PAGE 10 BIG 12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014

THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN

Conference play gets messy, KU maintains lead

BRIAN HILLIX
sports@kansan.com Kansas increases lead in Big 12 race With the help of a Kansas State (16-7, 6-4 Big 12) victory over second-place Texas (18-5, 7-3 Big 12) on Saturday, Kansas increased its conference lead to two games. If Kansas (18-5, 9-1 Big 12) wins its remaining home games, the team can afford to lose three of its last four road games and still clinch at least a tie for first place, earning its 10th consecutive regular season Big 12 title. Despite being in a comfortable position, Kansas coach Bill Self knows things can change quickly. He thinks the league is still wide open. Smart pushes fan Texas Tech defeated No. 19 Oklahoma State on Saturday, but it wasnt the Red Raiders upset that grabbed headlines. With seconds remaining in the game, Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart fouled a Texas Tech player as his momentum carried him to the front of the baseline crowd in Lubbock, Texas. Visibly frustrated, Smart proceeded to shove a fan, who said something directed at the point guard. The Big 12 announced Sunday that Smart has been issued a three-game suspension, which rules him out for road games at Texas and Baylor and a home game against Oklahoma. The Cowboys have already lost to Baylor and Oklahoma this season, and Texas has proven to be a tough team at home. Smarts first game back will, ironically, be against Texas Tech on Feb. 22 at home. Both Smart and the fan have apologized since the incident. Early Big 12 favorites stumbling Top-10 teams heading into conference play, Oklahoma State (16-7, 4-6) and Baylor (14-9, 2-8) have tumbled to seventh and ninth places, respectively, in the Big 12. Ranked as high as No. 5 this season, the Cowboys have lost four consecutive games and five of their last six. That includes two home losses in a span of two days capped off by a triple-overtime loss to Iowa State. The Cowboys, who were picked in the preseason as co-favorites with Kansas to win the Big 12, are no longer ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll. Things arent likely to get better quickly as Smart serves his three-game suspension. Coming into conference play ranked No. 7 with just one loss, the Bears have arguably been the biggest disappointment in the conference this season. Predicted to finish third in the conference in the preseason, Baylor has even struggled to win on its home court, where it has lost four straight games. With only two games left against teams currently ranked in the Top 25, the Bears need to finish strong as their NCAA tournament hopes are in serious jeopardy. Ejim scores 48 in win over TCU Iowa State forward Melvin Ejim, who averages a leagueleading 19.8 points per game, lit up Texas Christian University on Saturday. He scored a conference-record 48 points, made 20 of his 24 field goal attempts and hauled down a career-high 18 rebounds. He scored 20 straight points in the second half for Iowa State, who has ascended to No. 11 in the Associated Press poll. Ejim broke the previous record of 44 points set by Kansas State guard Denis Clemente in January 2009 and Kansas State forward Michael Beasley in February 2008. Edited by Tara Bryant

OLYMPICS

Rivalry in womens hockey becomes border brawl

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
SOCHI, Russia As North American neighbors, Canada and the United States generally enjoy a good relationship, but in womens ice hockey, that friendship ends at the Zamboni door. The U.S.-Canada rivalry might be the strongest in Olympic sports, mens or womens. The two adversaries are by far the best in the world, so dominant in their sport that at the last Olympics, many observers worried about the future of womens hockey if other nations didnt step up their game. Countries such as Finland, Switzerland, Russia and Germany have improved, but for now, those teams appear to be little more than warm-ups. On Wednesday, the powers face off in preliminary play of the Olympic hockey tournament. They bring a history of competition, respect and, recently, a pair of fist-slinging brawls. Once you get on the ice, theres no friends on that team. Youre playing Canada, said Anne Schleper, a defenseman for Team USA. Canadian forward Jayna Hefford, who has four Olympic medals, offered a bit of a backhanded compliment to her opponents: You want to play the best, and next to us, the Americans are it. Lou Vairo, coach of the 1984 U.S. mens Olympic hockey team, called the clash one of the fiercest in hockey. Its a very fierce rivalry, he said. Jeez, as far as I can remember, all of the deciding big games have basically been decided in overtime or shoot-outs. Thats how close it is. And I think its that close again this time. In many cases, the North American players are just bigger. At its opening game Saturday, Canada towered over its Swiss opponents. The Swiss has three players at least 5-foot-8. Canada has 12. The Swiss players were scrappy, darting among their opponents and slinging elbows, but Canada won 5-0. Team USA, meanwhile, routed Switzerland 9-0 on Monday, and the Swiss are among the most improved in recent years.

USAs Meghan Duggan, Monique Lamoureux, and Josephine Pucci celebrate a goal by Lamoureux in the rst period at Shayba Arena in Sochi, Russia, Monday, Feb. 10, 2014. The USA defeated Switzerland, 9-0.

MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE