Kansas Is Now The Clear NCAA Tournament Favorite

The roars for Kansas only got louder in the second half. I think the numbers back that up especially the number of teams (5) that have gone on to make the Final Four after beating Purdue in just nine tries. Cincinnati would win only this game and lose in the round of 32. If there was any doubt who the best team remaining in the NCAA Tournament was, the Jayhawks erased them Thursday night. Kansas also became the first team to score at least 90 points in each game through the Sweet 16 since CT in 1995, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and the Jayhawks are shooting 46.6 percent during the tournament on 3-pointers.

Purdue’s season ends after winning the regular season Big Ten title and advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010.

Caleb Swanigan had 18 points and seven boards for the Boilermakers (27-8), but the 6-foot-9, 250-pound All-America candidate had to work for all of it.

An 11-0 run created a 15-point lead and the Jayhawks cruised into the winner’s circle from there.

Against Purdue in the Sweet 16, the Jayhawks overcame an eight-point first half deficit by stepping on the gas pedal and electrifying a pro-Kansas crowd with alley-oops, streaks of 3-pointers and even a breakaway 360-degree dunk.

“Purdue will attempt to utilize its size (five players taller than 6’8″) and beat the Jayhawks in the paint.

With his team leading by 7 (only 7!) with over 12 minutes left to play in the second half, Kansas sophomore Lagerald Vick executed a attractive steal and had nothing but open court in front of him.

The Boilermakers had an eight-point lead early in the game, but it quickly disappeared. Even though he had just 2 points, a rebound, and an assist, he, like Lucas, did a really good job down low once he adjusted. Dakota Mathias has a team-high 71 three-pointers and shoots 45.8 percent beyond the arc.

The big man who Kansas briefly recruited was a disruptive force on the offensive end during his first six-minute stint on the floor, cashing in on all three shots he attempted – all from point-blank range – and grabbing two rebounds while drawing a total of three fouls on three different Jayhawks. Thursday night, his Ducks outlasted MI 69-68 in the Midwest regional semifinals to reach their second consecutive Elite Eight.

An expecting fan base has always breathed down the Kansas Jayhawks’ necks.

Kansas will play OR for a spot in the final 4 Saturday evening.

Kansas improved to 4-2 all-time versus Purdue, including 3-1 in NCAA Tournament match-ups. There was a year ago, when No. 1 Kansas fell to No. 2 Villanova. Last year, Villanova knocked the Jayhawks out of the tournament in this round in Louisville. And then there was 2004, when Kansas was under-seeded at No. 4 and lost in overtime to No. 3 Georgia Tech.

The three that followed by freshman Josh Jackson on the next possession was the finisher.

Mason III was equal with Graham, both scoring 26 points each. From 7:39 to 4:19 in the second half, Graham scored 11-straight points for KU. Kansas took nearly half its shots from three (28 compared to 34 twos), and while shooting 53.6 percent on threes is certainly higher than you’d expect a team to shoot, it is plainly obvious that Kansas’s best offense is using their ball movement (which yes requires throwing the ball inside at times) to get as many open threes as possible. The previous record was 13, set against Niagara in 2007.

The Boilermakers’ No. 1 concern coming is was taking care of the ball and preventing the Jayhawks from breaking the game open in transition.

Twice in as many games now this NCAA Tournament, Thompson has made the biggest threes of the game. The two teams shot 25-55 from behind the arc.

A big Devonte’ Graham trey stretches a two-point KU edge back out to five.