Nick KrugFor more on the NCAA Tournament, check out NCAA.com.
3:50 p.m.
This just in: Aldrich’s triple-double was the first in the NCAA Tournament since Marquette’s Dwyane Wade on March 29, 2003. That was also in the Metrodome.
The last triple-double in the NCAA Tournament that included blocks was LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal against BYU on March 19, 1992, when he had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks.
There was only one other 10-block game in NCAA Tournament history: by Shawn Bradley in 1991.
KU scoring
Collins 25 (11-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds), Aldrich 13 (20 rebounds, 10 blocks), Reed 9, Little 7, Taylor 3, Markieff Morris 2, Appleton 1.
KU was 23-for-53 from the floor (43.4 percent), 3-for-16 from three (18.8 percent) and 11-for-22 from the free-throw line (50 percent).
UD was 16-for-72 from the floor (22.2 percent), 4-for-19 from three (21.1 percent) and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line (87.5 percent).
KU out-rebounded UD, 50-43. KU had 12 turnovers to UD’s 11.
FINAL: KU defeats Dayton, 60-43
KU empties the bench in the final minutes. Quintrell Thomas, Matt Kleinmann, Conner Teahan, Brennan Bechard and Chase Buford all get into the game.
The Jayhawks close out a 60-43 victory.
KU 55/UD 36 — 3:49 left in game
The Jayhawks are taking control now. Collins floats in an 18-footer. Reed drives in, then scoops back out to Markieff Morris for an and-one.
KU is 3 minutes, 49 seconds away from the Sweet 16.
KU 49/UD 36 — 5:38 left in game
KU is getting sloppy again in the half-court. Little throws one away. The Jayhawks are wasting valuable possession.
Self is especially riding his team about getting back in transition. The fast break is about the only way Dayton has scored.
Aldrich swats another away, and that’s the first triple-double in Kansas history. He has 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks.
KU 44/UD 32 — 7:55 left in game
Nice pass over the top by Taylor to Aldrich, who lays it in. Self pumps his fist in satisfaction.
More horrible shots and shot selection by Dayton. Turns out Friday’s good shooting effort against West Virginia was an aberration.
Dayton one more time takes it straight into Aldrich, who blocks it without trying to. He throws ahead to Taylor for a layup and foul. KU takes its largest lead at 44-30.
KU 40/UD 30 — 10:15 left in game
Collins shoots a fadeaway with the shot clock running down and it banks in. No harm done for Dayton, though, as Mickey Perry races to the other end for a layup.
Collins falls down away from the ball, and he’s wanting a foul call. On the dead ball, he discusses things with the officials, thinking he was bumped by London Warren.
Finally, KU gets production from a second guard, as Reed swishes a three from the corner with 13:21 left. The KU fans go especially crazy, knowing the significance of the shot.
Huge blocked shot by Collins, who looked like he screamed after coming away with the ball. On the other end, Collins spins in a finger-roll, and Dayton calls timeout with KU up, 40-30.
Self steals a minute and a half after the break with Collins on the bench. Neither team scores, and that’s a victory for KU.
Dayton is just 2-for-14 from the floor this half.
KU 33/UD 27 — 14:58 left in game
After getting his first rebound of the half, Aldrich get hit and he grimaces as he runs up the court. The big man stays in the game.
KU takes advantage of Dayton’s overaggressive defense, as Collins throws a long entry pass to Aldrich, who twirls under the basket and lays it in for two.
Aldrich throws his second entry pass away today. I don’t remember two all season from him. His four turnovers tie him for the team lead with Taylor.
Bad decision by Morningstar, who throws a bounce pass to Aldrich instead of a lob. The Jayhawks get bailed out by a questionable foul call.
Dayton isn’t learning its lesson. Players keep taking the ball straight to Aldrich. Aldrich keeps swatting every shot away. He’s up to five blocks already. The Flyers need to pull up for the jumper or they need to take it straight to the big man to try to draw a foul.
KU scoring
Collins 14 (6-for-11 shooting), Aldrich 9, Little 5, Taylor 1.
