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Clutch Collins carries No. 2 Jayhawks past K-State
By John Marshall
January 30, 2010
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Sherron Collins winced through back spasms all night, only to have it flare up at the worst possible moment. He limped off the floor and started contorting his body, drinking electrolytes—anything to get the pain to stop.
It did, and just in time.
Collins returned from a debilitating bout with back spasms to score on a hard drive with 9 seconds left in overtime, helping No. 2 Kansas pull out a gritty 81-79 win over No. 11 Kansas State on Saturday night.
“He has a flair for the dramatic,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.
The Jayhawks (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) needed it for their second shot at No. 1 this season.
After dismantling Missouri on Monday, Kansas closed out the rivalry week sweep by winning an epic back-and-forth battle with Kansas State (17-4, 4-3).
Cole Aldrich had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Marcus Morris finished with a double-double of his own (13-10), giving the Jayhawks a two-game Big 12 lead and a likely No. 1 ranking after Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina. Collins finished with 16 points for Kansas, which is 31-2 against Kansas State since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.
None were bigger than his final two.
The senior hit the floor hard with 2:44 left in overtime and gingerly walked to the bench, where he grimaced as a trainer worked on his back. Collins worked out the kinks, so to speak, then returned just in time to score on a baseline drive, also being fouled on the play. He missed the free throw, but Aldrich grabbed the rebound and Brady Morningstar hit two free throws to close out the Jayhawks’ 26th win in their last 27 games in Manhattan.
“It was crazy. I just wanted the ball in my hand,” Collins said. “I knew I could make a play, I just kept cramping the whole game. Once I got the cramps out of the way, I was fine.”
Kansas State had its chances.
The best one came at the end of regulation, when Collins, still wrought with cramps, turned the ball over with the game tied at 69. Dominique Sutton ended up with the ball in his hands and was streaking for the winning hoop, but Tyrel Reed chased him down for a strip at the buzzer.
Kansas State trailed by one going into the final seconds of overtime, but couldn’t stop Collins or block out Aldrich when it counted. Jacob Pullen had 22 points and Denis Clemente added 13 on 4 of 15 shooting for the Wildcats.
“We had some possessions that we needed to capitalize and we didn’t,” said Pullen, who spent part of the first half retching into a garbage can behind Kansas State’s bench. “We had some opportunities to really put them on their heels and try to make them fold, and we weren’t able to take advantage of them.”
Kansas State had already proven it can win big games. The Wildcats have beaten four ranked teams, including two in nonconference for the first time since 1958-59. The biggest was a 71-62 win over Texas two weeks ago, when the Wildcats muscled the Longhorns out of the No. 1 spot.
The win over the Longhorns, one of the program’s biggest, had Bramlage Coliseum shaking from start to finish. Hard as it might be to imagine, the “Octagon of Doom” was filled with more (purple) juice for the Jayhawks.
For one, it was KU. Of all the games on the schedule, Kansas is the one team everyone in the Little Apple loves to hate. The teams have been meeting since 1907, one of the longest-running rivalries in college basketball, and this game had the added drama of being the first since 1958 where both were ranked in the top 15.
The fans had extra time to get lubed for the game, too; ESPN shot its college basketball show inside Bramlage, where more than 8,100 purple patrons yelled and screamed for the cameras before noon.
By the time the game rolled around, they were ready to burst like the balloons and beach balls that floated around the gym.
It was the worth the wait.
Shaking off some early-game jitters, the Jayhawks and Wildcats settled into a rhythm, playing like you’d expect from two top 15 teams. It had all the typical ingredients of a rivalry game, too; the bumping and banging, emotional swings with seemingly every possession.
Neither team led by more than eight in a game that included 20 lead changes and 14 ties, setting up a fittingly tense finish.
“From a fan’s perspective, I don’t think you can complain about anything,” Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. “If there’s ever been a better college atmosphere, I’ve never even seen one remotely close to it. From a game perspective, I don’t think you’ll get a better basketball game than that, either.”
