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KU vs. Emporia State

Kansas final point totals

Sherron Collins 22, Cole Aldrich 17, Brady Morningstar 13, Marcus Morris 11, Travis Releford 10, Tyrone Appleton 6, Markieff Morris 5, Quintrell Thomas 5, Tyrel Reed 3, Brennan Bechard 3, Conner Teahan 2, Tyshawn Taylor 2, Jordan Juenemann 2, Matt Kleinmann 2.

Final: KU wins 103-58

Releford puts in a two off a steal, and Brennan Bechard gives KU 101 points with a three-pointer from the wing, much to the delight of the half-empty Fieldhouse.

Juenemann caps the victory with a layup off the glass and one of the widest smiles you'll ever see. He pumped his fist coming back down the court, obviously a moment he won't forget.

Keep checking back on KUsports.com for postgame audio, Spodcasters Postgame and more.

3:27 left in second half, KU leads 95-54.

Appleton adds a three-point play, and Matt Kleimmann gets his first points on a hook shot off the glass. Marcus Morris also shows some tenaciousness, ripping away an offensive board and putting it back in for two.

Jordan Juenemann also has checked in and is getting his first minutes as a Jayhawk.

7:37 left in second half, KU leads 83-48

After a missed three, Morningstar makes up for it with a steal and layup on the other end. He follows with a mid-range jumper, and suddenly, he's in double digits.

A couple of good plays from Tyrone Appleton in his first chance at extended action, as he throws a hard bounce pass in traffic to Releford for an assist and follows that up with a running lay-in after faking a pass to the outside.

11:57 left in second half, KU leads 73-41

Marcus Morris shows more good touch inside, hanging in the lane before banking a short shot off the glass. Morningstar adds another layup in transition, and he also looks to be in line for some minutes to start the year.

It looks like, as of now, Teahan might be one of the odd men out in the rotation. He's only been in there eight minutes tonight.

15:39 left in second half, KU leads 66-37

Quintrell Thomas shows a nice move inside, keeping his composure in traffic before laying it in. He also shows tenacity in ripping an offensive rebound away from two Hornets.

Reed also shows some unselfishness, turning down a three-pointer to make the extra pass to Collins for a better three. Collins drains it, and more and more Reed is looking like a player that should get 25-plus minutes for KU each game.

Kansas scoring

Sherron Collins 17 points (6-of-7 shooting), Cole Aldrich 14 points (7-of-8 shooting, eight rebounds, three blocks), Brady Morningstar 7 points, Marcus Morris 6 points, Travis Releford 4 points, Tyrel Reed 3 points, Quintrell Thomas 3 points, Conner Teahan 2 points.

KU made 24 of 30 shots in the first half (80 percent).

Halftime, KU leads 56-30

Wow, Collins is really looking comfortable with his shot. After a three-pointer from the wing, on the next possession, he curled around and Aldrich screen and drained an 18-foot jumper. Tonight, he looks right at home taking on an increased scoring role for the Jayhawks.

Another scary moment for KU right before the end of the half, as Collins took a nasty spill after being fouled while going up for a layup. After landing hard on his hip, he drained two free throws to send the game to halftime. Collins has 17 points at the break, and KU - incredibly - is shooting 80 percent from the floor.

2:49 left in first half, KU leads 47-26

Reed has stepped up for the second straight game, as he threaded a pass inside to Marcus Morris for a layup. Collins goes coast-to-coast for a two, and Releford shows his penetrating ability, taking his man baseline for a lay-in.

KU still doesn't have it all together on the defensive end, and after ESU's Matt Boswell took it through the middle of KU's defense for a layup, Self called his second timeout of the first half.

7:42 left in first half, KU leads 35-18

A quick 13-0 run by KU. Tyshawn Taylor looks more comfortable in his second game, dishing off a nice pass to Conner Teahan for an easy lay-in. Collins adds a pair of free throws, then a steal and layup. Cole Aldrich has been blocking anything close to him inside, but he's looked gassed for the most part while he's been out there. Maybe some conditioning issues for him still?

11:28 left in first half, KU leads 22-17.

Marcus Morris, with some extended playing time, has played well. He showed a nice, turnaround fadeaway from 12 feet, then a few possessions later, fed Thomas inside to get him a pair of free throws.

