Jayhawks hold off Tigers, 73-61

By Liz Heuben     Jan 31, 2005

Kansas University’s men’s basketball team nearly suffered a let-down Monday against Missouri, but the Jayhawks regrouped in the second half and then held on for a 73-61 victory.

The Tigers led at halftime and through the early minutes of the second half before the Jayhawks, which won an emotional blowout over Texas on Saturday, took the lead for good midway through the half.

Kansas, which trailed by eight points at halftime, outscored Missouri, 45-25, after intermission.

Wayne Simien hit a jump hook for the first basket of the game as the Jayhawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead early. Missouri closed within three points, 12-9, before the Jayhawks pushed their lead up to 10 points, 19-9, midway through the first half.

The Tigers didn’t let the Jayhawk lead hold them down, scoring 27 of the next 35 points and taking a 36-27 lead with just under two minutes left.

Missouri kept its lead until just more than 13 minutes were left in the game after back-to-back layups by Keith Langford gave Kansas a 48-47 lead.

The Tigers took the lead back, 49-48, and upped it to three points with another basket, but the Jayhawks took a three-point lead, 54-51, with six straight points.

Missouri tied the game with a three-pointer by Glen Dandridge, but Kansas scored nine of the next 10 points, taking a 66-55 lead with less than five minutes left. The Jayhawks then held on for the 12-point victory.

Simien had 22 points and eight rebounds for KU, Aaron Miles had 14 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, and Christian Moody had nine points and six rebounds.

J.R. Giddens had 15 points and four rebounds, Keith Langford had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Sasha Kaun had two points.

Marshall Brown had seven points for Missouri, Jason Horton had nine points, and Jimmy McKinney had four points.

Linas Kleiza had 11 points before fouling out with 3:13 left, Thomas Gardner had five points, and Jason Conley had 20 points. Dandridge had five points.

The Jayhawks were 23-of-46 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from long distance, and 21-of-30 from the foul line. Kansas turned the ball over 13 times.

The Tigers were 24-of-54 shooting from the field, including 4-of-19 from three-point range, and 9-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe. Missouri turned the ball over 14 times.

All stats are unofficial.

Jayhawks hold off pesky Ichabods

By Liz Heuben     Nov 14, 2004

Kansas University’s men’s basketball team faced a tough Washburn University team Sunday in the second of two exhibition games before starting the regular season.

The Ichabods, who nearly defeated Purdue last week, falling 81-72 on Monday in West Lafayette, Ind., gave the Jayhawks a scare early before falling, 79-70.

Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens, Wayne Simien and Christian Moody started for the Jayhawks, a slightly different starting group than the first exhibition game against Emporia State last Sunday.

The Ichabods took a quick 2-0 lead, but Giddens quickly answered with a three-pointer. Washburn regained the lead and took an 8-5 advantage three minutes in.

Kansas took a 9-8 lead a minute later, but Washburn quickly went back up by two points, 11-9, on a three-pointer by Randy Brown. Kansas closed to a point, 11-10, but five straight points by Brady Sisk and a three-pointer by Carl Jenkins extended the Ichabods’ lead to nine points.

The Jayhawks fought back to a two-point deficit, 21-19, and tied the game at 21-all nine minutes into the game. The teams battled back and forth with KU taking a 24-23 lead with 8:39 left on a free throw by Miles.

Washburn tied the game at 24-all just a minute later, and the teams battled back and forth with neither able to take more than a two-point lead until Simien hit a pair of free throws for a 32-28 advantage with 4:20 left before halftime.

The Ichabods answered with a basket, but Giddens scored five straight points and a pair of Simien free throws gave KU a 39-30 lead. The Jayhawks then battled to a 42-37 halftime advantage.

The teams continued a fierce battle early in the second half, but KU never gave up the lead. The Jayhawks extended their lead to a game-high 13 points, 67-54, a bit past the midway mark of the half before holding on for the nine-point victory.

Giddens had 10 points for KU, Langford had 11 points, and Moody had 10 points. Miles had 10 points and five assists, Simien had 13 points and 15 rebounds, and Darnell Jackson had three points. C.J. Giles had six points, and Michael Lee had three points. Sasha Kaun had four points, Moulaye Niang had two points, and Russel Robinson had seven points and four assists.

Travis Robbins had 12 points for Washburn, and Karlton Mims had 12 points. Kris Milburn had two points, and Brown had 13 points. Sisk had five points, and Jenkins had 12 points. Jerald Head had four points, and Harold Cade had two points. Kyle Fisher had a point, and Kyle Snyder had four points. Joe Manthe had three points.

Washburn was 25-of-61 shooting, including 6-of-16 from three-point range, and 14-of-21 shooting at the free throw line. KU was 24-of-60 from the field, including 5-of-17 from long distance, and 26-of-41 shooting at the charity stripe.

