Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LAWRENCE, KAN. LENGTH: Medium
Kansas is rated as one of the best defensive teams in the country. But several players have had huge offensive games this season against the Jayhawks.
A contradiction? Not with this season's version of the Jayhawks, Virginia's opponent Friday in an NCAA Midwest Region semifinal.
In the past, coach Roy Williams' teams relied on a defensive stopper to shut down opponents' top scoring threats. Some of those stoppers, including Steve Woodberry, Darrin Hancock and Alonzo Jamison, are gone now and some of the Jayhawks' numbers - such as holding opponents to 37.8 percent field-goal shooting, third in the nation - indicate they aren't missed.
But Kansas (25-5) has been on the receiving end of some big games by individuals in its losses this season.
Indiana's Brian Evans racked up 29 points and 12 rebounds in an 80-61 Hoosiers victory. Iowa State forward Fred Hoiberg was 6-of-12 from 3-point range and finished with 32 points when the Cyclones beat Kansas on Jan.14. Bryant Reeves led Oklahoma State past the Jayhawks 79-69 with 33 points and 20 rebounds, and Kansas lost to Oklahoma 76-73 as Ryan Minor scored 28 points.
The trend is starting to change. When Kansas beat Oklahoma State in Lawrence 78-62 in the last game of the regular season, the Jayhawks gave up 45 points to Randy Rutherford but held Reeves scoreless for the first time in his four-year career. Still, no clear defensive stopper has stepped up.
In the past, it has taken big games by at least two members of an opposing team to beat the Jayhawks. One player's big output alone couldn't beat them, as Missouri's Anthony Peeler learned in 1992 when he scored 43 points in a 97-89 loss to Kansas. Last year in an NCAA quarterfinal, Purdue beat Kansas 83-78 behind 44 points from Glenn Robinson and 29 from Cuonzo Martin.
No Kansas opponent racked up big numbers in the first two rounds of this year's NCAA Midwest Region, but Virginia (24-8) has several threats on its roster going into Friday's quarterfinal game in Kansas City, Mo.
Junior Burrough is Virginia's top scorer, averaging 18 points per game, including 36 against Georgia Tech in the first round of the ACC tournament. Guard Harold Deane has three 28-point performances this season.
Freshman Curtis Staples, a Roanoke native, is a 3-point marksman who prefers shooting from outside the arc, going 96-for-226 from 3-point range and 24-of-63 from two-point range.
Virginia's most dangerous scorer won't be a worry for the Jayhawks, however. Guard Cory Alexander recorded point totals of 29, 28 and 36 early in the season, but suffered a season-ending foot injury in Feb.8.
But Kansas' hopes rest with its defense. In the Jayhawks' past three losses, opponents have hit better than 40 percent from the field.
by CNB