LINCOLN, Neb. – When Danny Manning steps on the floor against Vanderbilt next Friday night, he’ll have played in more basketball games than any NCAA player in history.
It’s just one more record for the 6-10 Kansas All-American, but one he wouldn’t have broken if Murray State had defeated the Jayhawks in an NCAA second-round game here Sunday afternoon.
In fact, Murray State led 58-57 with less than a minute remaining and Manning could have very well been playing in his last college game.
Was he thinking about that possibility at the time?
“Not at all…you can’t think of that,” Manning remarked after the Jayhawks pulled out a 61-58 victory. “You just have to go out and play.”
That’s exactly what Manning did, scoring on a short baseline hook with :38 showing to give Kansas a 59-58 lead, then icing it with a pair of bonus free throws at :01.
Thus Manning was assured of playing in his 144th college game against Vanderbilt next Friday night in the Pontiac Silverdome. His 143rd game against Murray State tied him with former Georgetown standout Patrick Ewing for career games.
And if he scores as many as 10 points against Vandy, it will be Manning’s 129th double-figure game. That would tie him with former Duke guard Johnny Dawkins in the NCAA record book.
Vanderbilt center Will Perdue, a hard-working 7-0 senior, may have other ideas, though. Pitt’s Charles Smith scored 21 points against Perdue in Sunday’s other second-round game, but Smith made only 7-of-18 shots and the Commodores posted a surprising 80-74 overtime victory over the Midwest Regional’s second-seeded team.
“Vandy’s a great team with a great center,” Manning said. “I saw some of the game on TV in the locker room and he’s tough. He’s solid and he’s fundamentally sound. He doesn’t make mistakes.”
Speaking of mistakes, Kansas may have set some kind of a record by winning two games here while committing a total of 45 turnovers, including an unsightly 30 in Friday’s 83-72 victory over Xavier.
KU overcame those gaffes, however, with defense. Xavier shot only 37.5 percent (24 of 64) while Murray State checked in at 37.3 percent (19 of 51).
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt shot 47.5 percent, including 8-of-15 from three-point range, and was guilty of just six turnovers in its stunner against Pitt.
“They’ve got great three-point shooters and a great big man,” said KU’s Chris Piper. “They can go inside or outside.”
