KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas is capable of draining long-range shots.This much, Bill Self sees every day in practice. Actually, as far back as when the Kansas coach recruited players for a team ranked No. 7.Through a 2-1 start, however, the Jayhawks are shooting only 23.1 percent from 3-point range and have been outscored from behind the arc, 93-36.Their top backcourt bombers -- senior Frank Mason and juniors Devonte Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk -- have combined to go 9 of 37 entering a game Monday against Alabama Birmingham (2-1) as part of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at Sprint Center.I know were better shooters than what weve shot, Self said. Devonte, Frank and Svi, none of them have gotten on a roll yet. I know we can become a pretty good shooting team.Against Siena on Nov. 18, an 86-65 win that counted as the Jayhawks host game in the CBE tournament, Kansas was outscored 24-3 at one point from 3-point range as the Saints trimmed a second-half deficit to five.Weve been shooting the ball well in practice, it just hasnt translated into games, said Mason, who led Kansas in scoring in each of its three games and averages 23 points despite making only two 3-pointers this season.Fatigue remains a factor the Jayhawks must confront.Another semifinal between Georgia (2-1) and George Washington (3-0) is scheduled Monday before the CBE championship round is played Tuesday.The Jayhawks opened the season traveling to Honolulu and New York for a split with Indiana and Duke and now face three games in five days.Throughout the opening stretch, and throughout the season actually, attention will be focused on Josh Jackson, a 6-foot-8 freshman guard who came to Kansas ranked as the nations top recruit by some services.Jackson has shown flashes, but also encountered foul problems in each game, averaging only 22 minutes while scoring at an 11.7-point clip.On occasion, Jackson has been clearly agitated by some calls, drawing a technical foul in the win over Duke.Hes an emotional youngster, but thats something hes got to do a better job with, Self said. I do think that hes got to control his emotions a little bit.Getting frustrated like that, sometimes its OK but its not thinking next play. Youve got to put that behind you. Hell get better at that.UAB is coping with the loss of Nick Norton, a starting junior point guard, who was lost for the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee in the season opener.In their first game without Norton, the Blazers had a 26-game homecourt winning streak snapped by Furman before rebounding to defeat Troy 74-51 on Nov. 17.UAB was picked as the consensus favorite in Conference USA after claiming the title last season and moving on to the NCAA Tournament before settling for a school-record 26 wins.William Lee, a 6-9 junior forward who is the reigning C-USA defensive player of the year, had seven rebounds and seven blocked shots in the win over Troy.Junior forward Chris Cokley paces the Blazers, averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.Sophomore guard Deion Lavender flirted with a triple-double against Troy, posting nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists. With Norton out, Lavender shared duties at the point with senior Denzell Watts.We did a better job of balancing the minutes and not relying strictly on Deion, said Robert Ehsan, who was promoted to head coach at UAB this season after Jerod Haase left for Stanford.Denzell was fantastic. Deion played off the ball as well, which he is an asset at. This is the kind of expectation that the coaches have for Deion, to be this productive. He had a great game. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Derek-Newton-Jersey/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Jj-Watt-Jersey/ . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Chris-Clark-Jersey/ . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Dj-Reader-Jersey/ . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. http://www.texansrookiestore.com/Texans-Bruce-Ellington-Jersey/ . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. BOSTON -- The Colorado Avalanche jumped ahead early and got yet another win in Boston -- this time to end a recent skid.Matt Duchene scored his 10th goal and John Mitchell got his first, lifting the Avalanche over the Boston Bruins 4-2 on Thursday night.The Avs had lost four straight and five of six, but again came out winners in Boston, where theyve won 10 times in their last 11 visits.We were off to a good start in the first period. We got a couple quick ones and we rode that, said Nathan MacKinnon, whose short-handed goal 12:57 into the game put Colorado up 2-0.The last time the Avs lost a game in Boston was March 30, 1998, when MacKinnon was just 2 years old.I had no idea. I know weve been hot here my first three years, MacKinnon said. Thats cool.Matt Duchene, John Mitchell and Carl Soderberg also scored for the Avs. Duchenes goal 5:30 into the game was the first of three unassisted tallies for Colorado, which shut down Boston in the third period after David Pastrnak scored twice in the second to pull the Bruins within 3-2.The Avs hadnt won since beating Columbus 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 21.We found a way to score first, which was nice, Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. We havent done that much lately, especially on this losing streak.Boston, coming off an overtime loss the night before at Washington,
