Woodling: Defense confused Kansas

By Chuck Woodling     Feb 20, 2005

Scott McClurg/Journal-World Photo
Iowa State University's Curtis Stinson celebrates the Cyclones' 63-61 overtime win against Kansas University Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kirk Hinrich, at liberty during the NBA All-Star break, visited Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, coincidentally with Kansas playing Iowa State.

It wasn’t long ago, you’ll recall, that the former KU backcourt standout, now with the Chicago Bulls, reneged on an oral commitment to Iowa State after coach Tim Floyd departed.

As coincidental as Hinrich’s appearance may have been, however, it turned into an irony after the Cyclones staggered the Jayhawks, 63-61, in overtime.

You could speculate that what goes around comes around and that Iowa State’s victory was payback for Hinrich’s high school switcheroo, but that would be looking at Saturday’s stunner too subjectively.

Iowa State didn’t win Saturday’s game. Kansas lost it.

To tell the truth, I didn’t think any team could come into Allen Fieldhouse and knock off the high-flying Jayhawks unless it drained three-point goals at a phenomenal rate. But Iowa State, the worst three-point shooting team in the Big 12 Conference, made only two treys Saturday.

So much for the three-point theory.

What was it then? What enabled Iowa State to shock Kansas in its own barn?

Iowa State’s Curtis Stinson put on a one-man show with 29 points, but opposing players have had big nights against KU before, and the Jayhawks have won anyway. One player rarely beats you. Stinson didn’t defeat the Jayhawks single-handedly.

More of a factor was Iowa State outrebounding Kansas, 45-42. You don’t expect the 11th-best board team in the Big 12 to snatch more rebounds than the No. 2 board team. But that’s just one statistic. Rebounding didn’t cause Kansas to crumble.

Iowa State’s other numbers were miserable. The Cyclones shot only 34.4 percent from the field. They misfired on 10 free throws, including six in the last minute-and-a-half of regulation. ISU was guilty of 14 turnovers and had only 10 assists.

Essentially, in the last 2 1/2 minutes of regulation, the Cyclones were begging the Jayhawks to win. ISU had a nine-point lead, but made only three of nine free throws down the stretch. Still, KU could do nothing more than forge a tie and force the OT, where — just like Monday night at Texas Tech — the Jayhawks blew an early OT advantage.

Kansas lost this one because it was its own worst enemy. J.R. Giddens couldn’t hit the Kansas River from the Vermont Street bridge. Keith Langford continued to step into the Bermuda Triangle at the free-throw line. Worst of all, though, the Jayhawks couldn’t fathom Iowa State’s zone defense, and, as a consequence, Wayne Simien wafted helplessly in the Twilight Zone.

On paper, KU’s Aaron Miles had a heck of a game. Miles was credited with four steals and as many assists (10) as the entire Iowa State team. But Miles, as experienced and savvy a point guard as you’ll find anywhere in the country, admitted he was baffled by the Cyclones’ defense.

“It’s difficult because it’s a match-up zone, and they do it real well,” Miles said. “You never knew what they were in. I never did understand what to do to beat it.”

Almost every time Miles penetrated, as a point guard must do, he tossed it back out to the perimeter, loathe to go to the basket himself — all six of his shot attempts were three-pointers — and unable to put the ball into the mitts of the Big 12’s leading scorer.

Simien played 41 minutes and took only seven shots.

“That’s mainly my fault,” Miles said, “but their defense kind of dictated that.”

Here’s a look at Kansas’ record in Allen Fieldhouse over the past 11 seasons:

1994-95 14-0
1995-96 13-0
1996-97 15-0
1997-98 16-0
1998-99 10-3
1999-00 13-1
2000-01 13-1
2001-02 13-0
2002-03 15-1
2003-04 13-1
2004-05 13-1
Total 148-8

Perhaps if the Jayhawks had been able to find Simien … maybe if Giddens had been 2-for-11 from three-point range, like Iowa, State instead of 1-for-11 … what if Langford hadn’t missed four of five free-throw attempts? … perhaps if the Jayhawks hadn’t surrendered 16 offensive rebounds …

Nobody ever won a championship on ifs, maybes and perhapses, and now Kansas is staring at a third consecutive loss when it travels Monday night to Norman, Okla., to meet Oklahoma, another title contender.

“We can’t hang our heads,” Miles said. “The media may bash us and fair-weather fans may bash us, but true champions bounce back, and that’s what we’ve got to do. We need to spin these losses into positives.”

The Jayhawks don’t need Rumplestiltskin. They don’t need to spin straw into gold. But they do need to find and use some tarnish remover.

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