MU loses to Kansas
Published Jan. 20, 2008
Kansas is ranked No. 3 in the country in the Associated Press poll. The Jayhawks escaped Mizzou Arena with a 76-70 win on Saturday night. After the game, Kansas coach Bill Self said his team was lucky.
"I think we got lucky tonight, to be real candid, in that they missed some shots that they normally make," he said.
The Tigers' shooting from the field was below average on Saturday. Junior forward DeMarre Carroll was 2-11 from the floor and junior guard Matt Lawrence was 2-10. Overall, the Tigers shot 38 percent. Lawrence said the poor shooting had little to do with the MU-KU rivalry.
"I think it was just an off night," he said. "We usually shoot well at home, especially from the line too, so I don't think the rivalry had anything to with it."
The Tigers only shot 50 percent from the free-throw line, including 4-10 in the second half. The Jayhawks also struggled somewhat at the line, shooting 28-45. Tiger senior forward Marshall Brown said that the team's aggressive style means the opponent often goes to the line frequently.
"Coach gets on us anytime we don't have a lot of fouls," he said. "Because that means we're not getting after it."
The Jayhawks finished the game 13-18 from the free-throw line. Brown said their ability to convert late in the game was the difference.
"I felt like we defended well, the rebounding was close, I felt like if we don't put them to the line as much, then we're right there in it," Brown said.
With 3:07 to go in the game, the Tigers trailed 68-63. Neither team scored for the next two minutes. But with 1:04 to go, Kansas' Brandon Rush had a fast-break chance. Lawrence committed an intentional foul and Rush made both free throws. On the ensuing possession, Tiger senior guard Jason Horton fouled out and Rush made one of two free throws to push the lead to eight. The Tigers were never able to cut the Jayhawks' lead to one possession afterwards.
The Tigers had more assists and fewer turnovers than Kansas. But the Jayhawks had the rebounding edge 52-43.
"I thought we battled at times," coach Mike Anderson said. "They're a lot bigger than we are, but I thought our guys battled."
Senior guard Stefhon Hannah was easily the leading scorer for Missouri. He had 23 points on 7-20 shooting from the field and was 6-8 at the free-throw line.
"He tries to do so much for our basketball team," Anderson said. "You've got to have some other guys step up. I thought at times some guys did. You look at DeMarre, he gives you everything he's got but he's two for 11 from the field."
The Tigers slip to 1-2 in the Big 12 and 11-7 overall. MU's next game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Texas Tech. Anderson said he wasn't disappointed with Saturday's effort.
"I think if we play with this effort, we're going to have an opportunity to win a lot of games in our league," he said.
