St. Louis ? UAB may play the “fastest 40 minutes in basketball,” but the Jayhawks had no trouble keeping up Friday in the Sweet 16.
The Jayhawks took advantage of the fast pace and their size inside, defeating the Blazers, 100-74, in the Edward Jones Dome.
Wayne Simien scored 30 points, hitting 18-of-20 free throws and tying KU’s single-game modern-day record for made free throws. Simien also had eight rebounds and nine assists. Jeff Graves scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and David Padgett had seven points and six rebounds.
KU will face Georgia Tech in the Elite Eight on Sunday. The game will tip off at either 1:40 p.m. or 4:05 p.m.
Demario Eddins opened the scoring with a free throw, but Keith Langford hit a three-pointer on KU’s following possession. The Jayhawks had few problems keeping up with the Blazers’ pace early, taking an 18-6 lead less than six minutes in with the help of a 13-3 run. The Jayhawks took advantage of their size inside early, getting the ball down low to Simien, Graves and Padgett.
Kansas extended its lead to 15 points, 28-13, on a basket by Simien with less than 11 minutes left. UAB took advantage of some KU foul troubles, though, and cut the deficit to nine points, 28-17, with just under 9:30 remaining.
The Jayhawks responded, regaining a 15-point lead, 40-25, with six minutes left. Mo Finley scored five straight points for UAB, which closed the gap to eight points after a pair of free throws by Eddins.
KU’s lead grew to 17 points, 52-35, with less than two minutes left, but UAB cut the lead by two points, 56-41, by halftime. The 56 points allowed by UAB and the Blazers’ 15-point deficit at the intermission were both records for this season.
Kansas extended its advantage to 23 points, 71-48, on an emphatic dunk by J.R. Giddens with just less than 16 minutes left. Four minutes later, KU upped it’s lead to 24 points after a pair of free throws from both Wayne Simien – from a technical foul on UAB coach Mike Anderson – and Jeff Graves.
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The Blazers cut into the Jayhawks’ lead a bit, but Kansas regained a 24-point lead on another dunk by Giddens with just under six minutes remaining. A few seconds later, Anderson was called for his second technical foul and ejected, and two minutes later KU led by 31, 97-66. KU then coasted to the victory.
Langford had nine points, four boards and five assists for KU, and Aaron Miles had 13 points and 10 assists, four rebounds and four steals. and Giddens had 18 points and five rebounds. Christian Moody scored two points, Michael Lee had five points and two boards. Jeff Hawkins had two points, and Omar Wilkes had a point.
Eddins scored eight points for UAB, and Gabe Kennedy had 10 points. Squeaky Johnson had six points, and Tony Johnson scored eight points. Marques Lewis had 10 points, Donell Taylor has seven points, and Ronell Taylor has two points. Finley scored 13 points, Derrick Broom had three points, and Sidney Ball had two points.
KU was 30-of-56 shooting from the field, including 4-of-9 from long distance, and 36-of-44 shooting from the charity stripe.
UAB was 23-of-71 shooting from the field, including 8-of-33 from three-point range, and 20-of-24 shooting from the foul line.
The Jayhawks outrebounded the Blazers, 45-33.
All stats are unofficial
