has performed well behind the pitching staff so far this season. The offense maintains a .367 batting average after seven games and the infield has only allowed two free bases on errors.
Even though the team was ranked eighth in the Big 12 Coaches Poll, Zagurski remains optimistic about the season.
"We have a chance to be special. Everyone gets along and we have a good group of guys that are all good players," Zagurski said.
Price has also given Zagurski praise in return for his work on the field.
"Mike Zagurski turned in an outstanding performance," said Price.
Zagurski has also received praise from Price for his academic success. He was one of 16 baseball players on the Jayhawk Scholars list for the fall of 2003.
With strongplayers such as Zagurski, Kansas has a chance to make its first NCAA tournament appearance in a decade. If the team exceeds all expectations, reaching the College World Series would mean a trip for Zagurski to his hometown of Omaha, Neb.
The Jayhawk's next test will be against Texas Southern at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31.
Edited by Meghan Brune
Wildcats narrow talent gap
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Jayhawk fans may have been happy to sign off the close score as a fluke in Kansas' 73-67 victory at home against Kansas State on Jan.14. The team itself, though, is less convinced.
"I think that the talent level and the gap has been narrowed." Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I think they are a team that can beat anybody and will beat anybody if they play well."
Following Kansas State's years of mediocrity, the Jayhawks (12-3 overall. 4-0 Big 12 Conference) found out just how improved the Wildcats (9-6,1-3) are this season by playing a bruising, close game for 40 minutes.
Kansas' veteran players aren't letting their past success influence them either. They point that Bill Self's Jayhawks are different from when Roy Williams coached the team.
coached the team.
"I don't look at the streak, because I mean it wasn't this team that won those 27 games," junior guard Aaron Miles said. "This is our first game down there, and we're just looking to go 1-0."
One positive for the Wildcats to build on from the first meeting is that they played the game without freshman guard Dez Willingham and freshman forward Cartier Martin. The duo scored a combined 15.4 points per game this season for Kansas State. Willingham will play tonight, but Martin will again be on the bench with an ankle injury.
Even with Martin's absence, the Wildcats were still able to match up well with the Jayhawks in the paint at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas was outrebounded 41-38 by Kansas State, and the Jayhawks' big men only outscored their Wildcat counterparts 32-26.
Kansas played the first meeting without freshman center David Padgett, who sat out the game with a stress fracture in his left foot. Self now says
The Kansas coach, however, does not want to overwork Padgett so soon after returning from injury.
Padgett has the bounce back in his step.
"Until he feels he can go full speed everyday, then I don't see anything changing." Selfsaid. "We will just go with whoever is playing the best."
With Padgett's playing time limited, the Jayhawks will need senior forward Jeff Graves to play at the level he played in the first game with Kansas State. Graves came off the bench, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
It was his most significant performance since returning from his onegame suspension in December.
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
Kansas Basketball Notebook
Self Ignoring Streak — As hard as reporters tried at yesterday's press conference, Bill Self did his best to avoid the topic of Kansas' 27-game winning streak against Kansas State. That streak includes 20 straight victories at Kansas State.
"It is a remarkable streak and certainly one that all of the past staff and players should be credited for," Self said. "I'm not hung up on the streak. The fans and media are. I understand that. I had nothing to do with winning at Bramlage with Kansas and our players have only had something to do with a couple of those wins."
wins.
On Familiar Territory—Tonight will mark a return to Manhattan for Kansas first-year assistant coach Tim Jankovich. He was a three-time Academic All-American in the early eighties for the Wildcats, and led his teams to three consecutive top-20 finishes and NCAA tournament appearances, including the Elite Eight in 1981. Jankovich was also a Kansas State assistant from 1984-86.
Edited by Donovan Atkinson
Eric Braem/Kansan
Junior forward Wayne Simien grabbed one of 15 rebounds during Sunday's game against Colorado. The Jayhawks will face Kansas State tonight in Manhattan.
Kansas battles defensive woes
Tamara Ransburg discussed strategy with Marian Washington early in the second half of Saturday's game against Missouri. The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 76-49.
