NU: Crowd lifted Kansas
Cornhuskers say KU improved in three weeks
Nebraska pulled off one of the most surprising victories in the Big 12 Conference this season with a 74-55 victory over Kansas University on Feb. 15 in Lincoln, Neb., but all night Wednesday it was clear who the victor would be in the Allen Fieldhouse rematch.
Fifteen minutes after the Jayhawks’ 78-67 win over the Huskers, NU senior Brian Conklin talked about the intensity the Jayhawks took from the crowd on KU’s Senior Night, and how the Huskers were dominated by the Jayhawks’ inside presence.
Fittingly, his comments were drowned out by the applause from the thousands of KU fans who stayed to listen to the seniors’ speeches.
“It was big-time,” Conklin said of the change in the scenery from the Bob Devaney Sports Center to Allen Fieldhouse. “You look at this crowd, and they get them going, and they really feed off that. They just make plays off one another, and they get pretty confident out there, and a lot of good things happen.”
Not that it was a terribly bad start for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska (16-9 overall, 6-9 Big 12) actually shot slightly better in the first half Wednesday than it did in its big win three weeks ago. NU’s 47.8 percent field-goal shooting was nearly identical to its 47.6 first-half total in Lincoln.
Plus, the Cornhuskers drilled seven of their first nine three-pointers to trail just 28-27 with 7:29 to go in the first half.
“We didn’t get to Conklin early, obviously, because he was 4-for-4 from three-point range,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They just made shots early. They were unbelievable making shots. Then we finally started getting to the shooters.”
The result: Nebraska connected on only two of 11 threes the rest of the night.
Nebraska's Andrew Drevo, who had 12 points, drives on KU's Moulaye Niang, right.
Then came the biggest reversal from NU’s win in Lincoln to Wednesday’s loss — Kansas’ play in the paint.
While Cornhusker big men Andrew Drevo and John Turek scored nearly as many points as they did in their win — each scored 14 in Lincoln and combined for 22 Wednesday — they couldn’t find a way to slow the Jayhawks inside.
Wayne Simien led the way with 22 points, but Jeff Graves, who didn’t play at the Devaney Center because he had a bad week of practice, provide a big push with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
“It was a nice revenge game,” Graves said with a smile. “I think we would have won up there if I was playing, but you can’t look back.”
Looking back, Turek said Graves gave Kansas an added dimension.
“I think since it was Senior Night and with how we beat them last time, they came out with intensity and played hard,” Turek said. “Graves is a great player, and he made some great baskets.”
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See the photos: KU-NU photo galleryWhile five Cornhuskers scored in double digits, led by Conklin’s 14, NU guard Jake Muhleisen said the Jayhawks quickly closed the door in the second half.
“We wanted to come out in the second half and cut the lead to single digits,” he said. “They came out more intense and were more physical. You have to give them credit for executing well right out of the gates.”
Kansas’ 10-0 spurt to start the second half all but crushed the Cornhuskers, but the Jayhawks’ advantage on the boards was too much to overcome, NU coach Barry Collier said.
“It gave Kansas a lot of extra possessions,” Collier said of KU’s 38-25 rebounding advantage. “I think there was one possession where Kansas was able to get four offensive rebounds.
“You feel good about every step of your defense until the block out and rebounds come.”
But Collier said the biggest difference wasn’t the Cornhuskers but the Jayhawks’ improved play from last month.
“They were physical and aggressive. They just had the edge,” Collier said. “I thought that Kansas was definitely more physical tonight than they were the last time we played.”