Amherst, Mass. ? After flying and driving through wintry weather conditions just to reach Massachusetts, Kansas’ men’s basketball players looked like they were walking on ice Saturday afternoon … in the paint.
Kansas was outrebounded, 46-33, outscored 42-2 down low, and generally outmuscled in a 64-60 nonconference loss to the Minutemen (7-8) at Mullins Center.
“They were vicious on the backboards,” KU coach Roy Williams said after the Jayhawks fell to 12-4 overall. “They just annihilated us on the backboards in the second half.
“If they rebounded like they did today and have that record, I don’t want to play any of the teams they lost to.”
KU exerted more effort in reaching icy Amherst — a five-hour bus ride from Philadelphia culminated a 13-hour travel day Friday — than it did on the backboards Saturday.
Led by Mike Babul (12 rebounds) and Chris Kirkland (eight), UMass outrebounded KU just five days after the Jayhawks outboarded Missouri, 56-43 in a victory in Columbia, Mo.
UMass outrebounded Kansas, 26-16, the final half — one in which the Minutemen outscored the Jayhawks, 34-27.
The Minutemen had five shots on one second-half possession, three on another.
“They came at us in waves. You get one offensive rebound and another and it becomes a frenzy,” Williams said.
The Minutemen were outrebounded 33-31 in a victory over Duquesne on Wednesday.
“We’ve got to be more physical, have more want-to,” said KU forward Nick Bradford, who managed to grab six boards. Eric Chenowith paced the Jayhawks inside with 10 rebounds in 28 minutes.
It was speculated by reporters that perhaps Friday’s travel woes — KU’s players arrived at their Springfield, Mass., hotel at 11:30 p.m., after leaving Kansas City at 10 a.m. — had something to do with the Jayhawks’ travails against the sub-.500 Minutemen.
“The bus trip had nothing to do with our loss or our energy,” Chenowith said. KU’s connecting flight from Philadelphia to Hartford, Conn., was canceled, necessitating a long bus journey. “Sitting on the bus wasn’t bad. We were able to get some rest.
“We played well enough to win. We shot well enough to win (52 percent first half, 42.1 for game to UMass’ 40.9). We got outrebounded. They had five guys crashing.”
Still, KU had a chance late. Freshman point guard Jeff Boschee, who scored a career-high 16 points, hit two three-pointers to erase a six-point KU deficit and tie the game, 58-58, at 3:35.
“I thought it’d get the momentum changed, but they were great down the stretch,” Boschee said.
UMass’ Lari Ketner hit two free throws, and following an Ashante Johnson inside miss — yes, Johnson made his KU debut, playing five minutes in his return from right kneecap surgery — Chris Kirkland hit a shot, giving UMass a 62-58 lead at 2:33.
Ryan Robertson (13 points, five boards) scored at 2:13 to trim the Minutemen’s lead to two at 62-60.
After a Ketner miss, Bradford rebounded and dished to Boschee, who had an untimely turnover at :30 in front of the KU bench.
“I was coming off a pick looking for my shot. I got careless with the ball and he slapped it away from me,” Boschee said, referring to Kirkland, who poked the ball loose and into the hands of Babul.
“Jeff feels awful about that. I told him it wasn’t any bigger than the first play of the game,” Williams said. Boschee had opened the game with a three-pointer.
Boschee — he made six of 10 shots and four of eight treys — missed a three with ten ticks remaining. Charlton Clarke (15 points) then iced the game for UMass with two free throws at :08.
“It’s part of being a basketball player,” Boschee said of his Saturday highs and lows. “There still were eight seconds left. Their guy went down and hit two free throws.”
Williams sympathized with the freshman’s late turnover and missed shot.
“It was a turnover, something you don’t want to happen. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest who ever played the game, turned it over. It’s one play,” he said.
The Jayhawks, who haven’t lost two straight since February of 1994, will meet Texas in an 8:35 p.m. tip on Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse. The Longhorns are just 9-8 overall but 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference. KU is 4-0 in league play.
