KEMPER ARENA
KU's Home-Away-From-Home
Jayhawks face Toledo today in their final game at Kansas City arena
Russell Robinson is hoping Kansas City, Mo., officials, who own Kemper Arena, will crank up the heat in the drafty 32-year-old structure today. Kansas University’s junior guard recalls all too well last year’s 69-56 victory over California — a game in which the Jayhawks’ teeth were chattering as they opened the game 1-for-10 shooting with nine turnovers. “I remember it being cold, and the floor was a little slick,” Robinson said of conditions for KU’s annual game played down by the Stockyards. “It’s another building we get to play in. We have to be ready.”
Temperatures outside are expected to warm up to 49 degrees today — who knows what it’ll be like inside the building? — for the Jayhawks’ nonconference battle against Toledo. Tipoff is noon at Kemper, with a live telecast on ESPN2, cable channel 34.
“It was cold and a little slippery at first,” sophomore Julian Wright noted of last year’s game against Cal, in which KU rallied to overcome a 34-31 halftime deficit. “Coach (Bill) Self told us to keep our jumpers on and stay warm.”
Self plans to wear his usual suit and tie — not a heavy sweater for the game against the Rockets (2-4) of the Mid-American Conference. “I think we’ll enjoy it as long as the building is warm,” Self said of today’s game — the Jayhawks’ last appearance in Kemper provided that, as expected, the new Sprint Center opens its doors next November in downtown K.C. “The last two years we’ve played there it’s been 35 degrees when we practice the day before and 55 for tipoff. Hopefully, they’ll get the building warmed up this year. We like being over there. Certainly we hope our last memory is a very positive one.”
The Jayhawks, who have won 23 of their last 26 games in K.C. — the last loss a Big 12 postseason tournament semifinal setback to Oklahoma State in 2005 — are 79-24 overall in Kemper Arena, which seats 17,818 for hoops. KU has won 25 straight regular-season games in Kansas City since a 64-61 setback to Ohio State on Jan. 2, 1983. “Kemper has been great to Kansas,” Self said.
The Jayhawks won conference postseason tourney titles in Kemper in 1981, ‘84, ‘86, ‘92, ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99. KU has had proud moments in the NCAAs in Kemper as well, last beating Illinois-Chicago and Pacific in 2004. “I think the largest crowd Kemper has had at a sporting event was not the 1988 Final Four. It was the shootaround the Friday before the first Final Four game. People couldn’t get in the arena. They were squeezed on the concourses to get a look,” Self said.
One of the top wins in school history, of course, was the 83-79 decision over Oklahoma in the NCAA title game on April 4, 1988. “The game before that was a really big one as well,” Self said of a 66-59 win over Duke in the national semifinals.
“As much as we’ve enjoyed Kemper Arena, all the memorable things that occurred for the University of Kansas, everybody is excited about the opportunity to play in the Sprint Center next year. From what everybody has said, it will be a fantastic venue.” The new Sprint Center will also have a college basketball Hall of Fame on the same site.
“When they get that Hall finished, it will be absolutely great,” Self said. “You think about the most famous or traditional cities for college basketball ... Kansas City would probably rank No. 1. Maybe Philadelphia with the Palestra and the Big Five ranks high over time. “When the first NCAA championships were played, K.C. hosted almost every one of them. We’ll continue to schedule like we have been. We’re excited about playing in Kansas City and will be very happy when we get in the Sprint Center. They say it’s fabulous.”
• It’s been a while: Robinson was 2 years old when KU beat OU for the national title in Kemper. “That was played at Kemper? I didn’t know that,” Robinson said. As a follow-up question he was asked if Kemper was “just another building?” “I guess not,” he exclaimed, acknowledging the importance of the title win.
• KU in house: The Jayhawks practiced in Allen and also held a shootaround in Kemper on Friday. Temperature at the building at noon, by the way, was 70.1 degrees, KU officials indicated. “I like the court and the backdrop is pretty nice,” Wright said. “It’s a pretty nice venue and good for us to play in again.”
