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KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 / SPORTS
5B
84. NEBRASKA 72
ETBALL REWIND
Weston White/KANSAN
Aw, shucks: Despite win KU dropped the ball
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kan
tdwyer@kansan.com
LINCOLN, Neb. — A lot of times in sports, the final score doesn't tell the story of the game. That old adage has never been truer than Wednesday night, when the Jayhawks, at least by the final score, drubbed the overwhelmed Nebraska Cornhuskers 84-72.
What really happened was far different. The Jayhawks, making their conference debut and coming off of their first loss and a fall to No. 3 in the national rankings, came out of the gate with nothing resembling a spark, let alone fire.
It didn't worry coach Bill Self, though, who said that with the practices and pregame leading up to tip-off, he was confident in his team.
"I thought we were ready to play, and they steal the opening tip, and it was just downhill from there," Self said. "A couple guys were sped up, but I thought we were really ready to play tonight."
It started, logically enough, at the first tip. Cole Aldrich got a hand on the tip, but Sek Henry jumped in front of Sherron Collins for an easy lay-up. The barrage didn't stop there, however, as the Huskers roared to a 12-1 lead and shot 73 percent from three-point land on their way to a 44-43 halftime lead.
Still, Self remained cool and trusted the numbers game.
"Well, the law of averages," he said. "Isn't it amazing how that works? They missed a lot of the same shots that they made in the first half."
Self's cool demeanor paid off for the team, but there one's player in particular that hed love to see more fire from. Self attributed some of Aldrich's disappearing act to Nebraska's "sagging man" defense, but expressed his continued frustration at Aldrich's reluctance to go up strong when he gets the ball inside.
"The way they played, they took him away because they sagged in there so tight." Self said, "but late he got the ball at six inches twice and came away empty. He's got to finish those plays. He did some good things, he rebounded the ball, but still, offensively, he's not playing like he's capable of playing."
At the end of the first half, Aldrich had two fouls, but he could have come in and risked his third over the last couple minutes; it's a move coaches often make. Tonight, though, Aldrich was planted squarely next to assistant coach Kurtis Townsend. It seemed as if Self was making a point to his star center, who managed just one field goal attempt in the half: You don't play aggressive, you don't play at all.
"The four shots, that's a product of how they played, but also a product of you catch it and you can't get a shot up, you get it ripped before it gets past your waist." Self said.
Aldrich said his aggression is something he's been working on, especially since it played a major factor in the lavhawks' loss at Tennessee.
"That's one thing that we've really worked on in shoot around and the last few practices is just being aggressive in the post." Aldrich said. "It's a little tough, because they play a real hard sagging man. It's just good to come out of here with a win."
- Edited by Kate Larrabee
Western White/ANSWER
the Huskers 41-28 during the second half to win 84-72.
Weston White/KANSAN
skers away back from nnessee on
, Self said. Brady start of the the start of am and the
; " Self said. Brady
"I think we owed it to our fans and everybody after the performance at Tennessee to come out and just play tough," he said.
intensity level is higher than it has been all season.
Edited by Jesse Rangel
Weston White/KANSAN
Junior guard Tyrel Reed swats a shot from Nebraska guard Ryan Anderson during the first half Wednesday night at the Devaney Center. Reed finished with 11 points, shooting three-for-five from behind the arc.
Game to remember
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris
The past few games have not been kind to the big men of Kansas. So when Thomas Robinson took the floor Wednesday, it gave Marcus Morris a little more incentive to perform well. Robinson was benched after a couple minutes because the game was so out of hand, Kansas coach Bill Self said. Robinson finished with eight minutes and Morris logged 21, scoring 19 points with two three-pointers and getting seven rebounds. Morris said he needed to be more aggressive, which he was. He scored seven straight at one point for the Jayhawks which sealed the game.
Morris
Game to forget
Robinson
Freshman forward Thomas Robinson
Robinson didn't necessarily play bad. He just didn't really do anything. Robinson picked up his first career start Wednesday, and certainly must have been hoping that it would be a little more fruitful. The freshman forward, who took over for a recently uninspired Marcus Morris, was taken out after Nebraska opened the game on a 9-1 run. He played just eight minutes. And the only stat he accumulated? One turnover.
Stat of the night
73%
story would be about the Jayhawks' second loss in as many games, and questions would persist if they'd fall all the way out of the top 10. Eshaute Jones was the main culprit, help 4-of-6 from distance before the break, but he had plenty of help on the night.
The Huskers shot 73 percent from long range in the first half. Yes, 73 percent. Had they kept that up, the
Quote of the night
Self
"Well, the law of averages. Isn't it amazing how that works? They missed a lot of the same shots that they made in the first half."
Kansas coach Bill Self
1ST HALF (SCORE AFTER PLAY)
Prime plays
16:41- Sherron Collins hit a three pointer to break Nebraska's 10-0 run. (4-12)
12:19-Tyrel Reed hit a three on the fast break, giving the Jayhawks their first lead of the game. (18-17)
5:04- Markieff Morris showed us all he can still dunk It's been a while since fans have seen that. (36-32)
1:36 - Tyrel Reed hit a three pointer, giving the 'Hawks a season-high nine for a half. (41-38)
2ND HALF
15:00 After Sherron Collins recovered a wild turnover battle, he found Marcus Morris
for a nice dunk. The defense left him alone trying to gain possession of the loose ball. (54-63)
12:41-Marcus Morris took an offensive foul right into the stomach that angered the crowd. On the other end, he fought for the loose ball on the floor and called a timeout before Nebraska could make it a jump ball. (55-54)
9:50 Markieff Morris pushed the lead back up to seven with a three from way on top of the key. Kansas is now 12-18 from three-point territory. (63-56)
5:24 Tyshawn Taylor hit a three-pointer to cap off a 10-1 run to push the Jayhawk's lead to 13. (75-62)
Key stats
Kansas played without Cole Aldrich for 19 minutes of the game, but still outrebounded the Huskers by 8, 31-23.
22,11
19
That's Sherron Collins' points on the night, and Sherron Collins' shots on the night. Bill Self put it succinctly:"That's pretty good."
The Jayhawks have won 19 consecutive conference openers.
52
Despite knocking down just 3-of-10 3-pointers in the second half, the Cornhuskers became the second consecutive team to shoot over 50 percent from long range.
1
It was Nebraska's first home loss of the season.
Tim Dwyer
COLUMN (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
need to play inside-out, especially when Cole Aldrich is in the post. But for all that talk, there've been precious little done to actualize the sentiment.
Is Kansas' offense, instead, predicated on running with its bevy of quick guards? That certainly seems possible. And with Sherron Collins, it seems a wise strategy. But Kansas too often creaks through tedious half-court sets, rather than picking up the pace and taking advantage of its depth.
Said depth would also allow Kansas to apply consistent pressure, both in half-court and especially in full-court presses. But again, we've seen too little
of that to call it a hallmark of the team.
Last night, Kansas' ability to take a punch, roll with it and win another team's fight was good enough. And make no mistake about it, that's an essential and laudable skill. But it's preferable to enter a fight with a precise strategy, knowing precisely what you want to do and how to go about doing it.
Failing that, well, maybe Taylor's just the man to provide the warning.
- Edited by Michael Holtz