KU was 12-for-33 from the floor (36.4 percent), 2-for-11 from three (18.2 percent) and 3-for-10 from the free-throw line (30 percent).
UD was 9-for-40 from the floor (22.5 percent), 3-for-10 from three (30 percent) and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line (100 percent).
KU out-rebounded UD, 29-28. Both teams had seven turnovers.
Halftime thoughts
• Great half-court defense for KU so far. Take away eight points off offensive rebounds and six off KU turnovers, and Dayton had just nine half-court points in the first half. The only worry for the Jayhawks has to be rebounding. The Flyers picked up 11 offensive rebounds but didn’t convert on many of them.
• I think KU’s offensive play has been fine so far. The Jayhawks have just missed shots. Morningstar, Taylor and Reed all missed wide-open looks from three. They combined to go 0-for-10 in the first half. Also, the Jayhawks’ total would look much better if they hit their season average from the free-throw line.
• Great half for Collins. Fourteen points, four rebounds and no turnovers in 19 minutes. He has just one assist, but that’s his teammates’ faults right now, not his. As up-tempo as this game has been, though, we might see some fatigue from him late. Keep an eye on that.
• What a strange first half for Cole. He looked dominant early, then timid late. He’s been single-teamed in the post, but he hasn’t tried to shoot it over the shorter defender yet. Maybe that three-point play will get him going.
KU 29/UD 23 — Halftime
KU looks to be getting a favorable whistle in this game. The fouls are 9-4 Dayton, but the Jayhawks haven’t been able to take advantage at the free-throw line, though, making just two of nine foul shots (22.2 percent). Cole Aldrich uncharacteristically misses two from the line, and he looks off on the offensive end.
Risky (or brilliant?) behind-the-back pass by Morningstar to Aldrich in traffic. After missing a couple, Aldrich finally put it in for two with a foul. As a bonus, he made the free throw, too.
Wright puts up a floater in the lane that clanks away. He hasn’t shown himself to be a good shooter so far.
Morningstar misses a three just before the buzzer. It’s the first time in a long time the Jayhawks fail to score in the final seconds of the first half.
KU 25/UD 21 — 3:42 left in 1st half
Collins puts up his first bad shot — a forced three — at the 6:41 mark. He’s managed the game well so far.
The next possession, Collins shoots past his defender and lays one in for two.
While saving a ball out of bounds, Chris Johnson crashed right into CBS’s Gus Johnson. I’m sure you heard that one on television.
Wright tips in a miss in transition, and Dayton has a 5-0 run to close within two. Self calls timeout, and the Morris twins argue with each other for a second, I’m guessing about who missed a defensive assignment.
Collins bounces in a jumper, and Dayton goes back into its shooting slump. It feels like the Jayhawks should be up more than four points.
KU 21/UD 14 — 7:50 left in 1st half
Mario Little swishes a 19-footer from the wing. KU gets its first points from someone other than Collins or Aldrich at the 10:30 mark of the first half.
With Collins coming out for a breather, Little comes through again, swishing a three from a similar spot on the wing.
Dayton has been careless with the basketball, and it has cost the Flyers early. Collins gets a steal, then makes a nifty move around a defender on the other end for two.
Paul Williams swishes a huge three from the corner for Dayton. KU had a 10-point lead and had some momentum before the shot from the side went through.
KU 13/UD 7 — 11:41 left in 1st half
The officials missed one there, as Tyshawn Taylor’s layup was blocked after it hit the backboard. Should have been goaltending, but no whistle.
Collins is doing everything he can to get open shots for his teammates, but they just aren’t hitting. Brady Morningstar has had a pair of open three-point attempts, but he hasn’t been able to get one to go down yet.
We are seeing KU’s dominant defense today, though. Dayton has started 1-for-13, which equates to 7.7 percent. Not only are the Flyers missing shots, they’re not getting good shots.
Collins jump-starts KU’s offense again, swishing a three and throwing in a runner. He’s played well within the offense so far.
KU just can’t buy a three. Tyrel Reed gets two wide-open looks, only to have them clank away. The Jayhawks are just 1-for-7 from three.