All stats unofficial.

Jayhawks hold off Tigers, 65-56

By Liz Heuben     Feb 2, 2004

The Jayhawks, who fell five spots in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25, bounced back from Saturday’s loss to the Iowa State Cyclones with a 65-56 win tonight against the rival Tigers at Allen Fieldhouse.

Arthur Johnson’s put-back gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first few seconds, but Aaron Miles answered with a three-pointer just a few seconds later. Johnson scored again for Missouri, but KU (14-4 overall, 6-1 Big 12 Conference) answered with another three-pointer, this one by J.R. Giddens.

That shot started a 7-2 run by the Jayhawks that gave them a 10-6 lead five and a half minutes in. Travon Bryant and Rickey Paudling scored five straight points and regained the lead for the Tigers (9-9, 4-4). The teams battled back and forth over the next next six minutes.

Giddens hit another three pointer with just more than eight minutes remaining, giving the Jayhawks a 23-20 lead, and Keith Langford extended the advantage to five points with a put-back a minute and a half later. Missouri closed to within a point, 25-24, two minutes later, but KU had a two-point lead, 29-27, at halftime.

Aaron Miles gave KU a four-point lead a minute into the second half, but went down hard on the layup and went to the locker room. Missouri regained the lead two minutes later, but Giddens’ third three-pointer once again stole the lead back for KU.

Missouri took two short-lived leads in the next couple minutes before Miles returned to the game with 15:40 remaining and the scored tied 38-all. KU then went on an 10-4 run over the next six minutes, with Miles getting two assists and a basket during the run.

The teams battled for the next minute and a half, as the Tigers clawed within three points, 51-48, on a three-pointer by Travon Bryant with eight minutes left.

KU didn’t let up, going on a 10-6 run and taking a 61-54 lead on a dunk by Wayne Simien with less than three minutes left. The Jayhawks then held on for the victory with strong free-throw shooting.

David Padgett had six points, six rebounds and two blocks, Giddens had 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and Wayne Simien scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds.

Langford had 10 points and seven boards, and Michael Lee had three points and three rebounds. Jeff Graves had four points and six rebounds before fouling out with 3:40 left.

Miles had 11 points, eight assists and three rebounds, and Moulaye Niang scored two points.

Johnson had 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three assists for Missouri, and Bryant had 10 points, 10 boards and six blocks. Ricky Paulding had 14 points and six rebounds, and Jimmy McKinney scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Jason Conley had two points, Thomas Gardner scored three points, and Kevin Young hit a basket.

KU was 25-of-58 shooting, 5-of-14 from long distance, and 10-of-14 from the charity stripe. Missouri was 23-of-63 shooting, 3-of-18 from three-point range, and 7-of-12 from the foul line.

All stats are unofficial.

Jayhawks hold off ‘Nova

By Gary Bedore     Jan 3, 2004

One of the New Year’s resolutions for Kansas University’s men’s basketball team is to feed big man Wayne Simien the ball.

“Coach has been emphasizing it over and over again. My teammates definitely made a concerted effort to pound it inside tonight,” Simien, KU’s once-ignored junior forward, said after feasting for 23 points in the Jayhawks’ 86-79 victory Friday over Villanova at Allen Fieldhouse.

It marked Simien’s first 20-point outing since his 27-pointer Nov. 25 against Michigan State. He hit seven of 15 shots and had double-digit field-goal attempts for the first time since the Oregon game five games ago.

“It felt good to be involved, but I missed a lot of shots, and I could have rebounded better, too,” said Simien, his own toughest critic after grabbing four boards in 35 minutes.

Friday, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound junior scored from the field and from the free-throw line, hitting nine of nine free throws on a night the Jayhawks made 35 of 41 charities.

“I felt like I was at the free-throw line all night,” Simien said. “Knocking down free throws was huge for us.”

Keith Langford hit 14 of 18 free throws as KU fell three free throws shy of the school record of 38 set five times, most recently against Niagara in 1997.

The No. 13-ranked Jayhawks (8-2) needed all those free throws and inside Simien buckets to put away pesky Villanova (8-3).

The Wildcats, whose 8-0 run closed the first half and forced a tie at intermission, sliced an 18-point second-half deficit to five down the stretch.

“Wayne needed that,” KU coach Bill Self said of Simien’s solid performance. “Not as much for confidence in himself, but confidence we’re going to do everything we can to get him the basketball. He is good after he gets it … real good.”

The Jayhawks, who hit 18 of 18 free throws down the stretch, have actually been good from the line all season. KU entered with a Big 12-best 77 percent free-throw mark.

“It is one thing to shoot 85 percent if you go 9-for-11 or 10-for-12,” Self said. “It is another if you shoot 41 of them. Everybody stepped up and made them because they were all important. We needed them all.”

The Jayhawks certainly fared better than the last time they faced a Big East team.

