KU knocks ‘Cats out of tourney

By Terry Rombeck Mar 12, 2005

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo

Kansas fans Rich Frost, standing left, of Colwich, and his sister, Liz McMullen, of Courtland, cheer as KU pulls away from K-State in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. KU won 80-67 Friday, the Jayhawks' 31st straight win over the Wildcats. KU faces Oklahoma State University today in the semifinal round.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Call it the Sunflower Sweep.

The Kansas University men’s basketball team knocked off Kansas State for the third time this season Friday night, advancing the Jayhawks to a 3:20 p.m. semifinal matchup with Oklahoma State University today in the Big 12 Tournament.

The 80-67 victory — KU’s 31st straight over the Wildcats — had the Jayhawk-heavy Kemper crowd buzzing about the Jayhawks’ dominance.

“And of course,” added KU fan Chuck Banes, of Kansas City, Kan., “we beat them in football, too.”

For KU fans, the win continued a party atmosphere that started early in the afternoon in the area around Kemper Arena, as Jayhawk faithful celebrated the Big 12 Tournament’s return to Kansas City after two years in Dallas.

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo

Dustin Rush, a 7-year-old Jayhawk fan from Hutchinson, prepares to take a shot with a camera as he watches the Big 12 Tournament at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., with his father, Howard Rush.

KU was well represented at a fan tent across the street from Kemper Arena. Mary Keith Burns and her husband, Arliss, of Overland Park, were in charge of handing out pom-pons to the Jayhawk fans who packed the tent for a brief KU pep rally.

“We’ve been fans for years,” Mary Keith Burns said. “I’m a former cheerleader. Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader.”

For Lawrence resident Danny Williams, KU’s win Friday night was a consolation prize. As part of a radio promotion, he had a chance to win a new Scion car by sinking a half-court shot at the fan tent. Instead, the shot bricked against the backboard to the left of the basket.

“I went to Holcomb Rec Center last night and practiced,” he said. “I made three of my last six. I just started draining them.”

The problem Friday?

“The ball was smaller,” he said.

Before the game, Clay Turner, a KU sophomore from Tulsa, Okla., was trying to make sense of his little brother’s outfit. Collin Turner, 12, was wearing a blue KU ball cap with a purple K-State sweatshirt.

Collin Turner explained he was a Jayhawk fan for basketball and a Wildcat fan for football.

“I don’t have to convince him to root for KU,” Clay Turner said. “He knows best.”

Their mother, KU alumna Kimberly Turner, had another explanation: “It’s kind of a split personality.”