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Category: College

Jayhawks bounce back and blowout No. 6 Baylor

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Whatever Tyshawn Taylor and the rest of his Kansas teammates did to motivate 7-foot Jeff Withey certainly worked.

“In practice every day, punching him in his chest, jumping on him, trying to get him fired up,” Taylor said. “He came out and played amazing.”

Withey, coming of a scoreless game, rebounded with a career-high 25 points for the Jayhawks (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) in another convincing victory over sixth-ranked Baylor, 68-54 on Wednesday night, to regain a share of the Big 12 lead.

“I don’t know why Withey likes playing against us so much, but he looks like an All-American when he does,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

Withey, who finished 8-of-10 shooting and made 9 of 11 free throws, had already surpassed his career high by halftime, when Kansas didn’t lead until the final minute. He then ignited a 14-0 run early in the second half when the Jayhawks (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) took total control of the Top-10 rematch.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self, who had his own way of motivating Withey, called it was one of the best offensive games by a Kansas big man in quite some time.

“Coach definitely got into my head and just told me that I need to be able to play,” Withey said. “I can’t go games where I don’t score. … My teammates definitely trusted me. They made great plays and got me open.”

Baylor (21-3, 8-3) was 17-0 with the longest winning streak in school history before a 92-74 loss at Kansas just more than three weeks ago. The Bears followed that with a one-point home loss to Missouri, where they play their next game Saturday.

The Jayhawks, coming off a 74-71 loss at fourth-ranked Missouri on Saturday when Withey missed his only shot, grabbed a share of the Big 12 lead with the Tigers. Kansas hasn’t lost consecutive games in more than six years — a span of 228 games since January 2006.

In the Jan. 16 game against Baylor, Taylor and Thomas Robinson had combined for 55 points and both matched career highs for field goals made. Taylor had a career-best 28 points in that game and Robinson had 27.

Taylor finished with 19 points this time, his ninth consecutive game with at least 15. Robinson, the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double, had 15 points with 11 rebounds.

The Jayhawks went ahead for the first time, and to stay, during a 14-3 run over the final 4½ minutes of the first half with Robinson sitting on the bench after his second foul.

Withey had already matched his previous career high of 15 points on a free throw with 2½ minutes left in the first half to get Kansas within 30-25. He then blocked a shot, which led to a 3-pointer by Conner Teahan. Withey then made a tying layup with 1:34 left.

The Jayhawks finally led on Teahan’s 3-pointer in the final minute for a 33-30 halftime lead.

After the first half-ending spurt, Withey had a turnover to start the second half before Pierre Jackson came away from a scrum on the floor with the ball for a Baylor layup.

Kansas then scored 14 points in a row, a stretch started by Withey’s layup before he added a three-point play.

Withey then had consecutive steals that led to jumpers by Robinson, who fouled making the second basket. He converted the three-point play and it became a seven-point possession when Quincy Miller’s foul was called flagrant after officials looked at replay.

After Withey made the technical free throw, Tyshawn Taylor’s 3-pointer with 16½ minutes left pushed Kansas to a 47-32 lead.

“That seven-point possession took a lot out of us,” Jackson said. “We just didn’t answer back after that.”

Jackson led Baylor with 16 points, while Quincy Acy and Cory Jefferson had 11 each.

Baylor worked the already raucous sellout crowd into a frenzy by scoring the first seven points. Self called timeout less than 2 minutes into the game.

The opening play was an alley-oop pass from Jackson to Perry Jones III for a slam dunk. Jackson then penetrated for a short floater, and the Bears were up 7-0 when Jackson had another assist, a bounce pass to Quincy Miller for a 3-pointer from the right wing.

Neither Jones, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, nor Miller had another field goal. Miller came out for good after his flagrant foul with 16:38 left.

After making its first three shots, Baylor missed the next five and Kansas got even at 7-all when Withey made two free throws. But the Bears pushed back ahead 19-9 after Jackson’s alley-oop pass to Acy for another rim-rattling dunk that reignited the fans, before Jackson stole the ball from Withey and scored on a baseline floater.

“We’re all embarrassed and disappointed by our play,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Up 10 with 9:41 to go, and really the end of the first half was the beginning of the turning point. … We should have finished with momentum going into the locker room. We didn’t.”

— Associated Press —

Northwest women blow halftime lead and lose to Lincoln

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Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team held an eight-point halftime lead and scored the first seven points in the second half against Lincoln University Wednesday evening at Bearcat Arena.

