LAWRENCE, Kan.
Cody Whitehair Jersey . -- There were moments
of frustration for Kansas coach Bill Self, moments where hed angrily call a
timeout or attend a post-game news conference and glumly bemoan another uneven
performance. There never was a moment where he lost faith in his team. Now,
after enduring the nations most brutal non-conference schedule, the sixth-ranked
Jayhawks are proving to be exactly what the pundits thought theyd be: The Big
12s premier team, one that already has a substantial lead in the conference as
the race nears its midway point. "We have grown, but were just now to the middle
of the season. Thats whats so strange," Self said. "The big thing is that were
playing with more energy and were starting to understand how were going to score
-- not just running an offence to run an offence. Were not a tough team by any
stretch, but are playing tougher than we did earlier in the season." Thats
certainly been evident in the results. After a loss to fifth-ranked San Diego
State ended the Jayhawks 68-game non-conference winning streak at Allen
Fieldhouse, Kansas has ripped off seven straight wins through arguably the
toughest part of its league schedule. It began with a win at No. 23 Oklahoma,
and continued with wins over four straight teams that were ranked in the Top 25
-- Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Baylor. After a blowout win at
TCU, the Jayhawks beat the No. 16 Cyclones for a second time on Wednesday night.
Now, theyll head to No. 25 Texas with essentially a two-game lead in the Big 12.
You catch the game on TSN2 on Saturday at 12am et/9pm pt. "Im not surprised at
all," junior guard Naadir Tharpe said. "I knew it was going to be a matter of
time until everybody just let water run off their back and start going out there
and just playing. That is what I feel like dudes are doing right now." The most
important of them may be Andrew Wiggins, the highly touted freshman. After fits
and starts to begin his college career, the 6-foot-8 swingman and projected
lottery pick in the June draft has gone on a tear. Wiggins scored a career-high
27 points in the win over the Horned Frogs, and then bested it with 29 points
against the Cyclones earlier this week. Hes averaging more than 24 points over
his past three games. "I would say I feel more comfortable on the court,"
Wiggins said this week. "A lot of things are slowing down for me and my
teammates are looking for me." Hes also starting to create his own shot,
something that he was reticent to do early in the season, prompting Iowa State
coach Fred Hoiberg to say hes "oozing with confidence. "Thats scary," Hoiberg
said. "With that athleticism, that length and that speed, the kids got it all.
When hes knocking down shots, not too many better." There arent many teams
better than the Jayhawks right now. Since the start of league play, the
nine-time defending champions are putting up a Big 12-leading 84 points per
game. Theyre just a half-point out of second place in scoring defence, and their
scoring margin of 12 points per game is seven better than second-place Oklahoma
State. The Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12) also lead the league in field-goal and
3-point percentage, rebounding defence and margin, blocked shots, assists and,
well, you get the idea. "They have a special group," TCU coach Trent Johnson
said. "At every position, they have somebody who can score. They can attack you,
so you really have to be on your toes." After the Jayhawks, Texas may be the
next hottest team in the Big 12 heading into Saturdays game. The Longhorns
(16-4, 5-2) have rattled off five straight wins, the last three coming against
ranked teams in Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor. The Jayhawks will represent
the first time in school history that Texas will have played four consecutive
Top 25 opponents. "Theyre young. Theyre not quite as young as we are, but theyre
young and fast, probably as fast as any team well play," Self said. "Theyre
obviously playing their tails off."
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. LUCIE, Fla.MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Masterson had no regrets about the pitch that
cost him his chance at a no-hitter. Masterson took a no-hit bid into the seventh
inning, Michael Brantley hit a bases-loaded triple and the Cleveland Indians
beat the Minnesota Twins 7-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. Masterson
(11-7) had faced the minimum through six, allowing only a hit batter, when Brian
Dozier led off the seventh with a broken-bat blooper to centre field that dunked
in under the glove of a sliding Drew Stubbs for a double. That not only ended
Mastersons attempt at making history, it briefly halted what had been a quick,
decisive trip through the Twins lineup. Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana
immediately went to the mound to check on the big right-hander. "He said, Maybe
we should have started him off with a slider. I said, No, we wanted to challenge
guys," Masterson said. "Thats what we do. I dont care if we have no hits or 100
hits, you still have to challenge guys. "Broken bat? Thats what you want. It
falls in, but in my mind I get so many balls put in play Im like, somethings
going to happen. Theres going to be a hit sometime. So lets just make sure when
it does happen, we stay in our game and make sure it doesnt have a trickle-down
effect," he added. Besides, by then the Indians were leading 6-0. "I thought
what he did was good enough," manager Terry Francona said. The Indians led 3-0
on Mike Aviles sacrifice fly and two-run homer by Jason Kipnis when they loaded
the bases with one out in the fifth on a walk to Kipnis and consecutive singles
by Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana off starter Scott Diamond (5-9). With
right-hander Anthony Swarzak warming in the bullpen, acting manager Terry
Steinbach -- in charge because Ron Gardenhire had the flu -- visited Diamond on
the mound. Diamond got Mark Reynolds to pop out to first for the second out, but
Brantley hit a liner to the wall in right-centre for a standup triple that
cleared the bases and ended Diamonds day. The Indians hit Diamond hard even when
making outs -- 11 of the balls they put in play were solid line drives. That
included Kipnis homer, which bounced off the top of the wall in left for his
second opposite-field shot in two days. "My stuff was really bad," Diamond said.
"I think I tried to overdo some things, and that kind of led to what happpened.
Dak Prescott Jersey. " Diamond, the Twins
best starter last season as a rookie (12-9, 3.59 ERA), gave up six runs, five
earned, on seven hits and three walks as the left-hander lost his third straight
decision. He hasnt won since beating the Chicago White Sox on June 20, and his
ERA rose to 5.53. "It seemed like Is throw one pitch and not be able to come
back with the next one," Diamond said. "It was just a matter of trying to focus
and not overthink things. I just battled myself the whole time." The Twins
scored when Dozier came in from third on Joe Mauers one-out grounder to second
that was bobbled by Kipnis for an error, his second in two days. But the
first-time All-Star also homered for the second time in two days. "When he hits
the ball the other way hes getting rewarded for it and its creating a ton of
confidence -- and it should," Francona said. "Right now hes keeping everything
fair and hitting everything with authority, and thats a good recipe for
success." Masterson, who hadnt pitched since a no-decision against Toronto on
July 10, finished the seventh before being pulled after 91 pitches for
right-hander C.C. Lee. Masterson, also selected to his first All-Star team this
year, was charged with an earned run on one hit and struck out eight in his
first victory since June 30 against the White Sox. He lowered his ERA to 3.60
with his 13th quality start of the season. Masterson plunked Aaron Hicks in the
elbow in the third inning, but Hicks was thrown out attempting to steal for the
second out and Pedro Florimon grounded out to end the inning. That was as much
as the Twins could muster against Masterson until the seventh, when Dozier
looped the first pitch into shallow centre. NOTES: Indians RHP Corey Kluber
could have his next start pushed back a day after leaving Saturday nights 3-2
loss after five innings because of a hip injury. Kluber said Sunday his left
hamstring tightened up on him during the game and was sore, but he didnt
anticipate missing his next scheduled bullpen session Monday. ... Twins 3B
Trevor Plouffe has struck out six straight times -- and he fanned seven times in
the series. He was pulled in the eighth for pinch-hitter Doug Bernier, who
walked to reach base for the first time in the majors. The infielder was 0 for 4
in two games with the Colorado Rockies in 2008.
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