2006-07 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

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The 2006–07 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas Jayhawks for the NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball season of 2006–2007. The team was led by Bill Self in his fourth season as head coach. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Jayhawks' won the regular season championship with fourteen conference wins—the third straight season in which the team has claimed a share of the championship. In postseason play the team defeated its conference opponents to claim its second straight title. In the NCAA Division I tournament, the Jayhawks were defeated in the Elite Eight.

[edit] Season

After returning every key player from the 2006 team that shared the Big 12 regular season title with the Texas Longhorns and defeated Texas for the conference tournament title, the Jayhawks expected to repeat as Big 12 champs and contend for the national title in 2006-07. ESPN's Andy Katz had ranked the Jayhawks as the second best team in the nation for the preseason, while Dick Vitale had the Jayhawks ranked third. The starting lineup included Russell Robinson (guard), Mario Chalmers (guard), Brandon Rush (small forward), Julian Wright (power/small forward), and Sasha Kaun (Center). Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins were the nucleus of Bill Self's recruiting class for the 06-07 season and provided valuable minutes coming off the bench. Some key returnees included Darnell Jackson and Jeremy Case.

One early-season casualty was C.J. Giles. He was suspended in early November for failure to attend practices, for poor showing in the classroom, and because of unpaid child support. He was to have been reinstated for the Winston-Salem State game, but another incident involving charges of assault and battery against his ex-girlfriend left Bill Self with no choice but to dismiss the troubled center from the team. Giles has transferred to play for the Oregon State Beavers. His problems, however, persisted to a degree that he was dismissed from OSU in January 2008.

Following the victory over #1 ranked and defending National Champion Florida in Las Vegas, athletic director Lew Perkins announced that he had extended Coach Bill Self's contract through 2011.

Until February 3, no team from the Big 12 South division had ever beaten Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse since the conference's formation in the 1996 offseason. That streak came to an end when Texas A&M came from 11 down to beat KU 69-66; this also marked the first time ever that the Aggies had beaten the Jayhawks.

There were two streaks that remained intact. Kansas has won 24 consecutive home games against Colorado, most recently a 97-74 victory on January 27, 2007. KU also maintained the 24-game on-the-road win streak against Kansas State in Manhattan, the most recent win being a 71-62 victory in Bramlage Coliseum on February 19, 2007. KU won the final five games with KSU in Ahearn Fieldhouse and all 19 meetings in Bramlage through 2007.

Kansas won the 2007 regular season Big 12 championship, finishing in first place with a 14-2 record in conference play. In doing so, they clinched their third straight regular season title and their first outright Big 12 title since 2003, having settled for ties with Oklahoma and Texas the previous two seasons. They came from down 16 against Texas to win 90-86, leading by as many as 10 at one point and holding on for the four-point win. The title is the Jayhawks' 50th all-time since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1907-08. It is also KU's fifth outright Big 12 championship and seventh overall.

The outright title gave Kansas the top seed for the Big 12 Tournament and a bye for the preliminary rounds of play. In the quarterfinal, KU faced ninth-seed Oklahoma and prevailed 64-47. In the semifinal, KU faced fourth-seed Kansas State and prevailed 67-61. Finally, in the title game, KU defeated Texas 88-84 in overtime to win the Big 12 Tournament. They pulled off an even bigger comeback than in the regular-season meeting, coming from down 22 to win. The 22-point comeback is the biggest in KU history, eclipsing the 19-point comeback in an 85-70 win over UCLA in 1995.

Kansas earned the top seed for the West Region of the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In subregional action at the United Center in Chicago, KU defeated Niagara 107-67 and Kentucky 88-76.

In the Sweet 16, KU escaped a tough defensive stance from Southern Illinois, winning 61-58 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The victory sent KU to the Elite Eight against the second-seeded UCLA Bruins, but they lost 68-55, their largest margin of defeat all season. KU has never won a game against UCLA in NCAA Tournament play, losing all five meetings. The loss also left Bill Self at 0-4 all-time in Elite Eight games, having lost with Tulsa, Illinois, and Kansas (twice), a problem he would eliminate the following season.

Kansas finished the season 33-5, winning the Big 12 regular season and postseason championships, reaching the Elite Eight, and achieving the seventh 30-win season in school history.

On April 9, 2007, sophomore forward Julian Wright announced that he would forego his junior and senior seasons, hire an agent (therefore forfeiting his amateur status and college eligibility), and enter his name into the NBA Draft. Teammate and fellow sophomore Brandon Rush had originally chosen to follow suit, announcing on April 26, 2007 his plan of entering his name into the NBA Draft, but decided to not hire an agent (therefore allowing him to return to KU if he decided to withdraw his name from the draft). However, after tearing his anterior crucial ligament in a pickup game of basketball, Rush changed his mind and decided to return for his junior season at KU. Rush's surgery was successful; and, as it turned out the following season, the injury was a blessing in disguise for Rush and the Jayhawks.

[edit] Schedule

[edit] Awards

Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Mario Chalmers (Sophomore, Guard)

Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week

Julian Wright (Sophomore, Forward), November 27 and March 5 (co-winner)

All-Big 12 First Team

Brandon Rush (Sophomore, Guard)

Julian Wright

Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team

Brandon Rush

Julian Wright

[edit] References

• Big 12 Record Book: Men's Basketball. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.