March 14: News Headlines Digest
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Also see our Daily Threads, March 14, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 13, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 13
Please visit: **Mar 13: Post-game Roundup - KU vs Oklahoma State **####
###Medcalf: Wiggins doesn’t have to change we do###
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Andrew Wiggins rose. But when gravity pulled a trio of Oklahoma State defenders back to earth, he kept climbing.
Wayne Selden Jr. could have thrown that pass anywhere and Wiggins would have grabbed it and flushed that breathtaking alley-oop in the second half.
If there was anyone in the Sprint Center who could stop Wiggins, one of the most hyped freshmen in the history of the college game, he never emerged. If any doubts about Wiggins’ assertiveness remained prior to his effort on Thursday in Kansas’ 77-70 overtime win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals (30 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals), they’ve probably ceased.
###Kegan: Tarik Black brings passion to Big 12 tournament###
Kansas City, Mo. — Some college basketball fans view conference post-season tournaments as a chance to exhale between the regular season and NCAA tournament.
Anyone in the Sprint Center for Kansas University’s 77-70, overtime victory Thursday afternoon against Oklahoma State who still feels that way needs to press a finger against a vein and check for a pulse.
###Bedore: No doubt: Andrew Wiggins explodes for 30 points in OT win over Oklahoma State###
Kansas City, Mo. — Andrew Wiggins has sensed some gloom and doom — outside of Kansas University’s basketball locker room — regarding the Jayhawks’ chances of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament without injured big man Joel Embiid.
“A lot of people were doubting us, saying we wouldn’t be any good with Joel out,” Wiggins said after scoring 30 points off 9-of-17 shooting (3-of-6 from three; 9-of-10 from the line) in KU’s 77-70 overtime victory over Oklahoma State in Thursday’s Big 12 tournament quarterfinals in Sprint Center.
###Tait: Jamari Traylor makes up for miscues with hustle plays vs OSU###
Kansas City, Mo. — Thursday’s 77-70, overtime victory by the Kansas University basketball team over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament served as the stage for arguably the most Jamari Traylor night of any the Jayhawks have had all season.
Overflowing with emotion and packed with raw power and critical hustle plays, the 6-foot-8 reserve forward contributed six points, nine rebounds and two blocks in a career best 27 minutes while helping pick up some of the slack for the absence of starting center Joel Embiid.
###Bedore: Notebook: Joel Embiids father says center will return “soon”###
Joel Embiid’s dad, Thomas, says he believes his injured son will play in the 2014 NCAA tournament.
“Yes he can play before the end of the NCAA. I don’t know if it will take one or two weeks, but I know he will come back soon. He will be back soon. The only thing I can say is he will be back soon,” said Thomas Embiid, in town for the Big 12 tournament with his wife, Christine.
###Smith: One more time: Iowa State takes on Kansas###
Iowa State didn’t have to go to overtime to beat Kansas State in the first game of the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Sprint Center, but that game was just as intense as the one that followed it — an OT thriller between Kansas and Oklahoma State.
Now that both the Cyclones (24-7) and Jayhawks (24-8) have lived up to the old March motto of “survive and advance,” they will play each other for the third time this season Friday night at Sprint Center for a chance to advance to the Big 12 title game.
####Video: Wiggins and Self post game interviews####
Also see our Daily Threads, March 14, and the News Digest for Yesterday, March 13, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, March 13
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@approxinfinity that grosses me out!
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This post is deleted!
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@approxinfinity To quote the Late Great Rick James: “Cocaine is a powerful drug”.
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Lock down defense is the key to today’s game. That and young men named Wiggins, Tharpe, Ellis, Black, Selden, Mason, Traylor, Lucas, Greene, AW3 and Frankamp. Let’s go Jayhawks!!!
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From Yahoo! Sports = See below what the flopper said about our fans travelling. Jealous much?
No. 10 Kansas beats Oklahoma State, 77-70 in OT
By DAVE SKRETTA (AP Sports Writer) 9 hours ago AP - Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Andrew Wiggins gathered the ball along the baseline with about a minute left in regulation, turned around and put up the kind of fade-away jumper that will soon make him millions.
