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University of Houston
Kansas (Maui Invitational)
Houston Tripped By No. 4 Kansas
11/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov 20, 2001
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
LAHAINA, Hawaii - Kansas didn't let an upset loss and sweltering conditions cramp its style at the Maui Invitational.
The fourth-ranked Jayhawks bounced back from their loss a day earlier with a 95-78 victory over Houston on Tuesday in the eight-team tournament's consolation bracket.
In the 93-91 loss to Ball State on Monday, the Jayhawks didn't play the defense that has become such a staple of the program under coach Roy Williams. A number of players were hampered severely by cramps because of the heat inside the Lahaina Civic Center.
That wasn't the case Tuesday as Nick Collison had 22 points and Drew Gooden added 19 for the Jayhawks (1-1).
"I was concerned because when something like that happens to you, you think it will again," said Collison, who was most affected by the cramping on Monday. "I drank a lot of Gatorade since yesterday and put a lot of salt on my food and put salt in the Gatorade. I know that sounds gross, but it worked."
The Jayhawks will play Seton Hall for fifth place on Wednesday. Seton Hall lost 80-79 to No. 1 Duke in the opening round.
"Needless to say we feel a lot better than we did yesterday after such a disappointing loss," Williams said. "In a way it was helpful to get right back out there to get the bad taste out but I was concerned as well with our health problems.
"We were very businesslike in the locker room and we went out and played well right away."
Kansas led 11-2 over Houston (0-2) after 2{ minutes. With the Cougars held to 35 percent shooting (11-for-31) and committing 10 turnovers, the Jayhawks were up 51-33 at halftime as they shot 60 percent (21-for-35).
Ball State led 55-48 at halftime of the upset, so there was a 25-point turnaround for Kansas in 24 hours.
Collison scored eight of Kansas' first 10 points in the second half as the Jayhawks moved to a 59-39 lead against Houston. Collison was 8-for-11 from the field.
Gooden, who scored a career-high 31 points despite cramping against Ball State, had 15 on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half against Houston.
Aaron Miles, a freshman guard whose legs cramped in the deciding play of the Ball State game when Patrick Jackson drove past him, had 3 points and seven assists.
"Our shot selection was much better and defensively we did a better job of guarding the dribbler," Williams said. "We improved since yesterday and now we have to go out and get better again against a pretty good Seton Hall team."
Patrick Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars, who lost 71-60 to No. 3 UCLA in the opening round. George Williams added 15 points for Houston.
"They came out and got the momentum and got us on our heels," Houston coach Ray McCallum said. "They put us in a catch up situation and that's tough for us because we're limited in numbers. We fought a battle we couldn't win today."
After facing the third- and fourth-ranked teams on consecutive games, the Cougars will play Chaminade, the Division II host school, for seventh place in the tournament sponsored by EA Sports.
