Without junior forward Wayne Simien and coming off a loss to Stanford, the No. 5-ranked Kansas Jayhawks had no problems handling Div. II opponent Fort Hays State on Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Simien didn’t play because of a strained groin, but freshman David Padgett picked up the slack down low, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the Jayhawks’ 80-40 victory over the Tigers.
Padgett wasn’t the only freshman excelling for the Jayhawks, as Jeremy
Case, J.R. Giddens and Omar Wilkes took advantage of coach Bill Self’s liberal substitutions.
Giddens had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Case had eight points, including two three-pointers, and Wilkes scored nine points in 11 minutes.
The Jayhawks used strong runs at the beginning of each half to put away the Tigers. KU opened the game with a 12-0 run, holding FHSU scoreless until nearly six minutes in.
KU opened a 22-point lead, 30-8, before Fort Hays State ended the half on an 11-4 run behind three-pointers by Michael Walters, Maurice Williams and Ryan Shriver, cutting KU’s lead at intermission to 15 points, 34-19.
As good as Kansas was a the beginning of the game, the Jayhawks started the second half even better, scoring the first 14 points and opening a 48-19 lead five and a half minutes in.
Fort Hays State cut KU’s lead to 25 points, 51-26, but KU then went on an 10-1 run over the next six minutes, extending their lead to a game-high 41 points, 68-27, on two free throws by Padgett.
Fort Hays’ Terrell Young ended the streak with a layup, and the Jayhawks outscored the Tigers, 12-11, in the final five minutes.
Keith Langford had 12 points and 10 rebounds for KU, and Aaron Miles added five points, five rebounds and five assists.
Jeff Graves, who started for Simien, had three points and six boards, and Moulaye Niang had three points and five rebounds.
KU’s walk-ons saw quite a bit of playing time, as Nick Bahe hit a three-pointer, his first collegiate basket, Christian Moody had four points, and Brett Olson had a basket.
Ryan Shriver led FHSU with 12 points, Young had six points and LaJuan Christon had five points.
KU is 32-of-75 shooting, including 7-of-25 from three-point range. The Jayhawks were 9-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line.
FHSU was 16-of-49 shooting, including 6-of-15 from beyond the arc. The Tigers were 2-of-7 shooting from the foul line.
The Jayhawks dominated the Tigers on the boards, outrebounding them 59-25. Fort Hays State turned the ball over 18 times, and KU had 11 turnovers.
Get the stats: KU-FHSU box score
Hear Bill: KU-FHSU postgame comments
Photo gallery: KU-FHSU