Lawrence Journal-World 3-11-11 revised

Page 1

BIG 12 EDITION

L A W R E N C E

JOURNAL-WORLD

Vol.153/No.70 26 pages

®

75 CENTS

LJWorld.com

FRIDAY • MARCH 11 • 2011

KANSAS 63, OKLAHOMA STATE 62

Stop and go

Nick Krug/Journal-World Photos

KANSAS DEFENDERS MARIO LITTLE (23) AND TYSHAWN TAYLOR defend the final shot of the game from Oklahoma State’s Jean-Paul Olukemi. Olukemi missed the shot, and KU survived, 63-62, Thursday at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Marcus plays like Player of Year

Defensive stand puts KU in semis out of the Downtown Marriott two days early, Little stuck a hand in the face of OSU’s JeanK A N S A S C I T Y , M O . — Kansas Paul Olukemi, who missed a University’s No. 2deep three at the buzzer, ranked basketball team assuring KU a 63-62 vicBIG 12 confronted a harsh realtory. ity while huddling dur- SEMIFINAL “We always practice ing a timeout with 20 like that, where we’ve got seconds left in Thurs- Who: Kansas (30- to get a stop,” Little said. day’s Big 12 tournament 2) vs. Colorado “Sometimes we’re down quarterfinal nail-biter (21-12) seven (points) in pracagainst Oklahoma State When: 6 tonight tice with a minute left. in Sprint Center. We’ve got to grind it out.” Where: Sprint “We weren’t scared. Center Brady Morningstar We knew we had to get hoisted a desperation a stop or we were going TV: Cable channels airball as the shot clock back to Lawrence,” KU 8, 15, 208 expired on KU’s final senior guard/forward possession at :20, putMario Little said. ting the Jayhawks (30-2) in the Not wanting to pack his Please see KANSAS, page 4A belongings somberly and move

By Gary Bedore

gbedore@ljworld.com

KANSAS FORWARD MARCUS MORRIS, LEFT, battles inside for control of a rebound with Oklahoma State’s Roger Franklin (32) and Markel Brown (22).

K A N S A S C I T Y , M O . — Shortly before opening tip of Thursday’s Big 12 quarterfinal against Oklahoma State, Kansas University junior forward Marcus Morris received his Big 12 Player of the Year hardware and an ovation from the Sprint Center crowd. It didn’t take him long to show the many reasons nobody else came close to deserving it. First KU possession, Morris executed his half of a pick-androll perfectly and found himself alone for an easy bucket, but Tyrel Reed never looked his way and sent a pass in the opposite direction. Next time down, Brady Morningstar fed Morris for a dunk. Instead of thumping his chest, barking at the opposition,

Tom Keegan tkeegan@ljworld.com

or otherwise acting as if he hadn’t been there before, he hustled to get back on defense and quickly got a deflection. Then he picked up a long rebound on a Tyrel Reed miss, took a couple of dribbles and nailed a mid-range jumper. Please see KEEGAN, page 5A

Buffs complete sweep of K-State, 87-75 By Doug Tucker Associated Press Sports Writer

Charlie Riedel/AP Photo

KANSAS STATE’S JACOB PULLEN, LEFT, ATTEMPTS A STEAL from Colorado’s Cory Higgins. CU won, 87-75, Thursday.

KANSAS CITY, MO. — When Colorado waltzed in and beat nationally ranked Kansas State two months ago, ending a ninegame losing streak to the Wildcats, Cory Higgins sounded a warning. “It’s a whole new Colorado,” the senior said. Indeed, it is. Higgins scored 28 points, Alec Burks added 24 and the Buffaloes made it three in a row over Kansas State on Thursday, ousting the No. 19 Wildcats, 87-75, in

the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament. Kansas State had dominated Colorado for years. But now, for the first time in a series that began in 1933, the Buffaloes have beaten the Wildcats three times in one season. “We beat a great team three times,” Higgins said. “It can’t be a fluke all three times.” Colorado (21-12) was the only team to beat the streaking Wildcats (22-10) in their final nine games. And the latest win was a big one for the Buffaloes as they try to secure an NCAA Tournament bid in their final season as

a member of the Big 12 before packing up for the Pac-10. “People will see the results of this game and see the fact that KState’s playing at a high level,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “Those guys are good and they’re playing very, very well right now. We beat a good team. We’re not backing into this thing. I try not to talk about things I don’t have control over. But this is our sixth top-50 RPI win of the season. I don’t know how many bubble teams have six.” Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly had 18 points apiece for Kansas State, which rode a six-game

winning streak into the tournament. Kelly also had 10 rebounds. “They beat us three times, so they’re just better than we are, no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “That’s been proven on the floor.” Higgins had 19 points in the second half, picking up the slack while Burks struggled with three fouls and spent much of the time on the bench. The Buffaloes closed the game on a 14-3 run, sinking eight straight free throws during one stretch. They were 23-of-27 from the line. Please see K-STATE, page 3A


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