While Julian Wright and Jeremy Case paced the Jayhawks with 12 points a piece in Kansas’ latest double digit victory, KU coach Bill Self said the really nice thing about this contest was that New Orleans played hard and showed the world their perseverance after battling through tough times caused by Hurricane Katrina.

“We don’t have bad days, at least we shouldn’t compared to what they’ve gone through,” Self said right afte the game. “It’s got to be tough, but Monte (Towe) and his staff have done a great job. And this team is going to be good.

“I’m really glad they came in and played well tonight,” Self said. “Because they deserve it — and it allowed the nation to see what they’ve been fighting through.”

Self said he was impressed with his bench, which in addition to Wright and Case, included Darnell Jackson, who scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds.

“Our bench was a lot better than our starters tonight,” Self said. “I think it’s good for those guys. I thought Mario had his best game of the season. Jeremy was terrific. Julian, offensively, had his best game of the year. Darnell was solid and Stephen (Vinson) was excellent.

“We’re talking about five guys there who earned every minute they played and probably should have played even more.”

Chalmers scored eight points, and delivered five assists against one turnover in 20 minutes, while senior guard Vinson hit two threes and handed out three assists.

“He is just going with the toughest players and the players that are going to produce the most,” Chalmers said of Self’s substituting pattern.

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KU guard Russell Robinson agreed.

“Depth is one of our biggest strengths on this team, and I am just happy to see guys like (Jeremy) Case, Julian (Wright) and Darnell (Jackson) getting in,” said Robinson, who scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, and had five assists in 24 minutes.

Kansas shot 50 percent, while UNO fired at a 34-percent clip. KU had 18 turnovers, but 23 assists on 29 baskets. The Jayhawks also recorded 10 blocks, four off the school record.

New Orleans, which was led by James Parlow’s game-high 16 points, committed 21 turnovers, a fact not lost on Towe.

“I am impressed with Kansas and their defense,” said the UNO skipper. ” I think they guard as good as anyone we have played this year and we have played some pretty good people. They have some young talent. They are going to be good this year and get better and better.”

Kansas — which led just 23-19 with 2 1/2 minutes to go in the first half despite a eight-minute stretch by the Privateers that saw UNO hit just two baskets — went on an 11-0 run to close the half.

The Jayhawks scoring spurt grew to 19-0 in the opening minutes of the second stanza and Kansas cruised to its fifth victory in six games.

KU’s leading scorer Brandon Rush scored just five points off of 2-of-11 shooting, but did lead KU with seven rebounds. However the Jayhawks were outrebounded 34-32 by the Privateers.

Jayhawks C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun (who scored six early points) combined to tally just eight points and grab six rebounds in 28 minutes, which Self said was disappointing.

“Our big guys played really soft tonight,” he said. “There is no other way to describe that. They didn’t have their best outing. I thought New Orleans was quicker to the ball, primarily with our big guys. Sasha (Kaun) and C.J. (Giles), without going into much detail, need to do better. I believe they can. They have shown that they can, but tonight wasn’t their night.”

Second Half Action

Russell Robinson got the Jayhawks on the board first with a free throw at the start of the second half.

Brandon Rush couldn’t convert a lob pass, but Darnell Jackson was there for a tip in.

A free throw by Rush and a turnaround jumper by Julian Wright gave KU a 40-19 lead just a minute and a half into the second period. Kansas is on the midst of a 19-0 run.

Nathaniel Parker ended the Privateers drought with a putback.

Jackson added a long jumper to double up UNO with just under 17 minutes left in the game.

Jamie McNeilly got his first basket on a lay-up, but Jackson came back the other way to hit a jumper.

Wayne Williams got an easy basket off a loose ball to give him seven points.

Williams added a long two to cut the score to 44-29.

Another turnover by Kansas, its 12th, allowed Williams to convert his third consecutive baskt.

Wright came back to hit his fifth shot in as many attempts. The freshman leads KU with 10 points.

But McNeilly knocked down a three to make the score 46-34 with 13 1/2 to go in the game.

UNO’s Jacob Manning had to leave the game because of blood after getting cut when he was scratched after diving amongst a trio of players for a loose ball.

Stephen Vinson nailed another three to give him six points and put KU ahead 49-34 with over 12 minutes to go.

Jeremy Case added his second three-pointer of the night to put KU up 52-36.

New Orleans has 14 field goals, but 17 turnovers. The Privateers are shooting just 26-percent.

Case hit another three-pointer, his second game in a row where he’s had three triples.

