One point 10 days ago at Wake Forest and 24 points on Saturday night against Tulsa.
Tulsa coach Buzz Peterson saw a different Eric Chenowith in Allen Fieldhouse than he did on tape against the Wake.
| Tulsa | 35 | 34 | 69 |
| Kansas | 49 | 43 | 92 |
Attendance: 16,300.
“His play was a big turnaround,” Peterson said after Chenowith scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 92-69 thumping of the Golden Hurricane.
“He was off to a great start,” Peterson continued, “and he took advantage of his size. He gave a growl and a tough look one time. When he plays like that, they’re tough to beat.”
Tulsa guard Greg Harrington had also seen the tape of Chenowith’s one-point performance against the Demon Deacons.
“He played great,” Harrington said. “When he’s playing that good, it’s hard to stop a team like this.”
Tulsa didn’t have a starter who stood within five inches of the 7-foot-1 Chenowith, so at least one member of the Golden Hurricane wasn’t surprised by the KU senior’s performance.
“He’ll always have good games against guys who don’t match him size-wise,” said 6-6 David Shelton, a starting forward. “Against taller guys he’ll look normal. That game against Wake Forest he had to work for his shots.”
Less than two minutes after tipoff, Peterson called a full timeout and drew up a new strategy to try to neutralize the Jayhawks inside.
“We went into a zone to pack it inside, then (Kirk) Hinrich hit those threes,” Peterson said. “That made it difficult for us to play zone.”
Hinrich nailed two three-pointers 45 seconds apart to boost KU’s lead to 13-8, but the Hurricane knotted the count at 13-13 five minutes in. Then KU went on an 18-2 run that included another trey from Hinrich.
“When Hinrich hit those shots, we got in a frantic pace and that’s not our game,” Peterson said.
Tulsa’s players were flustered by the Jayhawks’ inside-outside double whammy.
“We got frustrated,” Shelton said. “We played the kind of game we shouldn’t have been playing.”
Tulsa came to Lawrence with a 6-2 record, its only defeats at North Carolina (91-81) and at Iowa (66-65).
Harrington said Kansas ” hit the offensive boards a lot harder than any team we’ve played,” and he was also impressed by the sellout throng in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Iowa had a tough crowd,” Harrington noted, “but this crowd played a big part in the game.”
Tulsa was the Jayhawks’ lone home foe in December. UT was, in fact, KU’s only home opponent during a 47-day period. The Jayhawks won’t play in Allen Fieldhouse again until Jan. 17 against Nebraska.
“Coach (Roy) Williams and I were talking last night about how they haven’t been home for a while,” Peterson said. “Their fans know the game, and they got into it. Like when (Nick) Collison fouled out and they congratulated him for his effort.”
Peterson also noticed that Collison made his first three-pointer of the season and that 6-9 Drew Gooden also drained a trey. Moreover, a Tulsa player fouled KU guard Jeff Boschee in the second half and the ball went awry but into the Jayhawks’ basket.
“That’s when one of our assistant coaches turned to me and said it’s one of those nights,” Peterson said, smiling.
Guard Dante Swanson was 5-of-12 from beyond the arc and led the Hurricane with 21 points. None of his teammates scored in double figures, however.
Three-point goals: 11-27 (Swanson 5-12, Harrington 2-3, Hill 2-5, Reed 1-1, Shelton 1-3, Ingram 0-1, LeDoux 0-2). Assists: 18 (Shelton 5, Harrington 5, Hill 4, Davis, Reed, Parker, Ingram). Turnovers: 17 (Hill 4, Harrington 3, Swanson 2, Reed 2, Parker 2, LeDoux 2, Johnson, Davis). Blocked shots: 7 (Johnson 2, Ingram 2, Hill, Harrington, LeDoux). Steals: 11 (Shelton 3, Swanson 3, Harrington 2, Davis, Parker, LeDoux). |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Three-point goals: 7-14 (Hinrich 5-6, Gooden 1-1, Collison 1-1, Ballard 0-1, Nash 0-1, Boschee 0-4). Assists: 18 (Hinrich 6, Boschee 4, Gooden 3, Collison 2, Chenowith, Ballard, Carey). Turnovers: 16 (Collison 4, Gooden 3, Chenowith 3, Hinrich 2, Ballard 2, Boschee, Carey). Blocked shots: 4 (Chenowith 3, Ballard). Steals: 5 (Gooden, Chenowith, Hinrich, Ballard, Carey). |
