Purdue meets the end of the line in Kansas City

Purdue’s guards are capable of changing the dynamic of Thursday night’s Sweet 16 battle, which is something few would have said of them last season.

At least there weren’t while the media was around.

Standing in their way is Big 10 regular season champ Purdue. That caused Purdue coach Matt Painter to use a timeout with 5:08 showing. Obviously they can not replace the Big Ten Player of the Year and National Player of the Year candidate, but they will employ a talented and effective roster next season. Winners of 12 of their last 14, MI played two thrilling games during the opening weekend. (Dwight Coleby gave them good minutes in Sunday’s win over Michigan State.) With that being the case, Kansas will likely double not only with the goal of forcing Swanigan into rushed decisions but also keeping Lucas out of foul trouble. Graham joins Frank Mason with 15 points to lead the Jayhawks.

Mason, who became the first Kansas player to lead the Big 12 in scoring in 12 years, and is the first player in school history to average over 20 points and five assists in a season, hit 9-of-11 shots, including 4-of-5 3-pointers.

“Like I really don’t want Purdue to lose but I really don’t want Kansas to lose more”. They led 33-25 in the first half and remained within striking distance midway through the second half.

Such opportunities emboldened the Jayhawks’ star guards. “He was great out there, probably one of the best games I’ve seen him play and I’m just happy for him, and hopefully he can continue that in the next game“.

The offensive glass hurt Purdue, as Kansas’ superior athleticism showed up.

Graham averages 13.7 points per game and shoots 39.8 percent from 3-point range.

There was Jayhawks freshman Josh Jackson jumping higher, reaching farther and snatching a rebound with one hand, despite Purdue’s Dakota Mathias frantically tugging on Jackson’s other arm to stop him.

Like we said, Purdue needed to be flawless just to hang around in this game, and they were far from ideal. Purdue ran out of responses. Kansas 83, Purdue 69. Graham made closely contested jumpers left and right. This KU team just looks dialed in right now. Jackson made step-back threes, dunked on a lob pass and drove for an and-one. But then came the turnovers, the points in transition and that nasty 360 dunk.

Meanwhile, Purdue’s best offense over the final 10-and-a-half minutes was its own misses.

In the other Midwest semifinal, third-seeded OR and sensational forward Dillon Brooks will try to end seventh-seeded Michigan’s dream postseason by earning a spot in the Elite Eight.

But it’s not all about the starters for Kansas.

The Jayhawks finish the first half strong, turning an eight point deficit into a seven point lead at the break.

“We lost all the non-negotiables”, Swanigan said. That’s why the National Basketball Association uses that seven-game format. “Next thing you know, he’s hitting some 3s in your eye”. If Purdue allows Kansas to speed the game up and get up and down the floor, the Jayhawks could score 90 or more for the third game in a row. What had been a competitive Sweet 16 game between the two teams devolved into a blowout that had started to feel inevitable, and when the dust settled, Kansas’ victory margin was 32 points: 98-66. The Jayhawks dispatched a good Purdue team Thursday night easily.

“We know it’ll be hostile there, but we can draw energy from that”, center Isaac Haas said via Twitter. “It’s pretty special to have gone from the bottom of the Big Ten before I got here to winning it in three years”.