Amanda Kim Stairrett/Kansar
By Jesse Newell jnewell@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Though the Kansas women's basketball team had little success on either side of the ball in a 76-49 loss to Missouri last Saturday, coach Marian Washington had no doubts which effort was more bothersome for her.
"Our defense — we've been spending most of our time trying to tighten it up," Washington said in her weekly Big 12 Conference teleconference yesterday. "Even though we weren't shooting the ball very well, I didn't think we responded defensively as well as we have."
For the second straight game, Kansas struggled defensively in the second half. Kansas was outscored 30-13 in the final 11 minutes of the game, after having been outscored 29-8 in the final 11 minutes of its previous game against Baylor.
The Jayhawks were out rebounded 24-13 in the final 20 minutes and had problems guarding the Tigers' inside players, allowing 22 points in the paint in each half.
"We're very capable of winning some of these games that we have on our schedule," Washington said. "We just have to put two halves together."
Washington said that Kansas will try to play a full game against the Oklahoma State, which will travel to Allen Fieldhouse for a 3 p.m. meeting Saturday. Right now Oklahoma State is flying high after a double-overtime victory over No. 3-ranked Texas Tech last Saturday.
While she wants the team to correct its problems on defense. Washington also wants her team to move forward from the loss against Missouri.
"We can talk all day long about what we didn't do." Washington said. "This is the kind of game you just have to throw out."
For awhile, Kansas more than held its own on the defensive end.
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 6B
History a predictor for Big 12 champion
With new college basketball polls and computer ratings systems coming along every day, it has become difficult to find the most reliable place to determine who the leading teams are in the Big 12.
But if you are having trouble identifying this season's contenders for the regular season Big 12 title, fear not, because there is an easy way to tell.
The Big 12 standings can also be misleading because every team plays a different schedule.
First, they beat the lower tier conference teams on the road. The worst conference record of any Big 12 champion has been 13-5: Texas in 1999 and Iowa State in 2000. A record like that leaves lit-
The past seven Big 12 regular season champions have a few things in common.
Big 12 champions also win their conference home games, no matter the opponent. Only Texas in 1999 lost a conference home game and went on to be Big 12 champion.
The only time the elite teams suffer losses, if at all, is against other elite conference teams on the road. Last season, the top six teams in the Big 12 lost a combined three conference home games.
If you look at the remaining Big 12 conference games and apply these trends you can easily see which five teams are in the best position to take home the conference crown. My predictions:
1. Oklahoma State 14-2 (4-1): The team's win in Austin more than made up for losing its opener at Texas Tech. And along
sports commentary
Kellis Robinett
krobinett@kansan.com
with having the best quality conference win thus far, the Cowboys have the easiest remaining schedule. Their only road game against a conference contender is at Oklahoma, they are currently on pace to finish the conference season 14-2.
2. Kansas 12-3 (4-0): Despite the recent home loss to Richmond, the Jayhawks
are still in good shape to win a third straight Big 12 title. They have an advantage over southern teams by avoiding Texas Tech on the road. The Jayhawks have remaining road games against conference contenders at Oklahoma State and Texas, and are projected to finish 14-2 in conference.
3. Texas 13-3 (4-1): The Longhorns put their home loss to Oklahoma State behind them with an overtime win in Lubbock. They still have games at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but are in the best position to win the conference if Kansas or Oklahoma State stumbles. As of now, the Longhorns will likely finish 13-3 in the Big 12.
4. Texas Tech 16-3 (4-1) Brandon Mouton's buzer-batter did more than end the
Red Raiders' winning streak; it may have crippled their conference title hopes as well. With no quality conference road wins and a murderous remaining schedule including games at Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, they are expected to finish conference play 11-5.
5. Oklahoma 11-4 (1-3): According to history, the Sooners need to win out to have a chance at the conference title. It will be an uphill climb, but the toughest stretch of their schedule is behind them. The team only has two road games remaining against conference contenders, with games at Kansas and Texas, and are on pace to finish 11-5 in conference.
Kellis Robinett is an Austin, Texas, junior in journalism.
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM