Daily Vanguard

March 19th, 2008

The Matchup: Portland State vs. Kansas

The NCAA held its first ever postseason basketball tournament in 1939. Since then, a 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed in tournament play.

Not even once.

Thanks to the NCAA Selection Committee’s decision Sunday to seed Portland State as a No. 16—rather than a 15 or 14—the Vikings will have the opportunity Thursday morning to make history when they face No. 1 Kansas in the opening round of the Midwest Regional in Omaha, Nebraska.

The fact that a No.16 has never beaten a No.1 has not been a big deal to the Vikings, but it is in the back of their minds.

“It can be done, it will be done,” said head coach Ken Bone. “I’m not saying it will be done tomorrow morning, or the next day, or next year, but at some point a 16 will beat a 1. It’s just a matter of when it happens.”

Junior guard Jeremiah Dominguez echoed Bone’s sentiments.

“It’s possible,” Dominguez said. “Sooner or later it’s going to happen, so why not this year?”

The Jayhawks are 31-3 this season and have won their last seven games, including an 84-74 victory over Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship last week. The Vikings are 23-9 and have won 14 of 15 games since Jan. 10.

Kansas is a team with a legitimate shot at winning the national championship. That is, if they can get by the Vikings first. If Portland State wants to compete with the Jayhawks, it will have to play nearly perfect in every facet of the game.

Here’s a rundown of how these two teams match up:

Bigs

Senior center Scott Morrison was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 1.6 blocks and 5.9 rebounds per game. At 6’11”, Morrison’s size alone was enough to alter shots in Big Sky competition. But Kansas is, let’s just say, on a different level. Morrison will be going head to head with either 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Darrell Arthur or 6-foot-8 senior forward Darnell Jackson.

Arthur is an athletic big who leads Kansas in scoring at 13.1 and blocks at 1.4. He is second on the team in rebounding, accumulating 6.2 points a night.

Jackson tries to model his game after Ben Wallace of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers—only, Jackson can score. His 11.6 points per game is fourth on the team, and he is Kansas’ rebounding leader at 6.7 a game.

Vikings’ 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Kyle Coston will have his hands full defending Jackson or Arthur, but should be able to open the middle offensively if he can knock down some three’s and force his defender to come out and guard him on the perimeter.

The bigs on the bench will be key for both teams. The Vikings will use 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Julius Thomas, possibly more so than usual, to keep pace with the faster and stronger Jayhawks, if Morrison turns in another sub-par performance as he did on consecutive nights in the Big Sky Tournament.

Kansas will bring 6-foot-11 senior Sasha Kaun off the bench to clog the middle and give the Jayhawks another veteran presence on the floor. The Tomsk, Russia, native started more than 25 games in each of the past two seasons. He shoots 61 percent from the floor and is second on the team in blocked shots with 45 this season.

Guards

Portland State had the best backcourt in the Big Sky, but Kansas may have the best backcourt in the nation.

Junior Mario Chalmers has been a stud since the day he arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, and had a career game last week in the Jayhawks win over Texas. Chalmers erupted for 30 points and made eight three-pointers. He can shoot, pass and defend. As a sophomore and freshman, Chalmers led the Big 12 in steals, and is averaging 2.4 this season to go with 12.4 points and 4.6 assists.The Vikings play a style of basketball that is similar to the Jayhawks, but Kansas is bigger, faster and stronger. That’s nothing new to 5-foot-6 point guard Jeremiah Dominguez. The Big Sky Player of the Year can do everything Chalmers does, except dunk. Dominguez is good for 14.3 points, 4.1 assists, and 1.9 steals a night. It wouldn’t be a surprise if both of these guys have huge games Thursday.

Most likely, Dominguez will find himself being guarded by 6-foot-1 senior Russell Robinson. Not much of a scorer, Robinson is Kansas’ glue guy. He routinely checks the opposing team’s best guard, is second on the team in assists and averages two steals a game.

If the Vikings hope to upset the Jayhawks, junior guard Andre Murray and senior guard Dupree Lucas will have rise to the occasion. With Lucas getting closer to being at full strength after missing several games with a foot injury, the two should split minutes. Murray’s 9.2 points and nearly four rebounds a game will be sorely needed for the Vikings. Lucas, who Bone says is the teams best perimeter defender, will have to guard a great scorer in either Chalmers or dangerous junior Brandon Rush.

Rush is a big guard who rebound and shoots very well. In the last two games, Rush has connected on 11 of 17 three point attempts. He is second on the team in scoring at 12.9 per and also grabs 5 rebounds a night.

Huff, a Lancaster, Calif., native will have to continue his strong play of late that garnered him Big Sky Tournament MVP. He will have to exceed his season averages of 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Vikings to have a chance at history.

X-Factor

The X-Factor for Portland State Thursday morning should be Julius Thomas. He is a bit undersized to bang with Kansas’ big men, but his energy and work ethic more than make up for it. Thomas is a great passer out of the post, a relentless rebounder and he has shot 70 percent from the field this season. Morrison may have a hard time staying in the game if Kansas can control the tempo, so look for Thomas to see more time on the floor.Darrell Arthur, potentially, could run circles around Morrison and Co. He is long, athletic and a great leaper. No way Morrison can keep up with him, and if Thomas can’t either. Look out!

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