|
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Kansas looked nothing like a No. 1 seed in its
NCAA Tournament opener.
|
 |
|
|
Kansas survived a big-time scare against Holy Cross. Give Ralph Willard's team credit. Last year Holy Cross challenged Kentucky to the wire, losing by only four points. Holy Cross led by six against Kentucky, and this time the Crusaders had a lead until as late as nine minutes left.
But Kansas came back. Drew Gooden made key plays down the stretch and finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The All-American had to come through since Kansas was shorthanded with Kirk Hinrich going down with an ankle injury.
In the next round Kansas needs more from Nick Collison, who scored just five points and committed six turnovers. Roy Williams also needs a healthy Hinrich in the lineup. |
|
|
The Jayhawks barely avoided becoming the first top seed to make
a first-round exit, holding off 16th-seeded Holy Cross 70-59 on
Thursday night in the Midwest Regional.
Kansas trailed at halftime for only the fifth time all year and
was behind by five in the second half before recovering.
"Everything looked bad," coach Roy Williams said. "But the
kids didn't panic. Whether it's ugly or not, we're still playing."
Beside beating Holy Cross, the Jayhawks (30-3) also overcame
their own history of failures -- five early losses as a No. 1 seed
since 1986.
"No one wanted to go home after this one," forward Nick
Collison said.
Holy Cross almost sent the Jayhawks limping back to Lawrence,
Kan.
"It feels like someone ripped out our hearts," guard Ryan
Serravalle said. "We said in one of the huddles in the second half
we thought we'd make history together. We're not satisfied with
moral victories."
Kansas rallied without All-Big 12 guard Kirk Hinrich, who
sprained his left ankle in the final minute of the first half. He
returned on crutches with less than eight minutes to go wearing an
air cast and a heavy wrap, his leg elevated on a chair at the end
of the bench.
Hinrich, a junior, has rolled the ankle several times in his
career and his availability is in doubt for the second round
Saturday.
"Well, Kirk's ankle doesn't look the best in the world, to say
the least," Williams said. "This is the first time I've ever seen
him stay down."
All-American Drew Gooden had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead
Kansas, which went unbeaten in the Big 12 and had a 16-game winning
streak snapped in the Big 12 Conference tournament final against
No. 3 Oklahoma. The Jayhawks haven't lost consecutive games since
falling to Baylor and Iowa State Feb. 12-17, 2001.
The victory over Holy Cross (18-15), which won the Patriot
League tournament, made it 19 straight first-round victories in the
NCAA Tournament for the Jayhawks. But Kansas fell far short of its
nation-best 92-point scoring average, with its second-lowest
scoring total of the season.
The lowest came in the Big 12 final against Oklahoma, a 64-55
final.
Holy Cross befuddled Kansas with a matchup zone all night, and
stayed in it until the end despite shooting just 33.3 percent. The
Crusaders compensated by committing only nine turnovers and by
patiently working the ball inside against Kansas' heralded big men.
"We lost the Big 12 championship and some say that was our
wakeup call," Gooden said. "I'm not going to say we're in a
fragile state of mind and we're not vulnerable. We're trying to win
five games."
Holy Cross led 44-39 after Patrick Whearty scored from inside
with 14:27 to go, but the Crusaders were hurt by foul trouble to
Whearty, Serravalle and guard Brian Wilson down the stretch.
"We did the things we had to do to win," coach Ralph Willard
said. "But we wore down in the second half and that was what I was
concerned with."
Still, Kansas didn't clinch it until Aaron Miles scored from the
key with two seconds left on the shot clock to make it 64-57 with
51 seconds to go. Holy Cross had two consecutive takeaways but was
stopped on the other end before Miles' shot.
Jeff Boschee added 11 points for Kansas, going 3-for-4 from
3-point range. Hinrich, who averages 15 points, had nine points,
four rebounds and three assists in the first half. Nick Collison,
who averages 15.6 points, was held to five points but had nine
rebounds.
Wilson and Tim Szatko scored 13 points apiece for Holy Cross.
Szatko, the Patriot League tournament MVP, shot only 4-for-18.
Whearty added 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Kansas trailed at the half for only the fifth time this season,
37-35. The Jayhawks lost three of those games, including the Big 12
conference tournament final when they trailed Oklahoma by 10 at the
break. | 
