Sports
The great escape
Kansas survives rematch
Kansas guard Sherron Collins pumps his fist as he exits the court following the Jayhawks 57-55 win over Memphis, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
November 18, 2009
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Audio Clips
2009 KU-Memphis
- Cole Aldrich discusses KU's turnover problems
- Cole Aldrich talks about his mind-set while Sherron Collins was out late with cramps
- KU coach Bill Self full press conference
- Marcus Morris talks about his goal while defending Memphis' Elliot Williams on the final shot
- Memphis coach Josh Pastner full press conference
- Memphis guard Elliot Williams talks about his three-point attempt at the buzzer for the win
Jayhawks barely edge Tigers
Kansas wasn't playing up to its potential Tuesday as the Jayhawks barely escaped with a two-point victory against the Tigers of Memphis. Cole Aldrich played a solid first half. Enlarge video
KU squeaks past Memphis
The KU men's basketball team barely topped Memphis Tuesday night. Enlarge video
St. Louis — Marcus Morris hoped for the best as Memphis’ Elliot Williams hoisted a possible game-winning three-pointer with just a couple seconds remaining in Tuesday’s Hall of Fame Showcase at Scottrade Center.
Kansas University’s 6-foot-8 sophomore forward feared the worst, however, as the 6-5 lefty released the basketball.
“When he shot it, I froze a second,” Morris said. “I looked at his face. He was backing up, and his face ... he looked so confident. I said, ‘God, don’t let him make the shot.’ Luckily my prayers were answered.”
Williams’ shot — taken fairly close to the spot Mario Chalmers made famous against Memphis in the 2008 NCAA title game — was dead-on, but banged off the rim as No. 1-ranked KU survived the pesky Tigers, 57-55.
“I didn’t want him to shoot a three,” Morris said, “because that would give them the win instead of a tie. But he backed up and shot it. I didn’t crowd him as much as I should have.”
Unranked Memphis, which elected to go for the victory instead of trying to drive for a two-pointer and the tie against No. 1-rated KU, went to its most productive player down the stretch.
Williams finished with a game-high 21 points off 6-of-18 shooting (three of 11 from three).
“We did defend the last deal pretty well,” said KU coach Bill Self, who was pleased with his team’s defense late, crediting Memphis’ Williams and Doneal Mack for hitting clutch treys in the last minute to keep the Tigers in the game.
The Tigers’ last-ditch three for the win came after KU’s Sherron Collins missed the first of two free throws, sinking the second with :15.3 left, to give the Jayhawks a 57-55 advantage, setting up the Tigers’ final play call.
Collins showed a lot of guts in driving the lane and scoring off a goaltending call with :29 left as KU bagged a 56-52 advantage.
That’s because he cramped badly the second half. He limped to the locker room with 9:01 remaining and returned at 3:47.
Self said he thought Collins might have had IV fluids drained into his system during that spell.
“I didn’t ask him. I just said, ‘Make the second free throw,’’’ Self cracked.
Collins said he actually didn’t need an IV, but was hurting nonetheless.
“I wasn’t going to let cramps keep me down. I was going to finish the game,” Collins said.
He was a bit frustrated because the TV in the locker room, “was a few seconds off. I’d hear the crowd cheering and not know what was going on. I had to ask the trainer,” he said with a smile.
Much of what was happening on the court was not so pretty. KU committed 21 turnovers to Memphis’ 13. The Jayhawks hit 46.5 percent of their shots to Memphis’ 34.5. KU hit one of five threes, Memphis six of 25.
Tyshawn Taylor had seven turnovers against five assists on a day things just didn’t flow for the Jayhawks, who had scored 100 or more points in two exhibition games and the regular-season opener.
“We played stupid, didn’t finish plays. We have to be more focused,” Collins said.
Collins finished with 12 points in 32 minutes, while Hall of Fame Showcase MVP Cole Aldrich had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
“I thought it was a very competitive game, a great game to play early in the season,” Self assessed. “I thought Memphis played extremely well, extremely hard, and we were fortunate they didn’t hit that shot. I thought we played very very hard. Offensively we weren’t clicking on all cylinders, but I thought we did some good things, and this game will be a very good teaching tool.”
As far as that offense ... “We don’t understand how to score yet,” he said.
KU committed 11 turnovers to Memphis’ seven as the Jayhawks struggled to a 26-20 halftime lead. Freshman Xavier Henry had four of the turnovers to go with five points and two steals.
