Iowa State freshmen Jake Sullivan and Shane Power won’t win any bodybuilding contests.
Not at this stage of their college careers, anyway.
“To be honest with you, they really don’t have any business playing Div. I basketball and they are doing unbelievable things, hitting key shots, creating stuff for teammates,” Kansas center Eric Chenowith said. “They are big pieces of that.”
Chenowith had just watched Sullivan and Power who are listed as 6-foot-1, 190 pounds and 6-5, 210 respectively burn KU for a combined 40 points on 10-of-12 three-point shooting in ISU’s 79-71 victory over the Jayhawks on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.
Why doesn’t the dynamic duo belong in Div. I basketball?
“I mean physically,” Chenowith said. “I mean look at Sullivan, but the guy goes out and kills us every night. If I’m a coach I want him on my team.”
Chenowith scored 13 points and had four rebounds.
Sullivan hit eight of 11 shots overall and six of eight threes. Power hit five of six shots, including four threes in four tries.
Meanwhile, ISU seniors Jamaal Tinsley and Kantrail Horton were 3-of-21 shooting for a combined 17 points.
“I was talking to Kirk (Hinrich) before the game. I said, ‘I’m tired of reading in the paper we can’t guard those two guys,”’ Jeff Boschee said after his 19-point effort.
“I was fed up with what was in the paper. It was the UDK,” he said of KU’s student paper. “It said they were a lot quicker and were too tough for us to guard. I get sick of reading it, especially in the school paper.”
Hinrich had 13 points, four assists and seven turnovers while playing in his home state. The Sioux City native is now 0-4 versus Iowa State.
“You just try to stay in front of them and make them shoot over you,” Hinrich said. “For the most part, we did a good job on them. Some of their other guys hurt us.”
Hinrich thought the Jayhawks had a chance, especially after he stole the basketball and hit a three before the halftime buzzer, bringing KU to within 37-36 at the break.
“I thought we made a late run in the half and it’d carry over,” Hinrich said.
Fellow Iowan Nick Collison, who had eight points and three rebounds, said the loss didn’t sting more because it came to ISU.
“They are just a good team. It doesn’t matter where they are from,” said Collison, who’s from Iowa Falls. “They make shots. They are tough kids. Those teams are tough for anybody to play.”
He said he believes the Jayhawks’ hearts cannot be questioned after a game in which KU hit 57.7 percent of its shots without the injured Drew Gooden and Luke Axtell. Kansas, which has dropped four of its past six games, had 22 turnovers to Iowa State’s 11.
“I think we have a lot of heart. We are losing. That sucks. But we have heart,” Collison said. “We made some key turnovers that hurt. But we gave great effort.
“Anything is better than Monday (a 85-77 loss at Baylor). We gave effort. We just got beat by a better team.”
Rare time out
KU coach Roy Williams called a rare time out to stop a run with 17:28 left in the second half after Sullivan hit a three to give ISU a 45-38 lead.
“A little bit,” Collison said, asked if he was surprised Williams called for the stoppage. “Coach usually doesn’t do that. I guess it’s a little surprising to me.”
Streaks
Not only has Iowa State won 34 straight home games, but also has won five straight versus KU. Oklahoma State was the last conference team to beat KU five straight times (1982 to ’84). Nebraska was the last team to beat KU five straight times in the regular season (1948 to 50).
Stats, facts
Sullivan’s four three-pointers in the first half were the most by a KU foe in a half since Cary Cochran of Nebraska hit four in the second half on Jan. 17. Iowa State’s 13 steals were the most against KU in a game this year. Chenowith passed Wilt Chamberlain for fourth place on KU’s all-time rebound list. KU lost back-to-back games for the first time since losing to Iowa and Iowa State last year. KU has lost three straight at Hilton Coliseum. Tinsley’s 12 free-throw attempts were a season high by a KU foe. He hit nine. Hinrich led KU in rebounding with five. Tinsley’s six steals tied a season high by a KU foe.
Coach to leave?
Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy’s name has been tied to expected openings at both Louisville and Indiana.
Cyclone athletics director Bruce Van De Velde said he’s not panicking over the fact Eustachy has become the hot name in college coaching.
“I feel like he’s got a long-term contract. He’s very happy at Iowa State. We look forward to keeping him for many years,” Van De Velde said.
Eustachy signed an agreement last March that will pay him a minimum of $9 million over the term of his deal, which runs through June 30, 2010.
It’s believed Louisville AD Tom Jurich may fire legendary coach Denny Crum after this season. Eustachy is a close friend of Jurich. However, Jurich is expected to apply for an expected AD opening at Indiana.
Will Eustachy’s contract be renegotiated at ISU?
“I’m not commenting on that during the regular season,” Van De Velde said.
Tinsley sensational
Kansas | 36 | 35 | 71 |
Iowa State | 37 | 42 | 79 |
Attendance: 14,092
Eustachy agrees with a statement by ESPN’s Jay Bilas:
“He said had Marcus (Fizer) stayed and Jamaal left, this team wouldn’t be as good and I agree with that,” Eustachy said of Fizer, the former-ISU center who opted to forgo his senior season for the NBA. “Fizer couldn’t have played point for us. I just think it is the critical spot.”
Three-point goals: 8-15 (Hinrich 3-4, Boschee 3-8, Gregory 2-2, Nash 0-1). Assists: 14 (Boschee 5, Hinrich 4, Ballard 3, Collison 2). Turnovers: 22 (Hinrich 7, Collison 6, Chenowith 4, Boschee 2, Gregory 1, Ballard 1, Carey 1). Blocked shots: 7 (Collison 4, Chenowith 2, Boschee 1). Steals: 5 (Hinrich 3, Boschee 2). |
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Three-point goals: 10-19 (Sullivan 6-8, Power 4-4, Rancik 0-1, Horton 0-2, Tinsley 0-4). Assists: 18 (Tinsley 11, Horton 5, Sullivan 1, Power 1). Turnovers: 12 (Horton 3, Shirley 2, Tinsley 2, Sullivan 2, Pearson 2, Power 1). Blocked shots: 2 (Shirley 2). Steals: 13 (Tinsley 6, Power 3, Shirley 1, Rancik 1, Horton 1, Evans 1). |