Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Little mistakes total up Series of miscues cause Saturday's loss. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 8B
KANSAS
13
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Jayhawks in eighth place Kansas is only four strokes behind fourth-place Nebraska. GOLF | 6B
COMMENTARY
PAGE 1B
KANSAS 59, TEXAS A&M 54
Road wins prove difficult
BY MAX VOSBURGH
mvosburgh@kansan.com
Jayhawks rise over Aggies
Winning on the road can do wonders for a team's confidence and the Jayhawks should have plenty after they clawed their way to a 59-54 victory against the Aggies. But, road wins don't come easily.
The average visiting team must cope with playing in an unfamiliar environment and ignoring rowdy fans, and when the No.1 team comes to town,the intensity level of that road venue is magnified.
Kansas is 8-1 on the road this season and 4-1 on the road against ranked opponents. Their lone loss this season was against a ranked Tennessee in Knoxville on Jan. 1.
"It just goes to show when you take care of the basketball, even though 11 turnovers is too many it's pretty good on the road, and you guard, you're going to have a chance to stay in games," Bill Self said after last night's game.
Being able to come from behind and win close games away from home will be a valuable asset to the Jayhawks, especially if they are caught in tight situations during the post-season. Despite a poor night of playing from senior Sherron Collins, Kansas still had enough talent to defeat ranked Texas A&M on the road.
"That's a remarkable win considering we didn't play well at all." Self said. "It's hard for us to play real well when Sherron has a night like he had. One assist, five turnovers and he can't throw it in the ocean."
Experience may be the Jayhawks' best friend in March. Sometimes, not everything goes as planned, but it takes a team
SEECOLUMN ON PAGE 5B
Junior center Cole Aldrich puts up a shot over Texas Aggie forward Bryan Davis. Aldrich recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Jayhawks' 59-34 victory against the Agile Monday night in College Station, Texas.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
www.twitter.com/c/ thibodeaux
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Whenever the Jayhawks have had a game on the line this season, they turned to Sherron Collins. But when his shots weren't falling, Collins teammates bailed him out.
Kansas pulled out a 59-54 victory in front of a hostile crowd at Texas A&M Monday night. The Jayhawks gave up 20 offensive rebounds, shot 1-for-10 behind the three-point line and got just seven points from Collins.
"I think sometimes we put too much pressure on him to make those plays," junior center Cole Aldrich said. "But we've got great guys on our team that can make those plays. Twilight just wasn't his night."
It looked like an upset in the making, but Kansas' other stars picked up the slack.
Aldrich, sophomore forward Marcus Morris and freshman guard Xavier Henry each scored 12 points. As a team the Jayhawks had serious issues on the offensive end, shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 10 percent from three.
"Tonight we were a little out of rhythm," Henry said. "It happens every now and then. We just rely on defense when that happens."
And the defense is what sealed the game
Texas A&M controlled much of the game but it only went up by as much as four. Coach Bill Self said he was impressed with his team's ability to scratch their way back into the lead.
The Aggies, who had a chance to beat then-No.1 Texas earlier this season, were up at halftime, 32-30. The score staved close in the second half as the layhawks failed to put the game away with one of their typical runs.
"They never got away from us." Self said. "The place was getting ready to go nuts if they did."
The Aggies didn't score in the final four minutes. Kansas countered with several free throws and suffocating defense.
"We hung our hat on that," Collins said. "Cole and Tyshawn played really well and they carried me because tonight I was struggling."
With 46 seconds to go, the Aggies' Dash Harris turned it over. Henry then hit two free throws and essentially put the game away. The once-boisterous crowd couldn't muster a peep.
Harris went down early and had to be carried to the locker room. He came back out and Self said he played good defense against Collins. The shooting woes were disappointing, but a victory at a hostile place like Reed Arena was good enough.
"We're finding a way to win even though we're not making shots right now, which is still positive," Self said.
In his past few games Collins hasn't played nearly as well as earlier this season when he could seemingly pour in point at will. Collins denied rumors that he may be injured and said that he expects his luck to turn around soon.
"You just keep shooting," Collins said. "Then you have to find different ways to impact the game."
At no point this season have the top four scorers of Collins, Henry, Aldrich and Morris been solid in the same game.
Still, Self said he isn't worried about it. He had the same issue with another team he used to coach and that team won a championship.
"In '08 did we have everybody play well at the same time?" he said. "But you're right; we haven't had X, Cole, Marcus and Sherron all hitting the same night. Hopefully, that game's coming."
— Edited by Taylor Bern
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore third basemen Tony Thompson watches the ball after a hit last season. Kansas must try to replace Thompson, who will miss at least a month with a hairline fracture in his kneecap.
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm_dub
Two freshmen and a sophomore will try to fill his shoes
BASEBALL
Third base open after Thompson's injury
Last week coach Ritch Price didn't worry about third base. Not with Tony Thompson manning that post.
But when the junior suffered a hairline fracture in his left knee-cap, the Jayhawks suddenly had a glaring hole to fill.
Thompson will be out for at least a month. That leaves Price with sophomore James Stanfield, as well as redshirt freshmen Jake Marasco and Jordan Dreiling,
to step in and produce. Because they're replacing a player of his caliber — Thompson won the Big 12's Triple Crown last season — the Jayhawks know they're lucky to have a number of options to fill the void.
"No one's going to be able to
do it alone,
Marasco said
"He's one of the best players in the country."
Stanfield is also one of the team's top options at catcher. The sophomore will rotate from behind the plate to third.
plate to third.
played prior to this season.
"I've been working at it and it feels pretty smooth, like I never left the spot," Stanfield said. "It doesn't feel like a new position."
Dreiling, a Lawrence native.
"No one's going to be able to do it alone. (Thompson's) one of the best players in the country."
Third base is also familiar to Marasco and Dreiling.
Stanfield said he feels comfortable making the switch back to the infield, where he had always
JAKE MARASCO Freshman third baseman
took his red shirt immediately and spent last season adjusting to theatmosphere of division I baseball. Price pressed Dreiling the best defensively of the bunch, saying
Marasco is known for his bats.
Because of his offensive prowess,
he would see action primarily as a late game defensive replacement
Marasco started 12 games in left field as a true freshman. He was granted a medical hardship after suffering an injury in mid-March. While he played third in high school, Marasco is still adjusting to being back in the infield.
"It's been a work in progress," Marasco said. "But I'm enjoying it and working hard each day."
Though each player brings in differing skills, there is a collective confidence that they can bridge the gap until Thompson returns from his injury.
"We're just going to have to step up and contribute until he gets back," Dreiling said.
Edited by taylor berk
Edited by Taylor Bern