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Sunday, January 7, 2007

Extra Minutes: Kansas 70, South Carolina 54

By Ryan Greene

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What this means...from Columbia, S.C.

Gary Bedore, Journal-World KU men's basketball beat writer

"KU showed a lot of desire in its final non-conference game of the season. The Jayhawks copied coach Bill Self, whose early technical foul seemed to fire up the squad.

Mario Chalmers continues to play great defense, with his quickness matching several steals once again.

It was good to see Darrell Arthur break out of his slump. It probably helps when the other team has a couple of goaltending calls as they did on Arthur's shots.

It was a great way to enter conference play, not blowing a 14-point lead like the Jayhawks did at Depaul, but keeping their poise and winning."

Chuck Woodling, Journal-World sports columnist

"I thought the Jayhawks were terrific in the second half. I thought they totally gassed the Gamecocks.

Bill Self didn't play that many players, and four of the Jayhawks logged 30 or more minutes, which is a lot. South Carolina had five players log 30 or more minutes, and yet it was the homestanding Gamecocks who were gassed and not the Jayhawks.

So this was a testament to superior conditioning and ability."

Inside the numbers

17: Not only was that freshman forward Darrell Arthur's point total Sunday afternoon, but it was his most prolific offensive output since scoring 19 points on Nov. 25 in an 82-80 win over Florida. On top of that, Arthur had totaled 19 poitns on 6-of-26 shooting in KU's three contests prior to the trip to South Carolina. Having a solid presence on offense in the post helped KU put to bed USC's zone defense late in the first half, as Arthur scored two quick baskets as soon as Dave Odom's team went away from traditional man-to-man defense. Though he did take a couple of bad shots. But, heck, nobody's perfect.

5: That was Mario Chalmers' steal total, and it marked the third time in the last four games in which the sophomore guard has used his quickness to register that same figure. He now has 43 swipes in 14 games he's played, good for an average of just over three per night. Those steals have also led to a series of easy transition hoops for Chalmers, who is averaging 18.8 points per game over the Jayhawks' last four outings.

18.8: That's the shooting percentage on the afternoon of South Carolina's Tre' Kelley, who entered the game as the Gamecocks' leading scorer, averaging just under 17 points per game. He had 10 points Sunday, but on just 3-of-16 shooting. You've got to give him credit for toughing it out after missing his first game Wednesday after 53 consecutive starts due to a sprained knee, but he was far from 100-percent, and KU's defensive-minded trio of guards made him pay dearly. He had six assists, but that was mirrored by six turnovers.

80: That was KU's free throw percentage Sunday, its best outing of the season from the line, surpassing a 77.3 percent showing on Nov. 15 in a win over Towson, when the Jayhawks canned 17-of-22. OK, OK, so KU only hit 4-of-5 Sunday, but still, it gives them a mark to shoot for the rest of the season at the line.

Just in case you missed it...

South Carolina's crowd was never a factor. Anytime the Gamecocks had a big hoop, KU answered in quick fashion, just like the Jayhawks of old. Whether it was Sherron Collins slicing downcourt for a quick layup or Mario Chalmers finding someway to set up offense in a jiffy, after about five minutes into the game, the Jayhawks never gave the USC crowd reason to believe their team would pull off the upset, and KU neutralized what could have been a hostile and distracting environment.

Hopefully you didn't miss it...

This was probably as sound of a victory as KU could have hoped for on the road, especially given what happened in its only other true road contest of the season at DePaul. Defensively, KU forced 16 turnovers, held USC to just a 38.8 field goal percentage and, with the exception of maybe a two- or three-minute stretch late in the first half, never relinquished momentum. That's what a killer instinct is supposed to look like.

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Comments

jayhawker_97 (anonymous) says...

what did i tell ya all.. Shady is gonna be the key!! keep up the good job!! go Hawks!!

January 7, 2007 at 7:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Could be, but its not often you can afford one of your big men to get only 2 boards.

