Is Kansas’ much-coveted 1988 NCAA tournament bid slipping, sliding away like a sled down the snow-packed hills surrounding Potter Lake?
Sure looks that way, doesn’t it?
“Right now, I just want to do the things we need to do to beat Colorado. That’s too far down the road,” said Kansas coach Larry Brown, following the Jayhawks’ 73-65 loss to powerful Oklahoma on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
Brown’s not ready to speculate on the possibility Kansas (12-8 overall, 9-8 in the NCAA computer after it tosses out wins against Pomona-Pitzer, Hampton and Chaminade) will fail to snatch a spot in the 64-team field during Danny Manning’s swan-song season at KU.
“If we give this kind of effort, play as well defensively as we did tonight, we’ll be fine. We gotta keep growing, building, get a couple wins and who knows, something funny might happen,” Brown said.
Just like Saturday, following a 72-61 loss to Kansas State, Brown again was upbeat after a loss, KU’s second consecutive home setback after 55 straight wins.
“I hope this streak doesn’t reach 55,” joked Brown, whose seventh-place Jayhawks, losers of four straight games, face cellar-dwelling Colorado on Saturday at the Fieldhouse.
It won’t, Brown figures, if KU plays as it did against the 19-2 Sooners. The Jayhawks held Oklahoma to a 38.4 percent shooting effort and actually outrebounded the Sooners, 40-39.
“I’m disappointed, but the kids played hard and tried. We couldn’t get it done,” Brown said. “We battled. I thought we got tired when (Mike) Masucci got hurt. We didn’t have a lot of depth.”
KU’s 6-10 freshman started and played 12 minutes the first half. He started the second half, but exited for good after taking an elbow from Stacey King with 17:42 left and the score tied at 33.
The Grandview, Mo., native, who was held scoreless with three rebounds, suffered a mild concussion and was held overnight at Lawrence Memorial for observation.
“If the headache clears and the dizziness symptoms go away, he can resume physical activity in 24 hours,” said KU trainer Mark Cairns.
The explosive Sooners rolled shortly after Masucci’s exit.
First, KU’s Manning scored two of his game-high 28 points at 16:38, giving the Jayhawks a 35-33 lead. OU’s Davie Sieger (11 points) and Ricky Grace (19) followed with three-point bombs that started an 11-2 OU sizz – one that gave Oklahoma a comfy 44-37 advantage at 14:17.
Before the Big Red onslaught was over, OU had outscored KU 22-8, and led 55-43, at 8:17.
“They did a good job of blocking shots, creating scoring opportunities,” Brown said. “We handled their press pretty well. We tried to control the tempo, but got a little anxious. They’re just a great basketball team. It was everything we could do. We just lost to a much better, deeper team.
“We kept coming back,” Brown continued. “We battled back every time, as shorthanded as we were.”
Down by 12 late, the Jayhawks scored eight straight and cut the gap to 55-51 at 5:52. Manning scored four points and Mike Maddox and Milt Newton two in that flurry.
The teams traded baskets, then OU’s Grace hit a three-pointer and center Harvey Grant (who like Manning picked up three fouls in the first half) canned a 12-footer, upping the lead to 62-53 at 4:24.
Down 64-55, KU’s Kevin Pritchard and Lincoln Minor scored unanswered buckets, slicing the deficit to five. At 2:30, however, Minor, who had seven assists, missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation.
Two charities would have cut the deficit to a workable three points.
“Lincoln’s free throw goes halfway down,” said Brown, who also pointed out the fact Scooter Barry suffered a backcourt violation after getting bumped (no call) with Kansas down by seven late.
“When you’re losing, you don’t get those breaks,” the coach said.
Grant, who scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to Manning’s 16 caroms, cashed a back-breaking bucket at 1:17, with just one tick left on the shot clock.
That gave OU a 66-59 lead. Kansas was forced to foul and OU responded, hitting six of six free throws in the final minute, wrapping up the Sooners’ first win in Allen since 1984. Brown was more concerned about his team.
“Danny played great. He was so much more assertive. He did a wonderful job,” Brown said.
“Pipe (Chris Piper, who did not score in 23 minutes) went after every loose ball. It’s sad. He didn’t practice all week (groin injury). He can’t turn. He has no legs on his shot. If we do something about it (medically), he’s finished for the season and he’s a senior. It’s a Catch 22.
“We’re running out of people You look down the bench and our kids in street clothes could probably beat the ones who are playing. It’d be a helluva game.”
Box Score
OU2944-73
KU3134-65
Oklahoma: Harvey Grant 6-15 0-2 12, Dave Sieger 3-7 3-4 11, Stacey King 9-18 1-2 19, Mookie Blaylock 3-13 1-2 9, Ricky Grace 6-14 4-4 19, Tyrone Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Anthony Martin 1-4 1-2 3, Terrence Mullins 0-1 0-0 0, Team 28-73 10-16 73.
Three-point goals: 7-16 (Grace 3-6, Sieger 2-3, Blaylock 2-6, Jones 0-1). Assists: 20 (Blaylock 7, Sieger 3, Grace 3, Grant 2, Martin 2, King, Jones, Mullins). Turnovers: 11 (Grant 4, Sieger 2, Blaylock 2, Mullins, Jones Grace). Blocked shots: 3 (King 3). Steals: 9 (Grace 3, Grant 2, King, 2, Martin, Blaylock).
Kansas: Milt Newton 3-8 2-3 8, Mike Masucci 0-2 0-0 0, Danny Manning 12-20 4-5 28, Lincoln Minor 4-12 1-3 9, Chris Piper 0-3 0-0 0, Scooter Barry 1-3 0-0 2, Keith Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Otis Livingston 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Maddox 2-3 0-0 4, Jeff Gueldner 0-0 0-0 0, Team 27-60 11-16 65.
Three-point goals: 0-6 (Minor 0-3, Manning 0-1, Pritchard 0-1, Barry 0-1). Assists: 14 (Minor 7, Manning 2, Pritchard 2, Piper 2, Masucci). Turnovers: 16 (Pritchard 6, Minor 4, Piper 2, Manning 2, Newton, Barry). Blocked shots: 3 (Manning, Minor, Piper). Steals: 6 (Manning 2, Minor 2, Pritchard, Livingston).
