LIVE UPDATE: Kansas falls 61-60 at Sprint Center

By Case Keefer

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Massachusetts 61, Kansas 60

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This is not a day Kansas fans will want to remember.

In what will be considered the worst regular season loss since Kansas fell to Oral Roberts in Allen Fieldhouse two years ago, the 2-6 Minutemen beat Kansas 61-60 at Sprint Center.

And Kansas had enough chances to avoid it. The Jayhawks had the ball with 13 seconds left, but Sherron Collins couldn't convert on a driving layup in traffic. Conner Teahan grabbed the rebound, but couldn't a shot off and lost the ball. With that, the buzzer sounded and Kansas suffered its second defeat of the season - both at Sprint Center.

Check back to Kansan.com for a full story and coverage later.

Kansas 43, Massachusetts 43

Photo Gallery

Men's Basketball vs. Massachusetts

A photo gallery of the basketball game against The University of Massachusetts.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sherron Collins broke away and made a layup to tie the game for the first time of the day.

It followed another three-pointer from sophomore guard Tyrel Reed. The Minutemen promptly called timeout to re-group. It's still anyone's game at Sprint Center.

Kansas 42, Massachusetts 38 with 15 minutes to go

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Conner Teahan, Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed share a lot of similarities.

They’re the three Jayhawk sophomore guards. They’re the three local kids on the Kansas roster. And, they are the three who started the second half at Sprint Center alongside Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich.

Seeking a spark, Self benched Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris to open up the second half. It had mixed results.

Kansas has cut the deficit to 42-38, but still hasn’t stopped the Minutemen offensively. Aldrich threw down a dunk to cut the lead to four. He has 10 points and eight rebounds on the day.

Look for him to get more involved offensively.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The shots aren’t falling.

Kansas coach Bill Self would say sometimes it’s that simple. That’s the story from the first half at Sprint Center where Kansas trails Massachusetts 36-30.

The Jayhawks are shooting 28 percent from the field and didn’t make a field goal for nearly eight minutes during one stretch of the half. Meanwhile, the Minutemen went on an 18-4 run.

All things considered, a six-point deficit might be a blessing for the Jayhawks after the first 20 minutes. They were thoroughly outplayed.

Minutemen guard Ricky Harris ran the dribble-drive offense to perfection and drove past Jayhawks multiple times. He has 14 points and an assist. UMass is shooting 55 percent.

In contrast, Kansas’ leader, junior guard Sherron Collins, has only five points and has shot one-for-five from the field.

Kansas went on a 7-0 run near the end of the half to get back within striking range. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed hit a three-pointer from the corner and sophomore guard Conner Teahan converted on a three-point play the next possession.

Suddenly, Sprint Center sounded more like Allen Fieldhouse. Fans jumped up and down and made noise and the Jayhawks’ energy showed as they sped down the floor.

At the end of the half, Kansas assistants Joe Dooley and Kurtis Townsend had to restrain Self who was yelling at the referees for a non-call.

Self was still steaming headed to the locker room. And it wasn’t even because of all the missed shots.

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