WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Kansas’ 92.1 scoring average took quite a hit on Thursday night.
The Jayhawks had an offensive meltdown, tallying 53 points in an 84-53 loss at Wake Forest.
“We didn’t do anything on offense. We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off,” KU sophomore forward Drew Gooden said after hitting three of eight shots and seven of 14 free throws, good for 13 points.
Perhaps Gooden’s worst moment came late when he hoisted a 12 footer on a 3-on-1 fast break.
He wasn’t the only Jayhawk out of sync. Wake Forest swiped 11 steals and harassed KU’s shooters into a 38 percent shooting performance.
It’s a performance that puzzled junior guard Jeff Boschee, who missed seven threes without a make.
“With coach (Roy) Williams being here, I thought we’d step up and play better for him,” Boschee said. The Jayhawks talked about helping coach Roy Williams win during a return to his home state.
“We talked about bragging rights,” noted soph forward Nick Collison. “It’s not his fault we got our butts kicked.”
KU lost five road games last year, including a 33-point loss at Oklahoma State. That was the worst loss in Williams’ 13 years at KU.
Thursday’s loss is his second-worst setback and ties for the fourth worst loss in school history.
“Last year a big game would come up and we’d put our tail between our legs and hide,” Boschee said. “It’s what we did tonight.”
Boschee, who sprained his left ankle at practice earlier this week, re-sprained the ankle late in the game. He has tweaked it several times since his first sprain.
“It’s aggravating,” he said of the injury.
Luke Axtell, who made his first start as a Jayhawk, scored 10 points in 28 minutes.
“We missed Kenny, but we can’t use that as an excuse,” Axtell said. The Jayhawks learned senior Kenny Gregory (stress fracture, right foot) would not be able to play after pre-game warmups. “We all had to improve our games to take up the slack. Everybody didn’t do that. We didn’t get the ball inside. We did not play well obviously.”
Of Gregory’s absence, Gooden noted: “I mean, Luke is a senior. He’s a good player. We did lose some of Kenny’s fast-break points.”
One Wake Forest fan held a sign that said: “You’re forgiven Roy. I wouldn’t go to Carolina either.” The game drew 12,143, about 2,000 under capacity.
Kenny Gregory had played in 113 straight contests before missing the first game of his KU career. KU has dropped three straight road games to ranked teams. KU fell to No. 16 Texas and No. 14 Oklahoma State last year. KU’s 53 points marked the team’s lowest since scoring 53 versus Oklahoma last year. KU had 19 field goals, same number as against Texas last year. Wake outrebounded KU by 17, the biggest rebound margin since Indiana grabbed 17 more than KU in 1994.
KU coach Roy Williams and Wake Forest coach Dave Odom go back a long way.
“He offered me a job one time,” Williams said of the 12th-year Demon Deacon coach. “He took the job at East Carolina. After his first or second year there, I was a part-time assistant at North Carolina. He knew I was selling calendars to make a living.
“Selling calendars was the toughest thing I ever had to do to make a living.”
Williams sold calendars and delivered UNC coach Dean Smith’s weekly TV show all over the state of North Carolina to supplement his meager salary during the late 70s and early 80s at UNC.
Odom was head coach at East Carolina from 1979-82.
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Three-point goals: 3-17 (Axtell 2-5, Hinrich 1-3, Chenowith 0-1, Kinsey 0-1, Boschee 0-7). Assists: 11 (Hinrich 3, Boschee 2, Carey 2, Gooden, Kinsey, Collison, Harrison). Turnovers: 20 (Collison 5, Hinrich 4, Kinsey 4, Boschee 3, Gooden 2, Axtell, Chenowith). Blocked shots: 7 (Chenowith 4, Gooden 2, Axtell). Steals: 6 (Gooden, Axtell, Boschee, Kinsey, Collison, Zerbe). |
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Three-point goals: 7-18 (Dawson 3-7, Howard 2-5, O’Kelley 2-6). Assists: 17 (O’Kelley 4, Shoemaker 3, Hicks 3, Murray 2, Dawson 2, Howard, Songaila, Hamilton). Turnovers: 14 (O’Kelley 3, Murray 3, Howard 2, Shoemaker 2, Songaila, Hamilton, Scott, Dawson). Blocked shots: 3 (Howard 2, Scott). Steals: 11 (Hicks 3, O’Kelley 2, Murray 2, Howard, Shoemaker, Scott, Dawson). |