KU 6/UD 2 — 15:56 left in 1st half
Offensive rebounds have played a major role for both teams so far.
Chris Wright puts in Dayton’s first points after an offensive rebound from Chris Little. Cole Aldrich responds with two straight baskets after following up KU’s misses.
Sherron Collins does a nice job of penetrating, drawing two defenders, then finding Aldrich for an easy two. Collins has zero shots at this point, and KU is up 6-2.
Dayton has six early offensive rebounds, but is only 1-for-10 from the floor.
1:24 p.m.
There’s a much larger KU contingency here today, perhaps double what was here on Friday. I’d guess in the 4,000-fan range. A bunch of fans must have made the weekend drive to see the ‘Hawks.
1:14 p.m.
KU had a season-low five turnovers against North Dakota State on Friday.
Don’t expect a repeat performance today.
Listening to Dayton coach Brian Gregory on Friday and Saturday, one of the things they take great pride in is pressuring the ball defensively.
That makes the ball-handling of Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor extremely important in this one. Turnovers on the perimeter not only keep KU from scoring, but they also allow a very average offensive team in Dayton to use its athletes to get easy baskets in transition.
1 p.m.
I guess they don’t call them the Flyers for nothing.
Chris Wright has a 39 1/2-inch vertical leap. In normal circumstances, that would be pretty impressive.
Except for the fact that teammate Charles Little — at 6-foot-6, 247 pounds — has a 43-inch vertical leap.
After watching the West Virginia-Dayton game and seeing some of the dunks, it’s safe to say those two guys have an appropriately named mascot.
12:05 p.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from the Metrodome in Minneapolis where the third-seeded Kansas Jayhawks are getting set to take on the 11th-seeded Dayton Flyers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
How do you feel about this statement: The Kansas Jayhawks will only go as far as Sherron Collins takes them.
Does that make you happy? Excited? Scared?
You’ve probably already read Gary Bedore’s article today regarding Collins’ 32-point, 26-shot effort against North Dakota State on Friday.
In it, Gary writes: “Collins’ teammates bristled when asked about criticism of Collins from fans on the Internet who say the Jayhawks won’t go far if he continues to take 25 or more shots per game.”
Hate to say it, but consider me as part of that Internet group.
Collins is a great offensive weapon to have. He can do things with the basketball very few others in the NCAA can do.
He’s a great scoring option late in the shot clock. He’s a great scoring option in transition. He’s a great scoring option when he is set up for an open three.
He’s not a great scoring option (at least yet), when he dribbles up the court without a pass and tries to take on multiple defenders before forcing up a guarded shot.
When asked about Collins’ performance against NDSU, Self was mostly complimentary. He should be. He said Collins carried KU in the first half when the offense was stagnant. That much is true.
Self also said Collins probably should have taken 22 shots instead of 26. I think Collins forced up a few more than four, but I think Self is acknowledging what the rest of us saw.
For a while, Collins’ strong early shooting was Fool’s Gold. It forced him into thinking it was “his night,” which gave him a free pass to throw up any shot he wanted.
And here was the biggest problem: Every time Cole Aldrich touched the ball, he was playing tag with the rim. Out of 12 shots, eight were dunks. NDSU couldn’t stop him from scoring.
A quick shot from Collins could, though.
Think back to 2003. KU had a similar situation with a dominant guard (Kirk Hinrich) and a dominant big man (Nick Collison) in the NCAA Tournament.
Know what made that team so dangerous? Depending on the matchup, either Hinrich or Collison would step up their games.
Against undersized Duke, Collison scored a career-high 33 points. The next game, Hinrich led the Jayhawks with a 28-point performance in a victory over top-seeded Arizona.
“I can have an OK night, not an off night,” Collins said Saturday when asked if he had to have a “great game” for the Jayhawks to advance to the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. “My teammates are good enough to carry me when things aren’t going well. We have a lot of players that can step up. But I have to play well most of the time.”
This shouldn’t be the mindset.
If KU is banking on two or three or four straight good shooting games from Collins, then it’s most likely in trouble.
