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Men's Basketball

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Bears happy to run with KU

By Benton Smith

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Jayhawks take down Bears

The KU men's basketball team handled the scrappy Baylor Bears on Saturday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

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Fast was what the Bears wanted, and fast is what they got.

Baylor coach Scott Drew never intended to slow down the game against Kansas University on Saturday.

Trouble was, once the Jayhawks got running, the Bears couldn't stop them, and Baylor fell to No. 4 KU, 100-90, at Allen Fieldhouse.

"We love to run, they love to run - it's the two highest-scoring teams in the conference," Drew said. "I was just hoping we'd have the 100 and they'd have the 90."

KU scored 20 fast-break points and had 21 points off turnovers. Baylor (17-5 overall, 5-3 Big 12 Conference) lamented its lack of transition defense, citing it as the main culprit in the loss.

"We lost the game because of transition defense," Drew said, reiterating that BU knew the Jayhawks (23-1, 8-1) loved to run. "Our team knew it. We knew it. Somehow there was a big breakdown, so we're going to have to find out what it was. Hopefully if we play them again in the Big 12 tournament we can correct it. That was the difference in the game."

Drew wasn't the only Bear already thinking about the possibilities of a rematch with KU, which would have to come in the Big 12 tournament next month or later down the road in March Madness.

Junior guard Curtis Jerrells, who scored a game-high 30 points, said his team's performance Saturday would give the Bears confidence if the two squads battled again.

"They had a difficult time scoring on us in the half-court," Jerrells said. "Our 7-footers (starting center Josh Lomers and reserve Mamadou Diene) did a good job of blocking shots and rebounding early on."

Freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn, who scored 23 and drained five threes, said he was eager to dissect game film and find his team's flaws.

"I think if we get a rematch, we can pull it off," Dunn said.

Coach Drew wanted to give the game tape a look as well.

"That's the beauty of film, you can find out what went wrong. But the bad thing is it doesn't help the situation now," the fifth-year coach said.

The Bears took some pride in their ability to play with KU for most of the contest.

With 10:03 to go in the first half, Baylor jumped to a 20-13 lead on a Jerrells three, his first of three treys in the half. The Bears trailed by just three at the half and tied the game at 50 with 13:13 remaining when Dunn converted a rare four-point play by drawing a Brandon Rush foul on a converted three-pointer.

"I think for the first time, they had to step up their game in the second half," said Drew, 0-5 against the Jayhawks. "When it was tied, I thought we saw them take it to another level, and credit the KU players for that and coach (Bill) Self. But we haven't made them go to that extra gear before. The good thing is we're getting closer. The bad thing is, we came to win."

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Comments

remlap101 (anonymous) says...

The good thing is we're getting closer. The bad thing is, we came to win." That just about says it all doesn't it?

February 10, 2008 at 6:44 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

cobweb (anonymous) says...

If the Hawks had made a few threes and Baylor missed a few, it would have been a blowout. Baylor isn't as close as Drew thinks.

February 10, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kushaw (anonymous) says...

Baylor played extremely well and I wish we could play that team down in Waco for some more experience. One thing I'm a little concerned with is our defensive pressure. Sure, we're playing great and getting in the passing lanes just beyond the 3 point line, but this token full court man that we're doing does nothing against opponent in my opinion. Guards are too good these days to let a token pressure boggle them down. There were a few times during the game when we were full court or half court pressuring the ball in their face and that was great. I wish we would have done that more during the game then this 3 to 4 foot space we're giving them on D. Even with that token pressure we're giving them, we are still continuing to get beat out top which blows my mind. If you want a model of how to play the right defense, watch what Duke is doing. It's amazing the prodution they're getting from those young players.

February 10, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

weaglehawk (anonymous) says...

And if Baylor hits a few more shots and gets a gew foul calls, and KU misses a couple shots, Baylor wins. What's your point cobweb?

February 10, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

I agree with you, cobweb.

I'm not going to say Baylor played real well. I feel they are incredibly naive if they assume their going to nail that many ill-advised & off balance treys every time out. This game was a classic example of the 3-pt line being a great equalizer... making a game that one team got totally dominated a lot closer than it should have been.

I can't wait until next year when they move it out a little more.

I'd also like to see them drop at least about 5 more seconds off the shot clock and give a strong emphasis on officiating of intentional fouls. It helped KU get to 100 points, but nonetheless, we got fouled about a dozen times with absolutely no effort to go for the ball. Holding, jersey-pulling, on-court molestation.... those are all intentional!! It doesn't have to be flagrant.

As much as the fans like a great comeback (which shortening the shot clock would help that), I'd still prefer it if the refs would officiate the game according to the rulebook.

All this pondering gives me another idea. I'd love to see an alternative pro league. It would have to be called the XBA or something corny like that. In the XBA, the time to get it across halfcourt is reduced to 5 seconds. The shot clock is a skimpy 15 seconds, the "5-second" rule is reduced to 3 seconds, all of this making the offenses a fast-paced game of hot-potato. (creating more errant passes and fast breaks) They would also toy with the notion of having a 25 to 30-foot long 4-point line in addition to the international distance 3-point line. And at 5 fouls, your in the 1-and-1. At 7, it's the double bonus... at 9, you get 3 shots, at 11 you get 4. Then the major emphasis for officials is to call ANY contact whatsover a foul. There's no such thing as "incidental contact".

That would be what the NCAA calls an exciting game. "KU and Baylor all knotted up at 215 at the end of regulation after the 53rd made free throw by Russell Robinson!"

February 10, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

I'm happy for the Bears, they've come a long way ...

February 10, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralsterKUMed95 (anonymous) says...

We all saw the difference between these 2 teams today: KU's guards can score, but also involve the bigmen as an integral part of our game. Baylor's equally talented guards poured on 70+ points, but did not involve their bigmen as much, making them somewhat 1-dimensional. I bet its Jerrells leading the scoring most nights just like Augustine or Abrams for TX. KU on the other hand can have 6 or 7 different guys lead the scoring after any given game. Russell and Darrell tonight--a guard + a bigman (good thing). Who will it be vs. Texas?? I would hate to be Rick Barnes right now. Hopefully he gets SOME sleep tonight--I wouldnt want him to nod off and miss some of our highlights! :0

February 10, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

didjabuti (anonymous) says...

Lebowski,

Sounds like an answer to Arena Football.

February 11, 2008 at 12:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )