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And then there were four

Kansas eeks past Davidson 59-57 with the help of Kaun’s 13 points, will face North Carolina

By Rustin Dodd

Monday, March 31, 2008

Kaun

DETROIT – The sweat wasn’t quite dried on Sasha Kaun’s face, and his game worn socks from Kansas’ 59-57 victory against Davidson were still strapped to his feet.

Photo Gallery

Kansas vs. Davidson

Photo gallery of Kansas men's basketball game against Davidson in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit.

Kansas’ senior center had just lead Kansas to the Final Four with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in front of 57,563 fans at Ford Field, and Kaun was exhausted. Figures, because on the night before the biggest game of Sasha Kaun’s life, Kansas’ 6-foot-11 senior center couldn’t fall asleep.

Junior forward Matt Kleinman slept soundly in the bed next to him, but Kaun kept tossing and turning. His last opportunity to play in a Final Four sat in front of him and Kaun couldn’t stop thinking about it

“I couldn’t calm myself down to go to bed,” Kaun said.

Kaun wanted this game so much, in fact, that Kaun surprised his teammates in the locker room before the game. Kaun worked himself into a frenzy, just trying to get his teammates hyped. Russell Robinson couldn’t understand what Kaun was saying, but he got the message.

“You normally don’t see that side of him,” Robinson said.

Yet, it was Kansas’ fans that might have had trouble recognizing Kaun in the second half. The kid who had grown up in Russia and moved to Florida in the ninth grade, played with fire and intensity, scoring nine points in the second half.

Kaun called it urgency that only a college senior can know.

“I thought it might be over,” Kaun said.

With Kansas trailing 49-45 with 9:33 left in the second half, the butterflies started growing. Junior guard Mario Chalmers drove to the basket, and hoisted up a shot that rimmed out. But Kaun was there for the tip-in, cutting the Davidson lead to two.

A few possessions later, after sophomore guard Sherron Collins made a three-pointer to give Kansas a one-point lead, Kaun extended the lead to three with another layup.

“He was due for it. He works so hard, and he does everything coach asks him to do,” Collins said.

Kaun said last year’s Elite Eight loss to UCLA was his lowest moment on basketball floor, and that game entered his mind on Sunday.

As Kansas players sat on stools during a timeout, Kaun, with sweat flying and muscles flexed, let out a roar: “Come on, let’s go.” Kaun yelled.

Kaun wanted to make sure his career didn’t end in the same round that brought on so much heartache last year. With 2:19 left, Kaun made one-of-two free throws, giving Kansas a 57-53 lead.

“Sasha, in my opinion,” Self said, “May have been as good a performer we had this weekend.”

Curry

DETROIT – Kansas can breathe a sigh of relief. North Carolina, stocked with All-Americans, awaits Kansas in the Final Four. The Tar Heels have skills, athleticisms and experience. But at least they don’t have Davidson’s Stephen Curry.

Davidson’s baby-face shooting guard scored 25 points against Kansas on Sunday, adding to his lengthy NCAA tournament legend.

Curry made his usual amount of step-back three-pointers and acrobatic circus drives to the hoop. But it was the shot that Curry didn’t take that will have people talking. With Davidson trailing 59-57 with seconds remaining, Curry drove to his right, ran out of space and had to pass the ball off to point guard Jason Richards. Richards shot was off target and the clock finally struck midnight for the Wildcats.

photo

Photo by Jon Goering

Sophomore guard Sherron Collins gets up after forcing Davidson guard Stephen Curry to force up a tough three-pointer during the second half of the game. Curry scored 25 points in the game, but hit just 9-of-25 shots, including 4-of-16 on threes.

Kansas coach Bill Self was just glad Curry didn’t take the last shot.

“If he would have shot it from half court, I would have said it was pitiful defense, because I figured he would have made it,” Self said about Curry.

Kansas said it knew that Curry would be a challenge – the team had sat in the locker room before its victory against Villanova and watched Curry knife through Wisconsin on Friday – but the Jayhawks still had trouble stopping Curry in the first half.

Scoreless for more than 10 minutes to start the game, Curry made a three-pointer with 9:43 to go in the first half, and proceeded to score 15 of the Wildcat’s last 21 points in the first half.

“Every time he hit a shot, it was like Michael Jordan was hitting a shot,” Russell Robinson said.

Self finally switched Kansas to a box-and-one defense with four minutes left in the first half, tabbing Robinson to shadow Curry and placing the rest of the Jayhawks in a zone.

The Jayhawks went back to the defense in the opening minutes of the second half, with a combination of Rush, Robinson and Rush chasing Curry step-for-step.

“He got a little frustrated, and he forced a couple shots,” Collins said. “That was what we wanted.”

Curry made just 4-of-13 from the field in the second half and just 2-of-10 from behind the three-line.

“I really just think he was little tired,” Robinson said.

Curry played all 40 minutes against Kansas.

“With a player like him, he does so much, you just got to try and slow him down,” Sophomore guard Sherron Collins said. “You’re not going to stop him,”

A special edition of the High/Low from a weekend in Detroit

Highs

Gus Johnson

Cheers for one of the best sports broadcasters in the business.

An interesting moment occurred at halftime when they played a classic montage of famous plays in NCAA tourmament history on the Ford Center scoreboard. They replayed the ending of the Ohio State – Xavier game from last season – a game that featured a classic call from CBS broadcaster Gus Johnson. Remember his call, “And we’re going to overtime…THIS IS MARCH MADNESS.” Well, Johnson, who was calling the games in Detroit, just happened to be looking up at the scoreboard at the very same time.

“Were Not Gonna Take It”

Sitting inside the Ford Center, listening to Kansas’ band play this classic Twisted Sister song during the last media time-out of the game, you finally got the sense that Kansas was about to smash Cinderella’s glass slipper. It was as if the music was telling what Kansas was probably thinking. Alright Davidson, you had a nice run, but we’re not gonna take it anymore.

Shower for Self

The players gave Bill Self a Gatorade shower in the locker room after the game. “I think they thought we won the Orange Bowl,” Self joked.

Lows

Ford Field

It’s been talked about a lot, but this building should not have been the site of a basketball game — at least not in its current configuration. Putting the floor in the middle of where the football field would be, totally took the fans out of the equation.

On the Ball Defense

Bill Self wasn’t pleased with Kansas’ on-the-ball defense in the first half, and Davidson’s Jason Richards and Stephen Curry controlled the tempo for most of the game. When Kansas’ guard committed another foul with 14 minutes left in the first half, Self had seen enough. “We can’t guard the ball,” Self said on the sideline.

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