Jayhawks Down DePaul, 81-77, in Overtime Thriller
By John Steere
Talk about the Game:
The Rock Chalk Board
The
Jayhawks survived 9th-seeded DePaul Friday night in the
first round of the NCAA tournament with a gutsy, hard-fought, 81-77
overtime win. In the
process they thrilled their fans.
The Jayhawks, down by six points with less than two minutes to
play in overtime, staged their best and, really, their only come-back
of the season, scoring ten-straight points to give the fans the type
of win they have been missing most of the season.
It
wasn’t always pretty and many of the flaws that have plagued the
Jayhawks all season threatened to send the Jayhawks home with a
first-round NCAA loss for the first time since 1978.
In the end, though, it was the team’s newly-found mental
toughness and not their familiar mistakes that determined the outcome
of the game.
This game was as close from
start to finish as any Jayhawk game in recent memory.
In 45 minutes, there were 17 ties and 11 lead changes, and
neither team forged a lead of more than five points in regulation.
The Jayhawks twice managed four-point leads, both times in the
early part of each half. DePaul
pushed out to a five-point lead once in the first half.
For the rest of the game, though, it was mostly a one-basket
affair in which neither team could manage any kind of run or seize any
momentum.
The
Jayhawks came out of the gates on fire and seemed able to score at
will. They hit six of
their first eight shots for a 12-8 lead at 15:30.
Gregory, who led the Jayhawks with 22 points on 11-of-12
shooting, scored 6 points in that early stretch.
DePaul star Quentin Richardson scored DePaul’s first eight
points and looked nearly unstoppable.
But
then the Jayhawks hit one of those inexplicable dead stretches that
have plagued the team all season.
Over the next seven minutes the Jayhawks managed only two
points and turned the ball over six times.
DePaul was reasonably kind to the Jayhawks and only hit them
with a 9-0 run, giving the Blue Demons their biggest lead in
regulation, 19-14 with about 8:00 left in the half.
KU
woke up, though, and quickly closed the gap.
Bradford grabbed a steal and converted for two points.
After a rare DePaul turnover, Hinrich canned a three-pointer
for the Jayhawks (one of only three by the Jayhawks all evening) and
the game was tied again. The
rest of the half neither team managed a lead of more than a basket.
DePaul took a one-point lead into halftime, 33-32.
Both
teams suffered injuries in the first half.
Kirk Hinrich, who was a big factor in KU’s early scoring
success because of his dribble penetration and deft passing, spent a
fair portion of the first half prone on the sidelines trying to find
some relief for back spasms. While
he continued to play, he was obviously playing in some pain.
More significantly, Richardson re-injured an ankle mid-way
through the half. He
continued to play, as well. Although
he finished with 21 points and played 41 minutes, he was not as
explosive and was less of a factor on the backboards, a break for the
Jayhawks.
The
Jayhawks came out strongly in the second half and forged a lead,
albeit a small one, that they kept until the mid-point of the half.
After DePaul hit the first basket of the second half to take a
three-point lead, the Jayhawks went on a 7-0 run fueled by a steal and
four points by Gregory and capped by Hinrich’s second three-pointer
of the game. At 14:30
DePaul tied the Jayhawks, but the Jayhawks responded with four
straight points and seemed to be on the verge of a run when Gooden
tipped in a miss by Eric Chenowith for what would have been the
Jayhawks’ 6th straight point.
However, Gooden was called for a very questionable
over-the-back foul. and the brief Jayhawk momentum leaked away.
It
was then that the slugfest began.
Starting at 12:00 DePaul scored on eight-straight possessions. While the Jayhawks tried to answer basket for basket and
didn’t let DePaul go on a serious run, when the DePaul flurry was
done the Jayhawks trailed by four, 59-55 with 7:30 to play.
This
new mentally tough version of the Jayhawks didn’t wilt, though, as
they had in similar situations in other games this season.
The Jayhawks answered back with a 6-0 run with baskets by
Gooden, a stuff by Gregory after a Kirk Hinrich block, and a jumper by
Chenowith with just more than six minutes to play.
With
four minutes to play DePaul tied the game and the Jayhawks never led
again in regulation. On
KU’s next two possessions first Hinrich and then Chenowith were
called for illegal screens. Luckily,
DePaul made only one of three free throws.
