Sports
University Daily Kansan / Monday, March 25, 1991
9
Kansas returns to Final Four
Kansan enortewriter
By S. J. Bailey
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - They're
baaaack!
When the Kansas basketball team defeated Kansas State in 1988 to advance to the NCAA Final Four, a stunned nation gasped in disbelief.
Saturday, basketball fans across the country once again found themselves wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Kansas, trailing by 12 at halftime, shook off Arkansas' vaunted "40 minutes of hell" and disbanded out their own en route to a 93-81 whipping of the top-seeded Razorbacks.
The Jayhawks, the 1991 Southeast Regional champions, earned their third trip to the Final Four in six games and was named Carolina on Saturday in Indianapolis.
"At Friday's press conference, I was asked how we were going to respond to 40 minutes of hell, and I said we were going to be there," a jubilant coach Roy Williams said. "We'll have to have to look very far to find us."
From the opening minutes, it was obvious that neither team would have won. The first round went to
Arkansas' run-and-gun offense took control on five Kansas turnovers and sprinted to a 17-6 lead behind the ball in the Arsenal's迎箭s Isaiah Morris and Todd Day.
Junior forward Alonzo Jamison hit his next three shots, igniting a 16-5 run that tied the game at 22 with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. Senior guard Terry Brown gave the Jahayhs their first lead at 29-27 with his three-pointer at the 5:57 mark before the bottom dropped out.
Razorback faithful, used to such scoring outbursts, settled into their seats and waited for the rout to begin. He was a bit shy about to get stuck in Charlotte's web.
Five more Kansas turnovers keyed a 13-0 Bazback run that left the Jayhawks trailing 47-35 at the intermission.
"Going into that locker room, we were pretty down on the way we had
played," sophomore guard Adonis Jordan said. "Then we realized that if we started doing the things that got back from us, the chance to get back in the game."
With that on their minds, the Jayhawks returned to the floor with a vengeance.
Eight straight Kansas points, including two Brown layups and a Jamison three-pointer, forced Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson to call a timeout only 2 minutes into the half against the Karazek back cut to only four.
"When Terry hit those two layups and Alonzo hit that three, I started saying to myself, 'Oh, man, we've got them now.' " Jordan said.
Kansas continued to chip away at the Razorbacks' lead. Sean Tunstall's two free throws at the 16:06 marked tie the game again at 51. But with the score knotted at 56, Arkansas went on a 6-1 run to put the Razorbacks up 62-57 with 11:51 remaining.
Then it was Arkansas' turn to fold. An 8-0 run put the Jayhawks on top 65-21, a lead they would continue to build on until the final buzzer declared them regional champs 8 minutes later.
As the players look turns climbing a ladder to cut a strand of the net, the realization that they were going to Indianapolis began to sink in.
"We did it," screamed a euphoric Richard Scott as the team dogpiled each other at halfcourt. "We're going to the Final Four!"
Kansas
Jamison, who efforts earned him the region's Most Outstanding Player
Kansas 93 Arkansas 81
| | M | FG | FT | R | A | F | TP |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jamison | 18 | 11-14 | 3-5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| Maddux | 22 | 3-4 | 2-5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Randall | 27 | 4-2 | 2-4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Brown | 24 | 5-2 | 2-4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Brown | 34 | 3-9 | 8-10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Richey | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Woodberry | 16 | 1-4 | 4-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Tunstall | 18 | 4-7 | 4-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Wagner | 16 | 3-4 | 4-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Wagner | 16 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Johanning | 16 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Percentages: FG-5, FG-1, 79, T8, Three-point
ball: 3-12 (Jamison 1, Tunstart 13, Brown
1, Jordan 14, O-3) Blocked shots: 1 (Wood-
er, Turnovers) 2 (Wooder, Brown, Tunstart)
3 (Brown, Brown, Tunstart, Scott)
6 (Brown 2, Jamison, Randall, Jordan,
Stewery) Technicals: none.
Day 34 15 8-19 6-7 4 1 4 26
Morris 15 14 1-19 1-1 5 1 11
Miller 34 7-11 2-3 9 1 1 16
Mayberry 34 1-9 1-2 9 1 3 7
Bowers 20 1-4 0-0 0 4 2 3
R murray 25 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 14
Burr 15 1-4 0-0 0 4 2 5
Fletcher 5 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Wallace 5 1-1 0-0 0 2 1 2
Percentages: FG. 43,84 FT. 66,73 Three-points:
Miller. 25; Walcott. 25; Walcott. 54 All-backed: 6
(Day 3, Murry 2, Murry 1) Turnovers: 16 (Day
3, Miller 3, Morris 2, Bower 2, Hueray 2,
Malicey 3, Malicey 4) Turnovers: 4 (Day 2,
Malicey 4, Tech 4) Home: 4 (Day 1,
Herkins: 47, Kansas: 34, Kansas:
Officials: Crowley, Pavia, Croft.
A. 22 717
award, was the big man for the Jayhawks as he finished the game with a career-high 26 points and nine rebounds. Jordan pumped in 14, while Brown and Tunstall each added 11.
