Kansas still spellbound at ISU

By Chuck Woodling     Jan 14, 1988

AMES, Iowa – Ifs and buts are candy and nuts, and Larry Brown wasn’t handing maybes out like party favors here Wednesday night.

Kansas had just played its first basketball game of the season without 6-10 starter Marvin Branch, losing 88-78 to Iowa State.

“If we had Marvin here,” Brown stressed afterward, “the outcome of the game wouldn’t have been any different, I know that.”

Statistics certainly reinforced that statement. Branch’s strength is rebounding and teh Jayhawks owned the boards Wednesday night, outrebounding the Cyclones, 43-24.

Rebounding wasn’t the problem. Turnovers were. Kansas gave it away 25 times, tying a season-high.

“In the second half,” Brown said, “the turnovers were mostly bad judgment. I can accept the turnovers in the second half, but in the first half we just didn’t handle the press well.”

In effect, the game was won during a five-minute stretch late in the first half when Iowa State outscored the Jayhawks 19-4 to forge a 17-point 38-21 bulge. KU had four turnovers during that critical span.

Try as the Jayhawks might – and they areose from a 19-point deficit in their last road game at Washington – they couldn’t come any closer than a half-dozen points this time.

The last six-point deficit occurred at the 1:14 mark (82-76). Iowa State then cashed six of 10 free throws down the stretch while the Jayhawks, desperate for points, missed four times – two were partially blocked – from three-point range.

Three-pointers were a factor. Iowa State made seven of 16; Kansas 0 of 7.

“They looked for it,” KU’s Lincoln Minor said of Iowa State’s long-range shooting. “It’s a vital part of their offense. They have some of the best shooters in the country.”

Most of KU’s field goals were from close-in, including a dozen by Danny Manning who finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds.

On the surface, that’s a great game. Still, Manning missed 13 shots, often forcing the ball up with one or more zoning Cyclones shadowing him. Unusually, Manning even had a couple of shots blocked.

Manning, it seemed, was intent on picking up the slack for Branch, although he didn’t think so.

“I’m a center, I’m 6-11, and I’ve gotta play like that for the team,” Manning said. “It really wasn’t any different than it has been.”

Branch is ineligible for the remainder of the season, ostensibly for failing to acquire sufficient academic credits during the first semester.

“I fell bad for that kid…it’s his life,” Brown said about Branch. “It’s just a sad situation. Those things happen, and you gotta live with it.”

Reports in the media that Branch had not attended calss were branded as “irresponsible” by the KU coach. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Brown emphasized.

Very close to the truth is the fact that Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum is a tough place to play. It’s the only Big Eight arena that hasn’t surrendered to Brown in his five years at Kansas.

“Sometimes our crowd doesn’t allow us to get beat,” Brown said, referring to the Jayhawks’ 54-game winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse. “I feel it’s a similar situation here.”

Something ISU has that Kansas doesn’t, though, is a crowd-inciting public address announcer. Once early in the game, the PA man forgot to turn off his mike and yelled “Foul” over the PA system when he thought a KU player had fouled a Cyclone.

Meanwhile, ISU coach Johnny Orr thought the Jayhawks brought out the best in his team.

“We’ve played many teams lately without having the desire to win,” Orr said. “I’m proud of the way everyone played.”

Brown was proud, too, saying: “I’m disappointed in some ways, but I’m proud of our kids. They got down in the first half and came back to make it respectable.”

Kansas, 11-4, won’t play another Big Eight foe for two weeks. Next up is Hampton U. on Saturday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

Box Score

KU3147-78

ISU4246-88

Kansas: Danny Manning 12-25 8-8 32, Milt Newton 7-13 1-3 15, Chris Piper 2-7 1-2 5, Kevin Pritchard 3-9 0-0 6, Otis Livingston 0-1 2-2 2, Keith Harris 3-4 0-0 6, Lincoln Minor 6-10 0-0 12, Scooter Barry 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Maddox 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Masucci 0-0 0-0 0, Clint Normore 0-0 0-0 0, Team 33-70 12-15 78.

Three-point goals: 0-7 (Newton 0-3, Manning 0-1, Pritchard 0-1, Minor 0-1, Maddox 0-1). Assists: 19 (Livingston 6, Newton 3, Pritchard 3, Manning 2, Harris 2, Piper 2, Minor). Turnovers: 25 (Livingston 6, Manning 5, Maddox 4, Minor 3, Pritchard 2, Normore 2, Barry 2, Newton). Blocked shots: 1 (Maddox). Steals: 10 (Manning 3, Piper 3, Newton 2, Pritchard, Minor).

Iowa State: Jeff Grayer 7-15 1-4 15, Elmer Robinson 4-9 10-14 20, Lafester Rhodes 7-16 4-4 19, Gary Thompkins 4-5 4-4 13, Terry Woods 2-2 0-0 5, Mike Born 3-6 2-2 10, Marc Urquhart 2-2 0-0 4, Paul Doerrfelt 1-2 0-0 2, Mark Baugh 0-0 0-0 0, Team 30-57 21-28 88.

Three-point goals: 7-16 (Robinson 2-4, Born 2-5, Thompkins 1-1, Woods 1-1, Rhodes 1-4, Grayer 0-1). Assists: 22 (Rhodes 6, Thompkins 6, Born 5, Woods 2, Robinson, Urquhart, Baugh). Turnovers: 15 (Thompkins 5, Robinson 3, Grayer 2, Rhodes 2, Woods 2, Urquhart). Blocked shots: 6 (Rhodes 4, Grayer, Thompkins). Steals: 14 (Robinson 5, Doerrfeld 3, Grayer 2, Rhodes 2, Thompkins, Born).

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