Stanford's late 10-1 run seals win
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- First-year Kansas coach Bill Self said he
didn't believe the Jayhawks deserved their No. 1 ranking.
They proved him right.
Matt Lottich scored 18 points, including a key 3-pointer with
2:27 remaining, and Stanford (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) beat the top-ranked Jayhawks
64-58 Saturday in the John Wooden Classic.
Kentucky (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) beat UCLA 52-50 in the opener of the 10th annual
doubleheader at Anaheim Arena.
The Jayhawks (3-1) are sure to be replaced when new polls
comes out Monday.
"You don't think we can hang on?" Self said with a smile.
"There's not that many great teams the first month of the season.
This isn't an upset today. Teams don't become teams in November and
early December.
"I think obviously Stanford was better than us today. Give them
credit. They played us smart, made us play to some weaknesses. Our
passing was horrendous."
So, who should be ranked No. 1?
"Whoever was No. 2," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery replied.
That would be Florida, which raised its record to 5-0 by beating
Stetson 74-61 on Saturday.
Two free throws by Wayne Simien with 4:26 left finished a 6-0
run by Kansas and tied the game 54-all.
But the Jayhawks were outscored 10-1 after that before Omar
Wilkes made a meaningless 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Lottich made two free throws with 4:05 to play to put Stanford
(4-0) ahead for good. Lottich hit his big 3-pointer just before the
shot clock expired to make it 59-55.
Chris Hernandez made four free throws and Justin Davis added
another foul shot to give the Cardinal a nine-point lead.
"My stroke felt well all game," Lottich said. "Any time I got
open, I was going to shoot it."
Hernandez was 0-for-6 from the field, but went 11-of-11 from the
foul line. Joe Kirchofer added 10 points for Stanford to equal his
career high.
"Down the stretch, Lottich hits a huge 3, Chris was nails from
the line and we kept our poise," Montgomery said. "This presented
a great opportunity for us. We've been in this position before --
being No. 1. People just get pumped up to play you. It means so
much on a national basis, people are going to talk about it."
Aaron Miles led Kansas with 11 points. Simien and Keith Langford
each had 10 for the Jayhawks, who had only six assists as a team --
four by Miles.
"We had a lot of one-pass-and-shot scenarios against the
zone," Langford said. "You place the blame squarely on the
players' shoulders."
Kansas shot 36.7 percent to Stanford's 32.7 percent.
A three-point play by Langford with 8:23 to play capped a 7-0
spurt and put the Jayhawks ahead 46-45 -- their only lead of the
game.
A 3-pointer by Lottich triggered a 7-0 Stanford run that made it
52-46 with 6:24 left.
Lottich made three 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the first
eight minutes as Stanford took a 16-11 lead, and a basket by
Kirchofer made it 27-15.
Simien, who averaged 18.3 points in Kansas' first three games,
scored only two points in the first half. His two free throws with
3:55 left triggered an 11-3 run by the Jayhawks, but Stanford
scored the last four points of the half for a 36-29 lead.
Kansas was the first No. 1 team to play in the Wooden Classic
since Massachusetts appeared in the inaugural doubleheader in 1994.
UMass was upset by No. 7 Kansas 81-75 in that game.
Kentucky also played that day. Ranked third nationally, the
Wildcats were beaten by No. 5 UCLA 82-81.
Kansas and Stanford were both 2-0 in previous Wooden Classics
and the Jayhawks are 4-1 at Anaheim Arena, including wins in the
NCAA West Regional semifinals and finals last March.
Simien didn't play in the NCAA tournament because of a separated
shoulder and missed 22 games in all because of the injury.
The Wooden Classic is named for former UCLA coach John Wooden,
who guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in a 12-year span
before retiring in 1975.
The 93-year-old Wooden attended the doubleheader, as he usually
does, and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 17,816 when
introduced during the opener.
The Wildcats played without starting guard Michael Lee, who
broke his right collarbone in practice Nov. 28, and is expected to
be sidelined until late January.
The Cardinal didn't have starting forward Josh Childress, who
hasn't played this season because of a stress reaction in his left
foot and isn't expected to until later this month at the earliest.
Stanford is 2-8 against Kansas and 4-25 against No. 1 teams in
its history.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Tom Nunez
- Bruce Hicks
- Mike Reed
2023-24 Big 12 Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Baylor | 0-0 | - | 8-0 |
Houston | 0-0 | - | 8-0 |
BYU | 0-0 | - | 7-0 |
Cincinnati | 0-0 | - | 7-0 |
Oklahoma | 0-0 | - | 7-0 |
TCU | 0-0 | - | 7-0 |
Kansas | 0-0 | - | 7-1 |
Texas | 0-0 | - | 6-1 |
Iowa State | 0-0 | - | 6-2 |
Kansas State | 0-0 | - | 6-2 |
Texas Tech | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
UCF | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
Oklahoma State | 0-0 | - | 3-4 |
West Virginia | 0-0 | - | 3-4 |
2023-24 Pac-12 Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Arizona | 0-0 | - | 7-0 |
Washington State | 0-0 | - | 6-1 |
Colorado | 0-0 | - | 6-2 |
Arizona State | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
Oregon | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
UCLA | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
Utah | 0-0 | - | 5-2 |
Oregon State | 0-0 | - | 5-3 |
USC | 0-0 | - | 5-3 |
Washington | 0-0 | - | 4-3 |
Stanford | 0-0 | - | 4-4 |
California | 0-0 | - | 3-5 |