2nd Round South Region: Jayhawks put down the Huskies

Joe Hall, Staff Writer

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The number one overall seeded Kansas Jayhawks squared off with UConn in the second round after trouncing Austin Peay in the first round, 105-79. The Huskies of UConn advanced after defeating the Colorado Buffaloes 74-69. Never before have these two teams met despite having 89 appearances and seven titles between the two teams.

Many of the Jayhawk fans made the short-ish drive up Interstate 35 from Kansas, packing Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, with their Jayhawk jerseys, T-shirts, and jackets for the chance to cheer the team chasing its first national championship since 2008. The Huskies would fall behind early, as much as eleven at one point. UConn could not hit a shot either. They missed twelve straight shots and fell behind 40-16 in the midst of a 19-0 Kansas run. Connecticut was down by twenty at the half. As the second half got started, Kansas got going again. As time ran down, Kansas started to “play” with the lead, most notably when Devonte’ Graham lobbed a pass to Wayne Selden, Jr., for an alley oop with about 1:30 left which sealed the deal for Kansas, who had a fifteen-point lead. Kansas won the game 73-61.

This loss was the first tournament for Kevin Ollie, who became UConn’s head coach in 2012. UConn won the NCAA Tournament in 2013 by beating Kentucky 60-54.

Kansas will advance to play the winner between Hawaii and Maryland on Friday, March 23.