Kansas holds off Nebraska, 59-57

By Liz Heuben     Jan 19, 2005

Kansas University’s men’s basketball team spent three weeks without star senior Wayne Simien and barely missed a beat, winning all four games during that period including victories over Georgia Tech and Kentucky.

Against Nebraska on Wednesday, though, Kansas struggled while Simien missed all but the first three minutes of the first half after picking up two fouls. The Jayhawks stumbled to a 24-21 halftime deficit to the Cornhuskers without the potential national player of the year.

Fortunately for Kansas, Simien returned for the second half and helped spark a 12-0 run that gave the Jayhawks the lead that they held onto just long enough in a 59-57 win.

Kansas won the tipoff, but J.R. Giddens missed an alley-oop on the first play.

In fact, the Jayhawks missed their first eight shots, and Nebraska took a 6-0 lead early including back-to-back baskets by John Turek.

Sasha Kaun scored KU’s first basket nearly five minutes into the game, and the Jayhawks struggled without Simien, not taking their first lead, 9-8, until an Alex Galindo three-pointer just before the 12:30 point of the first half. Galindo also scored the next two baskets, giving KU a 14-8 lead midway through the period.

The Cornhuskers regained the lead by scoring 15 of the next 22 points. The Jayhawks scored three of the final four points of the half, but still trailed 24-21 at the break.

The Jayhawks didn’t waste any time reversing that deficit, scoring the first 12 points of the second half and taking a 33-24 lead less than five minutes in. Simien scored five points and grabbed four rebounds during the run.

Nebraska fought back with 15 of the next 22 points, closing the gap to just a point, 42-41, with just more than nine minutes left.

Kansas extended its lead to five or six points for most of the next few minutes, but Nebraska closed to within two points, 55-53, with about two minutes remaining and within a point, 58-57, with less than a minute left, but couldn’t regain the lead.

Giddens had nine points and seven rebounds for Kansas; Simien had 12 points and seven rebounds; Kaun had two points, three rebounds and three blocks; and Galindo had eight points.

Darnell Jackson had two points, and Aaron Miles had eight points, eight assists and four steals. Mike Lee had seven points, and Christian Moody had two points and four boards before fouling out with a minute left.

Keith Langford had nine points, breaking the 1,600-point mark for his career. He left the game limping about seven minutes in and went to the locker room. He returned with just a bit less than seven minutes left before halftime.

Turek had five points for Nebraska before fouling out late in the second half, Wes Wilkinson had 16 points and five boards, and Jake Muhleisen had two points before fouling out.

Joe McCray had 19 points and seven rebounds, Bronsen Schliep had a point, and Corey Simms had two points. Marcus Neal had eight points, and Alex Maric had four points and eight boards.

The Jayhawks were 21-of-50 shooting from the field, including 4-of-17 from three-point range, and 13-of-28 from the foul line. Kansas turned the ball over 11 times.

The Cornhuskers were 18-of-57 shooting from the field, including 7-of-24 from long distance, and 14-of-21 from the charity stripe. Nebraska had turned the ball over 13 times.

Kansas holds off Texas A&M, 65-60

By Liz Heuben     Jan 5, 2005

Kansas University’s men’s basketball team Wednesday against Texas A&M shot like it was playing outside in the snow and ice, but the Jayhawks hit enough shots to pull out a 65-60 victory over the Aggies at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks hit just 19 of 46 shots from the field, including 5-of-19 shooting from long distance, but made 13 more free throws than the Aggies.

Chris Walker scored first with a three-pointer for Texas A&M, but Aaron Miles answered on KU’s following possession.

A pair of free throws by Christian Moody then gave KU a 5-3 lead, and the Jayhawks didn’t trail until the final few moments of the first half on an old-fashioned three-point play by Joseph Jones gave Texas A&M a 21-20 lead.

Kansas scored nine of the final 13 points of the period, though, led, 29-25, at halftime.

The Jayhawks extended their lead to six points, 36-30, early in the second half, but the Aggies fought back and tied the game at 40-all midway through the period before Kansas scored five straight points.

Texas A&M stayed in the game, though, taking a 52-49 lead moments later on a three-pointer by Acie Law with less than six minutes left.

Kansas answered with an old-fashioned three-point play by Keith Langford on the next possession, and the teams battled back and forth over the final four minutes with KU taking a 61-58 lead on a three-pointer by Alex Galindo with less than a minute left.

The Jayhawks held off the Aggies with free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Miles had 15 points and five assists for KU, C.J. Giles had four points and two rebounds, and Moody had seven points and five boards.

Langford had nine points and two fouls, Russell Robinson had seven points, and Moulaye Niang had four points and six boards. Michael Lee had 10 points, Galindo had eight points, and J.R. Giddens had two boards.

Walker had seven points for Texas A&M, Law had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Antoine Wright had 14 points. Jones had 16 points and seven boards, Edjuan Green had two points and six rebounds, and Dominique Kirk had seven points.

Kansas was 19-of-46 shooting from the field, including 5-of-19 from three-point range, and 22-of-27 shooting from the free throw line. The Jayhawks turned the ball over nine times.

Texas A&M was 22-of-52 shooting from the field, including 7-of-18 from long distance, and 9-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe. The Aggies turned the ball over 15 times.

