THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
BIG 12 | 9A Check out what you missed Learn about what has happened in the Big 12 basketball tournament thus far.
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011
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WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 12A
KANSAS 63,OKLAHOMA STATE 62
DEFEND'TIL THE END
Senior guard Mario Little and junior guard Tyshawn Taylor apply close pressure with only seconds left in the game to try and get the ball away from Oklahoma State's Markel Brown. Kansas defeated Oklahoma State 63-62.
Jayhawks defeated the Cowboys in the Big 12 tournament
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Wednesday, it took every tenth of every second to decide a winner in a gripping 53-52 Oklahoma State victory.
Thursday, Oklahoma State was on the wrong side of it.
Point guard Reger Dowell lost
his footing and a clean handle on the ball and teammate Jean-Paul Olukemi's three went wide to the right as top-seeded Kansas escaped with a 63-62 victory.
The Cowboys' NCAA Tournament hopes hinged on beating the Jayhawks, and they played like it for all 40 minutes, jumping out to a first-half lead behind the
inspired play of Keiten Page (23 points) and Olukemei (17).
"They played like there was no tomorrow," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
For the first time this season, Kansas played in a win or go home situation — amplified by the Cowboys' dire straits — and they passed the test. Despite hitting just
"We played through some stuff today." Self said, "missed shots and stuff, that I think will be a good thing for us going forward."
36 percent from the field and assisting on only 11 of their 23 baskets, the Jayhawks snuck past a Cowboy team desperate for a win.
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 6A
REWIND | 7A
Review the action from the tourney
Check out stats and post game analysis for Kansas vs. Oklahoma State.
SOFTBALL
Team focuses on the basics, communicate during game
BY HANNAH WISE
hwise@kansan.com
The Jayhawks spent this week in Lawrence refocusing on fundamentals and communication. They are now 17-3 after going 3-2 in Las Vegas with losses to Bradley (10-7) and UNLV (1-5 in five innings).
"Whenever we aren't mentally present that is obviously when errors are going to happen so we just have to stay locked in and focused on every single pitch," said junior outfielder Liz Kocon.
It was especially apparent in the UNLV game that the team was not as focused as they had been during their 10-0 streak during the opening two weekends. Players were having a difficult time communicating, especially between the infield and the outfield.
"We went over more team defensive communication. That is an issue we had last weekend so we revisited that. Just some basic stuff to get back into the swing of things and what we are doing well," coach
In order to refocus and avoid mental lapses like the one the staff saw against UNLV, practice this week focused on fundamentals.
Sophomore outfielder Maggie Hull catches a fly ball during practice Wednesday afternoon at the football practice field. The Jayhawks just won the Spartan Classic in Minnesota on Feb. 27.
Chris Bronson/KANSAN
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 10A
SOFTBALL|10A
Team uses pitching abilities to win
Check out the breakdown of pitching with senior pitcher Allie Clark
Jayhawks use defensive power in 63-62 victory over Cowboys
COMMENTARY
Bill Self has been preaching it all season. Guard somebody. And for the entire
But what happens when your offense fails like California power and you find yourself losing to the No. 9 seed in the Big 12 tournament? You learn.
It's not a good feeling, and Self knows it, to have the game in the other team's hand and all you can do is defend to the best of your ability. Oklahoma State had the ball and the opportunity to upset the heavily favored Kansas, and guess what won the game? Defense.
season, the offensively gifted Jayhawks have never latched onto any allege defensively.
Let's take a look at the second half of the Oldahoma State game as a model for what Self has been preaching the whole season.
After Kansas found itself down by six at the half, they locked onto shooters and reduced Oklahoma State's field goal percentage to 26.9 percent from their first half 54.2 percent. Only one of the Cowboys' seven three-point shots put points
"I've never been one to hope for things or to wish for things or anything like that, but I admit I was praying a little bit," Self said.
BY NICO ROESLER
nroesler@kansan.com
Call it a cool down from an insanely productive first half, but it was more of an effort on Kansas' defensive side of the ball. Oklahoma State's Keiton Page lit up Kansas from long range and driving in the paint the whole game. However, Self thought both Elijah Johnson and Tyshawn Taylor guarded him well, especially in the second half.
on the board, and they shot five fewer free throw shots than they did in the first half.
"We didn't do a bad job on him and he gets 23 on 12 shots," Self said. "I thought Elijah and Tyshawn did a decent job. We switched everything late, and fortunately for us the ball did not come back to him."
Instead, the ball went to Oklahoma State's Jean-Paul
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Olukemi for a forced three. But the key moment of the game wasn't the shot falling short, but rather what led up to the shot. It was the reason why Kansas came back to be in the position to win the game in the first place. They smothered the ball with relentless defense.
Oklahoma State's Reger Dowell brought the ball up-court fighting Tyshawn Taylor the whole way. Once he tried to drive the ball into the paint, he was met with a trap coming with the help of guard Mario Little. Little managed to get a hand on the ball and Dowell was forced to the ball up to Olukemi after mishandling it.
"That killed the play," Self said of Dowell's fumbling of the ball.
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Kansas guarded somebody. They altered the tempo of the Cowboys and got a win. Just think if they played a whole game like they did on the defensive-end during the second half against Oklahoma State. Kansas would be able to survive elimination games without relying on their first-in-the-nation shooting percentage.
Edited by Samantha Collins
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