Kansas City, Mo ? Kansas University’s loss to Oklahoma on Saturday was surprising.
Perhaps even more shocking was seeing KU senior Kenny Gregory sit on the bench for the final five minutes of KU’s 62-57 loss at Kemper Arena.
Oklahoma | 24 | 38 | 62 |
Kansas | 30 | 27 | 57 |
Attendance: 19,100
Gregory fouled out for the first time in his career with 5:05 remaining. Going into Saturday’s semifinal, Gregory had just 36 fouls in 29 games. Compared to teammate Nick Collison’s 98 fouls in as many games, it’s obvious Gregory was not in foul trouble very often.
“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d foul out,” Gregory said.
He hinted that he thought the officials called fouls closer in the second half.
“Some of the times I didn’t think there were fouls, but there might’ve been,” Gregory said. “But they were the ones calling the game. Early on they let us play pretty physical, and then they started calling us harder.”
Gregory contributed 11 points and six rebounds to the Jayhawks’ offense in 32 minutes. However, his turnover to assist ratio was 3-1.
With just over five minutes remaining, Gregory fouled OU sophomore guard Kelley Newton. Newton drilled both free throws to give the Sooners a 52-48 lead.
With Gregory out, junior Brett Ballard entered and stepped up to sink a jumper at 1:18, brining the Jayhawks within one.
“The lane just opened up and I had an open shot,” Ballard said. “It felt good to make it, but it would’ve felt better to win.”
Sophomore Nick Collison was proud of Ballard’s effort.
“Brett came in and he played real well,” Collison said. “He had a big basket for us.”
Gregory and Collison both expressed disappointment in the way the team failed to come together.
“We did (have control) and then we just quit playing together,” Collison said. “We couldn’t get any offense going and they were knocking down threes.”
Gregory expressed his opinion in more harsh terms.
“There are some problems we have as a team,” he said. “There was a little selfishness going on there throughout the course of the game bad shot selection, guys bickering a little bit. You can’t have that, especially at this point in the year.
“You expect those things early in the season when guys are trying to find their roles. At this point in the year everybody knows what’s expected of them and you can’t have those things distracting you.”
Sitting helpless on the bench bothered Gregory.
“It was pretty tough,” Gregory said. “Just knowing that you can’t help at all, you sit there and watch them. I just wanted to be a part of it, but you gotta depend on the guys to step up and make plays.”
Ballard thought Oklahoma’s players stepped up more than he and his teammates.
“We didn’t convert when we need to,” Ballard said. “Their players stepped up and made big plays. We’ve got to do the same thing. We said on the bench that you if you don’t have guys step up like that you can’t win.”
With the NCAA Tournament fast approaching, Gregory and the Jayhawks must heal their wounds quickly.
“It will not be easy to shake off this game,” Gregory said. “We had high expectations coming into the tournament and this is very disappointing for us. We need to get some good practice time in next week and get ready to start over in the tournament.”
Three-point goals: 8-28 (Newton 5-12, Selvy 1-2, Heskett 1-4, Johnson 1-5, Price 0-5). Assists: 7 (Price 5, Heskett 2). Turnovers: 13 (Price 4, Selvy 4, McGhee 3, Heywood 2). Blocked shots: 0. Steals: 6 (Price 3, Newton 2, Heywood). |
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Three-point goals: 5-15 (Boschee 3-5, Hinrich 2-7, Gooden 0-1, Gregory 0-1, Ballard 0-1). Assists: 12 (Hinrich 6, Collison 3, Gooden 2, Gregory). Turnovers: 13 (Gooden 4, Gregory 3, Collison 3, Hinrich 2, Boschee). Blocked shots: 3 (Chenowith 2, Gooden). Steals: 8 (Gregory 2, Hinrich 2, Boschee 2, Gooden, Collison). |