Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403250198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
The Boilermakers kept feeding Glenn Robinson and he kept going to the well - and for a while, Purdue seemed to be barking up the wrong tree.
In Thursday night's regional semifinal nightcap at Thompson-Boling Arena, Robinson got just enough help from one teammate as the third-ranked Boilermakers outlasted Kansas 83-78 in a Sweet 16 game that was anything but a bow-wow.
"Glenn Robinson and Cuonzo Martin were absolutely fantastic," said Roy Williams, the Kansas coach.
Purdue (29-4) tied its school record for victories in a season and advanced to its first regional title game since the Lee Rose-coached Final Four club of 1980.
Robinson, who figures to be the nation's consensus player of the year, needed 27 points in the game to become the 15th player in NCAA Division I history to score 1,000 in a season.
He got that with a 30-point first half. The 6-foot-8 junior finished with an NCAA school-record 44, and if it weren't for some superb 3-point marksmanship by fellow forward Martin in the second half, 13th-ranked Kansas (27-8) would have been playing Duke (26-5) for the Southeast title at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Robinson already had 40 points with 13 minute, 48 seconds to play. His hoop-and-harm, three-point play gave third-ranked Purdue a 62-52 lead.
However, the Jayhawks rallied again, and again - and Robinson went 10 minutes without scoring. With 6:40 left, Greg Ostertag's follow shot brought Kansas to a one-point deficit, at 68-67.
Martin's 20-point second half included five 3-point baskets, and each seemed to come at a crucial juncture. None was bigger than the one from the left side of the key 20 seconds after Ostertag's hoop, rebuilding the Boliermakers' lead to 71-67.
Two possessions later, the lesser-known of coach Gene Keady's junior forwards hit another 3-pointer - this one from the right corner - to forge a seven-point advantage.
Robinson and Martin combined for 73 of Purdue's 83 points and took 51 of the Boilermakers' 65 shots, including 14 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc. Robinson equaled his career high with six 3-pointers, all in the first half. Martin's eight 3s also were a personal best.
When asked what Kansas was doing defensively against 6-8 Robinson, Williams said, "We were trying to guard him."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB