Roberts rules - Wichita Eagle (11-16-2006)

[ORUTerry]

Roberts rules

Oral Roberts surprises third-ranked Jayhawks

BY RICK PLUMLEE

The Wichita Eagle

LAWRENCE - At such a moment in such a place, Oral Roberts' Ken Tutt did the appropriate thing. As the final seconds ticked off on the Golden Eagles' 78-71 stunner of No. 3 Kansas on Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse, Tutt celebrated by heaving the ball in the stands.

"It's the only thing I could think of to do," ORU's senior guard said. "I've always wanted to do that after a big win. And this was big. Really big."

This also wasn't a fluke loss for the Jayhawks. ORU flat outplayed them from start to finish. The Eagles were quicker on defense, hustled more and shot the lights out. They dictated the pace, punched holes in KU's defense and probably even set the old barn's thermostat to their liking.

As for the Jayhawks, Brandon Rush said, "We went into the game a little loose."

Not the good kind of loose either. More like nonchalant. Hard to believe considering KU is only two games away from last March's first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

"This team needs to climb a mountain, not start there," KU coach Bill Self said. "This team hasn't done anything to earn the accolades that has been put on us. We're not mature enough to handle it.

"It'll be more of a climb now that they kicked our butts."

Did they ever. The Eagles made 11 of 19 three-pointers and picked KU for 10 steals. That's only for starters.

Ever heard of Caleb Green? Probably. ORU's 6-foot-8 senior is one of the best mid-major forwards in the country and could play for any Big 12 team, including KU.

The Jayhawks had no answer for Green's double threat. He scored most of his 20 points against single coverage, then passed out eight assists when KU tied to double-team him.

And kept smiling the whole time.

"When you beat the No. 3 team," Green said, "you have to feel good and smile. That was fun."

Particularly for Marchello Vealy. Bet you haven't heard of him?

"We wanted to come out and shock the world tonight," ORU's sophomore forward said, "and we did it."

Nothing could have been more shocking than what Vealy did with his three-point shooing. He was 1 of 13 from beyond the arc in his career and scored only two points in last week's 68-65 loss at Loyola-Marymount.

Wednesday, Vealy made 7 of 8 three-pointers, including all five attempts down the stretch of the first half as ORU led by as many as 10 points. He scored 22 points.

"We knew he was a good face-up shooter," Self said. "We also knew he was 1 of 13. But after he hits a couple, don't you think you get out and guard him? We never did."

KU's brightest stars -- Julian Wright and Rush -- were a combined 8 of 24 shooting. Freshman Darrell Arthur gave the Jayhawks a boost with his 22 points, but far too little for a team that did little right and was just 11 of 21 on free throws.

Self had been telling his players a night like this was coming.

"We haven't practiced well since before Northern Arizona," he said, referring to Friday's 91-57 victory. "We turned it on the last time. But this was not a game where you just flip on the light switch and win it.

"ORU is too good and they played great. I mean, they could have beaten most Big 12 teams tonight."

The Jayhawks had 14 turnovers in the first half and probably missed that many layups. KU's answer was to try to do something spectacular, which is why Wright committed one of his six turnovers by throwing away a behind-the-back pass on a costly play as the Jayhawks tried to make a late run.

"We were trying to hit a home runs," Self said. "It was like being down by three and trying to hit a grand slam with no one on base. They wanted to make great plays. That's not what basketball is about. Basketball is about making a lot of good plays."

As a result, KU went limp when trying to fight back. Even when the Jayhawks made a run late, it wasn't so much because they were making stops but because ORU just missed.

So where to go from here?

"We played like we've practiced," guard Russell Robinson said, "but we can change that. We have to change that."