The first-half stat sheet proved ugly all around. KU, which was led by Aldrich’s eight points, hit 41.7 shots to the Tigers’ 28.0. Memphis missed 14 of 16 threes, while the Jayhawks missed two of three.
Memphis had just one assist to go with the seven bobbles. KU had four assists, three by Taylor.
The best KU run of the half was a 6-0 spurt that opened a 24-17 lead with 2:05 remaining. Aldrich had a slam dunk off a feed from Marcus Morris, while Markieff Morris and Taylor each hit two free throws.
KU will next meet Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. Thursday in Allen Fieldhouse.
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18 November 2009
at 10:15 a.m.
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reserveseating (Anonymous) says…
I think the polls will remain the same the way duke played the night before was sad, This game was disgusting, with all the hype it looked as if Tyshawn Taylor was trying to lose. Xavier was trying to pad his stats and kept messing up and Tyrell Reed can he do anything?? As for 100 yr old Dick Vitale I think they mentioned the game 3 times during game, the other guy might as well gave him an around the world during the game they way he kept talking during and not about the game.
18 November 2009
at 10:20 a.m.
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jimjones (Anonymous) says…
I can hear the chants now, “Over-rated, over-rated, over-rated!”
18 November 2009
at 10:56 a.m.
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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…
A good, early scare for the team. MSU and UK had similar experiences.
I wonder if Self's gonna try and bench Collins for some time on some of these less-difficult games. The team didn't really seem to know what to do when he wasn't on the floor.
18 November 2009
at 11:05 a.m.
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alor (Anonymous) says…
I finally turned off Dick Vitale - what a bunch of drivel. Bob and Chris are SO much better.
18 November 2009
at 11:10 a.m.
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JOEHAWK (Anonymous) says…
very physical game by the tigers. Our guys were overwhelmed by that. Some of the freshmen looked like Deer in the headlights. That's ok, they needed to be taken down a notch and I think coach let that happen.
18 November 2009
at 2:01 p.m.
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jhawks1510 (Anonymous) says…
I'll give Memphis some credit for playing so scrappy. MSU, Kentucky, Georgia, UConn, all these big-name teams having to pull it out at the last (or losing like UGA) to unranked and unheralded opponents. It's going to be a very tough year in Div I hoops for all the big fish.
18 November 2009
at 2:56 p.m.
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Cyclones66046 (Anonymous) says…
“Over-rated, over-rated, over-rated!”
18 November 2009
at 5:19 p.m.
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sparky1958 (Anonymous) says…
How very appropriate,,, Sharon Collins has cramps,,,lolololololololololololo
18 November 2009
at 7:34 p.m.
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yellatex1 (Anonymous) says…
That mash-up in Bramlage is gonna be fun..
18 November 2009
at 8:17 p.m.
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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
Hey sparky, I didn't know that children were allowed to post on here. Grow up, loser.
18 November 2009
at 8:22 p.m.
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sparky1958 (Anonymous) says…
Getting by a gutted Mephis team by 2 and you are going to do what in Bramlage???
Drink that koolaide UK losers
18 November 2009
at 8:34 p.m.
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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…
UK is in Kentucky.
/and there's no “e” in kool-aid
18 November 2009
at 8:54 p.m.
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sparky1958 (Anonymous) says…
Your BBall team is going to tank like your your football team and waste the talent that it has.
18 November 2009
at 11:26 p.m.
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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…
Yes, I'm sure you're right.
19 November 2009
at 12:38 a.m.
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blackmild (Anonymous) says…
a win is a win for ku and they will learn from this and get better as the season go along
19 November 2009
at 1:15 a.m.
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riverdrifter (Anonymous) says…
Sparky:
Self's team will slobber around through the winter. They will lose some games, yes
Then the daffodils bloom. In April. In Lawrence.
19 November 2009
at 1:16 a.m.
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TopJayhawk (Anonymous) says…
It's early, most big names did struggle yesterday.
And Sparky, time to take the perscription meds, and quit sucking on the meth pipe.
Maybe you could take a spelling class in your spare time.
19 November 2009
at 5:20 a.m.
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jonas_opines (Anonymous) says…
One of the funniest parts of the couple close scares from the last few days has been watching all the commentators squawk about how there's no certainty, like with UNC last year, etc. etc.. Conveniently forgetting (or, perhaps, hoping that we will conveniently forget) the several occasions after losses that everybody bailed on UNC as the great team of the land, and that UNC wasn't the top pick going into the tournament, just the top pick coming out of it.