Monday, January 28, 2008
A letdown would have almost been natural.
It was just two weeks ago that the Jayhawks tormented Nebraska on the road. Why take them seriously this time? A date with rival Kansas State loomed as the next game on the schedule. Shouldn’t that be more important? With those circumstances, no one would have blamed the players if they lollygagged around to a 10 or 15-point victory.
Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur celebrates during the 84-49 Kansas blow-out victory over Nebraska Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. Arthur led Kansas with 18 points. No. 2 ranked Kansas improved to 20-0 and 5-0 in the Big 12 with the victory.
But they didn’t. Instead, the Jayhawks (20-0, 5-0) again showed why they are one of the best, most focused teams in the country with an 84-49 pounding against Nebraska. Take away the six-point win against Missouri, and the Jayhawks are dispatching conference opponents by more than 27 points a game.
“Everybody just does their job,” senior forward Darnell Jackson said, “and we get energy from that. You don’t want to lose. You don’t want to go out there and disappoint the coaching staff.”
Actually, Kansas was more jacked up than usual. The energy that wasn’t quite there Wednesday against Iowa State reappeared Saturday in a hurry.
Russell Robinson stole the ball from Cookie Miller on the first possession. Brandon Rush picked up a steal the next time the Huskers had the ball.
By halftime, Kansas forced seven steals and had 10 points in transition. The Jayhawks only had seven steals for the entire game against the Cyclones. Their 10 fast break points were more than they had scored the past two games combined.
The small problems that had bothered Kansas were solved. The Jayhawks could run and steal again. Sherron Collins said it was about time.
“Coach said we have start forcing turnovers on the defensive end,” Collins said. “Like I said we’re fine where we’re at, but we have to take more steps to get more pressure. But I think we did a pretty good job today.”
Photo Gallery
Kansas Basketball vs. Nebraska
Photo gallery of Kansas men's basketball game against Nebraska Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Of course, this wasn’t against the best competition in the conference. Actually, it was against the worst. Nebraska is now 0-4 in league play, and the Huskers provided several reasons why. Shang Ping got whistled for an up, down traveling violation. Aleks Maric missed point-blank shots. Ryan Anderson bricked six threes.
They proved no match for Darrell Arthur, who scored 18, and Brandon Rush, who made five three-pointers. Russell Robinson finished with four steals, and Sherron Collins scored in double-figures for the first time since Jan. 8. The whole team seemed to be on a level above Nebraska. That’s the way Huskers coach Doc Sadler saw it.
“I’m not convinced that a superior perfect game is good enough to beat these guys for us,” he said.
As Sadler admitted, his team is certainly not good enough to defeat the Jayhawks, but for the first time in league play, Kansas will face a team that might be good enough. K-State is undefeated so far in conference play and has improved vastly since the beginning of the season. Wednesday night’s game will surely be a challenge.
The Wildcats have gotten so much better that their star forward Michael Beasley told media his team could beat the Jayhawks anywhere - Africa, Alaska, the rec center.
“That doesn’t bother me,” Self said. “We’ll talk to our players about that, but when a guy is averaging 24 and 13, I think he has a right to talk a little bit.”
The team that gets the victory will be in position for a title run. K-State and Kansas are tied with Baylor atop the league standings, and a victory will give the winner a better path to the conference championship.
Even with that game coming up soon and Nebraska out of the way, the Jayhawks aren’t ready to think only about K-State yet. They know it will be a challenge, but they’re still focused on getting better for the next two days, just like they were focused for Nebraska on Saturday. Any pressure from an undefeated record and a 24-game winning streak in Manhattan hasn’t entered their minds yet.
“They’ve kind of evolved into a group that is really looking forward to practice on Monday,” Self said, “as opposed to a group that is just trying to hang on to something.”
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