KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011 / SPORTS
9A
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play'Drop the Handkerchief"
James Naismith
FACT OF THE DAY
Markieff Morris' 11 defensive rebounds on Saturday were a career high and were the most defensive rebounds since Cole Aldrich had 14 against Missouri on Jan. 25 of last season.
— kuathletics.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: Kansas has the best field goal percentage in the country at 52.3 percent. Where is Kansas State ranked?
A: 207th overall out of 346 Division 1 Basketball schools with a percentage of 43.1 from the field.
espn.com
MORNING BREW
Jayhawks dodge the'Bubble Watch'
Every year, as the calendar settles into the new year and college basketball is immersed in conference play, pundits happily debate the merits of each team on "the bubble." For those unfamiliar with college basketball lingo, the bubble is the term for the conglomerate of teams who could play their way into the NCAA Tournament with a solid final month — or collapse down the stretch and get relegated to the NIT.
As a rabid college basketball fan, I enjoy monitoring ESPN.com's weekly Bubble Watch, as the list of teams that bracketologist Joe Lunardi projects to make it into the tournament fluctuates each week. What's more enjoyable, though, is being able to do it atop my high perch, as I have never had to worry about Kansas being on that bubble.
While the Jahwahats are not the only premier program in college basketball, they are the only ones who can boast about longevity. The other blue bloods of college basketball have missed the Big Dance at least once during Kansas' streak of 21 straight tournament appearances.
The two programs that come closest to challenging Kansas' consistency are Arizona and Duke. The Wildcats appeared in the NCAA Tournament for 25 straight years from 1985 to 2009. But they missed the tournament last season, have not made the Elite Eight since 2005 and last appeared in the Final Four in 2001.
Duke has made 15 straight tournament appearances and 26 of the past 27 tournaments, but it had an ugly campaign in 1994-1995, when coach Mike Krzyzewski had to take a leave of absence during the season because of health concerns and the team finished 13-18, missing the tournament. Although the Blue Devils returned to
BY GEOFFREY CALVERT gcalvert@kansan.com
the tournament the following year, they weren't much better, losing in the first round and winning only 18 games.
Even though the Indiana Hoosiers were a tournament fixture from the late 80s through the 1990s, the team hasn't been quite as fortunate since the turn of the century, missing the tournament in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010 and, barring a miracle, this year, too. They haven't even made the Sweet Sixteen since 2002.
UCLA and its 11 national titles have fared better than the Hoosiers, but it's no longer the prominent power it was under John Wooden in the 60s and 70s. UCLA has made 19 of the past 22 tournaments and appeared in the Final Four from 2006-2008,but couldn't win a national title and missed the tournament two years later for the third time in a decade. At 17-7, the Bruins are back on the bubble again this year.
The two final blue bloods are Kentucky and North Carolina. The Wildcats made every tournament from 1992 to 2008, but missed the tournament for the first time in 18 years in 2009. They were absent from the Sweet Sixteen from 2006 to 2009, and last appeared in the Final Four in 1998.
The Tar Heels made 32 consecutive tournaments from 1975 to 2001, but then missed the next two tournaments, including an embarrassing 8-20 campaign in
2001-2002. Last year, the team was preseason No. 6, but went 5-11 in ACC Conference play, missed the tournament and dropped out of the rankings in midJanuary.
While Kansas has had its share of tournament disappointments, which don't need to be rehashed, the Jayhawks currently own the streak for most active consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances at 21 and counting. The streak likely would date back to 1984, but the Jayhawks were ineligible in 1989 because of NCAA probation. During their current streak, Kansas has claimed the 2008 national title to complement the 1988 title it won two years before the current streak started. They were also the National Runner-Up in 1991 and 2003, and made Final Four appearances in 1993 and 2002.
While Carolina owns more Final Four appearances during the past 21 years and Duke has more titles, I'm content with our 21 straight tournament appearances, Mario's Miracle and being unfamiliar with the NIT. This is something none of the other traditional powers can say, which makes me even more grateful to be a Jayhawk.
— Edited by Amanda Sorell
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Men's Basketball
vs. Kansas State
8:00 p.m.
at Manhattan
Women's Golf
Texas State University
Claud Jacobs Challenge
All Day
at Victoria, Texas
TUESDAY
Football
Williams Educational
Fund
Football in February
6:00 PM
Topeka Ramada
WEDNESDAY
There are no events scheduled.
THURSDAY
There are no events scheduled.
FRIDAY
There are no events scheduled
SATURDAY
Softball
vs. South Dakota St.
10:00 a.m.
at Deland, Fla.
vs. Bethune Cookman
12:30 PM
Deland, Fla.
Baseball
TCU
6:30 p.m.
at Fort Worth, Texas