“It’s a tough pill to swallow saying that right now after I know this game meant so much to us, but for them to – for me to say they out worked us is tough”, head coach Shaka Smart said.
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They’re the regular season champs. “I thought their multiple pressure caused us to make some ill-advised decisions”, Johnson said. “We’re going to play every possession hard until it’s the last one in the game”.
“We’re going to have other flat halves, and hopefully we play long enough (in the postseason) where that can happen. Then they wanted to win the tournament championship, go to the NCAAs and continue to advance there”. Perry Ellis scored 20 points. Later, with about a minute to play in the first half, Carlton Bragg blocked a dunk attempt by Elijah Macon by meeting Macon at the peak of his jump and pinning the ball in mid-air. Bill Self and company hope things go a little bit better this March than they did six years ago, when Ali Farokhmanesh and ninth-seeded Northern Iowa stunned KU in the second round. “When we got the lead, it felt comfortable again”. Ellis was also instrumental in a win over the Mountaineers at the end of the season that helped secure Kansas their 12th consecutive Big 12 crown.
“I was hoping for two more”, she said with a laugh.
“(It’s) pretty consistent with us. “One of their goals was to win the league championship, which we fell short”.
Ford still has three years left on his contract, at $2.4 million per year.
The second half was the opposite of the first half, especially for Kansas. Wayne Selden Jr. was held to five points on 1-for-6 shooting. The Jayhawks had 12 second-chance points compared to only two from K-State. West Virginia would close to within four points at 67-63 with 4:09 left, but couldn’t complete the comeback. “Being a fighter, I’m just trying to help the team the best I can”.
Taurean Prince finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
Clinging to a 37-32 lead, Kansas went on a 9-1 run to blow the game open.
Notice the image on the massive clock is Selden dunking over Wainright. “(It was a) insane, athletic play.
Baylor closed the gap to 69-66 in the waning seconds, but couldn’t get over the hump. “But it was a good first day and I’m happy with our team”. Graham was 5 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with 27 points.
The enthusiasm did not last, however.
Marques Chriss scored 19 points for the Huskies. The teams combined to shoot 38 percent from the field.
There were only two real highlights: Graham had five assists for Kansas, including back-to-back alley-oop lobs to Ellis, and Jake Lindsey hit a buzzer-beating 3 to give the Bears the halftime edge.
NOTES: Baylor is the only team in the country with no losses to team outside the RPI top-40.
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The Jayhawks await their seeding in the NCAA tournament on selection Sunday. Kansas is now 10-3 vs. ranked opponents in 2015-16.
