INSIDE THE GAMES
Kansas dodges midmajor blues
Kansas coach Bill Self has to be happy there are only teams from the power conferences left in the West Regional.
The top-ranked Jayhawks advanced to the regional final with a to-the-wire 61-58 victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday night. It shouldn’t have been a surprise the Big 12 regular-season and tournament champions struggled against a team from the Missouri Valley Conference, one of the leagues that lives under the shadow of the label “midmajor.”
The last two NCAA tournaments ended with first-round losses for Kansas. Last year, the Jayhawks lost 77-73 to Bradley, also of the Missouri Valley Conference. In 2005, Kansas lost 64-63 to Bucknell of the Patriot League.
The Jayhawks have to be happy that their opponent Saturday will be UCLA of the Pac-10, one of the power conferences.
Injury doesn’t hold Tiger
Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis’ leading scorer, turned his left ankle with 8 minutes left in the Tigers’ second-round victory over Nevada.
His status for the regional semifinal was uncertain right up until game time. What was certain was that he came up big in the 65-64 victory over Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore guard had 15 points, just off his 15.4 average. He was 5 for 8 from the field, with the most spectacular of the baskets a dunk on an alley-oop pass in the first half.
The 65 points were the third lowest for the Tigers in their 25-game winning streak.
Free throws matter
The box score showed the difference in the game plans of Ohio State and Tennessee.
The Buckeyes wanted to take advantage of their size inside and they did, going 23 for 35 from the free throw line in their 85-84 victory.
Tennessee stayed outside, hitting twice as many 3-pointers as free throws. The Volunteers were 16 for 31 from beyond the arc and were just 8 for 17 from the line.
The Volunteers were 9 for 15 on 3s in building a 17-point halftime lead.
Jayhawks show balance
Kansas may have been held to well less than its season average of 79.5 points per game in the win over Southern Illinois, but the Jayhawks kept up their balanced attack.
Five players averaged between 9.8 and 13.8 points per game for Kansas entering the regional semifinals.
Against the Salukis, only Brandon Rush managed to break double digits with 12 points, but three others finished with nine, one had eight and another had seven.
It was the second-lowest point total of the season for the Jayhawks behind the 57 in a seven-point loss to DePaul early in the season. It was only the 11th time this season Kansas failed to break the 70-point mark.
Missouri Valley’s misery
Southern Illinois’ loss in the regional semifinal extended the Missouri Valley Conference’s run without a team reaching the Elite Eight.
The last team from the Missouri Valley to play in a regional final was Wichita State in 1981.