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Kansas
Men's Basketball Drops Close Game to No. 7 Kansas, 69-66
01.21.2012 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2012
Box Score |
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Box Score 
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)--What looked like a rout soon turned into another Kansas-Texas classic.
And in the end, the Jayhawks walked away with another hard-fought win over the Longhorns.
Jeff Withey made a layup and free throw with 37 seconds to play and Thomas Robinson added a free throw with 8 seconds left, giving No. 7 Kansas a 69-66 win Saturday after Texas rallied from a big early deficit.
Texas had a last chance to force overtime, but J'Covan Brown's 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play bounced off the rim. Brown led Texas with 24 points.
While the win over Baylor came at home, this one was on the road in a tough environment and required a late rally after the Jayhawks blew a big lead against a Texas team that counts six freshmen in its nine recruited scholarship players.
Kansas coach Bill Self liked how his team pulled it out.
"We needed that," he said. "This is the best win we have had all year ... I thought we were fortunate."
After the game, Taylor was already looking ahead to the rematch at Kansas on March 3. Last season, Texas beat Kansas in Lawrence to end the Jayhawks' 69-game home winning streak.
"I'm sure it's going to be another dogfight," Taylor said.
So many Kansas-Texas games are.
Kansas (16-3, 6-0) is the only Big 12 team still undefeated in conference play and came in confident against a young Texas lineup. Taylor was sharp early and the Jayhawks quickly built a 15-point lead.
Texas came in desperate for a big win this season and things got chippy in the first half when Robinson and Texas' Alexis Wangmene were whistled for technical fouls after they tangled at midcourt.
The Jayhawks still led by 14 early in the second half before Brown slowly started reeling them in.
Clint Chapman scored 15 and gave Texas its first lead at 59-58 with just over 5 minutes to play. Brown, who scored just four points in the first half, kept firing up shots in the second. His 3-pointer with 3:20 to play put Texas up 64-60.
Brown, who had two 3-pointers reviewed by game officials earlier, turned and shook three fingers in the air after making it. Brown has averaged 26 points in Texas' three straight losses but was just 7-of-26 shooting against Kansas.
Kansas retook the lead on a three-point play by Taylor before Brown made two free throws. Kansas looked to be in trouble when Taylor then missed two from the line and Robinson missed a layup before Withey's three-point play.
Brown had a chance to tie it before he missed with 15 seconds left. Kansas' Travis Releford grabbed the rebound before Robinson's final trip to the line.
Taylor said Kansas was determined to keep Brown from getting a good shot on the last play.
"He still got a good look. That scared me," Taylor said. "He made his best plays late in the game."
Texas has now lost five games by six points or less. The Longhorns had to replace all five starters this season and the youthful lineup has struggled to finish games.
Brown has shouldered much of the burden, often taking over the offense late in games.
"There's no pressure," Brown said. "I want to be a big-time player and big-time players need to make big-time shots."
Kansas 69, Texas 66
January 21, 2012
Frank Erwin Center - Austin, Texas
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas now holds a 13-6 record against AP Top 10 foes at the Erwin Center in the Rick Barnes era
- Outrebounded Kansas 42-35 and totaled 15 offensive rebounds
INDIVIDUAL
J'Covan Brown
- Scored 24 points, marking his 10th 20-point game of the season and 18th of his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 17th time this season and the 50th time in his career
- Now ranks 27th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,063 points; today, he passed Tom Hamilton for 29th, Albert Burditt for 28th and Wayne Doyal for 27th all-time at Texas
- Has made 28 consecutive free throws
- Boasts an 18-to-6 assists-to-turnovers ratio in his last four games
- Tied his career high with three steals
- Has totaled 92 points (23 ppg) in his four games against Kansas
Clint Chapman
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the fourth time of his career (all four within the last six games)
- Pulled down nine rebounds and added four blocks, one off of his career high
Sheldon McClellan
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 12th time in 19 games this season
TEXAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Barnes
On the loss: Obviously, we are about winning. No one could ever say that we are going to accept the fact that we did not win. I think we should win every time we go on to the court, no matter what year it is. The frustration would be with the way we start games. There is absolutely no reason for it.
