Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways:

Melo Trimble and the Terrapins won another close game. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

1. Melo Trimble and Dez Wells won the game. Just as they did throughout the regular season, Maryland’s freshman/senior duo carried the bulk of the offensive load and made winning plays late in a close game. When Valparaiso had a chance to take the lead at the six-minute mark, Trimble stole the ball and made a nifty pass to a wide open Damonte Dodd under the basket. After the Crusaders pulled within one at the two-minute mark, Wells came up with a big offensive rebound and putback – plus the foul – to extend Maryland’s lead to four. Together, those two accounted for 26 of the team’s 65 points and six of its nine total assists. Mark Turgeon’s group is now 12-1 in games decided by six points or fewer, in large part because of its talented backcourt.
2. But Trimble’s not the only freshman who stepped up. Trimble is one of America’s premier freshmen and he was awesome today. But another first year player – 6’6” forward Jared Nickens (5.8 PPG) – also came up big, knocking several key shots when Maryland’s offense was otherwise sputtering. The New Jersey product scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, including four three-pointers that gave the Terrapins their seven-point lead at the break – an advantage they never conceded.  Although Trimble, Wells and Maryland’s team defense will continue to lead the way, ancillary pieces like Nickens could ultimately be the difference between reaching the second weekend or going home on Sunday.
3. Another ugly final possession. How many times do we see it? A team has a chance to tie or win the game – shot-clock turned off – but its indecision and willingness to settle prevents it from finding a good look. For the Crusaders, it was obvious they were trying to free sophomore Alec Peters (18 points) for an open shot – just as they should have – but when Maryland bottled him up, point guard Keith Carter froze and didn’t know where to turn. Turgeon and his defense deserves a lot of credit for keeping Peters under wraps, but man, some of these final possessions are difficult to watch.

Star Player: Melo Trimble (14 points, 10 rebounds). The sensational freshman recorded his second-career double-double and made several moves – on defense, off the dribble, distributing the rock – that left people shaking their heads in disbelief. Trimble is a future pro and among the better players in college basketball.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Wayne Blackshear’s Defense May Have Saved the Cards Today (USA Today Images)

1. Experience. UC Irvine was playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament. Louisville? Even a less-than-classic Louisville team yawns at the idea of March pressure. Let’s just look at the end of the game really quick. Tied at 55 with 43 seconds left. Following a timeout, the Anteaters come out and run a quick pick-and-roll with Luke Nelson and Mamadou Ndiaye, get nothing out of it, then reset and wind up with a Nelson (28 percent on way too many threes this season) launching a 30-footer that was off. Then, as the rebound heads into the corner, senior Will Davis gets a little over-eager and runs into freshman Quentin Snider, committing a loose-ball foul 94 feet from the hoop in a tie game with nine seconds left. Snider, cool as a cucumber, drills the front-end of a one-and-one and backs it up with a second. Then on the final possession, Louisville, with two fouls to burn, uses the first, and then with Alex Young expecting the Cards to give another one, gets his pocket picked when the Cards instead go for the steal, unconcerned if they picked up a foul in the process. Rick Pitino has been to seven Final Fours and has won two national titles. Russell Turner has not. As Turner put it in the postgame, UC Irvine was a play away from winning this game. They didn’t make that play. Louisville did. Experience matters.
2. Louisville Limitations. This is not a vintage Louisville basketball team. They Cardinals have had personnel problems and they’re clearly in between builds. Montrezl Harrell (eight points, four boards) is a fantastic talent, but he’s not the most polished offensive player and there isn’t a true point guard on this squad capable of setting him up on a regular basis. For that matter, there are really only a couple of people on this team – sophomore Terry Rozier and freshman Quentin Snider – even remotely capable of going and getting their own buckets. And, for once, this is a team that is looking up – literally – at the opposition. They got away with the win today and you can rely on the fact that the Cards will give Northern Iowa all sorts of problems. But for Louisville to continue to advance, they’re going to have to win ugly.
3. The Mamadou Factor. He’s 7’6”. That’s the story right? Nah, that’s only part of it. The normal 7’6” player is a low-minute, low energy, unskilled statue of a man. Mamadou Ndiaye, while still very much a work in progress, defies that stereotype. He played 30 minutes today! He’s very clearly a hard-working player, committed to improving his game. In high school, he was little more than a shotblocker to avoid. Now, he’s added enough strength that he can go and get whatever post position he wants. He’s got a drop step that is a really, really long drop step. He gets up and down the floor. He’s gets down in a defensive stance and slap the floor on defense. It is hard not to love a kid like that.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Rick Byrd and Belmont competed well but still couldn’t get that elusive first NCAA win.
(Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