All signs pointed to Northwest snapping a six-game losing streak.

The Bearcats gave no indication of what was about to unfold when it held a 13-point lead with 15:54 left.

Lincoln scored the next 16 points and never trailed again, handing Northwest a disheartening 82-67 loss.

Northwest dropped to 4-19 overall and 2-13 in the MIAA. The Bearcats’ hope of earning the eighth and final spot in the MIAA Tournament dimmed just a little bit more.

What happened when Northwest was leading 51-38 and appeared to be in complete control?

“We played with emotion, passion and desperation in the first half,” Northwest coach Gene Steinmeyer said. “None of that was present in the second half.  We missed a few shots and it all went away.

“I am a coach that is kind of out of answers.”

It took Lincoln 5 minutes to go from 13 points down to leading 54-51 with 10 minutes left.

It took another 2 minutes before Northwest broke its scoring drought. Shelly Martin knocked down a 15-foot jumper. Martin went 6 for 12 from the field and finished with 12 points. Abby Henry led Northwest with 22 points.

“We were stuck on 51 forever,” Steinmeyer said.

Lincoln immediately answered Martin’s basket with a three-pointer for a 57-53 lead. A little later, Freddie Sims knocked down a three-pointer that put Lincoln up 62-57 with 5:33 left.

The Bearcats never slowed down Lincoln’s offense in the final 10 minutes.

“It was like the proverbial snowball,” Steinmeyer said.

It really was hard to see this loss coming after the way Northwest played in the first half.

The Bearcats took a 41-33 lead into halftime. After a brief 2-0 deficit, the Bearcats completely dominated the first 10 minutes and built an 18-6.

The only bad sign was Northwest started giving up easy layups to Lincoln. It would haunt the Bearcats later in the game.

But in the first half, Northwest was scoring so easily that it almost didn’t matter that Lincoln was scoring nearly at the same pace.

Late in the first half, the Bearcats still held a 39-27 lead.

“How many times did we have kids on the floor for loose balls and then it just went away,” Steinmeyer said.

Northwest returns to action Saturday at home against rival Missouri Western. The Bearcats showed enough positive signs in the first half against Lincoln for them to believe they will break their losing streak.

A win against Western will definitely take some of the sting out of the loss to Lincoln.

“We will break down the film of the first half and try to transfer it to our next game,” Steinmeyer said.

The Bearcats just need to let that first half against Lincoln soak in. They created 20 turnovers in the first half. They shot 45 percent from the field. They played winning basketball.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Missouri State hangs on to beat Southern Illinois

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Caleb Patterson scored 18 points off the bench, Kyle Weems added 14 — including a tip-in with 42 seconds left that proved to be the game-winning score — and Missouri State held on to beat Southern Illinois 56-54 on Wednesday night.

Weems tipped in a missed Anthony Downing layup to give the Bears (15-11, 8-6 Missouri Valley) a 56-52 lead. Jeff Early got the Salukis (8-17, 5-9) back within two on a layup with 27 seconds left.

SIU then fouled Jarmar Gulley, who missed the front end of a one-and-one to give the Salukis a chance to tie or go ahead. But Mamadou Seck’s jumper in the closing seconds was off the mark.

Seck led SIU with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Salukis attempted only 10 free throws and made just three of them.

The victory was only Missouri State’s eighth in 29 games against Southern Illinois in Carbondale.

— Associated Press —

Bearcats move up to No. 18 in latest NABC Top 25 poll

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With just one week before the ever-important NCAA Regional Rankings debut, the Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team continues to climb in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll released Tuesday.

The Bearcats jump to No. 18 in this week’s edition of the poll after picking up a 78-74 win at Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon. With the win over the Gorillas, Northwest improved to 17-3 overall and 11-3 in conference play and clinched a spot in the MIAA Postseason Tournament, the first under head coach Ben McCollum.

The NABC Top 25 poll is made up of votes from coaches around the country and does not affect standing in the NCAA tournament. The first NCAA Regional Rankings come out Wednesday, Feb. 15, as the top eight teams in the rankings earn a spot in their respective regional tournament.

The top five teams all remained the same in the poll, led by No. 1 Bellarmine (Ky.) and followed by West Liberty (W. Va.) at No. 2. Winona State (Minn.) moved up to No. 3, as did Colorado School of Mines to No. 4 while Tarleton State (Texas) fell from No. 3 to No. 5.

