Stories for November 25, 2008

Lead stories

Evening

FINAL: Syracuse takes down KU, 89-81, in OT

After falling to Syracuse in overtime, Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse on Friday to take on Coppin State.

Early Morning

Aldrich plays big

Jayhawks’ sophomore pivotal to victory over Huskies

One of the best big men in the Pacific-10 Conference found out what the best pivot in the ACC learned last season. Specifically: “Cole is a monster,” Kansas University freshman point guard Tyshawn Taylor said. Taylor was speaking after watching 6-foot-11, 245-pound KU sophomore Cole Aldrich score a career-high 16 points and block a career-best six shots while grabbing nine rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 73-54 victory.

Stories

FINAL: Syracuse takes down KU, 89-81, in OT

After falling to Syracuse in overtime, Kansas returns to Allen Fieldhouse on Friday to take on Coppin State.

Abrams leads Texas past St. Joe’s

Texas’ latest outstanding defensive effort left coach Rick Barnes complaining about the Longhorns’ offense. A.J. Abrams had 17 points to lead No. 6 Texas to victory over Saint Joseph’s on Monday in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, but the Longhorns committed 16 turnovers, and that’s what Barnes wanted to talk about.

Pinkel agrees to new contract with Missouri

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel agreed to a new contract Monday, two weeks before his 12th-ranked Tigers were set to play in their second straight Big 12 title game. Pinkel said he hopes to sign the contract “in the next couple of days.” The school’s Board of Curators, which must approve the deal, is scheduled to meet today.

Aldrich plays big

Jayhawks’ sophomore pivotal to victory over Huskies

Huskies impressed by Kansas

Washington’s players and coaches didn’t blame a 19-for-65 shooting performance on bad luck. Instead, the Huskies were quick to say the Kansas University defense was the biggest reason for their misfires. “That’s what a good defensive team does — they force you into bad shots, and they force you into a low shooting percentage,” UW forward Jon Brockman said after his team’s 73-54 loss to Kansas on Monday at the Sprint Center.

Keegan: Kansas center in a zone

University of Washington senior forward Jon Brockman, the nation’s leading rebounder and the Pac-10’s No. 1 active career scorer, made some preseason All-America lists for good reason. A wide body blessed with good feet, hands and jumping ability and a great feel for the game of basketball, Brockman plays much taller than 6-foot-7 and knows how to stop shoving people around just in time to avoid the foul call. He looks and plays like a senior.

KU basketball notebook

Kansas University coach Bill Self credited sophomore Brady Morningstar for his work on the back line of KU’s 2-3 zone defense. “To me, Brady was the unsung hero,” Self said, adding that Morningstar (five assists, no turnovers) also “did a great job feeding the post.”

Tar Heels stay on top; Jayhawks climb two notches

It took until the second week of the season for a team to break into the Top 25. North Carolina, Connecticut and Louisville held the top three spots in the Associated Press’ college basketball poll Monday, while Xavier moved in at No. 16 after winning the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Tar Heels (3-0) were again a unanimous selection of the 72-member national media panel.

News