1. It was another slow NCAA start for Virginia. Last year, #16 Coastal Carolina led Virginia most of the first half in the Cavaliers’ NCAA Tournament opener and today started out the same way. Belmont jumped out to an early six-point lead, making eight of its first 12 shots against the vaunted Virginia defense. Virginia came back behind Malcolm Brogdon and appeared to have the game under control, but Belmont didn’t quit and made things very interesting down the stretch. For the second straight outing, the Cavaliers’ highly regarded defense has shown some notable flaws. North Carolina shot about 55 percent from the field against it in the ACC Tournament last week, and Belmont’s attacking spread offense caused more problems than expected today. Not only did the Bruins shake free to make 8-of-25 threes, but they also managed to make a remarkable 59.4 percent of their two-point tries and outscored the bigger Cavaliers in the paint (+4).
2. Belmont has learned how to be competitive in the NCAA Tourney but not yet how to win in it. The Bruins fell short again for the seventh time in seven trips to the Big Dance, all of them as a double-digit seed. In its first two trips, Belmont suffered blowout losses, but Rick Byrd’s program has shown that it is no longer intimidated by the situation. Before today, the margins of defeat in Belmont’s four previous appearances were all under 20 points, with the most memorable of those being a one-point loss to #2 Duke in 2008. This performance fits in nicely as Belmont’s next-best NCAA effort. While this year’s OVC championship was something of a surprise, next year’s Bruins squad should be better with a solid nucleus returning and the goal of returning to the NCAAs and finally breaking through with a win.
3. Justin Anderson is starting to shake off the rust. In his return last week, Anderson didn’t score in two ACC Tournament games while playing limited minutes. He came off the bench again today, but he was much more productive. Anderson played 26 minutes and scored 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor that included a solid 6-of-7 from the foul line. More important than that, he seemed very comfortable in his movements on both ends. It’s critical that Anderson progresses back to where he was in January when the Cavaliers’ offense was really clicking and looked Final Four worthy.

Star of the Game.  Craig Bradshaw, Belmont. The junior guard did a number on the famous Virginia pack-line defense, even banking in a three that looked intentional (at least he sold it well). Bradshaw finished with 25 points and also led all rebounders with nine boards. He was equally effective from both sides of the arc, making 5-of-9 from deep and hitting 5-of-10 on two-point shots.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Everything Was Left on the Floor in This One (USA Today Images)

1. Wichita State survived an awful shooting night from Ron Baker. Baker was an awful 3-of-13 from the field today, but he still managed to get 15 points while going 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Fred VanVleet poured in 27 and was Wichita State’s catalyst the entire day. Wichita State was able to get production from some key role players in the second half, as Darius Carter, Zach Brown and Tekele Cotton combined for 24 second-half points. The Shockers probably won’t survive their Sunday matchup with the Jayhawks if Baker has an equally dreadful shooting night on Sunday, though, so they should feel somewhat fortunate to have escaped the second round with a win.
2. Fouls killed the Hoosiers early and often. Indiana’s big men were in foul trouble for a majority of the game on Friday, and it cost them dearly. Emmitt Holt and Collin Hartman finished with four fouls apiece, and Hanner Mosquera–Perea played despite being somewhat limited by his injured right knee. Mosquera-Perea finished with three fouls himself, and Indiana could never find a rhythm with its corps of forwards. It wasn’t just the big men, though, as Indiana tallied 26 total fouls in comparison to Wichita State’s 17.  Wichita State was brilliant from the free throw line, cashing in on 29-of-34 attempts today, effectively winning them the game.
3. Fred VanVleet is the truth. VanVleet carried the Shockers to the tune of 27 points and four assists in a game where none of his teammates could find a way to create their own shot. With Baker struggling, VanVleet went to battle with Yogi Ferrell and ultimately came out on top. He also helped shut down Ferrell on defense, as the junior was held to nine points in the second half after a 15-point first stanza. VanVleet was key in creating space in the lane for the Shockers, as they finished with 44 total points in the paint.

