Kansas demonstrated why it’s the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, cruising to a 105-79 victory over 16th-seeded Austin Peay on Thursday during the first round at Wells Fargo Arena. A similar read can be said of the next team up, for ease’s sake we’ll consider 5-seed Maryland, which has been equally successful defending the net but more proficient than the Huskies on offense. “We just need to rekindle that”. They have what it takes to win it all and Ellis seems compelled to do so before he departs for the National Basketball Association. Ellis – a throwback in his own right, as a four-year college player – said as much on Friday.
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“We just want to continue to play the way we are”, said Ellis, the smooth senior power forward who hit 20-plus points for the sixth time in seven games. Even coach Bill Self, considered a button-down conformist, is said to have loosened up at practices and games. The Jayhawk defense was stifling from the start, holding UConn to under 30% shooting through the first half and into the second. The best bench contribution came from Jamari Traylor, who, in 10 minutes, blocked three shots and grabbed a pair of rebounds. The Huskies missed 12 straight shots during that stretch.
Frank Mason bounced a pass to Landen Lucas at the elbow.
With 1:38 left, the time for tricks arrived.
The Governors were just 4 of 15 from 3-point range. “It is just a great feeling knowing that we are moving on”. He tearfully bowed his head, and Ollie reassuringly reached over to pat his neck.
UConn started the second half by clamping down defensively and got within single digits, trimming the Kansas lead down to 50-41 with 9:33 remaining. Miami not only has senior guard Angel Rodriguez and a decent draw, but the Hurricanes have coach Jim Larranaga. However, in Huskies first game, Colorado held a lead for a while in the first half.
The Hurricanes will play either Iowa or Villanova next weekend in Louisville in the South Region semifinals. After that potential Sweet 16 matchup, it’s back to working shop to the Final Four.
The 2016 NCAA Final Four logo.
Ellis notched his fourth 20 point game over his last five games. Daniel Hamilton added 11 points.
“We tried in the second half to come out with defensive intensity and see what would happen from there”. Lucas’ 6 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks were way bigger in this game than any of those numbers actually sound.
Josh Robinson scored 24 points for the Governors who finish the year (18-18).
They were not without any troubles as they saw themselves down in the first half 36-27. But surprisingly, they got the free-throw line 10 more times than Kansas and went 25 of 37….
So far in NCAA Tournament history, UConn and Kansas has met twice before – in 1995 and 1997. Kansas packed a wallop, winning 73-61 and advancing to the Sweet 16.
Andrew Chrabascz scored a season-high 25 points for ninth-seeded Butler.
Gonzaga 82, Utah 59: Gonzaga (28-7) stayed on a roll, getting 22 points from Eric McClellan and another double-double from Domantas Sabonis in an 82-59 runaway over Utah (27-9).
Out of the teams that already punched their tickets to the Sweet 16, Kansas is third in scoring differential through the first two rounds. “That, to me, was the biggest shot of the game, if there was a biggest shot”.
On this day, though, the Huskies trailed 44-24 at halftime. “They are very strong on the perimeter and play through both bigs”.
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The most promising development was the play of Mykhailiuk.
