Arizona defeated Kansas 61-49 Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
KU tied the game at 41-all when Mario Chalmers hit a pull-up jumper at the 11:33 mark of the second half, but the Jayhawks never could take the lead Monday.
Despite shooting just 28-percent, Arizona, led by four double figure scorers, pulled away at the end.
Wildcats Mustafa Shakur and Kirk Walters each tallied 13 points. Kansas, which committed 27 turnovers was led by Sasha Kaun’s 12 points and six rebounds, while freshman Bradon Rush had 11 points and seven rebounds.
“Best thing about this game is that it’s over,” said a disappointed KU coach Bill Self afterwards. “I thought we would be nervous, but I didn’t think we’d be like this. We were bad.”
Self, who tried to remain upbeat despite the fact that Kansas was held under 50 points for the first time since a 64-49 loss to Long Beach State on Jan. 25, 1993, said his young club will have another chance to prove itself early Tuesday against the loser of the Connecticut-Arkansas contest.
“We need to regroup and play better tomorrow. We should all be ready to go,” Self said.
But Arizona coach Lute Olson didn’t sugar coat his team’s victory either.
“We wanted to prove we can shoot that lousy and still win if we played good defense,” Olson said. “We were much, much too impatient offenisvely. If you’re that impatient, you’re not going to shoot a good percentage.”
Second Half Action
Kansas’ Sasha Kaun started the second half with a one-handed dunk off a nice feed from Russell Robinson to cut the lead to four. Kaun leads all scorers with 11 points.
Arizona missed jumpers on its first three possessions of the second half, including an airball by Hassan Adams.
After a failed lob attempt to Kaun, Rush hit a three to help KU claw within one, 35-34 with 18:30 to go.
Ivan Radenovic had to leave the game with blood on his face after taking an elbow to the head.
For the second time in the game, Robinson turned the ball over on the baseline.
Chris Rodgers hit Arizona’s first basket, but Giles came back with a lay-in for his first basket.
Kirk Walters answered with a jump hook for the 39-36 lead.
The Jayhawks commited their 17th turnover with 14:48 to go, and Giles was rule for a clear-out foul 30 seconds later.
Rush responded 30 seconds later with a jumper in the lane to cut KU’s deficit to 39-38. Arizona turned the ball over on a palming call on its ensuing possession.
Walter knocked down a long shot from the top of the key, just a step inside the three-point line.
KU’s Robinson hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to 41-39.
Arizona turned the ball over and Rush was out of control when he missed a break away one-on-one opportunity.
At 11:33 a Mario Chalmers pull-up jumper on the break tied the game at 41-all for KU.
But Walters came right back for Arizona scoring his 12th points on a lay-in.
Kaun picked up his fourth foul with 10:17 left when he fouled Marcus Williams in the lane.
Williams, the only Wildcat who has struggled from the free-throw line, missed a pair to leave the lead at just two.
Rush lost the ball on a break-away dunk that would have tied the game. But KU retained possession in the lane when Robinson called a timeout.
A traveling call on Chalmers signaled KU’s 20th turnover with just under nine minutes to go.
Adams hit a pair of free throws to push Arizona’s lead to 45-41.
After a turnover, Jeff Hawkins went down hard when it appeared he was the latest victim of severe cramping in Hawaii.
KU’s C.J. Giles picked up his fourth foul with 8:04 left, but Walters, who has 13 points, made just one of two to give Arizona a 46-41 lead.
Chalmers hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three with under eight minutes to go.
Back-to-back steals by Chris Rodgers, allowed Adams to go in for an easy lay-in while Rodgers followed with a one-hand jam for the 50-43 lead with 6:56 to go.
Self inserted Giles and Kaun after the Jayhawks committed their 24 turnovers with 6:23 to go.
Kaun hit the front end of a one-on-one to cut the lead to six.
But a long three by Rodgers moments later might have been the dagger.
Kaun, who had 12 points, and six rebounds, fouled out with 4:51 left.
Bret Brielmaier hit a pair of free throws to push Arizona’s lead to 11, 55-44.
Rush added a highlight dunk to give him 10 points and Arizona turned the ball back on its ensuing possession.
Hawkins hit his first bucket, a three-pointer to cut the deficit to six with just under three minutes to go.
