10 years of Big 12 supremacy: 2005
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From the time of Big 12 divisions, through realignment and the subtraction/addition of teams and a new 10-team format, one thing has remained constant in the conference for the past decade: Kansas University's men's basketball team has always finished in first place.
All week long, we'll be looking back at KU's 10 consecutive Big 12 championships by highlighting the top players and moments of each conference schedule, from 2005 to 2014.
Our five-day blog series will feature two daily entries (one in the morning and one in the afternoon), Monday through Friday, so check back each day for more.
2005
Big 12 record: 12-4, tied for 1st with Oklahoma
Top 5 scorers:
Wayne Simien (sr., F), 20.3 points, 11.0 rebounds
Keith Langford (sr., G), 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists
J.R. Giddens (so., G), 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds
Aaron Miles (sr., G), 9.3 points, 7.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds
Christian Moody (jr., F), 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds
3 memorable moments
No. 1 — The Upper Hand: Simien puts Kansas back atop Big 12
- Wayne Simien led Kansas past Oklahoma State, 81-79, with 32 points and 12 rebounds, giving the Jayhawks a one-game lead over the Cowboys in the Big 12 race with two games to play.
"Without question, people could make a case he was the best player in America today. He did so many things. He battled hard. He was fabulous."
— Bill Self
No. 2 — Icing on the Cake: Jayhawks celebrate anniversary, Senior Night with victory
- On his Senior Night, Wayne Simien scored 25 points and pulled down 20 rebounds to help KU beat Kansas State, 72-65, on the 50th anniversary of the first game played in Allen Fieldhouse.
"Twenty-five and 20 ... it's a great way to go out."
— Wayne Simien
No. 3 — Prime-time punishment: KU claims Texas-sized blowout
- With ESPN's College GameDay at Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks pounded Texas, 90-65, behind 27 points from Wayne Simien and 17 from Keith Langford.
"Today couldn't have been scripted much better for Kansas. This did a lot for our program from an exposure standpoint. Playing well was icing on the cake."
— Bill Self
2005 BIG 12 STANDINGS
Kansas, 12-4
Oklahoma, 12-4
Oklahoma State, 11-5
Texas Tech, 10-6
Iowa State, 9-7
Texas, 9-7
Texas A&M, 8-8
Missouri, 7-9
Nebraska, 7-9
Kansas State, 6-10
Colorado, 4-12
Baylor, 1-15
Comments
Robert Brown 8 years, 5 months ago
This was probably the least emphatic of the ten championships. KU tied with OU, but OU won the head to head in Norman. OSU was a higher seed than either OU or KU in the NCAA tournament. KU did not win the conference tournament that year. This is the team that started out strong and tailed off at the end and of course lose to Bucknell.
Eliott Reeder 8 years, 5 months ago
KU vs OSU highlights 2005: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w78gdFvrljQ
Steve Zimmerman 8 years, 5 months ago
Wow, thanks for the link. I didn't realize Simien was really that sharp shooter. He's really good. He didn't seem to have a typical center size, but he can definitely post deep.
Joe Joseph 8 years, 5 months ago
Its unfortunate we didn't know the full extent of Langford's injuries until some time after the season. I think it was pretty clear that Langford had been struggling, but knowing he was busted up (badly) served as justification.
Still, no way that team should have lost to Bucknell. I still think that buzzer shot from Wayne is going in every time I see it (and think about it).
Eliott Reeder 8 years, 5 months ago
Right!?! Watching the highlights from the OSU game above bring it all back like yesterday. Wayne hit 15 foot turn-around jumpers all day long in that game. It was his favorite shot. He definitely should have made the last one against Bucknell. Just wasn't meant to be...
Steve Zimmerman 8 years, 5 months ago
"Like it" should be added to every blog/article here. This is one of them that's worth the thumb up.
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