Player of the Game. Fred VanVleet. He consistently found ways to get to the rim despite having minimal help from co-star Ron Baker. VanVleet played all but three minutes on Friday, going 9-of-10 from the free throw line and only turning the ball over once.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Devin Williams led West Virginia to victory today. (Tony Dejak/AP)

1. That was sloppy. The game was close and there was plenty of drama, but let’s not mince words here – this thing was ugly. The teams combined for 29 turnovers, shot well under 70 percent from the free throw line and squandered offensive opportunity after offensive opportunity throughout the afternoon. West Virginia had numerous chances in the second half to put Buffalo away, yet repeatedly took out of control shots or fumbled the ball away. Buffalo missed gimme layups and had trouble keeping the Mountaineers off the glass, especially late. And the fouls… all told, 49 fouls were called, interrupting both squads’ offensive rhythm and leaving everyone in Nationwide Arena mildly perturbed – coaches, fans and players alike.
2. West Virginia’s pressure left Buffalo with an uphill climb. “It’s hard to simulate what they do,” Buffalo head coach Bobby Hurley said afterwards, referring to West Virginia’s relentless pressure. And it showed, especially early on. The Mountaineers – which lead the country in defensive turnover rate – held Buffalo scoreless for the first three-plus minutes and forced innumerable errant passes, leaving the Bulls with an early 24-11 deficit that was probably the difference. If Bobby Hurley’s club had figured out the press earlier, its late surge may have been enough to in the game. Alas, it did not.
3. The Mountaineers will rattle you. Trying to break West Virginia’s press and keep them off the glass each time down the court is an exhausting proposition, even if you manage keep pace. Bob Huggins plays upwards of 11 guys each game, sending body after body – even if the fouls add up – in an effort to keep opposing teams agitated. As VCU showed during its 2011 Final Four run, that kind of aggressive, jarring style can work in a tournament setting. Whichever team emerges from Maryland vs. Valparaiso will have its struggles against the Mountaineers on Sunday – whether or not it can mentally (and physically) regroup will dictate who moves on.

Star of the Game: Devin Williams (17 points, nine rebounds). The 6’9” sophomore was too much for Buffalo to handle on the interior today, converting around the rim and securing several clutch, late-game offensive rebounds. Perhaps most importantly, Williams shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line in a game otherwise defined by missed chances.

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In what was certainly one of the most competitive and jam-packed “opening” days in NCAA Tournament history, Friday’s slate of games will have a hard time following Thursday’s remarkable act. However, today offers a fair share of fascinating matchups as well. Here is a preview of Friday’s evening games.

#8 Oregon vs. #9 Oklahoma State – West Region First Round (at Omaha, NE) – 6:50 PM ET on TBS.

