Postgame Notes

March 31, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Quotes |

Kansas 64, Ohio State 62
2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship
National Semifinals
Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans
March 31, 2012
Postgame Notes

Kansas’ Win …

— Improves Kansas to 32-6 on the season and gives the Jayhawks 32 victories for the third-consecutive season and fifth time in the last six years. In all, Kansas has won 30 games in 11 different seasons.

— Gives the Jayhawks a 16-6 mark in games away from Allen Fieldhouse (8-2 in true road games and 8-4 on a neutral floor).

— Advances Kansas to its eighth National Championship and first since 2008.

— Helps Kansas improve to 5-3 against No. 2-seeded teams and improved the Jayhawks to 18-4 as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

— Moves Kansas to 93-39 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, one of only five programs to reach the 90-win plateau.

— Makes the KU-OSU all-time series 7-3 in favor of the Jayhawks and gives Kansas its fifth-consecutive win over the Buckeyes.

— Gives Bill Self a 269-52 record while at Kansas and 476-157 mark overall. Self improved to 5-3 vs. Ohio State.

— Makes the Jayhawks 2,070-805 all-time.

Kansas Starters (Career/Season): C Jeff Withey (39/38); F Thomas Robinson (41/38); G Tyshawn Taylor (126/37); G Elijah Johnson (45/37); G Travis Releford (41/37).

Team Notes

— Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Semifinal attendance was 73,361 – the second-most ever for an NCAA Tournament session and the largest crowd ever to watch the Jayhawks.

— Travis Releford’s lay-up as time expired in the first half helped Kansas avoid posting its lowest point total in a half of the 2011-12 season. The Jayhawks entered the break trailing Ohio State 34-25. Kansas’ season low for points in a half was 24 against South Florida (Dec. 3). Kansas improved to 7-4 when trailing at intermission.

— Kansas led at halftime during just one game in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, its opening win against Detroit. The Jayhawks had overcome deficits against Purdue (36-30), North Carolina State (33-32) and was even with North Carolina (47-47) after the first 20 minutes of each contest. Kansas overcame a nine-point halftime deficit (34-25) to top Ohio State Saturday, and trailed by as many as 13 in the game.

— The Jayhawks excelled on the boards, outrebounding Ohio State 42-30 and then outscored the Buckeyes 32-16 in the paint.

Individual Notes

— Junior forward Thomas Robinson scored the first points of both halves for the Jayhawks and led KU in scoring with 19 points. Robinson’s free throw with 3:51 to play was his 100th career point in NCAA Tournament play (10 games played). Robinson moved into Kansas’ top-10 for single season scoring.

— Junior guard Travis Releford scored an NCAA Tournament career-high 15 points. The Kansas City native gave the Jayhawks their first lead since the game’s first basket when he hit a pair of free throws to make it 56-55 with 2:48 to play. Releford hit two more free throws to make it 60-59 with 1:37 to play. It was the most points for Releford since pouring in a career-best 28 points against Oklahoma (Jan. 7).

— Junior center Jeff Withey continued to serve as KU’s strategic air defense, swatting seven shots to increase his Jayhawk single-season record total to 136. Withey rejected a shot by William Buford with 1:18 to play to start an end-to-end drive by Elijah Johnson that resulted in a 62-59 lead, KU’s largest to that point. Withey finished the game with four points and eight rebounds.

— Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor found a way to help his squad despite a 3-for-11 shooting night. Taylor hit a pair of clutch free throws late and finished 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Taylor also dished out nine assists, after previously logging a career-best 13 assists against Ohio State in the teams’ first meeting this year.

— Junior guard Elijah Johnson recorded the first double-double of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson again turned up the heat after the break, pouring in 11 points after intermission. The 10 rebounds were a career-high.