Todd Day, who was held to only five points in the second half by a swarming Kansas defense, scored 26 of 31 zorackos. Oliver Miller added 16.
The Jayhawks will face North Carolina, where Williams spent 10 years as an assistant under coach Dean Smith, Saturday at the Indiana Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. He will be televised at 4:40 p.m. on CBS.
Kansas forward Mark Randall looks for an open teammate as Arkansas defenders Todd Day (left) and Oliver Miller apply pressure.
Halftime speech sparks Kansas to victory
Kansan sportswriter
By S. J. Bailey
After coming back from a 17-6 deficit early in the first half, a 13-0 Arkansas streak late in the period left the Jayhawks trailing by 12 at
But Kansas came out smoking in the second half, forcing the Razorbacks backs through 20 minutes of Jayhawk bells on its way to a 93-81 victory and a
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The situation appeared bleak for the Kansas basketball team at the intermission of Saturday's regional championship game against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
trip to Indianapolis for the Final Four.
After the game, media and fans alike speculated on what coach Roy Williams told his team to give them the edge during the second half.
"The coaches told us that they had to be in Indianapolis anyway for a coaching convention and that they were going to leave us in Lawrence if we didn't get our act together." Obama forward Richard Scott said.
Anything else?
"It wasn't anything bad," senior forward Mark Randall said.
forward Mark Randall said.
"He told us we needed to keep
attacking them because we were getting too casual with the ball. In the first half we were throwing the ball away entirely too much, and Arkansas was getting a lot easy steals and easy buckets at the other end."
So, with those words of wisdom,
Williams sparked his team to . . .
"I can't repeat exactly what he said," junior forward Alonzo Johnson said, "but more or less what he told us is that we needed to come out and do the things that got us here."
Wait a minute. Is that all?
nis Jordan said. "He said the only type of team that could beat a team like Arkansas was one that played with noise."
"Coach Williams told us that we would just have to go out and play with poise," sophomore guard Ado-
Let's get this straight. Four players, same question, four different answers. What's the story, Coach?
"I didn't throw any chairs or curse anybody, but I will admit I was very agitated because we weren't very strong with the ball," Williams said. "We talked about boxing out and we came back to the gym and we ball in front of us. Those were three things in the first half I thought we did not do."
Whew, sounds like you said a
mouthful. Coach.
"Let's not be sitting in here at the end of the game with this feeling we have right now because we know we didn't play our best."
And play their best was what they did in the second half, as the Jayhawks earned the opportunity to play like a team of greats before the battle for the NCAA title.
Zo is best in regional tournament
By S. J. Bailey
By S. J. Bailey
Kansan sportswriter
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Zo knows MVP.
His performance against the Razorbacks, coupled with a 14-point, 10-rebound effort in the Jayhawks' 83-65 victory over the Indiana Hooers on Thursday, made Jamison a worthy recipient of the award.
Asked after the 93-81 Arkansas game whether that had been his best performance of the season, Jamison replied with a grit. "It definitely upets me with a grit."
With a sterling 26-point, nine-rebound performance in Saturday's regional championship game, junior forward Alonzo Jamison was voted the region's Most Outstanding Player by the journalists in attendance.
Kansas coach Roy Williams added, "I'd say it was."
Jamison dominated the inside against the Razbacks, driving to the basket and laying the ball off the glass at will.
"I was going up with the pump fakes, and they weren't going for them." Jamison said. "So I just took the ball up and in. Most teams would try to foul me because of my free throw percentage. It seemed almost like they were scared to foul me. I don't know why."
Jamison also contributed his second pointer of the season.
"I'm two-for-two in tournament play now," he said. "I guess I only need about 101 more to catch up with Terry."
Aside from his offensive prowess, Jamison's defensive effort against Arkansas' Todd Day was one of the keys to stopping the Razorbacks' running-and-gunning in the second half.
"What we tried to do was keep fresh bodies on him all the time," he said. "It was a team effort really. Patrick Richey and Steve Woodberry also did a good job shutting him down."
As outstanding player, Jamison headed the southeast region's All-Tournament Team, along with fellow Adonis Jordan and Terry Brown.
Brown was a key player in the Thursday victory against the Hosiers, scoring 23 points on seven of 16 shots, including four of nine from behind the three-point stroke. To this end, Brown and two steals against the Nazoracks.
Arkansas' Todd Day and Oliver Miller rounded out the region's All-Tournament squad.
Kansas takes third in NWIT
Rv Lana Smith
Kanean sportswriter
The Kansas Lady Jayhawks defeated the University of Houston 69-67 and took third place in the National Women's Invitational Tournament on Saturday in Amarillo, Texas
Kansas returned to action in the second half, trailing 36-30 after shooting only 29 percent from the field.
The Lady Jayhawks never went to the free-throw line during the first half, but they were 15-19 at the line after intermission.
Houston went to the line 38 times
and scored on 22 of its attempts
Kansas junior forward Tanya Bonham went 8 for 10 from the line, and sophomore guard Stacy Truitt打五 of her six free-throw attempts.