The game plan is simple when playing Oregon: Stop Joe Young. (USA TODAY Sports)

For the Ducks, it all begins and ends with Pac-12 Player of the Year Joseph Young. A deadly shooter, Young is stroking it at 36.1% from three (a career-low), 50.3% from two and 92.6% from the free throw line. He’s adept as a pull-up shooter from deep, a catch-and-shoot guy coming off a screen or on the bounce and on the attack. He’s scored 20 or more 17 different times this season. In other words: stop Young, stop the Ducks. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they don’t appear to have a ready-made matchup for Young, unless they put 6’6” Le’Bryan Nash – ostensibly a power forward on this team – on him. On the other end of the court, the Ducks can throw a combination of Dwayne Benjamin, Elgin Cook and Dillon Brooks at Nash – the ‘Pokes leading scorer – and feel relatively comfortable, while they’ll let Young, or any of their other fresh guards, chase Phil Forte off screens and try to limit his clean three-point looks. In the end, the Cowboys are more reliant on three-point shooting, while the Ducks can score in all three ranges. Unless Forte and senior Anthony Hickey get super hot from deep, the Ducks should have the edge

The RTC Certified Pick: Oregon

#1 Duke vs. #16 Robert Morris – South Region Second Round (at Charlotte, NC) – 7:10 PM ET on CBS.

Robert Morris sprung a mild upset in Dayton on Wednesday, knocking off favored North Florida in impressive fashion. To further extend their season, the Colonials will need another unexpected victory, but quite obviously, this upset may be slightly less attainable. Duke has had their share of recent struggles in the Tournament’s second round, but stubbed toes against foes such as Mercer and Lehigh can only offer RMU so much solace. Jahlil Okafor dominated small-conference foes in November and December – the Colonials, like almost every team in America, has no player capable of slowing Duke’s freshman star. Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones have proven virtually unstoppable as a duo: stopping one is possible, but forcing poor shooting nights from both is rare. The Colonials made only 4-of-16 three-point field goals against North Florida but have shot the three-ball well this season (37.7 percent). Getting hot from long range would be a great way for Andy Toole’s team to begin the task of hanging around in this game. To finish that chore — even if it ends in defeat — Robert Morris will need to pitch a perfect game. This is the life of a #16 seed, and while it’ll be Duke moving on to face the winner of San Diego State-St. John’s, Robert Morris should head home with heads held high, a proud season in the books.

The RTC Certified Pick: Duke Read the rest of this entry »

Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Seth Tuttle and The Panthers May Not Look Like A Top-20 Basketball Team, But They Are (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) )

1. Seth Tuttle, Legit. Northern Iowa’s senior big man is not a household name among non-diehard college basketball fans although he dominated against Wichita State in his first big regular season close-up. But in his first NCAA Tournament game, he put on a show for a national television audience, displaying his versatile and disruptive game. Wanna see the 6’8” center run the offense out of the high post? Look no further than his beautiful first-half dime to Jeremy Morgan (who missed the layup). Wanna see his traditional big man moves? He sealed off the longer and more athletic Larry Nance, Jr., received the lob pass and put in an easy dunk. Worried that at just 6’8” he might not be able to do that against a bigger defender? Just watch him step out to the three-point line and drill one from deep. Defensively, he’s physical, disciplined and smart, anticipating the opponent’s plays. In short, he may not be as used to the spotlight as some of the guys in major conferences, but he’s as good of a college basketball player as I’ve seen this year.
2. Physical, Disciplined, Experienced. You watch Northern Iowa go through the layup line in the pregame and you’re sort of unimpressed. A couple lanky and unexplosive guys in the 6’8” to 6’9” range, average athleticism, small guards. And then the ball is tipped; they run their offense through Tuttle and little point guard Wes Washpun; they clamp down on defense; they pound away on the glass; they exploit defenses to find open shooters. And they’re incredibly well-coached by head coach Ben Jacobson. What does the opponent want to do? Okay, let’s not let them do that. Today it was getting the ball out of Josh Adams’ hands (he scored four points on 2-of-9 shooting) — forcing Larry Nance to either shoot jumpers or go left — and make everybody else beat them. They may not be members of the all-airport team, but these guys can beat a lot of teams in this field. And they certainly won’t beat themselves.
3. Wyoming Second-Half Life. At the halfway mark, Northern Iowa was up 11 and the Cowboys were fortuntate to be that close. The Panthers came out of the locker room and put together a quick 8-0 run and the next thing you know they were up 21 points and the game was over. Wyoming had shown no life. Larry Nance Jr. had two field goal attempts, two turnovers, two fouls and one point. And then, over the course of four minutes, Nance scored 13 straight points including a couple threes and a couple dunks and, following a Charles Hankerson three, the Cowboys were back within seven. The comeback stalled out, but at the very least, the Cowboys got a chance for a 10-minute second half stretch to show the nation why they were a worthy addition to the Tournament field.