KU's offense again has been impressive in the earlygoing (the Jayhawks are shooting 63 percent from the field), but ESU has been able to get to the basket against the Jayhawks' defense. Still much work to be done for KU on that end.

15:43 left in first half, KU leads 13-7.

After a couple of poor defensive possessions by KU, ESU takes a 5-4 lead, and Self calls a quick timeout. After getting Marcus Morris in for Thomas, the Jayhawks go on a 7-0 run, with a three from Reed, a lay-in from Morningstar and a tip-in from Aldrich.

Aldrich also follows with an 18-footer, showing some increased range from a year ago.

7:06 p.m.

Starters for tonight: Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Quintrell Thomas.

And U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" is back in as the Jayhawks' introduction song, for all of you worried that was going away with the new introduction video.

7:04 p.m.

Funny moment before the game: ESU coach David Moe's daughter, Lyndie, sang a strong version of the national anthem.

Ironically, she did so in a red Jayhawk T-shirt.

7:01 p.m.

Man, the Hornets are shorter than I remember them. Don't expect the Jayhawks to get out-rebounded two games in a row.

6:57 p.m.

Hate to say it, but tonight's crowd is worse than last week's on Election Night against Washburn.

Once again, there are about 15 rows in the northwest corner that are empty. This time, that emptiness looks likes it's wrapping around a little bit farther.

Yeah, I know it's just an exhibition game, but this is still a rather pathetic showing from the KU student section for the reigning national champion.

6:50 p.m.

All right, let's get to some predictions for this game. I'll go with 97-54 KU, though that might be a bit optimistic for the Jayhawks.

What are your predictions?

6:46 p.m.

Once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk I guess.

Right next to me is former Kansas player Nick Bahe, who is helping our own Kevin Romary with the television broadcast on 6Sports in Lawrence.

Bahe, if you remember, transferred to Creighton for two years to finish out his eligibility. I guess it didn't keep him from coming back.

6:08 p.m.

Though the games aren't for real just yet, here are three things to watch for from the Jayhawks against Emporia State.

Improvement defensively

As I mentioned earlier, KU's man-to-man defense will be tested against ESU's frantic offense. KU coach Bill Self wasn't happy with his team's defensive performance in the first exhibition game against Washburn, especially in the second half. KU's young defenders will get a chance to show that they have improved and that they are indeed developing under the defensive-minded Self.

Take a deep breath

Almost all of the Jayhawk newcomers looked nervous in their Fieldhouse debut a week ago, so it would be nice to see them play with more composure against ESU. Pay close attention specifically to Tyshawn Taylor, who was prone to turning it over when trying to go too fast against WU, and Marcus Morris, who fouled out after just seven minutes of game action.

Calming force

Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar had impressive debuts against Washburn, so it will be interesting to see if they can both play well in exhibition game No. 2. Playing time is up for grabs at this point, and Reed and Morningstar can both solidify their spots in the rotation with good efforts against ESU.

5:37 p.m.

Welcome to the Newell Post Live, coming live to you from Allen Fieldhouse where Kansas will wrap up its exhibition season with a game against the Emporia State Hornets.

Before becoming the KUsports.com online editor, I spent the last two years covering ESU sports at The Emporia Gazette. Having said that, here's a quick scouting report of the Hornets for those who haven't seen them play.

The crazy passing game

In the GameDay Cram Session video, I described ESU's offense as the motion offense on Red Bull. Maybe you can add roller skates in there, too. The Hornets run a frenetic motion offense in which players cut, screen and pass at a head-snapping rate. It's fun to watch, and it also will provide a good challenge for Kansas' defenders who will have to work hard to stay step-for-step with the fast-paced Hornets.

Home again

Always a character, ESU coach David Moe should provide for some entertainment on the bench. He's never afraid - even in exhibition games - to get on players and officials alike. Moe was a graduate assistant at Kansas when the Jayhawks won the national championship in 1988. He also is the son of former NBA coach Doug Moe.

Remember me?

KU fans should recognize one of the Hornet players: 6-foot-8 Shang Ping played against the Jayhawks last year as a member of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Ping played just 15 minutes and had just three combined points in three games against KU.

A tired bunch

ESU comes to Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday night after losing to Wichita State, 71-58, in an exhibition game Monday night. Transfer Lamar Wilbern led ESU with 17 points, while Matt Boswell - a 6-foot-6 sophomore that plays like a guard - added 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.