IMPORTANT FIRST-HALF STATS:
Rebounds: Texas A&M 15, Kansas 15
Turnovers: Texas A&M 10, Kansas 6
Steals: Texas A&M 3, Kansas 4
Assists: Texas A&M 5, Kansas 5

All stats are unofficial.

Kansas holds off Tigers – KU 76, Mizzou 70

By Gary Bedore     Feb 4, 2003

Scott McClurg/Journal-World Photo
Kansas University's Keith Langford, left, and Missouri's Josh Kroenke fight for a loose ball in the Jayhawks' 76-70 victory over the Tigers. Mizzou had 20 turnovers in the loss Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Roy Williams didn’t look or sound like a coach whose basketball team had defeated one of its biggest rivals for the fourth straight time.

In fact, Williams, the 15th-year Kansas University coach, had a beet-red face after the Jayhawks’ pulsating 76-70 victory Monday over Missouri at Allen Fieldhouse.

“Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Michael Lee … I ain’t saying anything positive about anybody else, and I’m not saying anything positive about the coach, either,” Williams said after No. 12-ranked KU improved to 16-5 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12 Conference. No. 21 Mizzou fell to 13-5, 4-3.

“I’m not so sure they didn’t outplay us. We had breakdowns offensively, defensively, guys not going where they were supposed to go. I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world right now. I’ve never bought a lottery ticket in my life. Maybe I ought to go buy one tonight.”

Williams was elated with seniors Hinrich and Collison, who scored 24 and 22 points respectively, and Lee, who celebrated his 20th birthday by scoring seven points in 28 minutes, including hitting two free throws with :26.8 left, boosting a three-point lead to 74-69.

“Those two seniors decided they were not going to let us lose,” Williams said. “And Michael Lee the birthday boy was big-time as well.”

Williams was so miffed with the rest of the Jayhawks, he almost decided to hold a 6 a.m. practice today.

Instead, he elected to give the team the day off because of the grit showed in hanging on down the stretch.

“I’d made up my mind the next practice would be at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning,” Williams fumed. “(But) I loved the guts in stepping up to the free-throw line in making plays at the end.”

Junior forward Jeff Graves, who had four fouls and eight points in 22 minutes, and Aaron Miles (two points, six turnovers, five assists), who was relegated to the bench all but six minutes of the second half and didn’t play in crunch time, were prime recipients of Williams’ wrath.

“Jeff Graves has got to decide he’s gonna be a player and stop sitting over there with me. I don’t need another assistant coach,” Williams said.

“Aaron Miles … I don’t give a blankety-blank about shooting the daggum basketball. You can’t have six frickin’ turnovers in a game like that. You can’t have six turnovers and be a quarterback. I told him that. He had a bad day.”

Graves committed three of KU’s 12 turnovers. The Jayhawks forced 20 turnovers — 12 the first half in gaining a 33-28 halftime lead.

“If you are supposed to set a daggum screen, then go set the screen,” he said of Graves. “If I say, ‘I don’t want you to ever make a move at the top of the key driving to the basket,’ that means you are not supposed to make a frickin’ move trying to drive like Magic Johnson. It’s stupid.”

Yet for all the negatives, KU won what Williams called a “weird” game.

Missouri hit 10 threes to KU’s two — Ricky Clemons cashed five of 15 threes for 19 points — and outrebounded the Jayhawks, 38-29. Yet KU, which led by as many as 13 (49-36) five minutes into the second half and saw the lead cut to one down the stretch, hung on in large part to Hinrich and Collison.

Hinrich’s three at 5:21 and Collison’s inside bucket off a feed from Lee upped a 62-61 lead to 67-61. Clemons and Ricky Paulding responded with buckets, cutting the gap to 67-65 at 3:11.

That’s when Lee put in a stickback off a Hinrich miss at 2:59, and Hinrich scored off a feed from Collison at 2:11, KU going up, 71-65. Travon Bryant and Paulding answered and it was 71-69 at 1:07.

That’s when Bryant Nash, who was huge with seven points in 22 minutes, also on the court the final 10 minutes, hit one of two free throws at :50.2, giving KU a three-point advantage.

Nash on the next possession blocked a Pauling shot inside and grabbed the board at :35, dishing to Lee, who was fouled and hit the two free throws at :26.8. After Jimmy McKinney hit one of two free throws, Lee answered with one of two at :19.5.

Collison concluded the scoring at :12.3, hitting one of two charities.

“Kirk and Nick were great. They carried the load. They had the energy. They made big plays,” sophomore Keith Langford said after his six-point outing. “They set the standard.”

Hinrich, who played the point most of the second half with Miles struggling, said the seniors definitely wanted to win No. 4 in a row versus MU.

“We had to be aggressive to win,” he said. “Missouri has a good team with some great athletes and good shooters. I just tried to be aggressive and keep us in the attack mode.”

Collison noted: “Kirk and I have been through a lot of games and a lot of battles. I think we feel we have a lot of responsibility and have to play well to win and score to win. For the most part we did that. (As a team) we struggled to keep Missouri off the boards and weren’t consistent, but a win is a win.”

KU will meet K-State at 12:45 p.m. Saturday in Manhattan.

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