Facing the No. 4 team in the country, it didn’t take long for the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks to realize they might be out of their league.
So at what point in the Warhawks’ 107-78 loss to Kansas University did they realize they were up against a tough team?
“The opening tip-off,” senior guard Lance Basher said.
Just 19 seconds after that, KU senior guard Russell Robinson drained a three, and the Jayhawks never trailed Friday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Third-year ULM coach Orlando Early praised KU’s play in the regular-season opener for both teams.
“I think Kansas is really, really good to say the least,” Early said with a laugh. “They’ve got size, they’ve got guards that can really handle the ball, they’re well coached. I look for them to make a big-time run in the tournament this year.”
Opening the season on the road against the No. 4 team in the nation is a tough task for any squad, let alone one from the mid-major Sun Belt Conference, but Early said his players weren’t intimidated.
“I think our guys enjoy it,” Early said of playing in front of 16,300 fans. “They don’t care if there’s 20 people in the gym or 20,000 in the gym.”
What’s more, Early said the loss will, eventually, give his team confidence.
“I think it helps us a lot,” he said. “Last year we went into the Sun Belt and won our division, and I think we learned a lot on the road, so I think it gives us a confidence level. To come into Lawrence, Kan., and shoot 51 percent from the floor is not bad. Guys know that when we play against somebody that we can score the ball.”
Before ULM went 26-for-51 from the floor Friday, KU had held 72 of its last 74 opponents under 50 percent.
The loss could, in fact, pay immediate dividends when ULM travels to East Lansing, Mich., next week and has a chance to play Michigan State in the CBE Classic. The Warhawks also will travel to Iowa, Ole Miss and Arkansas later this year.
“Especially playing the No. 4 team in the country, I think that’s gonna help us get ready for them,” Brasher, who went 5-for-10 and scored 12 points, said.
KU’s biggest advantage came inside. The Jayhawks outrebounded ULM, 35-28, and the Warhawks didn’t have an answer for Darnell Jackson, who scored a career-high 21 points and shot 8-for-9 from the floor.
Other than that, Early pointed to KU’s defense as a main culprit in the loss.
“I thought it was their pressure defensively. We had 24 turnovers, and they were the reason for a lot of that,” he said.
But Early reiterated the fact that it will be something the team can learn from.
“Later on, we won’t make that same mistake, we’ll handle the ball, we’ll get a feel for one another,” he said.
The Warhawks were led by junior guard Tony Hooper, who scored a team-high 19. But Hooper picked up his fourth foul with more than 17 minutes to go, and Brasher fouled for the fourth time less than a minute later. With two key ULM scorers on the bench, KU immediately went on a 12-0 run.
“I just don’t think we were ready for a tough game like this on the road,” Hooper said.
Though he was hounded by the KU backcourt at the beginning of the game, Hooper seemed to find himself and netted 13 first-half points before he ran into second-half foul trouble.
“They have some of the top-ranked players in the country so it takes a little bit of time to adjust,” Hooper said. “I just had to get ready for them to pound us and come at us strong.”
However, Hooper said he had faced a team better than this one … two years ago.
“I went against Texas my freshman year with Daniel Gibson and (LaMarcus) Aldridge,” the 5-foot-11 guard said.
