Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Columbia, Mo. — Before Kansas took the floor against Missouri on Saturday, coach Bill Self told his team about a “crazy day in college basketball.”
He’d just seen North Carolina fall to Maryland, K-State surprise Texas A&M and USC win the battle of Los Angeles against UCLA.
Missouri guard Keon Lawrence, forward Leo Lyons and forward Darryl Butterfield watch the final seconds of Missouri's loss against Kansas. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers, 76-70.
“You’d think Missouri would get their eyes wide open and think, ‘That could be us,’” said senior guard Russell Robinson. “So, it put a little more pressure on us, but we were able to handle business like we were supposed to.”
The undefeated Jayhawks (18-0) hardly played perfect though. They missed free throws, picked up stupid fouls, and shot below average. They looked ripe for upset.
And, for a while, an upset looked likely.
Missouri, a team of maddening inconsistency, gave the Jayhawks its best shot early in the game. They lead most of the first half, but late in the game, Mizzou pulled within three as guard Daniel Horton made some clutch shots. But, for the rest of the game, Kansas again showed it can win even when not playing at its highest level.
As guard Brandon Rush said, “We didn’t play good at all. We had a lot of mental breakdowns, so it felt good to just get a win.”
More than a month had passed since Kansas had played a game as close. Since a tight victory at Georgia Tech, Kansas had been steam-rolling big teams like Boston College, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Each game displayed crisp passing, relentless defense and sharp shooting. The Jayhawks looked unbeatable.
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“We didn’t play good at all. We had a lot of mental breakdowns, so it felt good to just get a win.”
—Brandon Rush, junior
However, that team was gone on Saturday night. Kansas made just 40 percent of its shots and even bricked free throws down the stretch. Players who’d sizzled in earlier games froze up. Rush missed 12 of 14 shots, and guards Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur both got into foul trouble.
Self gave Missouri’s shifting defense credit for the Jayhawk problems. In fact, Self said he’d not since Chalmers and Robinson as fast on offense all season.
Kansas held on--even after some Horton heroics brought Missouri to within five. Then, with around three mintues remaining, Chalmers came up with a steal and found Rush in transition. Then, Matt Lawrence intentionally fouled him, which basically ended the game.
The game ended like the Georgia Tech, Southern California, and Arizona games did. Though the Jayhawks didn’t look pretty in any of these, they still won. With this victory against Missouri, Kansas is developing a penchant for winning--regardless if the team plays perfectly or not. It’s a characteristic Self wants his team to have.
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“The key to having a great season is winning games when you don’t play like yourself,” Self said. “That’s going to happen nine or 10 times a year, and you have to figure out a way to go 7-2 or 8-2 in those to have a great season.”
Despite the victory, Kansas dropped to number two after The Memphis Tigers blew out Southern Mississippi on Saturday. For now the Jayhawks will have to settle for second.
Self doesn’t mind though, but Robinson thinks Kansas deserves recognition after beating its rival in a close game.
“I think we’re the best team in the nation,” Robinson said, “but until you get out there and play that game, you don’t know who’s best.”
— Edited By Nick Mangiaracina
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