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Travis Trice led Michigan State’s decisive first half run.
(Kirthman F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press)

1. Michigan State’s first half run was the key. After getting off to a slow start and trailing by six points early, the Spartans got it going at both ends of the floor and roared to a 12-point halftime lead. Georgia made a spirited effort to recover in the second half but could never quite catch up. During that first half, Georgia’s ball-handling deficiencies came to the forefront. The Bulldogs entered the game with five more total turnovers than assists on the season, and they played to form in that regard today by coughing it up 10 times in the first 20 minutes. That problem, combined with an inability to make shots (28 percent shooting in the first half), dug the Bulldogs a huge hole that it never climbed out of. Meanwhile, Michigan State got out in transition (eight fast break points) and heated up from deep with five threes before the intermission.
2. Georgia’s bigs really struggled to finish at the rim. Georgia’s primary big men, Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic, each entered the contest shooting close to 50 percent from the field but neither came close to that mark today. The two combined to only make 4-of-17 shots against the Spartans, with most of the misses coming close to the basket. It could be attributed to non-explosive players failing to finish through the kind of contact that is allowed in NCAA games, because it wasn’t an effort problem (each player grabbed at least 10 rebounds). Credit goes to Michigan State for making those opportunities for Thornton and Djurisic tough ones, as the Bulldogs only converted 34.9 percent of their two-point shots for the game.
3. Free throws are a problem for Michigan State. Michigan State was outscored by 10 points at the free throw line and that has been a recurring theme as the Spartans have made 106 fewer foul shots than their opponents this year. Part of the problem is that Michigan State just doesn’t shoot the ball very well from the stripe (63.3 percent on the year), but it also doesn’t get there very often either. Perhaps this is just a byproduct of these Spartans becoming more of a jump shooting team than we are used to from Tom Izzo, but it could hurt them as the competition improves open perimeter shots are tougher to find and knock down.

Stars of the Game.  Travis Trice & Branden Dawson, Michigan State. Tom Izzo’s veterans came through for him, one in each half. Trice was the catalyst behind the first half spurt, with 11 points and four assists before the break that included a pair of threes that gave the Spartans a nice working margin. Dawson spent most of the opening stanza on the bench because of foul trouble, finishing the half with no points or rebounds. However, when Georgia made its push early in the second half, it was Dawson who helped get the game back under control. He finished with 14 points and six boards to hold off the Bulldogs.

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March Madness is finally upon us, and we here at RTC are here to make everything a little bit easier for you. From the First Four until One Shining Moment, we’ll be dropping daily tidbits of knowledge regarding the teams in each region.

Midwest Region

The Wildcats Keep on Keepin’ On… (USA Today Images)

• Another game, another victory, and Kentucky is 35-0.
• Cincinnati is notorious for grinding it out, but it took an incredible shot from Troy Caupain to force overtime and eventually beat Purdue.
• West Virginia will be one of the toughest tests Buffalo has had all season long. So, what are the Bulls focusing on? WVU’s press. “That [the press] is a great formula for winning a lot of basketball games and they don’t stop, they keep coming at you,” coach Bobby Hurley noted.
• Many members of the media have been asking West Virginia coach Bob Huggins about his past NCAA experiences, but he’s trying his best to stay present. Huggins: “I don’t look backwards. I don’t have a rear view mirror. I just look forward.”
• Maryland being back in the NCAA Tournament is a big deal, but coach Mark Turgeon is trying to keep his team loose. With dunk contests and half-court shot contests, it seems like Turgeon is doing a good job.
• Notre Dame was almost the third #3 seed to go down on Thursday, but the Irish avoided the upset with a two-point win against Northeastern. A popular pick to advance to the Elite Eight before the NCAA Tournament, should the Irish faithful be concerned?
• Staying true to its reputation, Butler won ugly yesterday. The Bulldogs may not have earned any “style points,” but a win is a win.
• Wichita State may get great scoring from its guards, but what Indiana is concerned about is the Shockers’ toughness. Relentless on defense and the boards, the Shockers are a pain for anyone to face.
• Injured in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana will be looking to get a boost from a (hopefully) healthy Hanner Mosqueda-Perea. It’s not set in stone, but Mosqueda-Perea would be a huge upgrade to the Hoosiers’ front court.
• With today’s game on the horizon, Kansas Attorney General Derek Smith and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, have been going at it.

