Stuck in Philly

KU’s basketball players and coaches, who were to fly out via charter right after the game, instead checked into the Downtown Marriott for an overnight stay because of blizzard conditions.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the Jayhawks learned the Philly airport had been closed. The squad was to return via charter today, as soon as it was deemed safe to drive to the airport and the runways were open.

The blizzard was expected to continue through the night and end near dawn.

Giles logs no time

Kansas University freshman C.J. Giles, who has a bruised foot, didn’t play.

“He has a bad foot. He could have played today,” KU coach Bill Self said. “He didn’t practice yesterday and was limited the day before. If I had to, I would have played him, but I felt it best (to rest foot).”

Giles has been bothered by the injury the past couple of weeks, sometimes wearing a boot when he’s not practicing or playing in games.

Also, Moulaye Niang, who is battling the flu, did not make the trip.

This, that

The fans stormed the court after the game, celebrating for at least 10 minutes. At one point, the Villanova mascot was hoisted high in the air by fans and given a victory ride. … One sign after the game read, “Free Lowry,” referring to Kyle Lowry, who was ejected for socking KU’s Jeff Hawkins in the gut. … Villanova had not beaten a top-10 team since November of 2002, when the Wildcats stopped Michigan State. … Villanova’s four losses this season have been by a total of 10 points. Three of the losses (Temple, Georgetown, Boston College) were decided in the final possession. … Randy Foye, who had seven points, is 10 from becoming the 47th Villanova player to hit 1,000.

Digger digs Sumpter

ESPN analyst Digger Phelps, former coach at Notre Dame, took Villanova’s Curtis Sumpter on a tour of the Notre Dame campus on Jan. 7. Sumpter was in low spirits after visiting a doctor in South Bend, Ind., who told the player he had suffered a severely sprained knee at a morning practice.

“Mr. Phelps was real nice to me,” Sumpter said. “The personal tour was really cool. We prayed at the Grotto, and it just let me think about something besides my own troubles.”

Sumpter, as it turned out, only missed two games because of his knee sprain.

“He’s a great player,” KU’s Wayne Simien gushed.

Allen revisited

Villanova coach Jay Wright vividly remembers last year’s trip to Allen Fieldhouse, where his ‘Cats fell to KU, 86-79.

“It was all our first time to Allen Fieldhouse. The first thing you remember is the crowd, atmosphere and history,” Wright said. “We came in the day before. We talked to the guys about history of Kansas basketball, Phog Allen.

“We had to wait in the locker room while they sang Rock Chalk Jayhawk. I didn’t know we had to do that. The game … I remember the high/low game and us playing tough. We got down by 17 and kept battling, got it back to five. We took their best shot. We never died.”

Mr. Wright?

Some scribes have said Wright, 43, is on shaky ground at the Philadelphia private school.

His program, which hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 1999, last July was put on a two-year probation for recruiting violations. The program, however, was not cited for any ethical breaches. The former Hofstra coach’s program was cited for nearly team-wide misuse of a university-access phone code near the end of the 2002-03 season.

“They’ve learned life’s lessons that are going to be rewarding for them someday,” Wright said. “I am not happy any of it happened, but I am very proud of our players, administration and staff, the way we’ve handled all of it. We feel it’s really made us stronger. We kept a great attitude, and we all feel really good where the program is.”