However, on KU’s next possession they again turned the ball
over, as the Jayhawks flirted with another end-of-game swoon.
DePaul scored and the Jayhawks trailed by three, 67-70 with
2:40 to play.
The
Jayhawks held DePaul scoreless over the last 2:40 of regulation.
Unfortunately, The Jayhawks scored only three points themselves
during that stretch. Collison
hit a soft baseline jumper from the left side at 2:19.
At 1:50 Collison hit one of two free throws, but those were the
Jayhawks last points.
The
Jayhawks dodged a bulled at 1:39 when DePaul, which to that point had
been deadly at the stripe, missed two free throws.
The Jayhawks tried to run-down the clock for a good shot, but
Hinrich turned the ball over with three seconds on the shot clock
after he got caught with no where to go and nobody to pass to as the
clock wound down.
Gregory
blocked a Richardson shot at :46 and then DePaul turned the ball over
at :42. The Jayhawks were
unable to convert, though. Boschee
missed his fourth-straight three-pointer at :23.
DePaul missed at the buzzer, and the game went to overtime,
70-70.
The
Jayhawks were awful for the first three minutes of overtime and found
themselves facing their biggest deficit of the game, 77-71.
The Jayhawks hadn’t made a comeback in the final minutes on
anyone all season, so it looked like the Jayhawks were likely done for
this season when Jeff Boschee’s three-pointer clanked long at 2:01.
But
it was then that everything started going the Jayhawks’ way. DePaul snagged Boschee’s errant shot, but stepped on the
end line trying to clear the board and it went back to the Jayhawks.
Six seconds letter Boschee was open on the left wing off a
screen and canned his only three-pointer of the game, bringing the
Jayhawks within three points, 74-77 at 1:55. DePaul ran the shot clock to under 5 seconds but missed, and
DePaul’s Wayne Simmons fouled Collison on the rebound.
Collison made one of two and the Jayhawks were within two
points at 1:25.
On
DePaul’s next possession, Kenny Gregory sniffed out the play, broke
on a pass by DePaul’s point guard, stole it in stride and slammed
the ball home to tie the game 77-77 at :55.
He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.
Collison, though, managed to sneak a hand in on the rebound and
tie-up the ball. The
arrow pointed to the Jayhawks and they were back in business.
Ten
seconds latter Nick Bradford curled off a screen, took a pass from
Boschee and floated to the hoop for a lay-up and the first Jayhawk
lead in eight minutes of action.
Williams then inserted Lester Earl for defensive purposes, but
he got too aggressive guarding Bobby Simmons at the top of the key and
committed a foul at :25. Simmons, though, missed both free throws.
The rebounded was batted around before Bradford grabbed it, but
he had a foot on the end line. DePaul
got the ball back with a change to win or tie the game.
DePaul’s Paul
McPherson missed with :08 left and quickly fouled Nick Collison.
Collison missed the first charity, but made the second,
virtually ensuring that the worst the Jayhawks could do was play a
second overtime.
Everyone
knew that Richardson would be the one to take the last shot for
DePaul, and he was, but he was closely guarded by Bradford, who got a
hand on the ball for a game ending block.
Earl grabbed it, was fouled with a second left and made one of
two for the final, improbable, wonderful 81-77 score.
Had
the Jayhawks lost, the loss would have been emblematic of the
Jayhawks’ season. The
story would have been that they played hard for most of the game, made
a number of terrific plays, but turned the ball over and fouled much
too often and couldn’t convert when the game was on the line.
The
Jayhawks, though, re-wrote that familiar script. Down by six in the overtime they didn’t give up, made some
key shots, made some key defensive stops, took advantage of DePaul’s
mistakes and snatched a victory on guts and mental toughness. It’s been a season-long wait to be able to say that about
the 1999-2000 Jayhawks, and with No. 1-seed Duke up next it may be the
only time we say it this season.
But it’s a heck of a way to head to the end of the season.
A
number of Jayhawks deserve special credit for the win. Kenny Gregory, first and foremost, stepped up for the
Jayhawks, hitting 11-of-12 field-goal attempts, matching his season-high with
22 points. He hit shots
driving to the lane, he hit spot-up jumpers and most importantly he
got out on the break for easy transition baskets.