West Region

• Wisconsin may not play the flashiest style, but coach Bo Ryan has a track record of success doing things his way.
• Oregon may have a lot of new faces on the roster, but this team can play. Here’s some more in-depth information on the Ducks.
• Oklahoma State didn’t come into the season with high expectations, but the Cowboys begin March play as a #9 seed against Oregon. Travins Ford’s team has been up and down this season, but nobody knows better than he that the past is the past: “We haven’t played or probably succeeded as well as we’d like here lately, but this is a brand-new opportunity for our basketball team.’’
• Arkansas staved off Wofford last night, no thanks to the Razorbacks’ footwear.
• The Tar Heels had a big lead for most of the night but they were barely able to hold off Harvard yesterday. It’s safe to say that North Carolina feels fortunate that it won that game. In fact, according to coach Roy Williams, it was the “luckiest I’ve ever felt after a basketball game in my entire life.”
• Ole Miss had a great win on Tuesday, but Xavier was simply too solid for an exhausted Rebels squad to take down.
• For Georgia State’s RJ Hunter, hitting yesterday’s late three-pointer to beat Baylor was his “shining moment.”
• Ohio State has been inconsistent all season, but All-American D’Angelo Russell has the ability to “carry” the Buckeyes deep into March.
• Arizona wasn’t messing around yesterday as it made quick work of Texas Southern. “I know we won by a big margin,” [coach Sean] Miller said. “But we have high aspirations, and in this tournament, you don’t get a second chance.”

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCeastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCsouthregion and @RTCwestregion.

Three Key Takeaways.

Kansas Advances to the Round of 32 for the Ninth Straight Year (USA Today Images)

1. Kansas took away New Mexico State’s strength from the beginning. The Jayhawks routinely double-teamed the Aggies’ 6’9″ Pascal Siakam and 6’10 Tshilidzi Nephawe in the post and forced them to move away from their first-half strategy of pounding it down low. Nephawe committed three turnovers and had only two points in the first half, while Siakam had one giveaway and four points. The double-teams forced a number of bad shots in the paint while baiting the Aggies into bad outside shots too. New Mexico State shot only 35.7 percent from the field for the game.
2. The Jayhawks were hot from three. Kansas was hot from everywhere, really, but its 9-of-13 performance from three-point range opened up the floor for plenty of mid-range jumpers. The Aggies were often quick to leave their feet and the Jayhawks routinely stepped in front of the arc and drained long twos while their bigs forced Siakam and Nephawe to stay put down low.
3. Kansas struggled at the rim early. Despite entering halftime with a 13-point lead, the Jayhawks missed a handful of early opportunities near the rim. Kelly Oubre Jr., Wayne Selden and Perry Ellis all botched dunks or layups, making the score much closer than it should have been. They cleaned that up later, but Oubre and Selden left a couple of posters on the cutting room floor.

Player of the Game – Frank Mason III, Kansas. Mason was excellent for Bill Self’s team, tallying four assists while grabbing nine boards and going 6-of-7 from the field for 17 points. He was a key cog in the Jayhawks’ busting of New Mexico State’s press, cashing in on their over-ambitious attempts to force turnovers and develop a faster pace. He was excellent on defense as well, as the Jayhawks held the Aggies’ starting backcourt to a combined 4-of-18 from the field.

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