I'm more excited by Kaun. He got 6 boards in 14 minutes.; that is super! And there were times when he actually looked like a starting center out there.

I know Arthur got more minutes and lots of points, but we knew he could do that from early on.

Kaun is the guy who can turn this into a power house team, if he can just return to his level of play last year.

January 7, 2007 at 9:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

Is Mario Chalmers clutch or what? I've been preaching consistency all season and Chalmers is giving just that. Darrell Arthur is looking good too. With him it's all between the ears, but this game may do a lot to restore some of his early swagger (let's hope). Rush, Wright, and Robinson looked poised and can I get an "amen" for Sasha in the paint? Collins drives through the lane looked good as well. No, Im not saying this was a perfect game, far from it. But I like what I saw and I think it's an excellent springboard into conference play.

I gotta tell ya...it was good to see coach self get lathered up on the bench. Man, I've been waiting all season to see this. Oftentimes you can look at Self and almost read it on his face that he's concerned with his image. I've labelled him as "wooden" a time or two. But today Self looked every part of a KU Coach! No chance in hell that he's reading this but if you're out there, coach, the Jayhawk fans will forgive you for getting T'd up if you bring that kind of fire to the bench night-in, night-out. I've been critical of Self at times, but I will say it from my own mouth that Self brought his best today and I guarantee it translated to the players.

We put another game together like this against Oklahoma State and KU will be off to the races.

go hawks!

January 7, 2007 at 9:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawker_97 (anonymous) says...

gimme a break.. Oklahoma State will be a no brainer, any of other Big-12 teams will be easily beaten by our Hawks.. it's beating North Carolina, Ohio State or LSU that will give us an assurance of no. 1!!! i predict one of those (including Jayhawks, of course) will come as champion this year..

January 8, 2007 at 2:16 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

TrueBlue92 (anonymous) says...

First Half: Kaun sits early due to fouls; KU is outrebounded and finished the half up by 4

Second Half: Kaun plays when coach needs him; KU wins rebounding and finishes the game up by 16.

Not that Kaun was the deciding factor, but it appears to me game after game that we are a stronger and more consistant team when Kaun is active in the rotation. I will predict that early foul trouble for Kaun will mean a close victory and no foul trouble for Kaun will mean a double digit victory in conference games this season.

The Jayhawks sure made this game seem a lot easier than I expected!

January 8, 2007 at 6:46 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

Jayhawker_97

Oklahoma State is a no-brainer? Do you even WATCH college basketball? Do you know what OSU is ranked? Sure I think we'll beat em, but this is a marquee matchup coming up Wednesday--more difficult than the South Carolina game was. Besides, the "no brainer" games, as you call them, just happen to be the ONLY games we have lost all year, and OSU is clearly better than those teams. Go read the sports page, you need to brush up!

January 8, 2007 at 9:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bristowhawk (anonymous) says...

Finally had a televised game in my area to watch and it was a game!!!! Bill Self showed that he really is the coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. Great game coming up on Wednesday, landed tickets and will be glad to make the six hour drive to be in the greatest place in the world to watch, no, make that greatest place in the world to experience a game.

go hawks!

January 8, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCeph (anonymous) says...

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Rock-Chalk chant at the end of the game. I was watching the game on CBS and it was quite obvious, in front of a national TV audience and a sell-out home crowd that KU had a very strong following there in SC. As the final buzzer sounded, you could see the stands were already pretty empty except for the KU faithful.

I think the team deserves to give a big 'hats off' to the fans. Way to show your colors, KU faithful!!

January 8, 2007 at 10:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

milehighhawker (anonymous) says...

TrueBlue,
Great comment about Kaun. I don't know if you read the last article but people were bashing on Kaun. I completely agree with you and your comments. The numbers don't lie, we were out rebounded with him out and won the war with him in, he is a big body that understands how to box out. Keep it up Kaun and we have a shot.

January 8, 2007 at 11:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )