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Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Vaulters to renew rivalry Jordan Scott will jump with the nation's elite on Saturday. TRACK | 7B
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010
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Marcus continues to come through
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
www.twitter.com/c  cthibodeaux
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris' current hot streak started with his benching at Nebraska. In the wake of his most recent performance, the Cornhuskers should be afraid of what they helped create.
It took Morris three tries at point-blank range, but the ball finally went in the hoop and he drew a foul, essentially putting the game out of reach.
With just under three minutes left in Kansas' 72-66 overtime victory against Colorado on Wednesday, the Jayhawks had a five-point lead when Morris grabbed a rebound off a Brady Morningstar miss.
"I gave everything I had on that last play," Morris said.
Coach Bill Self said it was the high note on an otherwise lackluster night for the No. 1 jahawks, who certainly didn't play like the top-ranked team.
"That was the best basketball play of the game," Self said. "From a competitive standpoint, guys are really tired and he goes after his ball three or four times and gets a putback."
Self didn't want to discredit Colorado by saying that Kansas played down to its competition. He still wasn't encouraged by what he saw from his team.
"Our team definitely took a step backward tonight," Self said.
In preparation for Saturday's game, the Jayhawks have a lot to work on.
The Jayhawks are 7-0 in the Big 12 but, like the game against the Buffalooses showed, their opponents' records don't seem to matter these days. Nebraska is the only team with a worse conference record than Colorado, yet they had Kansas down double digits in the first meeting.
They shot a season-low 47.4 percent from the free-throw line while veterans threw the ball over each other's heads.
In the second half, they didn't have a single three-pointer and Self estimated his team only had two long-range jump shots.
"That's why we missed all our free throws — the ball was going too far," Sherron Collins said with a smirk. "It had to be the altitude. Had to be."
Self wasn't one for jokes after the game. "I don't think we made a shot outside of three feet," he said. "I don't know how that happens."
Collins said he gave up trying to shoot in the second half. Instead, he drove to the basket and attempted to draw fouls.
Weston White/KANSAN
When he did draw the foul, he made 4-of-6 from the line but missed key free throws late. The rest of the jayhawks didn't look much better. Morris shot 2-of-7, Cole Aldrich went 4-of-7 and Markieff Morris went 3-of-9.
The Jayhawks won't win many games shooting like that.
"Tomorrow," Collins said after the game, "I guarantee you we will shoot over 150 free throws."
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris hits a layup to extend Kansas' lead to 65-60 with 3:17 left in overtime Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo. Morris finished 6-of-14 from the field for 15 points. Kansas remain perfect in the Biq 12 to 7-0 following a 72-66 overtime victory.
Edited by Kelly Gibson
COMMENTARY
Boisterous bench buoys Jayhawks, annoys refs
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/mrothman
One look around Mizzou Arena last Saturday revealed no more than 50 blue shirts in the stands. Yet after every big Kansas play, there rang a boisterous boom.
Game after game, especially on the road, referees patrol the Kansas sideline like agitated hall monitors. Kansas will need the bench's energy once more when the Jayhawks play host to Kansas State at 1 p.m. Sunday.
It was the Kansas bench and the officials were yelling at them again.
"The goal is to have the refs kick the bench off the court," sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland said.
"I love that the refs hate you
Led by their spiritual anchor, freshman Tania Jackson, the bench collectively acts as an extra set of cheerleaders, hollering words of encouragement. No matter what the referee may do to temper the noise, Kansas' bench will always be heard.
guys$^{17}$ coach Bonnie Henrickson said to her team after that 72-59 victory Jan. 17 in Missouri.
Often that means finding ways to exaggerate the meaning of every single play. Whether it's nothing more than the recovery of a loose ball or as big as a game-clinching defensive stand, the reaction is always the same.
"I'm surprised they haven't teched us yet," freshman Annette Davis said.
"My goal is to lose my voice every game," Jackson said.
After every three-point shot
KANSAS VS.
KANSAS STATE
Allen
Fieldhouse,
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Kansas converts, Davis stands up and runs down the line, high-fiving everyone on the bench before reclaiming her seat.
Davis said that her high school coach performed the routine and she brought it along with her to Kansas. Now her teammates are itching to nail a three, just to see it happen again.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
"When people are in the game, they're like 'Dang, I wanted to hit that so you could go down the
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 6B
Freshman forward Tania Jackson and the Kansas bench explode in reaction after Danielle McCray hit a three-pointer in a 70-68 loss to Oklahoma State. Jackson, who is taking a redshirt this season, attempts to cheer so loud that she loses her voice every name.
KU fans divided by Tyshawn's talents
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/I_ Dwyer
I've come to discover a few things in my brief time here at Kansas. Jayhawks don't like Tigers, Jayhawks don't like Wildcats. I once proposed a theory that Jayhawks just don't like completely generic mascots.
That was a long time ago, though. My latest theory, one I think we can all benefit from, is something I like to call the Tyshawn Taylor Corollary.
I don't know why it's a corollary, instead of a postulate or a theorem or something else of that ilk. I just like the way corollary sounds. Work with me.
The key to this corollary is that there are very few jayhawk fans who are apathetic towards Taylor. In fact, I don't know any. There is Taylor love. Then there is Taylor "mean muggin."
Anyways, the Tysawn Taylor Corollary goes as follows: A person can learn anything they need to know about a Kansas fan by knowing how the aforementioned Kansas fan feels about the Jayhawks' enigmatic sophomore point guard, Tysawn Taylor.
Let's start with Exhibit A (Subjects A & B): Subject A, lets call him Tom, loves Taylor, citing plays like his and one layup against Dominique Sutton in overtime of the Kansas State game. He's overwhelmed by Taylor's NBA skill set and ability to beat any man to the hole.
Back to the corollary. No corollary is a corollary without case studies.
Tom is a low-stress individual. He is optimistic. He is quick to forgive. He will readily focus on the positives of a laj Hawks game, even when they go to overtime against freaking Colorado when his friend the writer has a deadline to make.
Tom is also engaged to Subject B, we'll call her Janice. They are happy together, in the way that opposite ends of a magnet are happy together. Janice hates Taylor, citing plays like his errant pass against the Wildcats that went somewhere in the vicinity of Danny Manning, who no longer plays for the Jayhawks. She can't get past the fact that he has a tendency to be turnover-prone and wishes he wouldn't play in crucial moments.
Sorry, I needed to get that out of my system.
Janice is a bit high strung, especially when it comes to Jayhawk sports. She is a calculating person, prone to working all the angles in her mind before acting. She knows that going to overtime against Colorado is not something the Jayhawks should be doing with such a talent disparity on the rosters and writers that need to make deadlines.
The practical uses of the Tyshawn Taylor Corollary are endless. Now hiring? See how the applicant feels about Taylor. Now single? See how the applicant feels about Taylor. There is not a wrong answer, per se. The world needs Subject As and Subject Bs. The Corollary could just save everyone a little time.
Edited by Cory Bunting