Austin Peay’s hopes of becoming the first No. 16 seed to take down a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history came crashing down as Kansas dominated every aspect of the first-round game on Thursday 105-79. “That was an issue for us, as was second chance points”. He knows the Jayhawks, who have won 15 straight as they get ready for ninth-seeded CT on Saturday, are capable of much more this year in the tournament than they’ve displayed in exiting the past two seasons in the round of 32. “What actually happened on a couple plays is we got screened in and they got the ball to him and he made a couple of threes”.
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The game was not a shutout, however, with a final score of 105 to 79. It was clear from the early going that only Kansas could stop Kansas from past Austin Peay in the first round. “I do like how our bench played”.
Josh Robinson scored 24 points for the Governors (18-18), who learned quickly that the magic they leaned on to win four straight and the Ohio Valley title was no match for talent-laded Jayhawks.
KU led by 10 points, 10 minutes into the game and, at that point, was on pace to win by 40. “Great size, athletic ability”, Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said. “I think it’s pretty clear Kansas is obviously a really talented basketball team”.
Playing in his last NCAA Tournament, Ellis was his normal efficient and effective self, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Kansas put away a pesky Austin Peay team with relative ease and took away the Governors’ strengths in the process.
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Still, this is the closest the March Madness odds board has been in years, which on the plus side, may make it a lot harder for amateur basketball fans to win your office’s NCAA Tournament Bracket pool. Lucas had 16 points and eight rebounds in 14 minutes, with only five of those coming in the second half. The Ukrainian sharpshooter came in averaging 5.2 points per game and might provide Kansas with a nice X factor in this tournament.