The one thing you want as a coach is consistency. You want to know what you are going to get. We said from the beginning that we are not going to say anything about "young guys." I think it is a mindset you have to come out with. You have to know that the other team is going to come out at you. Our whole game plan was the way we played the last ten minutes of the game. We wanted to run and get our actions quicker. We did not do that. We played from behind, and then came back.
I think at the end of the game, they (Kansas) executed. There was no doubt that they were going to go through [Thomas] Robinson, and they were driving the ball and getting it to the glass. There were a couple of costly turnovers earlier in the game. We threw the ball away in transition, and some of our shot selections were not great. I think one of the biggest things is learning to make the extra pass, to make it easier on each other on offense. We do not do that. Basketball is a game of spaces. We have to fight for spaces, and we do not do that enough.
On relying on J'Covan Brown at the end: I don't think it has to be that way. However, I think the other guys do not realize how hard they need to work to get open. I told the team at halftime that at some time we would have to throw the ball inside. I thought Clint [Chapman] played really well. Now, the shot he took, the jump hook, was not a particularly good shot at that time, but I told him we did not need another jump shooter. We needed someone to go inside and score.
But, with that said, early in the game we wanted to run hard and post up. I can tell you those guys were there, and we never even looked at them. Those are the plays we need to make. It's a game plan. We wanted to make our post players play defense, and I thought we guarded their post players. When we got our defense set, we defended. We have proved that all year.
On the team electing not to drive the ball into the paint: You do not have to take it all the way to the basket. You get by somebody, you stop and throw it up, and you have a mid-range game. You just cannot put your head down. You have to read what is there. If they have that many guys around the basket, believe me, there are areas on the floor that we get to where those guys have to make those plays. There is going to be a guy on the baseline and a guy on the corner. There is going to be a guy at the rim, and there is going to be a guy coming behind him. There is going to be a player who will find the open window to make a pass.
We need to get fouled. We proved that we are a good free-throw shooting team, and we rebounded well. I think our post guys really worked. Jaylen [Bond] went in undersized. Jonathan [Holmes] and Alexis [Wangmene] were terrific. [Clint] Chapman did some good things, but this offense has really hurt us.
TEXAS PLAYER QUOTES
JUNIOR GUARD J'Covan Brown
On the last possession of the game: It was just a missed shot. There's nothing to talk about. I missed it. I've moved on from it already. I'm on to the next game
On Kansas' defense in the last possession of the game: They did their job. But, my shot wasn't going in. It was really just all me. They worked hard on defense, but some shots that I missed, I usually make. It just wasn't going in.
On Texas' inability to win close games this season: It starts with me. I want to be that player [that wins close games]. I've got to finish games strong. That's really what it is. I've got to be aggressive and find my teammates. In the clutch moment, I've got to come through
On whether it's hard for him that his team relies on him to make shots in close games: It's not a headache. Sheldon [McClellan] will always come to me, even when I'm missing. He tells me to keep being aggressive and I tell him the same thing. There's no pressure. I want to be a big-time player, and big-time players need to make big-time shots.
On whether he's frustrated about the shots he's missed: I'm just frustrated that I'm not finishing. Those guys rely on me to make those shots, and I'm not making them. I wouldn't get mad or put it in their head that, "J'Covan's not making these shots, so we've got to go to somebody else." I've just got to go back to the drawing board and keep working on it.
FRESHMAN GUARD Sheldon McClellan
On his three three-pointers in the first half: I was just in the rhythm. My teammates found me. I had open spots. I was just taking what the defense gave me.
On whether he feels he must be a scoring threat in close games: I think so. But we all need to step up. We need to take some pressure off of him (J'Covan Brown). But, I think we're doing a better job.
SENIOR CENTER Clint Chapman
On whether any fatigue resulted from defending Kansas' Jeff Withey: I think the biggest part of getting winded was playing 19 minutes in the second half, which is something that I've never done before. Obviously, we wanted to have a physical presence with him. We knew that if we hit him and we hit him early, if we were physical with him, then that would slow him down. That was my mentality, especially, when it came to rebounding. If I wasn't going to get the rebound, he definitely wasn't going to get it. So, that was just kind of my mindset.
