No one ever has proclaimed it easy to play Kansas University in men’s basketball in Allen Fieldhouse. And perhaps no one ever has couched the difficulty in more colorful terms than Jeff Lebo.
“You put your war paint on thicker when you come into a place like this,” said Lebo, now in his second year as head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
The Mocs’ war paint turned to water colors during the last 9 1/2 minutes of the first half, and Kansas claimed a 90-76 victory in the season- opener for both teams Friday night.
Kansas choo-chooed Chattanooga, 28-6, during that decisive first-half span, thanks mainly to the Mocs’ 12 turnovers.
“Yeah, I’m worried about the turnovers,” Lebo said. “I thought we’d handle the ball a little bit better. They had how many points off turnovers? Thirty. That sticks out. But we did better in the second half.”
Indeed they did. After coughing the ball up 18 times in the first 20 minutes, the Mocs were charged with only five giveaways in the second half.
Eleven of those 18 first-half turnovers were credited to Kansas steals.
“They were kind of bullying us in their pressure defense,” said Ashley Champion, a 6-foot-6 senior who scored 20 points but was charged with six turnovers. “We got down by 12, but I said in the locker room we had 20 minutes to chip away.”
Chattanooga did chug away, but the Mocs never could clear that late-first-half train wreck off the tracks.
“If we had slowed down, it might have been better,” said Alphonso Pugh, a 6-6 forward. “We weren’t intimidated, but they were as good as we thought they were. We brought our A game, but they did, too.”
Notably, the Mocs fought the Jayhawks to a 36-36 standstill on the boards.
“We were undersized, but we battled,” Lebo said. “I thought we battled pretty good. We cut it to 12 in the second half and were in striking distance, but we weren’t good enough, and you have to play good when you’re in here.”
Despite the rebound wash, Chattanooga simply couldn’t generate enough steam inside.
“I don’t think many teams in the country have three post players like Kansas,” Champion said. “But we gave it all we’ve got.”
Under terms of the three-game contract between the two schools, Kansas is supposed to play in Chattanooga next year, then the Mocs will come back to Lawrence the following season.
Lebo, a former North Carolina guard, and former KU coach Roy Williams agreed to the contract before Williams left for Chapel Hill, N.C. Now KU reportedly is considering paying $40,000 in order to buy its way out of the pact. Lebo would prefer the status quo.
“I hope it materializes,” Lebo said. “It’s so big for our city and for our team. Whether they’ll honor it I don’t know.”
Kansas would not have to honor it, Lebo said, if he is not at UT-Chattanooga next season.
“That is one of the clauses,” Lebo said, smiling. “I hope they don’t fire me.”
Jayhawks tie up Mocs
Photo gallery: KU vs. UTC
Hear Bill: KU-UTC postgame comments
6Sports video: KU-UTC highlights