Conference Road Wins Are Always Sweet
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I enjoy this site. I drop in to read comments by the good folks here during the season because it is the best conversation going concerning our beloved KU baskteball team. Folks here are all in for KU hoops and I appreciate reading the perspectives.
I was at a sports bar in Minnesota, no one is rooting for KU hoops except for me, all around me people are playing bingo, and I’m off of my seat for this game. I am cheering out loud like it is an NCAA game. I am cheering out load because both teams are playing D with energy each possession and each bucket is like a nugget of gold for our scores and a kick in the guts when they hit a bucket . I know that KU is young, really young, and the conference is loaded. Each road win is key. The next road game is at Ames on ESPN Game Day. Self is 1-3 on the road on Game Day and playing at Ames is already a tough chore. Then the third road game is at Texas. Our first three road games are stacked hard against a young KU team learning to play on the road. Our two losses this year shows how badly this team needs to show serious fight for 40 minutes away from the Fieldhouse.
Baylor was going strong for the win tonight for Isaiah Austin. Multiply that with it being the home opener for Baylor plus it is KU. On the bench is a man with NBA skills that never saw the NBA because he had to retire due to Marfan Syndrome. The stakes for Baylor was center in my perception while watching this game. Are you scrutinizing the details to lay judgment on Jayhawk players because KU is not up by 10? I’ve watched a lot of games with KU fans and that seems to be a way of watching. Being up by 10 on the road against a ranked opponent gets me stoked, don’t get me wrong, though I don’t go into a road game during conference play expecting a waltz.
We should appreciate that the opponent was ranked, wants to crush us because we are KU on their home court, plus they are playing for one of their brothers on his night. As fans do we honor the opponent or are we spoiled rotten like other fans say we are? I’m asking that as a serious point of conversation this season because the road to a ring looks tough. This win was big because of what our opponent was playing for and how well they played. We beat them anyway. We beat them on the road. We beat them on their night. We did it tough as a team. Personally, I’m stoked by this win because of the way this young team fought for the win.
This is a really young KU team. They took that game away from Baylor. KU fought all night against a Baylor team that fought all night.
Wayne Selden drops 7 when you need him to. You need KU wins like a coffee junky needs java to be awake. Selden is there for you. I needed those 7. No java then kubuckets.com gets real cranky. Wayne Selden was key in dosing us tonight with a W roast.
Bill Self is the man. Scott Drew is not the man. In the last two minutes the players left Scott Drew hanging with his huddle break high five. Scott Drew is not the center of gravity in a huddle like Head Coach Bill Self. With fouls to give and seconds to play Bill Self draws up two out of bound plays in one huddle while the refs reviewed Oubre’s D play that Cherry knocked out of bounds with less than 10 seconds to play. The first play draws one second off the clock though it gets the ball into Mason’s hands for the 6th foul. The next set play gets the ball into Greene’s hands then he gets fouled and heads to the stripe. Greene makes both of them to go 17-17 for charities on the season. Then the head bender: fouling Cherry after killing a second or two off of the clock well before half court. Cherry makes two. Then the foul on Mason. Mason misses the front end and the nerves sky rocket for me since we are only up 1. No time left. Baylor is left looking at 0.0 by the time they get a guy shoulders squared to the basket. Bill Self navigated this young team through tough waters for the W. It’s Bill Self that makes KU the team to beat in Big XII play.
This was a crazy great game to win on the road, at least for me, and my confidence is boosted as we go for 11 rings in a row. Tough conference to win. I’m not going into this season expecting a conference championship. Expectations like that would be spoiled rotten. I’m hanging on every game and cheering for these guys. They deserve it tonight.
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@KJD nice!! For such a scary skull!!! Any meaning behind that? Exciting times!
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@Crimsonorblue22 The skull won because I like it and “KJD” returned from the dead for me because I am not posting on the other site. The chat board mojo left there and is here.
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@KJD I like it!!! Glad u r here.
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@KJD Welcome to KU basketball nirvana.
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Conference road wins count double.
A home win doesn’t mean much because if you lose on the road in a round robin, you’re no better off than you started.
But if you win on the road, it counts double because now the other guys have to come to your place to get a split. KU has won all these conference titles because they can win on the road, but very few can come to AFH and win.
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Did you notice that toward the end of the game Isaiah Austin was vigorously giving the team instructions in the huddle instead of Drew?..and he is not even an assistant coach, only a student assistant. Can you imaging a student assistant ever giving instruction in the huddle at KU while Coach Self watches? I can’t.
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@justanotherfan said:
Conference road wins count double.
I agree. A one-point victory on the road should at least get a little asterisk or happy face.
This game was played within about a 10-12 point spread – meaning Baylor’s largest lead was about 8 points and our largest lead was 3 or 4.
Winning tight games on the road often means you’ve stolen a gem from the opponent.