He also scored the key basket to tie the game in overtime.
Nick
Bradford also deserves special credit.
Although he missed 5 of 7 free throws, most in the closing
minutes of the game. He
sealed the game for the Jayhawks, first with the game-winning basket
and then with a game-sealing block.
Throughout the game he came up with key baskets and provided a
level of insanity that was especially critical in the overtime.
Eric
Chenowith with 10 points in 23 minutes also deserves special credit.
His travails this season have been well-chronicled.
Tonight, though, he played with as much intensity as at any
time this season. He
scored six-straight points at one point in the second half and was
actually calling for the ball. The
Jayhawks will need more of the big guy if they hope to advance
further.
Of
the freshmen, Collison was the steadiest, as he has been all season.
He scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and grabbed 10 boards.
Hinrich hit two key three-pointers and scored 8 points while
nursing his bad back, but committed 5 turnovers against four assists.
Boschee struggled on offense, making only 2-of-8 shots overall
and 1-of-6 three-pointers, but he didn’t commit a turnover in 37
minutes while dishing four assists.
Most importantly, he hit the critical three-pointer in overtime
that instantly took the Jayhawks from six down to a basket away from
tying the game.
Overall,
the numbers for the Jayhawks were not particularly pretty.
The Jayhawks were a stellar 56.7% from the field, but that was
about the only good stat in the box score.
The Jayhawks would have won the game in regulation if they
could have hit their free throws. They converted only 10 of 21.
They could have won the game in regulation if they could have
hung onto the ball. Yet
they threw the ball away 19 times compared to only 12 for DePaul.
The Jayhawks would have won in regulation if they could have
avoided fouling the Blue Demons.
Yet the Jayhawks committed 22 fouls and DePaul converted 17 of
26 charities.
In the overtime, though, the
Jayhawks did what they had to do.
Sure, they did some things wrong in the overtime.
They missed six of 10 free throws and four of seven shots.
But they didn’t turn the ball over once, while DePaul turned
it over four times, and that was the difference.
Thoughts:
Can
one game change the perception of an entire season? That’s the question lingering in my mind after watching the
Jayhawks gut out a hard-fought win.
The Jayhawks’ loss to 8th-seeded Rhode Island in
1998 tainted a brilliant season.
In 1997 the Jayhawks’ Sweet 16 loss to Arizona put a stain on
the season of perhaps the best Jayhawk team ever.
So why shouldn’t this overtime win add a high note and a bit
of optimism to what has otherwise been a frustrating season for
Jayhawk fans?
It
wasn’t just that the Jayhawks won the game.
KU has won 23 games this year, a great season for a lot of
teams. It was the way
they won the game that was so heartening.
All season the Jayhawks have been the team that blinked first. They had beaten lesser teams all season.
Almost every time they had faced a team of equal or greater
talent, though, they seemed to loose their poise and do something down
the stretch to shoot themselves in the foot.
When the game got close in the last five minutes they seemed to
always unravel.
Tonight, though, the Jayhawks showed mental toughness. This was a game where the first team that blinked would lose. For once, the Jayhawks refused to blink.
Regardless
of how the rest of the tournament goes for the Jayhawks (and Duke will
be a tough test in the second round) this game should go a long way
toward putting a more positive spin on the season.
The Jayhawks’ problems this year haven’t simply been
execution. The problems
have seemed to be as much consistently hard effort, poise, mental
toughness and experience. The
consensus of a lot of fans has been that the Jayhawks have lacked a
certain intangible something necessary for all of the talented parts
to work together as a cohesive team.
Tonight,
though, despite some scoring droughts, some youthful turnovers and
some missed assignments, the Jayhawks played with more spirit and more
toughness. They seemed to find and draw upon something intangible.
When the lead went back and forth and back and forth in the
second half with each team answering the other basket for basket, they
didn’t back down. They
persevered.
Who
knows? This could be the start of some magic. Duke will be a very tough test.
But No. 8 seeds can beat No. 1 seeds.
Wisconsin did it to Arizona tonight and the Jayhawks have been
on the wrong side of such an upset twice under Williams. Were the Jayhawks to get past Duke, nobody else in the East
bracket is all that scary. Strange
things happen to teams that find their heart at the right time.
And, finally, it is clear that these Jayhawks do have heart.
