4B the university daily kansan
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Victories come ea
Stories by Ryan Greene
Kansas 78-Pacific 63
Kansas' Wayne Simien took questions from the media in the locker room after the Jayhawks' second-round victory against Pacific in Kemper Arena.
Team earns Sweet 16 bid amid upsets
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Even after Kansas finished thrashing Pacific, 78-63 at Kemper Arena in the NCAA Tournament second round, the Jayhawks did not overlook their opponent for Friday night's Sweet 16 matchup.
Following his team's solid allaround performance against Pacific, Self had no reason to spout in the locker room.
The Jayhawks turned the ball over 13 times, compared to 25 on Friday, and hit 15 of 21 free throw attempts.
The Blazers, who defeated top-seeded Kentucky Sunday after the jayhawks finished their
own game in Kansas City, were as tough of an opponent as any. Even after the impressive victory, the Kansas locker room presented a more laid-back atmosphere than most would expect.
"We're just focused right now," Langford said. "We just won. Good. We know there's going to be a team waiting on us in St. Louis."
The Jayhawks had trouble pulling early from a Pacific team that was not as easily forced out of its offense in Illinois-Chicago on Friday. Langford and senior forward Jeff Graves combined for 15 of Kansas' first 22
points, but the Tigers hung tight. Pacific's dangerous trio of David Doubley, Guillaume Yango and Miah Davis kept their team close, even taking a 16-14 lead into a timeout with 11-57 left in the first half. However, Kansas would pull ahead, as Pacific went eight minutes without another field goal, and fell behind 31-20. The Tigers then regrouped on a 14-2 run, and took a 32-13 lead with just minutes left before halftime.
Then, in a timeout right before the half, Self tore into freshman swingman Giddens in the huddle for a couple of defensive mistakes. Giddens responded by scoring the game's next five points and giving Kansas a 36-32 halftime lead it would never let go.
Out of the locker room, Giddens then scored the first five points for Kansas, but still couldn't shake Pacific. The Tigers tied the game, 51-51 with 10:49 left to play. Next junior guard Mike Lee checked into the game.
Lee would hit six consecutive free throw attempts as well as a huge three-pointer. His nine straight points for Kansas keyed an 11-2 run that broke the Tigers and put the game safely on the backburner.
Jared Sogara/Kansas
Tara Olson, Lawrence resident, held Allie Callan, 6, an Independence resident, during Kansas' game again at Pacific.
Senior forward Jeff Graves screamed with other members of the Jayhawks in a pre-gain
Kansas 100 - Alaba
Kansas freezes out
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — All the Jayhawks heard in the days leading up to their Sweet 16 matchup with Alabama-Birmingham was how they had a cakewalk through the first two rounds and Alabama-Birmingham would pressure them out of the game in a hurry.
Instead of using its words to fight back, Kansas simply used a 100-74 slaughtering of the UAB Blazers to make a statement and advance to the Elite Eight for the third straight season.
Every player in the locker room attributed Kansas' readiness to the eight-on-five drills the Jayhawks ran in practice during the last week to prepare for Alabama-Birmingham's stingy full-court press.
The Jayhawks out-rebounded the Blazers 45-33, including a 35-19 advantage on the defensive boards. It was just one of many factors Kansas controlled en route to its blowout victory.
Kansas' domination started
Aaron Miles, Junior guard, maneuvered past UAB defenders Carldeil Johnsbury 13 points and 10 assists.
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