Micah Downs missed a jumper and Rodgers added a free throw to give Arizona a 57-49 lead with 1:51 to go.
Giles had a monster block. But Robinson missed the front end of a one-and-one, while Shakur added a charity for the 58-49 lead with 1:15 left.
Jeremy Case missed a long three and Shakur, this time, hit both for a 60-49 lead.
Halftime
Kansas University came out very shaky in the first 10 minutes of the first half.
But a couple of KU three-pointers and the Jayhawks transition game cut into the Wildcats’ advantage.
Arizona’s Mustafa Shakur scored 10 first half points, while Hassan Adams has nine.
Sasha Kaun leads the Jayhawks with nine points. KU has been outrebounded 24-21, but outshot the Wildcats 41-percent, to 29-percent.
Kansas, which had 14 first half turnovers, hit only 3-of-5 free throws, while Arizona has connected on 12-of-14.
First Half Action
Arizona took the lead when guard Mustafa Shakur nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key on the Wildcats first possession.
KU turned the ball over on its first possession and U of A’s Ivan Radenovic’s nailed another long jumper for the 5-0 lead.
Kansas’ Sasha Kaun picked up two fouls in the 1:12 of the game, and Shakur nailed two free throws to give the ‘Cats a 7-0 lead.
Instead of sitting Kaun though, KU coach Bill Self pulled C.J. Giles in favor of Julian Wright.
Another turnover by Brandon Rush prompted Self to call a quick timeout.
Rush finally got the Jayhawks on the board at the 17:47 mark, hitting a short jumper in the lane despite losing the ball twice before getting inside.
Hassan Adams responded witha bucket for the 9-2 advantage, and the Jayhawks turned the ball over again on their ensuing possession.
Chris Rodgers added a pair of free throws for the 11-2 advantage just three minutes into the contest.
Giles missed an easy jam when he lost the handle and Kansas has come out very shaky in their opening game of the Maui invitational.
Arizona has attempted 14 shots to KU’s four because the Jayhawks have committed six early turnovers.
Kaun followed his own shot with a thunderous jam with a little over 14 minutes left to cut KU’s deficit to 11-4.
Arizon’s J.P. Prince added a follow tip after another KU turnover to give the Wildcats a 15-4 lead with 13:39 to go in the first half.
Arizona’s getting the breaks as Marcus Williams hit a bank shot from the key, but KU can’t catch one. It appeared Kaun got fouled inside, but the Jayhawks again came away empty-handed.
Senior Christian Moody followed that with an offensive foul, and Adams drilled a three to give KU a 20-4 lead with 11:49 in the half. Arizona’s full-court press has forced Kansas to commit nine turnovers in the first eight minutes.
Kaun was credited with KU’s third basket when a Mario Chalmers three flew off the rim.
With 9:42 left in the half, Rush scored a lay-up off a nice pass from Russell Robinson. Arizona turned the ball back on its next possession.
Kaun hit a short shot off the backboard to cut KU’s deficit to 20-10.
Rodgers improved U of A’s free-throw shooting to 6-of-6 and KU committed a turnover when Robinson stepped over the in-bounds line. Shakur hit a deep two for the 24-10 lead.
Kaun answered with a put-back to give him half of KU’s 12 points.
Downs hit a three with 7:35 left to cut KU’s deficit to under double digits.
But Mohamed Tangara pushed it back to 26-15 on an easy lay-in despite some questionable contact.
Robinson knocked in a three-poitner of his own to cut the score to 26-18.
Ivan Radenovic hit two more free throws for the 28-18 lead with 5:45 left in the half.
Downs converted a short shot and KU got the ball back off a steal. Kaun responded by hitting KU’s first free throw to give him nine points. He also has five rebounds.
Julian Wright got a foul away from the ball to give the ball back to Arizona with 4:08 left in the half but Wildcat J.P. Prince was whistled for an offensive foul.
Arizona has converted its advantage on the offensive board as it has scored 13 second-chance points.
After an ill-advised shot by Giles, the KU big man came up with a turnover that led to a monster two-hand slam by Julian Wright on the other end thanks to a feed by Robinson.
After starting out hitting just 2-of-11 shots, KU has nailed 8-of-14.
Self was upset with a foul call on Giles, but Arizona answered with two more free throws. Moody missed a close-range shot inside and fouled the other way. Kirk Walters hit two more free throws as Arizona has hit all 10 of its charities.