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Butler leads No. 9 West Virginia over Louisville
By JOHN RABY
January 30, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia turned to Da’Sean Butler for another late comeback.
The veteran guard scored a season-high 27 points, including the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds remaining, as No. 9 West Virginia rallied to beat Louisville 77-74 on Saturday.
Butler is the biggest reason why the Mountaineers (17-3, 6-2 Big East) have won four straight. In each of those games, he led the team in scoring, and this time helped West Virginia come from 12 down midway through the second half to snap a four-game skid against Louisville.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “I wish he wouldn’t wait until the end.”
“I’m not going to lie,” Butler said. “I’ve seen pretty much every comeback possible in college and been a part of a couple so unless there’s five seconds left and we’re down 10, I know there’s a good chance that we can come back.”
The Cardinals (13-8, 4-4) seemed to be in control after Samardo Samuels’ layup put them ahead 65-53 with 10 minutes left, but they made only three field goals the rest of the game.
“Our defense kind of fizzled away,” said Louisville’s Reginald Delk. “They were scoring, making baskets and started playing defense on the other end and that’s how they won the game.”
Kevin Jones scored eight of his 16 points during an 11-0 run, including a three-point play that tied the score 70-all with 3:01 left. After the teams traded baskets, Devin Ebanks snared a long rebound with 41 seconds left that extended a long possession for West Virginia.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino took offense to two possession calls in the final seconds that went West Virginia’s way.
He thought the ball went off the head of West Virginia’s Joe Mazzulla before going out of bounds with 19 seconds left. Instead, Butler hit a 15-foot jumper off the inbound pass to put the Mountaineers ahead for good.
Delk missed a 3-point try with 9 seconds left. The ball went out of bounds again and West Virginia got it back—to Pitino’s chagrin.
Butler was fouled on the inbound pass and made two free throws for the final margin.
Mike Marra’s long attempt at the buzzer for Louisville never hit the rim.
In brief postgame remarks before walking away, Pitino said he got a “bogus explanation” after questioning the officials following Delk’s missed shot. “I’m tired of the officiating. That’s why I’m not speaking. I’m tired of the officiating.
“My kids played their hearts out. They played their tails off. The ball was off the young man’s head. They gave it to them back,” Pitino said. “You don’t shoot (52) percent and play as hard as that and expect those situations, so I’ve had it with the officiating. So I’m not going to say anymore. I’ve had it.”
Butler said he initially thought Louisville would get the ball back after Delk’s miss.
“At first, I thought it was their ball,” Butler said. “I had the rebound and then I knocked it out of Devin’s hand and I was like, ‘Ah, I’m stupid.’ But then the officials said it was our ball and I said ‘good play.”’
Entering the final 10 games of the regular season, West Virginia has momentum with a matchup with No. 17 Pittsburgh looming Wednesday.
Louisville, on the other hand, faces quite the climb to get back into the NCAA tournament picture. The Cardinals return home to play No. 19 Connecticut on Monday, and Pitino has said Louisville needs to win seven times to make the tournament.
Samuels and Delk scored 16 points apiece for Louisville, which fell to 0-4 against ranked teams this season. Reserve Peyton Siva added 14 points.
Huggins, who earned his first win in four tries at West Virginia over Pitino, has always preached starting and finishing strong. His team did just that.
In between, it fell apart.
West Virginia raced to a 13-0 lead in the first three minutes, then behind Siva’s three 3-pointers, 11 first-half points from Delk and a full-court press, Louisville steadied itself.
The Cardinals shot 61 percent (17 of 28) from the floor in the first half, led 44-40 at halftime and extended the lead further down the stretch.
Despite the comeback, West Virginia shot below 50 percent from the field for the ninth straight game. And for the second straight time, the Mountaineers got little help from their bench: Louisville outscored the Mountaineer reserves 26-5.
On Louisville’s side, the Terrence Jennings experiment is still a work in progress.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore got his second straight start but Louisville’s big lineup failed to produce a point or rebound over the first three minutes. Jennings played just 17 minutes and finished with four points.
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