KU WOMEN FINISH NO. 8 IN CAPITAL ONE CUP STANDINGS: Kansas women’s athletics finished No. 8 in the final 2012-13 Capital One Cup standings, jumping 10 spots from last season. The program was lifted by the NCAA Outdoor title the women’s track and field team won last week.
The Capital One Cup is awarded annually to each of the best men’s and women’s Division I college athletics programs in the country.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kansas got some punch from the last man in its batting order.
Tucker Tharp doubled and scored a run in the fifth, and his first home run of the season in the seventh tied the score as the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State 5-3 in the Big 12 Baseball Championship on Friday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
Michael Suiter’s RBI single delivered the go-ahead run in the two-run seventh that put the sixth-seeded Jayhawks (33-24) one win away from the championship game.
CBS Sports Network will televise Kansas’ Sept. 14 football game at Rice with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m., the school announced Tuesday.
The Jayhawks will open their season Sept. 7 against South Dakota before traveling to Rice Stadium for a rematch … Continue reading
LAWRENCE — The concept for the Gridiron Club is dead.
Sheahon Zenger officially killed the proposed addition to the east side of Memorial Stadium shortly after taking over as Kansas athletic director.
Yet in a sense, Zenger facilitated his own, more sensible, stadium makeover with the development of Rock Chalk Park.
Nothing is official yet. The groundbreaking, however, was unofficially conducted this weekend at the 86th Kansas Relays.
LAWRENCE — His teammates wouldn’t dare bother him. Especially before the ninth inning.
KU closer Jordan Piché sat alone in the dugout before preparing himself for one more inning to finish off No. 19 Oklahoma State.
“I just told myself,” Piché said, “it stops here.”
Piché was successful, as the (18-12, 5-4) Jayhawks beat the (22-8, 4-4) Cowboys 3-2 on Sunday, to win the weekend series 2-1. It was KU’s first series win over a ranked team since the Jayhawks finished the series against No. 21 Baylor on April 3, 2011.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You could almost say that Jeff Withey blocked history.
Or you could just say that history was driving down the lane, saw Withey and kicked it out to its teammate that missed the shot at history.
Either way, Western Kentucky was nearly the No. 16 seed that did, but Jeff Withey scored 17 points off 7-of-8 shooting and dragged the Jayhawks across the finish line in their 64-57 win over the Hilltoppers.
“Jeff always bails us out,” forward Kevin Young said. “That’s his job. He’s a senior and he’s a leader. We put everything on his shoulders.”
Kansas and Kansas State’s postseasons will continue in Kansas City.
The Jayhawks (29-5) earned a No. 1 seed after winning the Big 12 Tournament and will open against Western Kentucky (20-15) on Friday at Sprint Center.
Kansas State (27-7) is seeded fourth and plays the winner of a play-in game between Boise State (21-10) and La Salle (21-9).
A KU win would set up a potential rematch with former coach Roy Williams and North Carolina.
The eighth-seeded Tarheels (24-10) play No. 9 Villanova (20-13) in another first-round game in Kansas City.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State and Kansas tied for the regular-season Big 12 title.
That doesn’t mean they feel very good about themselves entering the league tournament.
The Wildcats lost a road game against Oklahoma State on Saturday, while the Jayhawks were routed by Baylor a few hours later in a game that would have given them the outright title.
Consider it proof that the Big 12 Tournament, which starts Wednesday night at Sprint Center, promises to be among the most intriguing and unpredictable in conference history.
LAWRENCE — When Angel Goodrich made her game-tying free throw with 18 seconds left, it appeared Kansas had done it once again.
The Jayhawks already had two double-digit comeback victories in Big 12 play. They trailed Texas Tech by 16 points at the start of the second half.
However, that was before the Red Raiders galloped down the court and scored a layup for the 72-70 win on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Angel Goodrich missed her last second heave which could have given KU the win.
LAWRENCE — Kansas knows a thing or two about how fragile a big lead can be.
It was only four days before that the Jayhawks came back from a 23-point deficit on the road against TCU. So when KU had a 19-point second-half lead of its own against No. 22 Oklahoma, there would be no letting up from the Jayhawks.
The recent lesson came into to play when the Sooners started notching the pressure up late against KU by forcing turnovers and scoring quick baskets. That’s when Bonnie Henrickson called a timeout to remind her team of the Jayhawks’ previous game.