Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotosFor Bill Self, who is new to Senior Night at Kansas University, it seemed like Wednesday’s three senior speeches lasted longer than the KU-Nebraska game itself.
“Our guys got pretty winded. There was some preaching going on out there,” Self quipped of the filibusters of Brett Olson, Bryant Nash and Jeff Graves, which followed the Jayhawks’ 78-67 rout of the Cornhuskers.
“I think it was great those guys were able to express themselves.”
The No. 21-ranked Jayhawks (19-7 overall, 11-4 Big 12 Conference) talked a good game, played a great one and clinched the No. 3 seed for the Big 12 tournament.
KU survived an early onslaught of Nebraska threes — NU hit five of six in building a 17-11 lead — and rolled to an insurmountable 22-point lead with 17:19 to play.
Nebraska never cut the gap to single digits the rest of the way.
“Not really,” senior center Graves said, asked if he was worried the hot-shooting Huskers — Brian Conklin hit four threes the first 13 minutes before Christian Moody entered and shut him down the rest of the way — would spoil Senior Night. “I know it’s a long first half, it’s a long game.”
Graves, who has been in the doghouse many times in his two-year KU career, came out looking like a guest in the penthouse, scoring KU’s first six points.
He finished with 10 points off 5-of-5 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 14 foul-plagued minutes.
“I felt the love on the floor and in the stands,” Graves said, grinning. “It’s the loosest I’ve ever felt in a game. I was sky-high.”
Credit freshman J.R. Giddens for that.
Giddens borrowed a rose from a female fan in the stands, snuck up behind Graves and presented it to him during pre-game warmups.
“It made me relax and forget about my senior speech,” Graves said.
After the game, Graves took the microphone and said: “I’ve been in the doghouse. It’s all on me, but nobody is perfect. Y’all ain’t perfect; I ain’t perfect; nobody’s perfect.”’
Self lauded Graves’ play and his speech.
“Jeff was pretty loose when he took the microphone after the game,” Self said. “It was one of Jeff’s loosest nights. I thought he played great.”
As far as the other senior starters, Nash grabbed four rebounds in four minutes.
A surprise starter was walk-on Brett Olson, who played the first two minutes. Self had said earlier in the week Olson probably wouldn’t get the nod.
Credit Wayne Simien, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles for that. Simien finished with 22 points and five boards — off the bench. Langford, who had eight points and seven rebounds, and Miles, who had nine points, seven assists and no turnovers, started.
“I told the players what I wanted to do. Wayne, Keith and Aaron came to me and said, ‘Hey, coach, we need to do this (start Olson).’ They were right,” Self said. “When I talked to you guys about it earlier, I hadn’t thought enough about it. It was the right thing to do, no question.”
Olson said he’d never forget getting the starting nod.
“Coach told me yesterday at practice. I didn’t get nervous for some reason,” Olson said. “I thought I would. I knew as long as I didn’t mess anything up I’d be all right.
He left with KU trailing, 5-4.
“When I went out of the game,” Olson said, “I saw 18 (minutes) on the scoreboard and thought to myself, ‘I got to play two minutes!’ It’s something I’ll remember my whole life. It was amazing.”
Also amazing to many is the fact freshman David Padgett played after severely spraining his ankle Sunday against Oklahoma.
Padgett had a bucket and rebound in four minutes and would have played more if not for foul problems.
“We made the decision at shoot-around,” Self said, noting Padgett had an MRI taken Wednesday afternoon showing he had “a really sore ankle.”
“It felt better today, and he couldn’t damage it any more by playing. We felt the way Nebraska beat us up there, it was important to have more bodies (inside).”
Padgett and Graves received some tough calls.
“I think before the game, they go in the reffin’ room and say, ‘Let’s get Graves out of the game,”’ Graves joked of officials.
It was a night of jokes and smiles, thanks in large part to junior sensation Simien, who had four points in a 15-0 first-half surge — Miles had 7 — that boosted a 28-27 lead to 43-27.
Giddens had six points, while Simien and Graves had two in a 10-0 spurt that gave KU its 22-point lead early in the final half.
“Nebraska obviously was prepared to play,” Langford said. “They played well and shot well at the beginning of the game. I give them a lot of credit for the win in Lincoln, but that was not the same Kansas team that has been in this building the last couple of games.”
Next up is the regular-season finale at Missouri. Tipoff is 1 p.m. Sunday at Hearnes Center.
6Sports video: KU continues Senior Night winning streak
Watch and hear the speeches: Senior players bid farewell
Jayhawks flourish
See the photos: KU-NU photo gallery