Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Kansas was unstoppable early, complacent in the middle and resilient late.
That was enough to beat Siena 91-84 Tuesday night. But not enough to please Kansas coach Bill Self.
“We were horrible defensively,” Self said. “That was a bad defensive team playing tonight.”
Photo Gallery
Men's Basketball vs. Sienna
A photo gallery of the Jayhawks win over Sienna Tuesday night.
Self described the performance by both teams as “good offensive basketball.” Problem is that’s not the style Self, a defensive coach, prefers.
Self wants his team to pester opponents through guarding them tough. He expects Kansas (11-3) to lockdown defensively if it gets an early 20-point lead. And that’s exactly what the Jayhawks failed to do against the Saints.
For the first time since the Arizona defeat two weeks ago, Kansas trailed an opponent. Four minutes into the game, Siena (10-5) led 9-5 before Kansas erupted during a six-minute stretch and went on a 25-1 run.
Junior guard Sherron Collins and sophomore center Cole Aldrich – who else? – starred in what appeared to be a first half runaway. Aldrich grabbed numerous offensive boards and added three points. Collins hit an open three-pointer in the middle of the run and recorded two assists.
“I just think we shared the ball really well, we finished,” Collins said. “And Cole carried us a lot.”
That was a theme throughout. Aldrich finished with a career-high 24 points and also had 13 rebounds and four blocks.
“The biggest thing about scoring 24 was just hitting the offensive boards hard and trying to get those easy points like I try to do every time,” Aldrich said. “And just the way they set it up.”
By “they,” Aldrich meant the guards who fed him the ball in the post. The same guards whom Self criticized for playing “soft” on-ball defense.
Siena - a team that gained notoriety last year after upsetting Vanderbilt 83-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament - started to chip away at the imposing 30-10 Kansas lead immediately after a timeout. Reserve guard Clarence Jackson, who had 17 points off of four three-pointers, hit two three-pointers in 25 seconds to end the Jayhawks’ run.
By halftime, Siena was only behind 51-38. With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Saints cut the lead down to 69-65.
“The biggest disappointment tonight was we broke down defensively,” Collins said. “Transition, we didn’t do a good job slowing them down.”
Siena rushed down the court after most of Kansas’ baskets. It often resulted in open transition three-pointers. In addition to Jackson, guards Kenny Hasbrouck and Ronald Moore combined for five three-pointers and 34 points.
In the second half, the Saints hit six of their 14 three-pointers. The Jayhawks made only one of six.
“That’s the reason they got back in the game,” Self said.
But Collins and Aldrich prevented the Saints from getting any closer than four points behind. The Jayhawks’ two leaders combined for 15 of the team’s final 22 points.
Collins – who finished with 18 points, four assists and five turnovers – converted on a three-pointer to give Kansas an eight-point lead. He missed another attempt two possessions later, but Aldrich fought for the rebound and made a put back.
“Those two guys do need to take over down the stretch,” Self said. “And they did.”
The scoring sources were more diverse before the end of the game. Freshman forward Marcus Morris had eight points and three assists in what Self said was one of his best performances of the year.
Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed connected on two three-pointers and was six-for-six from the free-throw line. Reed set a career-high with 14 points.
“It wasn’t anything special,” Reed said. “Just guys finding me at the right time.”
Self echoed those feelings. Self said that although Reed knocked down open shots, the guard needed to play better defense. Every Jayhawk needed to play better defense.
“You go on to a 25-1 run, you should be able to crack the game open,” Self said. “And we didn’t do that because we didn’t guard.”
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