But make no mistake about it: 6-foot-9, 250-pound junior Jeff Graves, who was the only KU starter not to score in double figures, played a significant role in helping the Jayhawks snare a 108-76 victory and earn a West Regional semifinal matchup against Duke.

Tipoff for the Sweet 16 showdown is approximately 8:57 p.m. CST Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

“I feel like I am always the underdog,” said Graves, who opened defensively on ASU freshman forward Ike Diogu, holding him to four points in the first 12 minutes as KU rolled to a 27-10 lead.

“Ike didn’t have many points. I stopped him, but I give credit to my teammates. They helped me. We jammed down on him,” added Graves, who insisted he never felt snubbed by lack of publicity.

KU’s defense set up the offense as the Jayhawks scored 108 points, two off the school record for points in a postseason game.

Twenty eight defensive rebounds and six steals helped feed the fast break as KU hit 40 of 59 shots (67.8 percent), the Jayhawks’ best-ever mark in a tourney game.

“The percentages speak for themselves,” KU senior forward Nick Collison said. “We were getting stops, moving the ball and making shots.”

KU had numerous stops in both games. Arizona State hit just 35.5 percent of its shots in the first half and 40.6 percent for the game. Utah State made just 41.1 percent of its attempts in the Aggies’ 64-61 first-round loss.

“It’s the first time in a while we came out and played defense like that from the start,” said sophomore guard Keith Langford, who may have been KU’s unofficial MVP in OKC, scoring 41 points off 18-of-32 shooting.

“When we play defense, we get easy shots. When we get easy shots, we score a lot of points, everybody gets to play, and it’s fun for everybody.”

Reserve forward Bryant Nash entered into the act, blocking three shots in 16 minutes against Arizona State. He also scored five points against the Sun Devils after scoring six crucial points in the opener against USU.

“I am trying to get to that point where I am contributing a lot, trying to do more things out there to help the team,” said Nash, who had one block against his former Texas Blue Chips AAU teammate Diogu. “On offense, I need to do one, two dribbles and pull up. Defensively, I just do what everybody else does, try to be aggressive from the start.”

KU definitely showed that, when it plays in-your-face, man-to-man defense, the Jayhawks are as good as any team in the land.

“That’s real fun, winning by that margin,” Graves said after playing 21 minutes and fouling out in the ASU game. “We proved the Kansas Jayhawks are still the Kansas Jayhawks, and we have the same opportunity as last year.”

That would be a return trip to the Final Four.

“It should be fun, my first trip to the Sweet 16,” Graves said. A win Thursday would give KU a spot in Saturday’s Elite Eight. “Just 16 teams are left. It’s another two-game tournament we have to win.”