On Texas' rebounding performance today: Really, it just starts every day in practice. We obviously missed a couple of rebounds offensively against Kansas State this week on the free throw blockouts. Actually, in our transition in practice this week, we really focused on that. We got some guys in there to really try and go hard and work on that kind of stuff. So, that was where it started. On the other end, we knew that we had to play physical--having to hit guys, turn and find your man. If you're not going to get the ball, then your man's not going to get the ball.
On whether Texas takes any positives from the loss: It's kind of hard to take positives out of something like this because this is a program built on winning. Losing by three points is still a loss in the loss column. The only thing we can take from it is by looking at our mistakes throughout the entire game and see how we can fix those. As far as moral victories go, you can never have those because if you base your program on wanting to get moral victories, you can't grow. Right now, we want wins.
KANSAS COACH QUOTES
HEAD COACH BILL SELF
On Kansas' final possessions: That was about as good as we can play going down the stretch. We were down 64-60 with three minutes left in the game. Elijah (Johnson) makes a hard shot, and Ty (Tyshawn Taylor) makes a hard shot and gets an "and-1." Really, I think Texas did a better job all day long on the glass and coming away with loose balls. I thought they were more active than us, but we got the key ones late. That was the big key.
On the effect of a close game: We needed that. The last one or two-point game we had was Georgetown, and that was back in November. We needed that. You cannot simulate games like this in practice. I thought Texas defended us well, and our guys just made a couple of plays that were better. Jeff (Withey) showed some guts shooting those last two free throws, and then we defended the last possession well.
On what the team can learn from a close game: I think it teaches them to play each possession, rebound and take care of the ball. I think our first seven baskets, we had six assists, and then we got four assists the rest of the game. The other team was driving the ball, but we only turned it over six times in a row with a team that has a history of not taking care of the ball well. Even though we did not play great, I think we played well enough in some areas that gave us a chance to win. This is the best win we have had all year.
On whether Texas' narrow losses are a result of its youth: I don't think youth had much to do with it. They played smart down the stretch. I thought we were fortunate. Thomas (Robinson) makes an average pass at best. It is deflected, and we then come away with two points from a foul. It was not anything to do with youth. We just kind of got a break or two. We made our free throws down the stretch and did not turn it over. Youth had nothing to do with it. Sometimes, guys just miss shots.
KANSAS PLAYER QUOTES
SENIOR GUARD TYSHAWN TAYLOR
On contributing to the game-winning points: I was just trying to be aggressive and make the right play in a critical situation. It was Elijah (Johnson) who hit the first shot, and then I ended up getting a foul on the next shot. Those were two big plays after the time out when we were down 60-64. Coach (Self) always says, "Big-time players make big-time plays," and that was what I was thinking at that time.
On the close victory: It was definitely good to have a close game. Coach (Self) was saying how good it was in the timeout because things like this are always learning experiences. This is how teams get better, by fighting on the road. I think we handled it well.
On defending Texas' J'Covan Brown at the end of the game: J'Covan is good, and we knew that he would come out and make plays. He made his best plays late in the game. We knew he would take a lot of shots in the second half. We just had to kind of tame the rest of the guys, and I think we did a good job at that.
On the Texas freshmen: I think they played well. They may have gotten off to a slow start, but once they got their rhythm, they picked it up. Those guys are some players. (Sheldon) McClellan hit three three-pointers back-to-back, and (Myck) Kabongo had a good game. They have talent. We have to see them again, so I am sure it will be another great fight.
JUNIOR FORWARD THOMAS ROBINSON
On whether he felt he had the advantage inside the paint: They have a lot of young bigs, so I knew if I did things like set ball-screens that they would have an issue handling it. I would not say I had the upper-hand, but I felt that I knew a little more than they did as an older player.
On the Texas freshmen: They did not play like freshmen today. (Jonathan) Holmes stepped up big in the end. (Myck) Kabongo stepped up big in the second half. They all played off of J'Covan (Brown), which is what they are supposed to do. They did not play like a young team today, so (my) respect goes to them.
