KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25. 2010 / SPORTS
5B
PREVIEW (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
five games by five or less points and three of them were to ranked teams.
At 5-7 in the Big 12, Kansas sits neither on the outside nor the inside of the tournament bracket it is, then, a true bubble team. Those close losses are part of the reason the Jayhawks are immersed in tournament conversation. Kansas lost against No. 3 Nebraska 67-60 on Feb. 10 after leading late in the second half and fell against then-No. 14 Texas 85-82 in double overtime on Feb. 13.
Yet Kansas can also claim some quality victories, most coming from the nonconference schedule. It defeated Michigan 77-66 on Nov. 22. It ousted UCLA 53-49 on Dec. 3 in a contest that wasn't decided until the final second. It handily beat Creighton 75-66 on Dec. 13. All of those victories came with help from then-healthy guards senior Danielle McCray and freshman Angel Goodrich.
Parkes said the selection committee is well aware of the injuries and how the team responded to them.
"You look at the whole body of work," Parkes said. "When you get down to the last handful of teams to go in, you're looking for something that might separate one team from another. Sometimes that separation is miniscule."
Since the two severe injuries, Kansas has refused to mull around and call it a lost season. Instead, the Jayhawks have gone 2-3 since McCray's injury and kept their bubble status afloat. Two of those losses were by seven points or fewer against ranked opponents.
"If we can win some games that we're not supposed to, the NCAA will pick us to go," senior guard LaChelda Jacobs said of the tough schedule.
If Kansas can earn more than one victory in those four games, the selection committee will consider the end of the season a success against ranked opponents, regardless of record.
"A losing conference record makes it more difficult, but not impossible," Parkes said.
According to rpratings.com, just seven teams with losing conference records have made the tournament since 2000. While uncommon, if Kansas can split its four remaining games, it stands a chance at 7-9.
Key to the game
Freshman stars
Kansas struggled to keep its most productive players on the floor in a Jan. 20 loss at Iowa State as Danielle McCray sat on the bench with foul trouble for a significant portion of the first half. Kansas is now coming off a loss at Texas Tech where its three most productive players since McCray's injury got into early foul trouble and most failed to heavily contribute. The Jayhawks can scarcely afford to mimic these performances as they need to pull out some wins to keep their dwindling NCAA tournament hopes alive..
Keep an eye on
Carolyn Davis
Freshman forward Carolyn Davis finally saw a dip in her performance last Sunday at Texas Tech. After five straight games of averaging 20-plus points, she scored just four points. That's primarily because of her meager four shot attempts, which indicates that her teammates did not get her the ball in a position to score very often. Davis shot 50 percent from the field against the Red Raiders, and if her teammates had kept feeding her, the game might have ended differently.
Opponent to watch
Davis
Kelsey Bolte
Iowa State senior guard Kelsey Bolte has played especially well in her most recent contests. The Cyclones needed Bolte to step up as Allison Lacey, the team's leading scorer, sat on the bench for one game with a concussion. In Bolte's last three games, she has averaged more than 16 points per game. Bolte was not a big factor in a Jan. 20 victory against the Jayhawks as she scored just five points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field.
Andrew Taylor
Prediction
Bolte
Kansas
Iowa State
64
"There's so many moving parts," Parkes said. "At this point, no one can say what you have to do to get in."
can seal a spot.
Not even Kansas coach Bonnie
Henrickson knows if a 7-9 team
"If I knew that," Henrickson said, "I'd be doing something else for a living."
Edited by Allyson Shaw
MLB
Gordon still needs to impress Rovals
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Kansas City Royals are still waiting for Alex Gordon to have that breakout season after picking him second overall in the 2005 draft
In three big league seasons,
Hip surgery last April 17 derailed Gordon's season. He missed 79 games and hit just .232 with six home runs and 22 RBIs in 49 games. He was swinging so poorly in August the Royals sent him to the minors.
Gordon has a .250 career average and has struck out 300 times in 1,200 at-bats.
While Gordon is penciled in to
open the season as the starting third baseman, he does have competition for the first time in spring training. The Royals acquired third baseman Josh Fields from the Chicago White Sox in an offseason.
Associated Press
Walks rescue Jayhawks' offense
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm_dub
BASEBALL
A quick look at the final score from Kansas' 9-5 victory Monday against Eastern Michigan evokes thoughts of an offensive barrage.
That couldn't be further from the case.
The Jayhawks built a 3-1 lead in a traditional fashion, led by RBI hits from sophomore James Stanfield and senior infielder Robby Price.
