Kansas University senior Stephen Vinson was 10 years old the last time Kansas State defeated KU in men’s basketball.
It was Jan. 17, 1994, when the Wildcats tripped the Jayhawks, 68-64, in Allen Fieldhouse.
KU since has rattled off 31 straight victories in the series between the in-state rivals – 11 in Allen Fieldhouse, 12 in Manhattan and eight in Kansas City, Mo.
“It’s actually kind of hard for me to believe,” said Vinson, a former Lawrence High standout who has known KU dominance in the series since he became a serious fan.
“K-State has had some good teams. It was an accomplishment to sweep them last year. That team with (Jeremiah) Massey was really good. I remember some of their old players too, growing up. It’s surprising. It’s a testament to Kansas’ program we have been able to maintain focus and win games. It’s not like they lay down. They’ve always played us tough.”
Vinson, who has averaged 11.2 minutes in 12 games, figures again to come off the bench today when Kansas (10-4 overall, 1-0 Big 12 Conference) tangles with K-State (9-4, 0-2).
Tipoff is 12:45 p.m., with a live telecast on channels 38 and 49 (Sunflower Broadband channels 15, 12) and a replay at 10:30 tonight on Channel 6.
“We don’t view it that way,” Vinson said, asked if he felt pressure to continue the streak. “Every team I’ve played on has been in the same situation every year.”
During Vinson’s career, the Jayhawks are 7-0 versus the Wildcats. “It’s more about the season itself, getting a Big 12 win than us continuing some streak,” he said.
Fellow senior Jeff Hawkins, who is 9-0 versus KSU (he sat on the bench during a red-shirt year) said he didn’t dwell on the streak.
“No, because I personally haven’t been here 31 times,” Hawkins said. “My streak is lower. The freshmen have not been here. They don’t even have a streak. I guess for the people in the past, it’s impressive.
“We’re not worried about a streak now. Right now we are 0-0 versus Kansas State in the present.”
Coach Bill Self, whose KU teams are 5-0 versus the Wildcats, said he wouldn’t use the streak as motivation.
“The streak is irrelevant,” Self said. “It’s a phenomenal streak that we’ve had very little to do with. The majority of guys on our team haven’t had anything to do with it.
“Christian (Moody) has made some plays maybe the last couple years. ‘Hawk’ has been in the games a little bit. For the most part, the streak was done by a contingent of players long gone. All we’re trying to do is beat a good Kansas State team.”
Moody, who, like Vinson, is 7-0 versus K-State, said he didn’t feel a need to educate the freshmen about the streak.
“I think rather than talk about the streak, we’ll talk more about the rivalry,” Moody said. “The in-state rivalry … there will be a lot of K-State fans here. On our floor, we want to do everything we can do give us the best chance to win.”
The Cartier Martin-led Wildcats, who went 9-2 in the nonconference season and received votes in the polls before stumbling at Iowa State (72-70) and at home to Nebraska (57-42) to open league play, also aren’t stressing about any streak.
“It doesn’t have any weight at all. It really doesn’t,” Wooldridge said, chuckling when asked if the streak burdened his squad. “Our efforts and our concentration and focus are squarely on our team right now. We’ve got things that we have to fix. We have things need to be addressed before we start to look at anything else.
“We can’t be the opponent. We’ve got to make KU the opponent. So we’ve got things we need to fix in-house. We’ve looked at the ballgame, we’re preparing for the ballgame as we speak, but it’s more about us right now. That streak doesn’t have anything to do with what we’re doing today.”
Wooldridge was asked if he would do anything special for today’s game, like wear throwback jerseys .
“We always look at different ways to motivate kids and give them different themes and changes the routine, perhaps. But nothing overly drastic,” Wooldridge said.
Later this season, on March 4, KU will try to work on another streak -its 22-game win streak in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
“Coach reminds us not too many had a lot to do with it,” Vinson said of win streaks against KSU. “It’s something for people to talk about. It really won’t mean much on Saturday.”