• Sprint Center lid lifter: As of now, it does not appear KU will play the first game in the new Sprint Center next season. The Jayhawks are not entered in the College Basketball Experience tournament, which currently is ticketed to be the first set of games in the building. “The only scenario is if the opening of the building is delayed until December (when KU will play a yet to be determined foe in Kemper),” KU senior associate AD Larry Keating said. “Everything we’ve been told is it’s on schedule to be finished in early fall.”
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Today’s appearance in Kemper Arena will be the last for KU’s men’s basketball team. The Jayhawks are 79-24 in a building that opened in 1974. It’ll be replaced next season by the new Sprint Center in Downtown KC. Here are some memorable KU basketball moments in Kemper:
KU 83, Oklahoma 79
- April 4, 1988
Danny Manning scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a classic NCAA title
contest — one tied at 50 at halftime. It marked KU’s first win over Billy Tubbs’
Sooners that year in three tries.
KU 96, Michigan State 86
- March 21, 1986
KU trailed with two minutes left when the Kemper clock malfunctioned and stopped
for about 10 seconds. Those seconds became critical when KU sent the Sweet 16
game into overtime on a shot with 10 ticks left. KU beat North Carolina State in
the regional final and advanced to the Final Four. MSU coach Jud Heathcote and
star guard Scott Skiles were left to lament what might have been.
KU 100, UMKC 46
- Jan. 4, 2003
Never has a jam-packed arena grown more silent than on the day Wayne Simien
caught his hand on the rim and dislocated his shoulder. The Jayhawks reached the
Final Four that season with Simien watching from the sidelines.
KU 53, Oklahoma State 37
- March 7, 1999
KU won a low-scoring Big 12 tournament-title game, proving to be the highlight
of a season that included nine regular-season losses.
KU 72, Oklahoma 58
- March 8, 1998
Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Co. rolled through the conference postseason
tournament. A 35-4 season ended prematurely courtesy of Rhode Island in the
second round of the NCAAs.
KU 87, Missouri 60
- March 9, 1997
LaFrentz, Pierce, Jerod Haase, Jacque Vaughn and Scot Pollard thrilled the
masses. Who’d have guessed a 34-2 season would end three games later in the
Sweet 16 against Arizona?
Virginia 67, KU 58
- March 24, 1995
Most fans assumed the Jayhawks would win the Sweet 16 game against the Cavs and
follow it with an Elite Eight win in KU’s home away from home. LaFrentz was just
a freshman that season.
KU 88, Connecticut 59
- Jan. 25, 1995
A runaway nonconference victory over Jim Calhoun’s Huskies proved one of the
highlights of a 25-6 season.
KU 66, Oklahoma State 57
- March 15, 1992
Rex Walters and Adonis Jordan rolled in the league-title game. A 27-5 season
ended suddenly two games later against UTEP in the NCAAs.
KU, 79, Oklahoma 78
- March 10, 1984
Winning the league title proved a highlight of Larry Brown’s first season at KU,
a year the Jayhawks went 22-10.
KU 80, Kansas State 68
- March 7, 1981
The Jayhawks beat their in-state rivals in the Big Eight title game. KU also
upended coach Dean Smith’s North Carolina Tar Heels in a 56-55 thriller on Jan.
3 at Kemper. That 24-8 season ended with an NCAA tourney loss to Wichita State
in Louisiana.
KU 72, Colorado 66
- Dec. 30, 1978
Sophomore Darnell Valentine paced the Jayhawks to victory in the finals of the
Big Eight Holiday tournament. KU fell to OU in the Big Eight postseason tourney
finals, 80-65, back at Kemper.
KU 67, Kansas State 62
- Dec. 30, 1977
Senior John Douglas and freshman Valentine notched a narrow victory in the Big
Eight Holiday tourney title game. KSU gained revenge, 87-72, in the postseason
tourney.