But in the bottom of the eighth inning, Kansas tacked on six more
runs without even registering a hit. The Eastern Michigan pitchers simply couldn't find the strike zone, walking eight batters, hitting another and throwing a wild pitch in the frame.
"That was one of the weirdest innings I've ever seen played," Price said.
Stanfield
Despite the
Price
lofty run total, Kansas' offense was far from efficient.
The Jayhawks' offense mustered only four hits in their 9-4 victory, and eight in both games of the doubleheader combined, prompting coach Ritch Price to call their offense "nonexistent."
Part of Kansas' lack of offensive firepower can be attributed to playing without junior third baseman Tony Thompson. But the Jayhawks also couldn't practice outside.
Price said he estimated that weather had cost Kansas at least seven outdoor practices since the beginning of the season, forcing the team to practice indoors.
Although the indoor facilities at Hoglund Ballpark and Anschutz are havens from snow, nothing can replace live fire outdoors.
"Our number of strikeouts with
runners in scoring position was absolutely alarming." Price said. "We worked the counts to get into fast-ball situations, but then we couldn't hit them."
"As hard as we've worked at it, clearly our hitters were not ready." Price said.
That unpreparedness showed, as the jayhawks struggled to advance runners by putting the ball in play even after working the count in their favor. In two games against Eastern Michigan, Kansas totaled 18 strikeouts and left 17 on base.
Often a base hire isn't required to get the job done. Productive outs
— hits that advance runners — and sacrifice bits are instrumental to a team's offensive success.
"it's huge getting the job done just with sacrifice flies and moving the runner over", junior outfitter
Brian Heere said.
These types of plays are impossible to discern from just looking at a box score. But they don't go unnoticed by the Jayhawks.
"As hard as we've worked at it, clearly our hitters were not ready."
Interested in attending productions at the University Theatre at no cost?
"We don't just keep a regular book here. We keep a hitting execution book with its own point system," junior outfielder Jimmy Waters said, "everything from moving runners over, getting a guy in from third with less than two outs."
Price says he is optimistic Kansas can respond similarly to last seasons early struggles, when they exploded for 17 runs in the next two games against No.21 Arkansas.
to maintaining a workman-like ap-
proach at the plate.
Early season slumps at the plate are common. Price said he noticed similarities between Monday's lack of offensive production and the beginning of last season against Memphis, when the layhawks scored only five runs in two losses
RITCH PRICE coach
You can take advantage of this FREE offer by applying for tickets through the Jack B. Wright Student Ticket Fund.
"You don't have to get a hit every time to be a great college hitter. You've just got to do what you're supposed to in the situation," Waters said. "If it's less than two outs and a runner on third, if I can get that guy home with an easy roller to second base, then I'm going to do it."
Edited by Katie Blankenau
to the Tigers.
Mizzou mauls Buffaloes, 92-63
Keith Ramsey added 13 points, and J.T. Tiller had 10 points and nine assists for the Tigers, who beat Colorado for the eighth time. Missouri has won three straight overall, its longest winning streak in conference play this season.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Marcus Denmon scored 21 points as Missouri defeated Colorado 92-63 Wednesday.
Cory Higgins scored 21 points to lead the Buffaloes (12-15, 3-10), who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season. Colorado has lost 38 of 45 Big 12 games under coach Jeff Bzdelik.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
KU & Haskell Students!
The Tigers shot 58 percent from the field including a season-high 64 percent (9-of-14) from three-point range.
If you are interested in seeing University Theatre productions, contact Katherine Pryor at kpryor@ku.edu for information on your eligibility.
Associated Press
The University Theatre, through gracious donations from Dave and Mary Kate Ambler and Friends of the Theatre, has a limited number of free tickets available.
Next up at the University Theatre:
Arms and the Man
by George Bernard Shaw
February 26 - 28 & March 4 - 6
Crafton- Prairie Theatre
Anythina Goes
Arms and the Man
Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Guy Bolton,
P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse
Featuring the KU Symphony Orchestra
April 23 - 25 & 29 - May 1
Cradon Prover Theatre
Crafton-Preyer Theatre
February 25, 26, 27, 28
March 4, 5, 5, 7
Evenings 7.30pm, Sunday 2.30pm
For reservations:
785-THE-SHOW
www.theatrelawrence.com
Lawrence Community Theatre Presents
rabbit hole a play by David Lindsay-Abaire
THEATRE
Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize For Drama
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