Post by MizzouTiger on Feb 13, 2008 9:31:04 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/166/story/485894.html
No. 11 Texas knocks off No. 3 Kansas
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star
AUSTIN, Texas | It all happened so fast. Texas’ D.J. Augustin missed a free throw that could have iced the game, and Russell Robinson snagged the rebound. Eight seconds were left, and Kansas coach Bill Self had already relayed the play that could keep his team in the Big 12 driver’s seat.
Robinson was supposed to go right, hand the ball off to Chalmers going to his left, and Chalmers would have the option of Brandon Rush coming off a couple of screens. But little of that happened, and Chalmers missed an awkward three-point attempt at the buzzer.
“Bad possession,” Self said.
Unfortunately for KU, that wasn’t the only one.
Too many bad possessions on both ends of the court in an uninspired second half signaled KU’s doom in a 72-69 loss to the Longhorns. A couple of those possessions involving Rush told the story: a potential defensive rebound that banged off Rush’s head and went out of bounds, and a game-tying three-point attempt by the 6-foot-6 Rush that was blocked by 5-11 A.J. Abrams.
The Jayhawks, just like two weeks ago when they fell to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., lost the game on the glass and because of hustle points. It was no coincidence that KU led by four at the half Monday night and held a 23-13 rebounding advantage. Texas finished the game leading 36-35, and the Longhorns pushed KU down in the Big 12 standings.
“We couldn’t get our hands on balls,” KU forward Darrell Arthur said, “couldn’t grab them. The balls were flying out of bounds. One came off Brandon’s head.”
No. 3 Kansas, which vowed to learn from its mistakes against K-State, whiffed on its first opportunity to follow through. After that one, Arthur said that the Wildcats simply wanted it more than the Jayhawks.
After this one, it was more of the same from a different KU player.
“They had some good bounces, but yeah, they just wanted it more,” Robinson said.
The Jayhawks, 23-2 overall and 8-2 in the Big 12, played like a team that wanted it in the first half. Thirteen second-chance points and 24 points in the paint indicated that KU, leading 42-38 at halftime, was ready to stake its claim in the conference race.
Of course, it was easy for the Jayhawks to dominate the No. 11 Longhorns, 20-4 and 7-2, inside when forward Damion James played only 3 minutes in the first half because of early foul trouble. Self knew that James’ return in the second half would play a role, and he figured that Texas coach Rick Barnes would challenge his guys to attack the glass.
“We talked about that at halftime,” Self said, “and our guys did not respond to their aggressiveness. Our guards did a poor job of blocking out in the second half.”
James ended up being the key for the Longhorns, who won despite a horrid shooting night from national-player-of-the-year candidate D.J. Augustin. James played all 20 minutes in the second half, grabbed 13 rebounds and had 12 points.
“Damion had a chance to sit on that bench the first half and boil a little bit because he wants to be out there,” Self said. “He came out and kicked our butts in the second half.”
When the Jayhawks started the season 20-0 and moved up to No. 2 in the rankings, Self was asked whether he thought this was his best team at KU. He said it had the chance to be. But this group might be the first team in four years to not bring home at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
“We know we can’t lose another one or we’ll be out of the race to be Big 12 champions,” Rush said. “That’s our mind-set.”
Chalmers, who scored eight of KU’s last 12 points, said this game changes nothing about the league race. “We’re still the favorite,” Chalmers said.
Favorite or not, two times now the Jayhawks have found themselves in a pressure-cooker on the road in Big 12 play, and two times they’ve left the loser.
No. 11 Texas knocks off No. 3 Kansas
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star
AUSTIN, Texas | It all happened so fast. Texas’ D.J. Augustin missed a free throw that could have iced the game, and Russell Robinson snagged the rebound. Eight seconds were left, and Kansas coach Bill Self had already relayed the play that could keep his team in the Big 12 driver’s seat.
Robinson was supposed to go right, hand the ball off to Chalmers going to his left, and Chalmers would have the option of Brandon Rush coming off a couple of screens. But little of that happened, and Chalmers missed an awkward three-point attempt at the buzzer.
“Bad possession,” Self said.
Unfortunately for KU, that wasn’t the only one.
Too many bad possessions on both ends of the court in an uninspired second half signaled KU’s doom in a 72-69 loss to the Longhorns. A couple of those possessions involving Rush told the story: a potential defensive rebound that banged off Rush’s head and went out of bounds, and a game-tying three-point attempt by the 6-foot-6 Rush that was blocked by 5-11 A.J. Abrams.
The Jayhawks, just like two weeks ago when they fell to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., lost the game on the glass and because of hustle points. It was no coincidence that KU led by four at the half Monday night and held a 23-13 rebounding advantage. Texas finished the game leading 36-35, and the Longhorns pushed KU down in the Big 12 standings.
“We couldn’t get our hands on balls,” KU forward Darrell Arthur said, “couldn’t grab them. The balls were flying out of bounds. One came off Brandon’s head.”
No. 3 Kansas, which vowed to learn from its mistakes against K-State, whiffed on its first opportunity to follow through. After that one, Arthur said that the Wildcats simply wanted it more than the Jayhawks.
After this one, it was more of the same from a different KU player.
“They had some good bounces, but yeah, they just wanted it more,” Robinson said.
The Jayhawks, 23-2 overall and 8-2 in the Big 12, played like a team that wanted it in the first half. Thirteen second-chance points and 24 points in the paint indicated that KU, leading 42-38 at halftime, was ready to stake its claim in the conference race.
Of course, it was easy for the Jayhawks to dominate the No. 11 Longhorns, 20-4 and 7-2, inside when forward Damion James played only 3 minutes in the first half because of early foul trouble. Self knew that James’ return in the second half would play a role, and he figured that Texas coach Rick Barnes would challenge his guys to attack the glass.
“We talked about that at halftime,” Self said, “and our guys did not respond to their aggressiveness. Our guards did a poor job of blocking out in the second half.”
James ended up being the key for the Longhorns, who won despite a horrid shooting night from national-player-of-the-year candidate D.J. Augustin. James played all 20 minutes in the second half, grabbed 13 rebounds and had 12 points.
“Damion had a chance to sit on that bench the first half and boil a little bit because he wants to be out there,” Self said. “He came out and kicked our butts in the second half.”
When the Jayhawks started the season 20-0 and moved up to No. 2 in the rankings, Self was asked whether he thought this was his best team at KU. He said it had the chance to be. But this group might be the first team in four years to not bring home at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
“We know we can’t lose another one or we’ll be out of the race to be Big 12 champions,” Rush said. “That’s our mind-set.”
Chalmers, who scored eight of KU’s last 12 points, said this game changes nothing about the league race. “We’re still the favorite,” Chalmers said.
Favorite or not, two times now the Jayhawks have found themselves in a pressure-cooker on the road in Big 12 play, and two times they’ve left the loser.