Also cracking the NABC Top 25 is MIAA member Central Missouri at No. 25 while Missouri Southern sits one spot behind the Bearcats at No. 19.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

K-State cruises past Texas Tech Tuesday, 65-46

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Shane Southwell scored 13 points to lead Kansas State to a 65-46 victory against Texas Tech on Tuesday night.

Will Spradling and Rodney McGruder had 10 points each for the Wildcats (17-6, 6-5 Big 12).

Luke Adams, a 5-foot-9-freshman, scored 15 points for the Red Raiders (7-16, 0-11).

Offense was a challenge for both teams, especially in the first half. Kansas State shot 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) in the half but led 31-17 at the break. Midway through the first half, there was a stretch of more than five minutes where neither team scored.

Texas Tech went 8 minutes, 24 seconds without a field goal in the first half and did not make its first basket of the second half until Jaye Crockett sank a baseline jumper with 10:11 remaining.

The Red Raiders cut the lead to 50-40 with 2:53 remaining after an 18-3 run that featured three Adams 3-pointers, but Kansas State regrouped and pulled away.

— Associated Press —

Missouri Western’s upset bid comes up short at No. 13 Arkansas Tech

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The Missouri Western women’s road struggles continued Monday night in Russellville, Ark., falling 81-75 against the 13th ranked Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech. Jessica Koch continued her solid play dumping in 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting as the Griffons fall to 6-15 overall.

The first half was a close battle as neither team led by more than six points. There were five lead changes and seven ties in the frame as the Griffons hung in with the high powered Golden Suns. The Griffons went into the locker room down 36-33.

Western came out of the locker room determined scoring eight of the first 11 points taking a two point lead at 41-39 after two Abby Stone free throws. Western continued to play well going up by four after an Alicia Bell three with 13:59 to play.

The next minute and ten seconds belonged to Arkansas Tech as three consecutive three’s, two by Katie Horsman and a Lindsey Root free throw gave the Golden Suns a six point lead with 12:49 to play. ATU stretched their lead to eight after Horsman nailed another three with just under 12 minutes to play.

Western answered the bell cutting the lead to two just four minutes later after a Koch free throw. The Golden Suns opened up a seven point lead with just under three minutes to play but once again Western used a 6-0 run cutting the Golden Sun’s lead to 76-75 with 2:09 to play.

The Griffons did not score the rest of the game as the Golden Suns took the six point victory. Arkansas Tech improves to 15-3 with the victory shooting 47.5-percent (28-59) from the floor and sinking 17-of-22 free throws. Natalia Santos finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Horsman dumped in 23 points making 6-of-8 long range shots. Jessica Watherford also finished with a double double scoring 10 points and snaring 10 rebounds.

Western made 30-of-73 field goals and 8-of-24 long range shots. Western struggled from the line making 7-of-13 free throws and got outrebounded 43 to 38. Bell and Ashley Curry finished with 14 and 11 points respectively. Koch and Bell recorded nine rebounds apiece.

Western returns to action on Saturday, February 11 when they take on the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats in Maryville, Mo. Game time is set for 1:30 pm in Bearcat Arena.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Missouri hangs on for road win at Oklahoma

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Sandwiched between an emotionally charged victory against archrival Kansas and a top 10 showdown with first place on the line, Missouri faced a test of its collective focus.

The Tigers got a passing grade — barely.

Marcus Denmon scored 25 points, Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 10 rebounds and No. 4 Mizzou claimed first place in the Big 12 by edging Oklahoma 71-68 on Monday night.

“We understand that this game was just as important as the last one,” Denmon said. “Pretty much, we have a veteran group and we just wanted to make sure everybody came out and understood how important this game would be for us to play after a big win like the one at home against Kansas.”

Coach Frank Haith required his players to report to a hotel by 2 a.m. after their late-night victory against the then-No. 8 Jayhawks, trying to temper the celebration and get a head start on a road game less than 48 hours later against an opponent they had beaten by 38 points earlier this season.

Asked whether it was the right move, Denmon and Ratliffe looked at each other and didn’t say a word.

Finally, Denmon answered and got a pat on the back from his first-year coach.

“Whether I wanted to go to the hotel or not, I understood,” Denmon said. “I understood that it was a good decision by Coach and it seems like it helped us.”

The Tigers host Baylor on Saturday.

Oklahoma (13-10, 3-8) still had the ball with a chance to tie with 5 seconds left. Romero Osby was fouled with 2.5 seconds left and missed both free throws, and Steven Pledger missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer when the offensive rebound was tapped back to him.

