Friday, February 2, 2007
“Some South coaches attribute the drought to the fact their players travel there only every other year because of the Big 12 format. Others credit the fans, who pack the 16,300-seat arena and make it hard on visiting teams.
But eventually it comes back to the enormously talented teams the Jayhawks make a habit of fielding each year. This year’s team, stacked with stars Julian Wright and Brandon Rush, is no different.
“Like I always say, the toughest thing on the road is the team that awaits you, and they always have a great team,” said A&M; coach Billy Gillispie, whose team nearly ended its 17-game conference losing streak before the Jayhawks prevailed 65-60 at Allen Fieldhouse two years ago.
“As good as their home court is, if they didn’t always have a great team, then they would have a hard time just like anyone else. They have a great team every single year, and they have for about 100 years. It’s no different this year.”
— Houston Chronicle reporter Terrance Harris, Feb. 1
“Kansas is the class of the conference. Only North Carolina can match the Jayhawks’ murderers’ row of raw talent. Kansas’ top five scorers — Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins — were all top-tier recruits who could have had their pick of just about any destination they wanted coming into college.
“But critics contend that the Jayhawk quintet arrived too recently in Lawrence to be contenders for the national championship. Sure, Kansas boasts a 19–3 record, the nation’s No. 6 ranking, and a spot atop the Big 12 standings. But the Jayhawks have struggled at times, losing to a talented, but hardly dominant, mid-major, Oral Roberts, and a Jekyll-and-Hyde DePaul team. With games under way, the Jayhawks have a tendency to drift during stretches, letting down against lesser opponents. They’re also largely untested in the conference, having gone 1–1 against two of the five other Big 12 teams above .500 in league play.”
— New York Sun reporter Jonah Kerri, Feb. 1
“Don’t mention the ‘K’ word around A&M; men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie in the next few days.
The Aggies will be at Kansas on Saturday for ESPN College GameDay and a Top 10 match-up, but first A&M; has to play Iowa State on Wednesday.
“We’ve got a long ways to go before we get to Saturday,” Gillispie said during his Monday press conference.
Gillispie did touch briefly on the Jayhawks, but quickly changed subjects.
“Our focus is all on Iowa State,” he said. “If we are going to talk about Saturday and all that kind of stuff, we’re gonna be in big trouble, because we’re facing a really good opponent on our home court.”
— Bryan/College Station Eagle reporter Robert Cessna, Jan. 30
“If there was any consolation — and that’s usually all that opponents can take away from their visits to Allen Fieldhouse — Colorado’s fuzzy-cheeked freshmen showed more heart against eighth-ranked Kansas on Saturday than did the seniors who came in here last year.
“The scoreboard, which flashed a 97-74 Jayhawks victory as the final horn sounded, didn’t reflect the grit and effort of a Colorado squad with nine new players, including a sophomore transfer, that had never experienced the craziness that makes this one of college basketball’s most daunting shrines.
“Nor did the final score reveal a second-half spurt by the Buffaloes that caused the sellout crowd of 16,300 to squirm in their seats. After trailing 47-34 at halftime, Colorado (5-12, 1-6 Big 12) cut the deficit to nine points on three occasions.
“In last season’s visit, a senior-dominated Buffs team missed 22 of its first 23 shots and never made Kansas sweat. Kansas’ 75-54 victory was not as close as the final score suggested. This time, the action on the court was more competitive.”
— Denver Post reporter Tom Kensler, Jan. 28
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