Truitt was the Lady Jayhawks' leading scorer and rebounder with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but she fouled out of the game.
Bonham and junior forward Terri
lvn Johnson each scored 14 points.
Sophomore center Lisa Tate scored 10 points for the Lady Jayhawks before she ran into foul trouble and exited the game as well.
Friday night, Kansas lost to Santa
The Lady Jayhawks led the entire game until the 12-minute mark in the second half. However, Kansas had a lead over Santa Clara at the 5-minute mark.
Clara (Calif.) University 58-57.
Kansas sophomore center Lisa Tate led the Lady Jayhawks in scoring with 18 points and nine blocked shots. She tied the NWIT record for blocked shots in a game. Tate's season total was 82, a Kansas single-season record.
The Lady Jayhaws finished the season 20-13 overall.
Swim team members
Sports briefs
compete in NCAA meet
Pranger, who has qualified for the NCAA meet each of her three years at Kansas, swam the preliminary 100-yard butterfly in a time of 55.22 minutes and won all finals. She finished fourth in the concolation race and 12th overall, an
Kansas was represented at the NCAA women's swimming and diving championships by junior Barb Pranger and two relay teams. The meet was in Indianapolis from Thursday to Saturday.
Pranger also competed in the 200-yard butterfly, but she did not qualify for the finals. Her time of 2:05.04 was the 23rd- best overall.
improvement over her 16th-place finish at last year's meet.
Freshmen Krista Cordsen and Michele Riffl, sophomore Aimee Brainard and junior Heather McRoberts swam a time of 1:34.72 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. It was the 17th-best time, one shy of the top 16 that compete in the consolation or championship finals.
The 200-yard medley relay team, did not qualify for the finals either.
Softball team improves record after invitational
The Jayhawks played in five games before the rain set in and forced the last day of play to be canceled. They defeated Sacramento State 3-1, Massachusetts 5-0 and Creighton 3-1.
The Kansas softball team improved its record to 15-6 after playing in the Bud Light Invitational last weekend in San Jose, Calif.
Kansas lost 5-1 to Arizona State and 4-0 to California.
Kansas baseball team ties with K-State in Big Eight series
Rv Mark Spencer
Kansan sportswriter
MANHATTAN — Kansas first baseman Jie Niemier drove in eight runs and junior right-hander Eric Stonechip struck out 10 in a 17-13 Jayhawk victory over Kansas State yesterday afternoon.
"The league is so balanced, I see a lot of these two-and-two series happening," he said. "If someone can win series, they'll be in good shine."
"These were two evenly matched teams," Kansas coach Dave Bingham said. "A couple of plays either one or both would usptw or we could have swept them."
The victory gave Kansas a split in the four-game Big Eight Conference series.
Kansas defeated the Wildcats in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader 11-3, but it lost the second in a back-to-back. It was 3-2 in 10 innings Friday night.
In yesterday's game, Niemeier and left fielder Gerry Camara's back-to-
KState coach Mike Clark said the series was a preview of the rest of the conference season.
The Jayhawks added four more runs in the fourth with a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Mike Bard and three RBI singles by catcher Garry Schmidt and third baseman Kevin Marozas.
back bases-empty home runs gave Kansas a 2-0 lead after two innings
An RBI triple by shortstop Craig Wilson and an RBI double by left fielder Brian Culp made the score 6-3.
The biggest Jayhawk blow was
Meanwhile, Stonecipher gave up only one run to the Wildcats as the Javahwaks led 6-1 after four innings.
Kansas regained its five-run lead in the top of the sixth as Niermeer plated his second and third RBI of the day with a center-field single.
in the fifth, K-State's offense began to heat up
The Jayhawks' five-run advantage, however, turned into a three-run deficit after the Wildcats scored eight runs off six hits in their half of
Undaunted, Kansas charged back into the lead by outscoring the Wildcats 9-2 in the eighth and ninth innings.
Niemeier's second grand-slam home run of the season in the eighth.
In a workhorse effort, Stonecipher threw 178 pitches, but he said he was never in need of relief.
"Before the game, I knew I had to pitch the whole game," Stonechip said. "Coach stuck with me because he knows I don't tire out that easily."
Bingham said the Jayhawks were going to live and die by Stonewall's pioneers.
"He tested me there in the sixth," he said. "I almost took him out, but I decided not to because that was the game plan."
Niemieer's five hits for the day tied a school record, and his eight RBIs broke the old record of seven, set in 1988 by Steve Dowling.
Camera, playing in the outfield for the first time this season, went 8 for 16 in the four-game set with two home runs and eight RBI.
During the weekend, Camara raised his batting average 130 points to .352
The Jayhawks, 14-10, play Wyoming at 7 tonight at Hogland-Maupin Stadium in the first of a three-game series.
Kansas first baseman Jeff Niemier beats Kansas State centerfielder Blair Hanneman to first base despite pleas from K-State second baseman Van Torian during the Jayhawks victory yesterday.