Pledger slumped to the ground and put his hands over his face after his potential tying shot clanged off the rim to end the game. He stayed on the floor until two Missouri players and teammate Barry Honore came over to lift him up.

“It was perfect. The play was designed to miss the free throw and get the tip-out and we actually got the tip-out,” said Pledger, who led Oklahoma with 22 points.

“It was on line. It felt good when it left my hand. It didn’t go in.”

Sam Grooms had a career-high 17 points and matched his career-best with 10 assists, and Andrew Fitzgerald scored 12 points for the Sooners.

Michael Dixon chipped in 13 points for Missouri.

The Tigers (22-2, 9-2) moved a half-game ahead of No. 6 Baylor and Kansas (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) in the standings. Those teams meet Wednesday night for a chance to pull even with Missouri, and the Tigers host the Bears on Saturday.

This one was nothing like Oklahoma’s previous meeting with Missouri, won 87-49 by the Tigers on their home court. Missouri held a 15-rebound advantage in that one but Oklahoma came out ahead 36-22 on the boards on Monday.

The Tigers made up for it by holding a 28-12 scoring edge the paint and getting the only 10 fast-break points of the game.

“There’s no question you had to fight against all of that — the emotional win and then you have a game at your place where you just played incredible and they didn’t play their best game,” Haith said.

“So, you get a false sense. You worry about that false sense of what it’s going to be like when they get here.”

In Norman, they found a half-full Lloyd Noble Center and a student section with dozens of empty seats that had newspapers draped over the backs that the occupants would usually hold up during pregame introductions.

It still got loud when the Sooners pulled within 66-64 after Pledger’s 3-pointer from the left side with 3:33 to play.

Denmon followed with a jumper from the right side with 2 seconds left on the shot clock before Grooms and Pledger both went 1 for 2 at the free throw line to get Oklahoma back within two.

Kim English then hit a 3-pointer from the right side off Phil Pressey’s seventh assist to provide what proved to be the game-winner with 53.6 seconds left.

Fitzgerald hit two free throws for Oklahoma with 41.6 seconds remaining and Dixon missed on a drive to the basket to give the Sooners their last chance with 5 seconds left.

“We never let them take the lead, and that was a sign of a good team,” Haith said. “I think once they made runs, we executed when we needed to make a shot.”

Oklahoma connected on its first six shots, and eight of 10 to get out to a 17-12 lead before Missouri surged back with seven straight points to take its first lead. The Sooners had an answer a few minutes later, getting two jumpers from Fitzgerald and a 3 by Pledger to go back up 29-23 with 5:27 left before halftime.

At that point, it didn’t seem like the hotel strategy was working.

“I felt like we came with energy,” Denmon said, “but it has to be on both ends.”

As hot as Oklahoma started from the field, it was equally cold at the foul line — missing all seven of its free throws in the first half.

The Tigers finally took charge, scoring the final six points of the first half and the first six of the second to build a 42-33 lead after Denmon’s three free throws.

Dixon’s jumper from the right side of the key gave Missouri a momentary 10-point lead before Pledger hit consecutive 3-pointers to get the crowd involved. Oklahoma got within 55-52 after Grooms’ jumper from the right wing with 12 minutes left before coming up empty on three possessions with the chance to tie it.

“You want to win at this point in time,” Grooms said. “We just have certain plays and certain mishaps on the court that don’t allow us to do that right now. … When we’re ready to do it, we’ll do it. It’s up to us at the end of the day.”

— Associated Press —

KU’s Robinson named to Wooden midseason watch list

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Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson was named to the 2012 midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy it was announced Monday morning.

Robinson is currently the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double on the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. His 16 double-doubles are the most in the Big 12 and rank second nationally. He has scored 20 or more points eight times this season to lead KU. Versus North Dakota (12/31) he recorded the first 30-point, 20-rebound performance by a Jayhawk since Feb. 13, 1961 by Wayne Hightower.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 20 outstanding players for its 2012 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, to be presented to the national player of the year by its namesake in New Orleans at the USBWA’s College Basketball Awards Breakfast on March 30.

Earlier this season, Robinson was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 12, while also earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors three times this season.

Last season Marcus Morris was one of 10 finalists for the prestigious award. If Robinson is selected as a finalist, it will mark the third-straight year KU has had a finalist for the trophy.

