LINCOLN, NEB. ? No need to dive right into a Vanderbilt scouting report.
Kansas’ basketball coaches and players – for one night at least – were to savor Sunday’s narrow 61-58 win over Murray State, a decision that puches the 23-11 Jayhawks into next Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regional 6:40 p.m. matchup against the 20-10 Commodores.
“I know nothing about Vanderbilt. I want to enjoy today and the kids to enjoy it,” said KU coach Larry Brown, after the squeaker at Devaney Center.
“We’ve made the Final 16 three straight years. That’s something I want the kids to reflect on and be proud of,” a beaming Brown added. “We’ve got three seniors still playing. That’s something I want the kids to think about too. I just hope we can keep going on.”
Underalded Murray State did everything but end the Jayhawks’ season on Sunday.
The 22-9 Racers, in fact, would have been making travel arrangements to Pontiac, Mich., today in lieu of Kansas, had jitterbug guard Don Mann’s off-balance four-footer with three ticks left not banged off the rim into Danny Manning’s hands.
The pivotal Man nmiss came with Murray down by one, 59-58. Manning, fouled as he grasped the carom. hit both ends of the one-and-one with one tick left.
Murray State had no complaints about its last-gasp shot and attempt at a second-consecutive stunner. The Racers defeated North Carolina State, 78-75, in Friday’s first-round match.
“We wanted the ball in Don Mann’s hands,” said Murray State coach Steve Newton, whose team received final possession at :38, after Danny Manning’s six-footer put KU up, 59-58. “He’s made the clutch shots throughout the year for us. We wanted Don to make penetration, to look for (Jeff) Martin. Don had the shot It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Mann’s lane shot rimmed and came, oh, so close to dropping. The 5-8 junior finished with 16 points on four of 15 shooting. He was two of nine from three-point – NBA three-point – range.
“I think I got a pretty good shot. THey had good defense at the end,” said Mann. “I was looking to pitch off, but they had everybody covered. So I shot. I tried to bank it off the glass. I thought I had good balance, it just didn’t fall.”
KU’s defense, credited for a majority of the Jayhawks’ 23 wins, clamped down when it had to – on the Racers’ final possession.
“I thought Mann would be the one with the ball, to penetrate, draw the defense and they’d have Martin or Mann to shoot it,” said Brown. “We didn’t want to foul, didn’t want to get beat on penetration. We wanted to rebound, because so many times you get beat on a second shot.
“We said don’t fould and make sure everybody rebounds and goes to the boards hard. Danny got a big, big rebound. I’ve been on his back about that. He goes and gets the biggest rebound of the year.”
Brown was tickled with the late-game effort of Manning, who finished with 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting. His bucket down low at :38 helped KU overcome two free throws by smooth-shooting Martin (22 points), who put Murray up, 58-57.
“Danny makes the shot that putsus ahead, grabs the key rebound, hits the free throws and steals the inbounds pass (Murray’s finat inbounds attempt at :01). For the Vitale’s of the world . . . I hope he gets to see that last minute,” Brown said. “That’s a pretty impressive little sequence right there.”
Brown tossed his barb at national TV announcer Dick Vitale, who recently said Hersey Hawkins of Bradley deserved Player of the Year honors over KU’s Manning.
The KU coach also lauded the play of Kevin Pritchard and Keith Harris. Pritchard’s eight-point flurry, which included two three-point missles and two free throws, turned a 34-32 deficit into a 40-34 advantage with 12:16 left.
“Kevin overcomes his problems with his leg and was sensational, especially when Murray State go the lead,” Brown said of Pritchard, who has been playing despite a sprained right knee. “I thought the most critical part of the game was when Kevin hits those shots. That opens it up for Danny.”
Harris grabbed eight rebounds in 22 minutes. He helped out on a night Milt Newton managed 11 points and three boards. To Newton’s defense, he had his hands full defending the nation’s fifth-leading scorer – Martin – who finished with 22 points on seven of 16 marksmanship.
“Harris ruins a shirt of mine every game,” Brown said, grinning. “Every time I say something nice about him, he braks my heart. I thought he was sensational. HGe got on the boards agains an athletic team. He’s key to our club.”
The biggest key – the bottom line as Brown likes to say – was KU’s defense. The Jayhawk defense didn’t quit when the offense fizzed. KU relinquished a first half lead that reached 12 points.
“Defense was the key. They’re an explosive team,” Brown said. “Martin is as good as we’ve seen, and we held the little kid (Mann) to four of 15. If you go on distance of three pointers, those were the longest I’ve seen, even in the NBA. We defended so well. They were breaking our hearts so many times, yet we overcame it.”
The Jayhawks hit five of 11 three pointer to Murray’s seven of 18. Pritchard had four of six for the Jayhawks.
Kansas next faces Vandy, surprise 80-74 overtime winners over Pitt, in Sunday’s first game. That winner faces the survivor of next weekend’s Kansas State-Purdue clash for the right to go to the Final Four at Kemper Arena.
