Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Mardi Gras starts early
New Orleans Saints defeat Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, in Super Bowl. NFL] 7B
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Irish eyes are smiling
Kansas winless against Notre Dame. TENNIS | 3B
UP IN THE AIR
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Junior center Cole Aldrich attempts to hit a hook shot just outside the paint last season against Texas. Kansas won 83-73 to clinch its fifth B12 regular season championship in a row.
Livening up for Longhorns
Kansas needs to recharge before Texas match-up
ctibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_tribodeaux
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
Kansas Coach Bill Self preaches to his team about not overlooking weaker opponents.
So after the Jaybawks' 75-64 victory against Nebraska, it was
surprising to hear what he had to say about looking forward to Monday's match-up against Texas.
"I don't want to take anything away from Nebraska, but it was one of those games, 'Let's get through this game so we can get to that game,' he said.
The No. 1 Jayhawks visit the once top-ranked Longhorns, who have lost four of their last six games. They fell to fourth place in the Big 12, three games behind the Jayhawks. Despite Texas' recent decline, the game still means a lot to Kansas.
"Even though they lost, they're
still a top-10 team to me," sophomore forward Marcus Morris said. "They're still a top-10 team to all of us."
The Jayhawks had a rough outing against the Cornhuskers, getting by thanks to a 28-5 run in the second half. The Jayhawks only mustered one more rebound than their physically smaller opponent.
Against Texas, Morris said, that effort isn't going to fly.
"There's no way we can let Texas get so many offensive rebounds or we won't come out with a victory," he said. "It's going to be a dog fight so everyone has to go to the glass."
Self said playing an abundance of games for the past couple weeks in hostile environments may have caused the lack of energy against Nebraska.
But with only a 40-minute practice on Sunday, Self said he hopes to have his team recharged for Monday.
"We'll try to have fresh minds and fresh legs going to Austin," he said.
Looking at what the Jayhawks have been through in the past couple weeks, senior guard Sherron
SEE PREVIEW ON PAGE 3B
KANSAS VS. TEXAS
**WHEN:** 8 p.m.
**WHERE:** Austin, Texas
**WATCH:** ESPN (Sunflower channel 33)
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Late run propels Kansas
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
PAGE 1B
Senior guard Sheron Collins sinks a 3-point shot to extend Kansas' second-half scoring run to 27-5 Saturday night against Nebraska. Collins finished with 16 points and six assists during 36 minutes on the floor, defeating the Cornhuskers 75-64.
c_thibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
It took the Jayhawks a while to figure it out, but the Cornhuskers came to play.
After letting Nebraska hang around for most of the game, Kansas finally pulled away in the second half in Saturday's 75-64 victory.
Leading most of the first half, the layhawks found themselves trailing 43-39 when the Cornhuskers came out of halftime with an 8-2 run.
Weston White/KANSAN
"I felt like they came out with a vengeance and they wanted to win," sophomore forward Marcus Morris said. "We kind of came out on our heels."
"We finally realized they came to fight," he said. "This wasn't going to be one of those games where we go up 20 and they just give up."
Coach Bill Self called a timeout. Not by coincidence, Collins came right out with a 3-pointer that sparked a 28-5 run the Jayhawks rode to victory. Collins said Self had great words of motivation in that huddle.
From that point forward, senior guard Sherron Collins knew it was going to be a battle.
"Us getting down was something that we needed," he said. "Him jumping on us was something we needed too."
Self was not happy with the first half. But the defensive intensity in the second half was some of the best basketball he's seen all year from his team.
"We turned it up, they didn't
get comfortable," he said. "We played for 10 minutes or eight
SEE MEN'S ON PAGE 5B
Freshman forward Carolyn Davies tries to block Kansas State forward Ashley Sweat during the first half. Davies was one of three jayhawks in the double digits with 14 points.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Engelman, Davis lead Jayhawks to victory
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
The Jayhawks were in a hurry to prove that they could move on without their leader. Coach Bonnie Henrickson and her team did just that.
McCray, an Olathe native, tore
Kansas defeated Kansas State 70-60 in its first game without injured senior guard Danielle McCray. With the victory, Kansas jumped to 14-7 and 4-4 in the Big 12, extending the Jayhawks' winning streak to three games while also snapping a five-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
the ACL in her left knee during Thursday's practice, ending her career at Kansas.
"Today's game was as much emotional adversity as it was physical adversity;" Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said. "Emotion translated to execution."
As McCray sat between her coaches, knee braced, furiously scribbling observations in a notepad, freshman guard Monica Engelman was placed on center stage as the newest piece of the starting lineup. In her first collegiate start, Engelman, San Antonio, Texas native, finished
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 6B
COMMENTARY
Tough schedule ahead for Jayhawks
BY CLARK GOBLE
cgoble@kansan.com
twitter.com/clark_gobble
With a healthy Angel Goodrich and Danielle McCray, Kansas' best playmakers, the Jayhawks went to Manhattan in January, scored an embarrassing 35 points and lost by 24.
With Goodrich and McCray unable to play Sunday as they rehab ACL tears, Kansas beat Kansas State 70-60.
The 34-point swing shows both the advantage of playing at home and the emotional wave caused by the devastating injury to Danielle McCray. The senior leader tore her ACL in practice Thursday and could only fill assistant coaching duties Sunday.
Her playing career at Kansas is over.
For the rest of the team, a ton of important games remain in the Big 12 gauntlet. The remaining eight games in conference play all present greater challenges than the Wildcats
Those challenges start with a visit from Kelsey Griffin and undefeated Nebraska Wednesday. It will be hard to maintain Sunday's energy for the rest of the season as the scarring memory of McCray screaming in pain slowly fades.
She looked fluid in the role Sunday, scoring 16 points on 6 for 9 shooting from the field. Hearing her name announced as starter for the first time didn't rattle her much; she hit her first three shots from the field, including two swishes from 3-point land.
At some point, Kansas will simply have to play better than its opponents and not rely on pure energy.
It will be up to Monica Engelman a soft-spoken scorer from San Antonio, Texas, to provide offensive production and quality minutes in McCray's absence.
After the game, Engelman said she didn't even notice a difference with McCray out of the lineup.
Engelman did notice McCray's role as a coach. McCray wedged herself between Kansas' assistant coaches and jotted down observations she would tell the players during timeouts. Engelman and McCray were usually next to each other in the huddle.
McCray pointed to Engelman's refusal of a screen to get an open jumpshot as an example of a play that McCray can help refine.
"It's so exciting just to see some-one grow," McCray said. "It just makes you feel really good."
Engelman will become an offensive focal point, but the rest of the teams will boost to boost their scoring numbers to make up for McCray.
The schedule toughens considerably and losing McCray will hurt. Senior Sade Morris said she recognized how the team will need to play without McCray.
"I don't think we have a choice but to come out with full energy because that's what helps us," Morris said. "We have to build off of that. We came out with all that energy and look at what it did for us."
Considering the tough upcoming schedule and lack of quality victories, Kansas is on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Playing in the Big Dance, and not the NIT like last year, will provide all the energy the jayhawks need.
Edited by Kristen Liszewski