— KU Sports Information —

Missouri State finalizes 2012 football schedule

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Missouri State University has finalized its 2012 football schedule, an 11-game slate that will feature five home games, trips to two FBS opponents and a new league opponent.

Seventh-year head coach Terry Allen and the Division I FCS Bears begin the season with road games at Kansas State on Sept. 1 and Louisville on Sept. 8. The Bears are 0-2 all-time against the Big XII Wildcats, a team coming off a 10-3 campaign and Cotton Bowl appearance. This will be the first meeting between the Bears and Louisville. The Big East Cardinals were 7-6 in 2011 and made an appearance in the Belk Bowl.

Allen’s squad will play its home opener on Sept. 15 against Ohio Valley Conference power Murray State. The Bears are 1-6 all-time against the Racers who are coming off a 7-4 campaign.

The two-game home stand continues on Sept. 22 with a Family Weekend battle against rival Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams. The Bears are 17-17 all-time against the Salukis.

Missouri State closes out the month of September at South Dakota State on Sept. 29. The Jackrabbits were 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the MVFC last season to tie for fourth place. MSU is seeking its first-ever win against SDSU after four previous meetings.

October begins with a road game at Indiana State on Oct. 6. The Sycamores will be looking for a solid homecoming outing after a 6-5 season in which they were 4-4 in conference action. The Bears lead ISU 16-10 overall with the teams splitting the last six meetings.

MSU returns to Plaster Field on Oct. 16 for their first-ever matchup with MVFC newcomer South Dakota. The Coyotes were 6-5 in 2011 and will make The Valley a 10-team league for the first time. The USD game will be the centerpiece of Showcase weekend at Missouri State.

On Oct. 20, Missouri State will continue conference play at Illinois State. The Redbirds were 7-4 last season, narrowly missing an FCS playoff bid and finishing 5-3 (third place) in the conference. MSU is 14-17-1 all-time against ISU.

Conference play returns to Springfield on Oct. 27 for a homecoming challenge from Western Illinois. The Bears have won three in a row from the Leathernecks in a series that is now tied 15-15-1. WIU was 2-9 last season and finished 1-7 in the MVFC to finish in ninth place.

The Bears will celebrate Senior Day in style on Nov. 3 with a visit from the defending Division I champions of North Dakota State. The Bison capped a 14-1 season with their first FCS title in 2011. NDSU shared the Valley regular-season title with Northern Iowa last year with identical 7-1 conference marks. The Bears are 2-2 all-time against the Bison with wins in two of the last three meetings against the defending national champs.

After a week off, the 2012 regular season will conclude at Northern Iowa on Nov. 17. Missouri State is 5-27 all-time against the Panthers and will look to end a six-game losing streak to UNI, which was an FCS playoff qualifier in 2011 and finished 10-3 overall.

All of the 2012 home games are slated to begin at 1 p.m. at Plaster Field, which has been the home of the Bears since 1941.

— MSU Sports Information —

Griffon comeback falls short at Missouri Southern

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Faced with a big deficit, the Missouri Western men did what they’ve done all season.

They fought back.

But despite a valiant comeback effort, the Griffons fell short in Joplin Saturday, falling to Missouri Southern 85-69.

Southern shot an amazing 60% from the field, including an unreal 77% in the first half to take a 50-32 lead to halftime.

But the Griffons regrouped and chipped away, using a 25-8 run, and cut the lead to 58-55 at the 11:09 mark of the 2nd half.

The Griffons could get no closer as Southern pulled away in the end

James Harris led four Griffons in double figures with a career high 28 points (8-18 fg).  Lavonte Douglas had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while TJ Johnson and Justin Reid added 10.

“I can’t say enough about our guys’ effort tonight,” said Coach Mike Nicholson. “they never quit and I thanked them in the lockerroom for that.”

“They deserve to be rewarded with wins.”

Nicholson, Western’s long-time assistant, made his head-coaching debut Saturday on a “one night only” basis.   Long-time head coach Tom Smith was absent to attend his induction ceremony into the Valparaiso University Athletics Hall of Fame

Western falls to 7-14 overall, and 2-14 in the MIAA, while Southern improves 18-5 and 10-5 in the conference.

Western beat Southern December 7th in St. Joseph when the Lions were ranked #1 in the nation.

The Griffons continue their road trip Thursday, when they make the 45 minute drive north to Maryville to take on Northwest Missouri State.

— MWSU Sports Information —

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