Jayhawks

ST. LOUIS -- After watching Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich limp off the court at the Edward Jones Dome and the rest of the top-seeded Jayhawks limp away from here after Thursday night's win over 16th-seeded Holy Cross in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regional, many figured history was going to repeat itself. History did, the kind the folks in Lawrence, Kan., love to retell rather than regurgitate. Giving his team an emotional lift from his spot on the bench at the start of its game against eighth-seeded Stanford last night, Hinrich showed remarkable recuperative powers.

To bring his team good luck, Kansas coach Roy Williams likes to spit in the Mississippi River whenever the Jayhawks play in St. Louis. He did it nine years ago, when his team made it through the Midwest Regional to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. It was the last time Kansas reached college basketball's promised land. Williams might consider spending today on the bridge nearest to the Edward Jones Dome. After what happened to the Jayhawks last night, luck alone might not carry them to Atlanta.

To give his team good luck, Kansas coach Roy Williams likes to spit in the Mississippi River whenever he comes to St. Louis. He did it nine years ago, when the Jayhawks made it through the Midwest Regional to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. It was the last time Kansas reached college basketball's promised land. Williams might consider spending today standing on the bridge nearest to the Edward Jones Dome. After what happened to the Jayhawks last night, luck might not carry them to Atlanta.

Going to Atlanta: Though its 16-game winning streak was stopped in yesterday's loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament title game, top-seeded Kansas is the favorite to make it to the Georgia Dome for the Final Four. Led by Big 12 Player of the Year and national Player of the Year candidate Drew Gooden, the Jayhawks have been a dominant team for much of the season. Team on the rise: After starting 14-1 before losing six of the next 10 games, Mississippi State takes an eight-game winning streak into Dallas.

Drew Gooden of Kansas has a bit of a geography problem when it comes to being named college basketball's national Player of the Year. "No doubt," Gooden said yesterday by telephone from Lawrence. "You have your West Coast fans who follow the Pac-10 and your East Coast fans who follow the [Atlantic Coast Conference], so we're kind of stuck in the middle. "It's kind of put a chip on our shoulder." The West Coast voting bloc might be leaning toward Stanford's Casey Jacobsen, even though Gooden grew up in the Los Angeles area.

There is one way for Kansas to look at a season that already includes losses at Saint Louis and Massachusetts, not to mention a rare home defeat to Iowa that broke a 62-game winning streak at Allen Field House.Nobody will be chanting "Rock, Choke, Jayhawk" at them if the Jayhawks do their now-expected cameo in the NCAA tournament. This is a season of lowered expectations in Lawrence, a season when few are paying attention to coach Roy Williams and his team."I said before the season that we were probably going to lose more games this year than we've had in a long time," junior guard Ryan Robertson said by telephone Tuesday.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland was trying to prove it belonged. Kansas proves that every time it plays. The Terrapins had already taken nationally ranked South Carolina and Clemson to overtime and lost. The No. 2 Jayhawks had been making their usual early-season tour and, typically, won every game.So, when these teams came down the stretch in the final minutes of a wide-open, in-your-face, early December game at the MCI Center on Sunday afternoon, Kansas, which had overcome a 15-point, second-half deficit, figured to win. So much for accepted wisdom.

WASHINGTON -- Raef La Frentz scored 25 points and Billy Thomas scored 15 last night, leading Kansas to an 89-71 victory over Pennsylvania in the consolation game of the Franklin National Bank Classic at the MCI Center.The win allowed the third-ranked Jayhawks to leave the nation's capital with a better taste in their mouth, bouncing back from Sunday's upset loss to Maryland."We were very disappointed not to be playing in the championship game and somewhat embarrassed," said LaFrentz. "It's not the most fun situation to play in, but it was something we had to do, and we wanted to come out and make a good showing in the consolation game."

WASHINGTON -- After his team's 66-62 win over Penn last night, George Washington coach Mike Jarvis characterized the performance as a shrewd act of self-preservation."

WASHINGTON -- Gary Williams brought a brittle Maryland basketball team home from Clemson late Thursday night.The Terps were bummed about blowing their Atlantic Coast Conference opener, and also by the fact that it was a reprise of a loss to South Carolina. Two ranked opponents, two wasted leads, two overtimes, so it was with fear and loathing that Williams saw Kansas wipe away all of a 15-point Maryland cushion yesterday."After those two games, Clemson and South Carolina, if we had lost this one, we'd be in shock right now," Williams said.