CHICAGO – Kansas is on its way back to the Final Four, and finds another gear in the second half around the no. 10-seeded Miami (Fla.) 76-50 embarrassed. Sunday in the Elite Eight to claim the Midwest regional title.
The Jayhawks will face No. 1 on Saturday (18:09 ET, CBS). 2-selected Villanova play.
It was not easy for the last No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s tournament, as the Hurricanes fired on all cylinders, hoping to take the upset off as a double-digit generation. Kansas did itself no favors by playing poorly in the first half – with 35-29 behind, 0-for-5 from outside the arc and 3-for-9 from the free-throw line.
But four minutes into the second half, veteran Christian Braun (12 points) helped fuel the Jayhawks (32-6) with a thunderous dunk and three-pointer to give Kansas a decisive lead he would not give up.
“We just needed a little bit of energy, I felt like we were flat in the first half,” Braun said.
Big man David McCormack (15 points) has been a steady force for Kansas throughout the competition, while reserve guard Remy Martin (nine points) – who has scored 43 points in the past two games – has cooled in this round.
“It was a two-half story,” coach Bill Self said. “About as good as we could play in the second half. … I challenged our guys to guard them (rest time). Knew the lid was going to come off eventually. These guys deserved it. I can not wait to get to New Orleans. “
After a first half where almost nothing went Kansas’ way, the second half turned that script around. The Jayhawks built a 54-42 lead from a series that caused Ochai Agbaji (18 points) to miss a congestion, and then pushed a three-pointer off a Jalen Wilson dish with 10:14 over. Kansas rode the wave of a predominantly Kansas-centric crowd at the United Center, far exceeding the Hurricanes’ support base.
“It was plays in the second half when we needed momentum,” Agbaji said. “When we first made those plays, there was no looking back.”
Coach Jim Larrañaga had his team ready to go from point to point, with Cameroon McGusty, All-ACC guard (18 points on the day) providing the attacking firepower behind 14 points in the first half. But much of that power collapsed in the second half, with Miami (26-11) unable to match Kansas’ second gear. A turning point came when Miami big man Sam Waardenburg kicked out halfway through the second half.
“If we could have kept Sam on track, it could have been one or two possession games,” Larrañaga told reporters in an attempt to explain the blowout.
The Jayhawks join fellow blue-blooded Duke and Villanova – both number 2 seeds – in New Orleans. They are the only no. 1 left in a wild March Madness that knocked out the overall top seed Gonzaga and Arizona in the Sweet 16 while Baylor bowed out in the second round. The last March Madness to drop all four of the top seeds before the Final Four was 2011 and it’s only happened three times since the NCAA started sowing in 1979-80.
Kansas has now won nine in a row. It entered the NCAA Tournament after winning the Big 12 Tournament, the toughest conference in the country by NET rankings.
Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.