When it splashed through the net, his teammates on the Kansas bench leaped to their feet.
Energized by the clutch play of their talented freshman, the No. 10 Jayhawks held on to force overtime, then pulled away for a 77-70 victory over Oklahoma State on Wednesday that earned them a spot in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.
‘‘My shot was falling the whole game,’’ said Wiggins, who finished with 30 points. ‘‘They cut off the base line, and step-back is one of my main moves, and it just fell through.’’
Wayne Selden Jr. added 14 points, and Naadir Tharpe made four foul shots in the extra session to seal the win for the top-seeded Jayhawks. They advanced to face fourth-seeded Iowa State, a 91-85 winner of fifth-seeded Kansas State, on Friday night.
‘‘It was an unbelievable game,’’ Kansas coach Bill Self said. ‘‘Two teams competing hard.’’
Phil Forte briefly gave the Cowboys a 70-68 lead with a 3-pointer a minute into overtime, but the Jayhawks (24 and eight) scored the final nine points, all but two at the foul line.
Le’Bryan Nash scored 19 points to lead the No. 8 seed Cowboys (21-12). Forte added 16 points and Marcus Smart finished with 14, though he missed all three of his shots in overtime.
##’‘It’s always hard to beat Kansas, especially in this building,’’ Smart said. ‘‘They have the fanbase to back them up. It’s kind of hard. They have the energy and momentum from their fans and it kind of takes the opposing team out of it.’’##
Both teams had chances to earn the win in regulation.
After Wiggins hit his jumper to knot the game 67-all, Cowboys coach Travis Ford decided against going 2-for-1 on possessions, and Smart missed a 3 with 32 seconds left.
The Jayhawks got the rebound and called timeout with 16 seconds left, and set up a play for Wiggins, who missed a tightly guarded 3 with a few ticks left on the lock. Tarik Black gathered in the rebound and stuck it back, but the basket came after time had expired.
Black got extended minutes in place of Joel Embiid, the Jayhawks’ 7-foot freshman center, who has been ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his back. Black finished with seven points and 12 rebounds, including a couple with the game in the balance.
Now, the Jayhawks will try to beat Iowa State for the third time this season.
‘‘Kansas is a team that you’ve already played twice,’’ Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg said. ‘‘We know everybody. Everybody knows us.’’
The Cowboys, who had to play a matinee after dispatching Texas Tech on Wednesday night, didn’t look as if they were weary in the first half. They actually pulled out to an early lead, silencing a heavily pro-Kansas crowd that had packed inside the Sprint Center.
Kansas responded by taking a 32-23 lead into halftime, and then maintained its advantage early in the second half. But once Black and fellow forward Perry Ellis picked up their fourth fouls, the Cowboys started shredding the Kansas defense by driving the lane.
Smart proved to be the most adept at it, picking up fouls when he wasn’t hammered on the way to the rim. But just about everyone wearing black and orange got into the act, and Oklahoma State methodically trimmed the lead to 55-49 with about 8 minutes to go.
That’s when Ford changed things up by slapping on a full-court press. It produced two quick turnovers and helped Oklahoma State take a 60-59 lead with 4 minutes left.
It was the Cowboys’ first lead since the 12-minute mark in the first half.
The two teams, who each won on their home floor during the regular season, traded blows down the stretch. Selden made a couple free throws for Kansas, Forte answered with two from the foul line for Oklahoma State. Black and Wiggins threw down alley-oop dunks for the Jayhawks, and Murphy hit a pair of free throws and Markel Brown hit a rainbow 3 to give the Cowboys the lead.
It just made sense that such a nip-and-tuck game would be decided in overtime.
‘‘They made some big shots down the stretch,’’ Ford said. ''Wiggins made a big shot in the corner - he played a heck of a game. They’re just a heck of a basketball team, but our guys played hard. We just didn’t have anything left in the tank at the end.’'
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From Kansas Athletics!
Great video highlights with Bob Davis, then short Coach, Wayne and Wiggs post game:
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Wish I was at the tournament this year! So many good games. I got the opportunity to go last season, it was awesome, and it looks like this year could be better (if the good guys keep winning).
