No. 2 Kansas follows game plan to perfection, beats San Diego State 70-57

Bill Self clutched a paper box score in his left hand and stood in a back hallway inside Viejas Arena on late Tuesday night, idling for a brief moment as the clock pushed toward 11 p.m. here in southern California.

It was just moments after No. 2 Kansas finished off a 70-57 victory over San Diego State — in the Jayhawks’ first true road game of the season — and Self was a man being pulled in all different directions. He stopped to chat with the family of Mitch Lightfoot, a Kansas signee who had traveled to the game from his hometown of Tucson, Ariz. He shared a brief laugh with former KU center Eric Chenowith, a California native who watched the Jayhawks handle a difficult road environment with aplomb. Finally, Self had time to scan the box score and the numbers triggered a random thought.

“The thing about our team that’s so screwed up?” Self said. “There’s no postseason awards with our team, because everybody is so balanced.”

On a Tuesday night in San Diego, the Jayhawks, 10-1, settled an old score and gathered a head of steam entering the holiday break. But they also offered some hard evidence of that balance once again. Case in point: senior forward Perry Ellis, who finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The Jayhawks had devised a game plan that was heavy with Ellis, using high ball screens to isolate him against a defender near the top of the key. All the while Ellis showcased an aggressive and assertiveness that was often lacking during the season’s first 10 games. In Self’s mind, Ellis had come through.

“He delivered,” Self said.

But here was Self, talking about senior forward Jamari Traylor and junior wing Brannen Greene, two bench players who had combined for 10 points and 10 rebounds while helping stave off a San Diego State run in the second half.

“You could make a case they were as two good of players as we had tonight,” Self said.

Self did not even mention Frank Mason or Devonte’ Graham, who combined for 22 points and two turnovers. He did not mention Wayne Selden, who played through early foul trouble, finished with 10 points and hit two key buckets after the Aztecs pulled to within four points in the second half.

“We’re a tough team,” Traylor said.

In most respects, Self and Kansas had a plan Tuesday at San Diego State — in both the big picture and the small. In the big picture, Self craved a hostile environment where his team would be tested after eight straight victories. The Jayhawks got that, with a crowd of 12,414 turning Viejas Arena into a Southern California version of Bramlage Coliseum. More specifically, KU had a small list of set plays designed to exploit the San Diego State defense. They had a defensive scheme that would limit the Aztecs to just 37 percent shooting. They also had a motivation, to gain revenge for a loss to San Diego State two seasons ago.

“I just knew I wanted to come out and beat these guys because they beat us on our home floor a little while ago,” said Traylor, who had six points and six rebounds in 21 minutes. “And I remembered that. And all our guys remembered that. I just feel like I needed to go out there and play my heart out.”

Two years ago, of course, the Aztecs traveled to Lawrence and pulled off an upset inside Allen Fieldhouse, a 61-57 stunner that handed Self his ninth home loss. On that early January afternoon in 2014, San Diego Stage flummoxed the Jayhawks with a lineup of springy athletes and post double teams. Kansas shot just 29 percent from the floor, and Ellis, then a sophomore, made just 1 of 8 from the floor while finishing with four points.

On Tuesday, Ellis drilled four of his first six shots as the Jayhawks pieced together a 19-11 lead by the second media timeout.

“This is the best he’s been,” Self said of Ellis. “I’ll be real candid with you: We’ve said all along he’s been OK, but he hasn’t been great by any stretch. But I thought tonight was the most aggressive he’s been all year long. Hopefully that’s a big step in the right direction, because we’re going to have to play through him. He’s going to have to be a low-post scorer for us.”

With Ellis hitting jumpers and sparking the offense, the Jayhawks never turned back. Mason drilled consecutive three-pointers during the run, and the Jayhawks hit San Diego State with a cadre of well-executed set plays. For long stretches, the Jayhawks looked like the best version of themselves, even with Selden spending the last 17 minutes of the first half in foul trouble. As the lead swelled to 16 in the opening 20 minutes, the Jayhawks limited the turnovers (two in the first half) and grabbed nine offensive rebounds. For the game, Kansas hit 8 of 19 from three-point range.

“I knew we were going to have to make some shots tonight,” Self said. “And when the lid came off early on, our guys felt pretty comfortable.”

The Aztecs would slice into the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, racing back into the game with a run punctuated by a windmill dunk from Zylan Cheatham. But with the Jayhawks’ lead at 43-39, San Diego State’s Winston Shepard missed a dunk attempt that would have trimmed the lead to two. The ball didn’t stay down, and Traylor made two free throws on the other end, extending the lead back to six. The spurt continued with three-point jumpers from Selden and Greene, and the Jayhawks stretched the lead to 60-43 with less than eight minutes left.

“That was a big swing,” Self said. “And then Wayne made a three-point play, and we run a little ‘elevator door’ play for Brannen. But we didn’t play well at all the second half. We just kind of pieced it together. But we played really well the first half.”

By the end, the Jayhawks had a precious road victory and a happy flight home for Christmas break. By the end, Self stood inside Viejas Arena, the box score still in his hand, the deafening noise now gone.

“The bottom line, we needed this game,” Self said. “We needed to go on the road. We needed to have to play in a good building. So that was good for us.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 11:15 PM with the headline "No. 2 Kansas follows game plan to perfection, beats San Diego State 70-57."