Oh, No. Iowa! No. 1 KU tumbles

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Ninth-seeded Panthers use 3-point barrage for 69-67 upset

By Tully Corcoran
Created March 20, 2010 at 6:59pm

Updated March 20, 2010 at 7:07pm
OKLAHOMA CITY — It was 1998 all over again.

Same city. Same seed. Same round. Different team. Same loss.

Ninth-seeded Northern Iowa stunned Kansas 69-67 on Saturday in Oklahoma City, ending the Jayhawks' season at 33-3, 12 years after Rhode Island knocked off another No. 1 seeded KU team on a slushy night in Oklahoma City.

The biggest issues Kansas faced all season — slow starts and 3-point defense — finally bit them. KU led 2-0, and that was about it. The Jayhawks, who trailed by double digits for much of the second half, made it a one-point game on a driving layup with 42.8 seconds left by Sherron Collins, who had one of his worst performances of the year, going 4-for-15 with five turnovers.

When the buzzer sounded, Marcus Morris crumbled in a heap to the floor, sobbing into his jersey as teammates Tyshawn Taylor and Markieff Morris tried to console him. He finally stood up, unleashed an expletive and jogged off the floor.

Thus ended the career of Collins, who finished his career as the winningest player in Kansas history and the school's No. 4 all-time scorer. The loss most likely was it for Cole Aldrich, too, who coach Bill Self has been saying was a lock to leave for the NBA draft after this season.