Larry Brown doesn’t quite have the same feeling Capt. E.J. Smith had. Brown might, though, if Kansas’ basketball losing streak grows to five on Saturday.
Colorado is next and if the bedraggled Buffs extend the Jayhawks’ miseries, then the Jayhawks’ head coach will know exactly how the captain of the Titanic felt.
Tipoff is 3:10 p.m. Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. It’ll be telecast live on channels 9 and 27.
“Right now, it’s probably the most important game we’ve played all year,” senior forward Chris Piper emphasized. “We’re just going to have to approach every game that way from here on out.”
Oklahoma handed the Jayhawks their fourth straight defeat and second in a row at home on Wednesday night, winning 73-65. Kansas has also lost five of its last six and tumbled to 1-4 in Big Eight standings.
“We gotta try to get better and not pack it in,” Brown underlined after the OU loss.
On paper, the Buffs appear to be the elixir the Jayhawks need so badly. Colorado has the worst overall record in the Big Eight at 4-14 and has lost five in a row, including a 99-69 pasting at Missouri on Wednesday night.
“I think we have lapses on concentration,” second-year CU coach Tom Miller says. “We miss assignments and make mistakes. Those are the things that catch up with you unless you’re a super-talented team, which we aren’t.”
Colorado is like Kansas in at least one respect.
Practically all the Buffs’ scoring comes from one man – center Scott Wilke. Wilke and KU’s Danny Manning, both 6-10 seniors, are each averaging over 20 points a game. Typical were Wednesday night’s outings. Manning had 28 against Oklahoma; Wilke 25 against Missouri.
“Scott is a different kind of center than others in the league,” Miller says of the Panama, Iowa, product. “He’s not the quick kid like a (Harvey) Grant or (Stacey) King, but he’s very solid. He plays good defense, knocks the ball in the hole and his numbers speak for themselves.”
Wilke leads the league in minutes played, an average of 36.4 a game, and has scored in double figures in a Big Eight-leading 37 consecutive games, one more than Manning whose last dip into a single digit was against Louisville – he scored eight – on Jan. 31, 1987.
Meanwhile, Brown is, as usual, more concerned about how the Jayhawks play than about the upcoming opponent. And he wasn’t that down-in-the-mouth about what he saw against the No. 7-ranked Sooners.
“I’m excited about things…I’m encouraged,” the KU coach said. “Danny was great…he rebounded and scored. I liked our guard play. I thought we did a good job on defense. We’ve gotta look on the bright side. Of the four losses, we had a chance to win three of ’em.”
Colorado’s Miller knows that, and he thinks he knows the mood the Jayhawks are in.
“They’re hungry,” Miller said, “especially with their long homecourt winning streak coming to an end.”
Kansas has dropped two straight at home after winning 55 in a row over a period that stretched to nearly four years. Clearly, KU is looking for answers.
“We’re missing something,” said junior guard Scooter Barry. “When we find it, we’ll be OK.
“We’ve got to get it turned around,” remarked Piper, “and Saturday’s the key.”
Kansas will travel to Oklahoma State next Wednesday night, then play two more home games against Iowa State on Feb. 13 and Nebraska on Feb. 16.
Notes
Mike Masucci suffered a mild concussion from an elbow to the head in Wednesday’s OU game, and the 6-10 freshman is listed as questionable for Saturday. Mike Maddox, another freshman, is expected to start in Masucci’s place…Colorado has won only twice in its last 26 visits to Allen Fieldhouse…
