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Kansas cruises past Villanova into the Elite Eight
By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGHThe Kansas City Star
All year, the Final Four has been the goal. To get there, the assumption was that KU would have to get through some sort of heart-pounding, gut-check moment in the tournament. But after the latest snooze-fest, a 72-57 annihilation of No. 12 seed Villanova, the Jayhawks are one win from sacred basketball ground and still haven’t experienced a single tense moment in the Big Dance.
“That’s the thing,” KU guard Russell Robinson said. “Even though we’re winning by a lot, the games are a lot tougher than they look.”
They haven’t looked very tough, that’s for sure. Maybe Kansas is just that good. That’s the natural conclusion to make about these top-seeded, 34-3 Jayhawks, who have won 10 consecutive games. KU will go for No. 11 and a trip to San Antonio at 4:05 p.m. Sunday against No. 10 seed Davidson, which upset No. 3 seed Wisconsin in Friday’s opening game.
Kansas sent a message early against Villanova that Detroit was not going to turn into the Tampa of the Sweet 16. Two 12th seeds — Villanova and Western Kentucky — made it out of Tampa, Fla., on the first weekend, leaving bracket carnage everywhere. But the Jayhawks jumped out to a 24-10 lead and never let the Wildcats closer than seven. There would be no upset.
“We’ve played good teams,” KU guard Sherron Collins said. “We’ve just been able to jump out on them and get leads and keep the lead on them. We’ve been getting stops. I credit our defense.”
On Friday night, in what is quickly becoming a trend in March, the Jayhawks were again led by their guard play. Robinson had 13 points in the first 9 minutes and finished with 15. But his most vital contribution was his defense on Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds, who had only 11 points after averaging 23 points per game in the Wildcats’ two previous tournament games.
“Scottie Reynolds is their best player,” KU guard Mario Chalmers said. “Russ did a good job of not letting him get any open looks, being in his hip pocket all the time.”
KU coach Bill Self, who takes a 0-4 record into his fifth Elite Eight game, said Robinson was the key for Kansas on Friday. But he wasn’t alone. Brandon Rush led KU with 16 points, and Chalmers had 14.
The Jayhawks’ third game of the tournament went pretty much like the first two. The Wildcats were never truly a threat to KU, but if the game had a turning point, it was late in the first half when Villanova used an 8-0 run to pull within 28-21. The Wildcats appeared to have some life — although you wouldn’t have known it by the lifeless atmosphere at Ford Field by fans who clearly spent all of their energy willing Davidson into the next round.
Villanova’s fans wouldn’t make another peep after Chalmers scored eight consecutive points to get KU back on track and help the Jayhawks take a 41-22 lead into the locker room.
KU’s three guards — Chalmers, Robinson and Rush — combined for 32 points, while Reynolds could only muster six for the Wildcats in the first half.
Once again, the Jayhawks spent a tournament game putting on a clinic on how to execute an alley-oop. Four different players — Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun, Darrell Arthur and Rush — had the pleasure of finishing those plays.
KU has won its three games by an average of 19.3 points, and if it wasn’t for the large, sterile arenas or the big NCAA logos on the floor, you could have mistaken these three games for a stretch in nonconference play — something like Eastern Washington, DePaul and Ohio.
“You expect closer games,” Collins said.
Self wasn’t going to act as if it’s been an easy ride for KU.
“In my opinion, we were challenged,” Self said. “I don’t know what game you guys were watching, but I thought Vegas was a really good, competitive game. I feel comfortable where we’re at.”