Moody answered with a lay-in, but Shakur hit another three to put Arizona back on top by 10 with a minute and half left.
Chalmers was fouled by Adams and went to the line for three free throws. The freshman guard from Alaska made two of three to cut the lead back to 35-27 with 1:08 left in the half.
Moody tipped in a short miss by Wright to cut the deficit to six.
Marcus Williams missed Arizona’s first free throws of the night, but the Wildcats got the ball back with a chance for one last shot.
However, Arizona turned it over with 11.2 on the clock, but KU turned it back and a halfcourt shot by Daniel Dillon was ruled to have came after the buzzer.
Arizona went into the break with a 35-29 lead.
KU’s starting line-up featured big men Sasha Kaun, C.J. Giles, freshman forward Brandon Rush, and guards Jeff Hawkins and Russell Robinson.
The visiting Wildcats started with forwards Isaiah Fox, Ivan Radenovic and guards Hassan Adams, Chris Rodgers, Mustafa Shakur.
Pregame
Kansas University’s basketball team might be in paradise, but at least, at times, tonight it’s likley the Jayhawks might not feel that way when a young KU squad gets its first real test against No. 10 Arizona in the Maui Invitational at 8 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center.
“They get after you. They press,” KU coach Bill Self said of the Wildcats. “It’s one thing to press in practice, but you can’t simulate the kind of athletes they have. (Chris) Rodgers, (Mustafa) Shakur and Hassan (Adams) coming at you … they are long, lean and as quick or quicker than we are.
“We have to be smart, take care of the ball, understand it’s going to be a long game. There will be a lot of possessions out there.”
While the inexperienced Jayhawks cruised through exhibition play and in last Friday’s season-opening victory over Idaho State, Kansas fans have to be anticipating the contest against an Arizona team picked to win the Pac 10.
Still, legendary Wildcat coach Lute Olson said he knows that a young KU squad will be no pushover.
“Bill’s teams will play hard, play sound defensively and are very skilled as well,” Olson said. “We’ve had some great games against Kansas and Bill’s Illinois teams. I’m really looking forward to this game as well. No matter what happens, both teams will gain from playing this game and playing in this tournament.
“Every team will come out of that tournament with positives to build on and will know a lot about their team. It’s the way teams have to go into it: This is the best of the best. Let’s learn from it, whether it’s a win or a loss.”
The Wildcats, who recorded two blow-out victories of their own in exhibition play, are opening their season tonight. Arizona has just one returning double-digit scorer in Adams, who hit 12.7 points per game in his junior campaign.
Arizona, which averaged 103.5 points per contest, was led by Rodgers who averaged 20.5 ppg in the two games, while freshman Marcus Williams scored 16.0 and Adams 15.5, with Shakur netting 9.5 and freshman guard J.P. Prince 8.5.
Last year Arizona finished 30-7 and won the Pac-10 Conference championship, going 15-3 in league play. The Wildcats fell to Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Chicago Regional final, 90-89, in overtime.
Kansas leads the all-time series with Arizona 6-2, with the Jayhawks winning the last meeting with a 78-75 victory in the NCAA West Regional in March of 2003.
The Jayhawks are making their fourth appearance in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Kansas is a combined 6-3 in the event and won the 1996 tourney.
In 1987 – KU’s NCAA championship season – the Jayhawks went 1-2 in the event. Kansas opened the 2001-02 season in Maui and went 2-1 to finish fifth.
This year will mark the seventh time Kansas will travel to the Hawaiian Islands. The Jayhawks have made three appearances in the Rainbow Classic – 1997, 1992, 1986 – and were a combined 5-4 in the event.
Kansas is only team in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational field to have a winning record in every series of potential Maui foes. The Jayhawks are a combined 25-11 against the other seven teams in the event – 6-2 vs. Arizona; 8-4 vs. Arkansas; 1-0 vs. Chaminade; 2-0 vs. Connecticut; 1-0 vs. Gonzaga; 4-3 vs. Michigan State; 3-2 vs. Maryland.
“I think it’s a perfect time for us to play in this tournament, young and all,” Self said. “I think we’ll know a lot about our guys. I think it’s a great time to throw these guys into the fire, because they are going to be thrown in the fire later again, anyway.”