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2008 KANSAS BASKETBALL
KANSAS 85 61 PORTLAND STATE
MARCH 20, 2008
Victorious against Vikings
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Senior forward Darnell Jackson and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur joke around on the bench during the second half of Kansas' opening round game against Portland State. The Hawks started off strong in the first half with a 16-5 lead and never allowed the Vikings to make a comeback.The Jayhawks easily defeated the 16th-seeded Vikings at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
OMAHA, Neb. The knock on the door at 7 a.m.came a little too early for Brandon Rush.
A near-dawn wake-up call was needed for all the players so they would be ready for the 11:25 a.m. tip on March 20. Rush, who usually doesn't see the light of day until around 11 a.m., noon or even 1 p.m., stayed under the covers of his Embassy Suites bed for 15 minutes longer before finally getting up.
"It was real hard," he said.
He couldn't say that about Kansas' 85-61 victory against Portland State. Not Rush nor any of his KU teammates snoozed in the early part of their opening round game of the NCAA Tournament on March 20 at the
Qwest Center. They took a 16-5 lead and never saw the margin dwindle.
Coach Bill Self wanted the quick start. He just wasn't expecting it. The game was early, about one hour and 30 minutes before any other KU game started this season. Plus, he thought it was a little chilly inside the Qwest Center.
"Early and cold," Self said, "usually lends itself to not great energy."
Despite low temperature and early tip, it took about five minutes for the Jayhawks to shatter any hopes the Vikings may have had of springing a once-in-a-lifetime upset, and junior guards Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush had a lot to do with it.
Rush scored on the opening possession then assisted senior forward Darnell Jackson's alley-oop. Chalmers turned in the hustle play of the day when he blocked a
shot, got the rebound from it, saved the ball from going out of bounds and then started a fast break that ended with sophomore forward Darrell Arthur's dunk. This came two possessions after he made a three-pointer. Chalmers scored 10 points in the first half. Brandon Rush added 15, and Arthur scored nine.
"It's so important to get off to the fast start and not let the other team think they can play with you or beat you," Self said. "They never challenged us in large part because we were up 10 early in the first half."
Although the players admitted they lost some intensity in the second half, Portland State never mounted a comeback. The Vikings couldn't handle the Jayhawks offense.
Chalmers, Rush and sophomore guard Sherron Collins picked up where they left
off in the Big 12 Tournament, combining to make 10 three-pointers. Collins had three of them, despite being bothered by a knee injury. Self said he wasn't 100 percent after bumping it in practice earlier this week. The team made 12 three-pointers for the game, including eight in the first half. Portland State constantly double-teamed Arthur and Jackson in the post, leaving perimeter shooters open. Self said that was why his team attempted so many threes, not because they were in love with the long ball.
If he's right, it's probably a good thing. The guards made the looks on March 20 and in the Big 12 Tournament the previous week, but they hadn't connected from the outside all season. In February, the Jayhawks went through a two-game stretch where they made just four of 26 three-pointers. Another slump was a possibility.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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