Topeka ? A Wichita legislator would like to see Kansas University play Wichita State in men’s basketball, so he has filed a bill that would make that happen.
State Rep. Todd Novascone, a Republican, said he doubted the measure would pass, but added that he wanted to generate discussion about the possibility of a two-game series between the teams with one game in Wichita and one in Lawrence during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
The teams have not played since the 1992-93 season.
“I just wanted to get people talking about it,” said Novascone, a Baylor University graduate. “I’m sick of them not playing each other. Hopefully this will stir up talk, and if we have a hearing I will certainly
make my case. It might turn into something.”
Passage of a similar bill in Iowa mandated that Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa play, but Novascone said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Tourism and Parks committee chairman didn’t even hear his bill next week.
“It’s fun to talk about,” Novascone said. “Even some of the KU people are saying, ‘Yeah, it has been a long time since they’ve played.’ But the rest are saying, ‘Novascone, what are you doing?”‘
Though some WSU fans blamed former Kansas coach Roy Williams, he has said it was Wichita State that put the brakes on the series after KU’s 103-54 victory in 1993.
Williams was reluctant to play his former assistant coaches, so the long-dormant rivalry was not renewed when former KU player and assistant Mark Turgeon took over the Shocker program in 2000.
After Bill Self replaced Williams in April, Turgeon told the Journal-World he hoped the in-state series could be revived.
“We definitely would be interested,” Turgeon said at the time. “There’s no doubt about that, but Bill has to be interested, too.”
Turgeon declined to discuss the issue this week. He has, however, reportedly discussed the issue with Self, who was a graduate assistant coach at Kansas during Turgeon’s playing career.
A key issue in reviving the series could be the ratio of games played in Lawrence and Wichita. KU’s Williams adamantly refused to play a home series, demanding two games at Allen Fieldhouse to one at WSU.
“I’ve been asked about the Wichita State thing many times,” Self said recently. “It’s something we’d be more open to, not exactly the home-and-home aspect. Mark would want to play home-and-home. We’ve talked. Nothing in the immediate future leads us to believe that will take place.
“I’m open to playing Wichita State. I’m not sure under what guidelines. It’s at least a couple years out.”
There’s no question reviving the series would mean more to Turgeon’s fledgling mid-major program than it would to two-time defending Big 12 Conference champion KU.
The Jayhawks have played in 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and have reached the last two Final Fours.
One of the factors the NCAA selection committee relies upon when selecting the 65-team field is the Rating Percentage Index — a formula that measures a team’s strength of schedule and how it fares against that schedule. Kansas, a perennial national power from a major conference that plays an aggressive nonconference schedule, routinely ranks among the nation’s RPI leaders. Last season, WSU was not among the top 100.
Teams benefit from playing KU because all the Jayhawks’ games are on television, and a game against Kansas can help an opponent’s RPI. Established programs have more at risk and less to gain against WSU, which had 12 televised games last season.
As Turgeon’s program has improved, it has become more difficult to schedule quality nonconference opponents. Oklahoma State, for example, would not renew its contract with WSU this season.
“It’s very difficult for us to get games,” Turgeon told the Journal-World last spring. “They don’t want to come here. They want two-for-ones. They don’t want to play so-called mid-majors. They don’t get anything out of it. It’s been tough.”