Wright found C.J. Giles in the lane for an uncontested dunk — the big man’s first basket of the night. KU leads 59-38.

Parlow knocked down a three to give him 10 point.

Giles missed a jumper from outside of the circle, but Rush tipped the ball back in as he flew into the lane.

Robinson knocked down a three to give KU a 20-point lead with 5:20 to play.

Chalmers hit a pair of free throws to give Kansas its biggest lead of the game.

Parlow hit another three to give him 13. Manning got a bucket and foul to make the score 64-48 with 4:12 to play.

Parlow hit another three, his longest of seven attempts in the contest to cut the game to 64-51. But on UNO’s next possession, Parlow was charged with an offensive foul.

Chalmers added a floater in the lane to put KU ahead 66-51 with 2 1/2 to go.

Chalmers passed up an open jumper to find Jackson in the lane for an easy basket and a foul.

It probably wasn’t supposed to be a pass, but Wright intercepted a missed shot by Robinson and delivered a thunderous slam to give KU a 70-51 lead with under a minute to go.

Case added his fourth three, to give him a new career high with 12 points. The sophomore now has seven three-pointers in the last two games.

Kansas won its fourth straight Thursday night with a 73-56 victory over New Orleans at Allen Fieldhouse.

Halftime

Kansas used an 11-0 run in the final minutes of the half to take a 34-19 lead after 20 minutes.

While both squads suffered through scoring slumps, the Jayhawks shot 48-percent in the first stanza while the Privateers, which went eight minutes with only two field goals, hit only 23-percent from the field.

Kansas was led by Sasha Kaun and Julian Wright who each scored six points. Jawhawk guards Jeff Hawkins and Russell Robinson each added five points.

UNO was led by James Parlow’s seven points.

First Half Action

Kansas won the tip but play was stop when KU’s Sasha Kaun unintentionally kicked referee Ted Hillary.

Once play resumed, Jeff Hawkins missed a three-pointer from the top of the key.

New Orleans missed its first shot, and Kaun got the Jayhawks on the board first with a lay-in in the lane.

The Privateers took the lead with 17 1/2 minutes to go in the first half when James Parlow knocked down a three.

But KU went back on top 4-3 thanks to two free throws by Kaun.

The two teams have combined to hit just 2-of-14 shots.

A leaner off glass by Parlow gave UNO the lead again.

Jeff Hawkins nailed a three from the right side to put KU ahead 7-5. Hawkins then came up with a steal and dropped off a pass to Brandon Rush in the lane, but the KU freshman was whistled for an offensive charge.

Jacob Manning put UNO back on top with another three, but Kaun answered for the Jayhawks with a shot in the lane to give KU a 9-8 advantage with a little more than 13 minutes remaining in the half.

The Kansas sophomore has six of Kansas’ eight points.

The Jayhawks swatted away three UNO shots in a row and guard Jeremy Case knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing to put KU ahead 16-10.

Stephen Vinson hit a three with a little more than 8 1/2 to go in the half to put KU ahead 19-13.

Hawkins found Wright for a lay-in and foul. The freshman forward missed the charity, but KU went ahead 21-13.

New Orleans is just 5-of-23 from the field.

Hawkins fired in another long jumper to put KU ahead by double digits.

Shawn Malloy missed a wide open dunk as the Privateers scoring drought continues. UNO has just two field goals over the last eight minutes.

Nathaniel Parker finally got UNO off the 13-point mark, knocking down a free throw with a little less than four minutes remaining in the half.

Parlow came back on the next trip for the Privateers and hit a jumper to give him seven points.

KU’s Mario Chalmers, who missed a three on the Jayhawks previous possession, was called for palming the ball on Kansas’ next trip down.

Wayne Williams gave UNO a six-point spurt with a long three from the left wing to cut the deficit to 23-19 with 2:24 to go in the half.

Rush, who was 0-for-7, hit a nice reverse lay-up to put him on the scoreboard. The Jayhawks went ahead 25-19 on the basket.

Robinson hit a three from the left corner to put KU ahead 28-19 with just over a minute left.

Chalmers added a dunk off a steal to go up by 11. Robinson had a block shot and Wright hit a long two to pump up the KU crowd.

Robinson added a steal and Chalmers finished the other way with an uncontested lay-up. Chalmers came up with another loose ball right before halftime and even though Wright’s basket didn’t count he delighted Jayhawks fans with a 360 dunk.

Kansas went on an 11-0 run in the final mintues to take a 34-19 halftime lead.