KU bricked 18 of 13 free throws in last year’s 81-78 national-title loss to Syracuse.

“Don’t ever talk about it,” Self said, asked his free throw philosophy.

“Seriously … I don’t spend much time talking about it. You’ve just got to expect guys to make them. I don’t get hung up on overpracticing or overemphasizing things. I think sometimes when you overemphasize things guys start worrying about it more than just get up there and make them.

“That’s why you are recruited here. You are not recruited to miss them. You are recruited to make them. I am dead serious when I say that.”

Langford — he scored eight points in a 16-2 run that upped KU’s 50-46 lead to 66-48 — was hacked several times on slashes to the hoop. He says he has taken to heart some recent orders from Self, who desperately wants Langford and the Jayhawks to push the basketball.

“We did what coach has been banging in everybody’s head — run,” said Langford, who hit four of 10 shots to go with his career-best 14 charities in a career-high 18 tries.

“He’s always wanted us to run. He’s always said to get the outlet and go. We were attacking. Coach has emphasized attacking. He told me I had to be aggressive, to penetrate and create things.”

Simien made his presence felt early, scoring nine straight points as KU grabbed a 22-12 lead early. The game was tied at half at 38, however, because of Nova’s Curtis Sumpter, who had 10 points in a 15-5 surge to close the half.

Sumpter finished with 18 points off 6-of-15 shooting.

KU took command early in the second half, outscoring Villanova, 23-5, to turn a 43-all tie into a 66-48 lead with 8:58 left.

Nova wasn’t finished, actually slicing the gap to 78-73 with 1:31 left.

“I think they’ve got a legitimate chance to win the Big East. That’s how good I thought they were,” Langford said.

KU needed six of six free-throwing in the last minute to keep the Wildcats at bay. Miles hit four of the free throws and Langford two, to go with a nice inside bucket by David Padgett (15 points, nine boards) off a pass from Simien, who had two assists.

“Villanova is good,” Self said of the ‘Cats, who hit 13 of 35 three-pointers to KU’s five of 11. “When Jason Fraser (two points, 21 minutes playing with assorted injuries) gets healthy, that’s probably as talented team as we’ve played and certainly the best perimeter team we’ve played this year. They are very explosive offensively. We did a good job getting the ball inside and getting some easy baskets, but they are so quick off the floor. We didn’t rebound it well, and we didn’t play particularly smart down the stretch except in a couple of situations, but it was a great win.”

KU opens Big 12 play Monday in an 8:05 p.m. tipoff at Colorado.

Jayhawks hold off Panthers – Kansas Women 66, Georgia St. 58

By Ryan Wood     Jan 5, 2003

? The Kansas University women’s basketball team’s inconsistencies certainly came out in the second half of its battle with Georgia State on Saturday.

But so, too, did its resiliency.

The result was a 66-58 KU victory over the Bulldogs in the opening game of the Feist Shootout at Kemper Arena. It was the Jayhawks’ third straight victory, and with Big 12 Conference play opening on Wednesday, it was a big one.

“They’re very team-oriented,” KU coach Marian Washington said of her squad. “This group has stuck together to keep the chemistry strong.”

Kansas, 7-4 and playing perhaps the best it has all season, will face No. 4 Kansas State on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

While several of KU’s victories this season have come against lesser teams, the Panthers came packed with a little punch, having earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament last year after compiling a 21-10 record.

“We had to face a lot of experience today,” Washington said.

That experience started showing in the second half. Kansas led all but the opening minute of the contest, behind sharpshooting from sophomore Blair Waltz and a dominating inside presence from Tamara Ransburg early.

A 15-point lead midway through the first half, though, had evaporated midway through the second, when GSU’s Yvette Tisdale hit a layup to knot the score at 50 with 7:22 to play.

“It was a good sign that when we started to lose our momentum,” Washington said, “we found a way to regain it.”

The inexperience up and down KU’s roster was nowhere to be found in crunch time. In the final seven minutes, freshman Crystal Kemp was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and junior Leila Mengüç was 3-for-4.

As a team, the Jayhawks hit 10 of 14 free throws after the socred was tied and finished on a 16-8 run.

“Free throws are free points,” Mengüç said. “In situations like that, it’s crucial to hit them.”

Saturday’s victory came once again with Ransburg seeing limited playing time.

The freshman, still ailing from stress fractures in her left leg, played just 18 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds. All eight of her points came in the first seven minutes.

“It’s getting worse,” Ransburg said. “The more I play on it, the more it starts hurting.”

Kemp led KU with 16 points and nine rebounds. Nichelle Roberts was just a rebound shy of her second-straight double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine boards.

Kansas held a 42-32 rebounding edge.

“We have to be a team that goes to the boards,” Washington said. “We’ve been coming up with some second-chance shots. That’s been good to us.”

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