Postgame Notes
March 23, 2013
Recap | Final Stats |
(1)Kansas 64, (16)Western Kentucky 57
Postgame Notes
March 22, 2013
KANSAS STARTERS (Career/Season):
– Kevin Young (31/31), Ben McLemore (35/35), Elijah Johnson (81/35), Travis Releford (77/35) and Jeff Withey (75/35).
THE KANSAS WIN:
– Makes Kansas 30-5 and give KU 30 victories for the fourth-straight season and the sixth time in the Bill Self era.
– Gives KU its 28th NCAA Tournament first-game win in the last 30 years dating back to 1978.
– Makes KU 14-4 in games away from Allen Fieldhouse (7-3 in true road games and 7-1 on neutral floors).
– Makes the KU-WKU series 4-1 in favor of the Jayhawks, including 2-1 in NCAA Tournament meetings.
– Makes Kansas 7-0 in the Sprint Center in 2012-13 and 21-4 all time in the venue.
– Makes Kansas 94-40 all-time in NCAA Tournament games including a 15-7 mark in NCAA Tournament games played in Kansas City.
– Makes Bill Self 299-58 while at Kansas, 506-163 all-time and 34-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, 24-7 while at Kansas.
– Makes Kansas 2,100-811 all-time.
TEAM NOTES:
– Kansas trailed 31-30 at the break, just the seventh time in 35 games that the Jayhawks entered halftime on the short end. With the win Kansas improved to 3-4 in games when trailing at the half.
– The Jayhawks went 0-for-6 from three-point range, snapping a streak of 200 consecutive games with a three-pointer. The last time the Jayhawks didn’t make a basket from beyond the arc was in a 100-90 win over Baylor in Lawrence on Feb. 9, 2008. The last time the Jayhawks failed to hit a three-pointer in the NCAA Tournament was against Howard in 1992.
– Jeff Withey’s jumper from the top of the key at the 12:55 mark of the second half to give KU 38 points was the Jayhawks’ first field goal outside the paint in the game. Kansas scored 30 of its first 36 points inside the paint – with the other six points coming via free throws.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
– Senior C Jeff Withey resumed his block party Friday night, swatting seven shots against the Hilltoppers. It was the most for Withey since blocking nine shots against West Virginia (3/2) and surpassed his entire block output (5) during the three Big 12 Tournament games in the Sprint Center last week. Withey has blocked five or more shots in 11 games this season. The total is second-most for Withey in an NCAA Tournament game, having swatted 10 against NC State last year and seven against Ohio State in the Final Four. Withey has 136 blocks on the season, leaving him four short of his own KU record (140) set last season. Withey moved past 300 blocks for his career and extended his KU and Big 12 career record to 301.
– Withey’s 17 points marked the most ever for the KU big man in NCAA Tournament play, topping the 15 points he tallied against North Carolina last year in the Elite Eight. It was the 28th time he has reached double figures this season, including three straight contests, and marked the 10th time he led KU in scoring this season.
– Senior F Travis Releford chipped in 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The total ties for second-most points by Releford in an NCAA game and was the first double digit scoring effort for Releford since prior to the Big 12 Tournament.
– R-Freshman G Ben McLemore also tallied 11 points, his 30th double-digit effort of the season. His six rebounds pushed him past Paul Pierce (180) on the single season rebounds list for freshman into eighth with 185.
– Senior F Kevin Young snagged eight rebounds, including two on the offensive end, and his reverse slam off his own miss at 17:55 gave Kansas a 32-31 lead, one that the team would never surrender.