The Jayhawks will only go as far as Sherron Collins takes them? I’ll go the other direction.
Sherron Collins will only go as far as he lets the Kansas Jayhawks take him.
KU fans should hope he realizes it before it’s too late.
Nick KrugFor more information on the NCAA Tournament, check out NCAA.com.
KU to meet Dayton
With a victory over West Virginia on Friday, Dayton advanced to meet KU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The two teams will meet at 1:30 p.m.
This is the second time the two teams have met, with Dayton winning the first contest in 1968.
KU scoring
Collins 32 (career high, 12-for-26 shooting), Aldrich 23 (9-for-12 shooting), Marcus Morris 8, Morningstar 8, Taylor 8, Reed 3, Markieff Morris 2.
KU went 32-for-64 from the floor (50 percent), 4-for-12 from three (33.3 percent) and 16-for-20 from the free-throw line (80 percent).
NDSU was 26-for-62 from the floor (41.9 percent), 10-for-24 from three (41.7 percent) and 12-for-15 from the free-throw line (80 percent).
Woodside finished with 37 points on 13-for-23 shooting.
KU out-rebounded NDSU, 39-34. NDSU had nine turnovers to KU’s five.
FINAL: KU defeats NDSU, 84-74
Woodside hits another near-impossible shot on the baseline, but it’s not enough. The Jayhawks make eight straight free throws and survive their first-round road game against the Bison, 84-74.
KU 76/NDSU 70 — 1:07 left in game
Collins draws a pair of defenders, then drops a pass to Marcus Morris for an easy two. Good play by the point guard.
Marcus Morris drives, then hurls it over to Aldrich for another slam. The big man’s hands might be raw from so many dunks.
Woodside continues to will NDSU back, as he drains a guarded three over Morningstar. Nothing the KU defender could do.
Collins misses on a drive, but Aldrich follows the shot with a slam and foul. Aldrich has 12 shots and Collins has 25. It just doesn’t make sense.
Collins misses a chippy on a drive, and Winkleman follows with a three to cut KU’s lead to six with 1:07 left.
KU 69/NDSU 62 — 3:52 left in game
Collins hits a huge three on a set play. It’s the best shot Collins has had this half, as it was open and in the flow of the offense.
Huge steal by Morningstar, who turns it into two points on the other end by going under the basket for a layup.
Collins bounces it to Aldrich, who picks up Moormann’s fifth foul. I believe Aldrich has drawn fouls four of the last five times he’s touched it.
Woodside continues to get the benefit of the whistle when he goes inside. KU needs to survive four more minutes.
KU 62/NDSU 57 — 7:57 left in game
Another bad shot for Collins, who doesn’t look to any of his teammates before hoisting up an 18-foot guarded jumper. Collins checks out, and Appleton checks in.
Just after checking back in, Collins takes a pass then, without a pass, goes to the bucket and gets rejected on a shot. Why won’t he look to Aldrich at least once before putting up a shot?
KU’s dodging some bullets, as Tveidt and company have had some open shots rattle out lately.
Collins can’t guard Woodside, so I don’t know why Self is still trying it. KU needs Appleton, Morningstar or a zone. Woodside’s up to 27 points.
The last four times Aldrich has touched it has resulted in three fouls on NDSU and a dunk for KU.
KU 56/NDSU 52 — 11:48 left in game
Woodside is putting on a clinic. KU can’t keep anyone in front of him. Self is trying to trap ball screens, switch on ball screens, everything in the book, but it’s not working. Woodside is blowing by every defender and getting to the basket for layups.
Woodside’s up to 22 points, and KU needs somebody — anybody — to step up defensively. Could that be Appleton?
KU 49/NDSU 44 — 15:21 left in game
Two dunks to start off the second half for KU. A lob pass on the baseline to Aldrich gets him a slam, and on a fast break, Taylor throws the ball down with one hand.
Just when KU looks in control, the Bison make another run. Michael Tveidt hits an open three, and after a pair of free throws, Tveidt tips in a miss while getting fouled by Aldrich. About half of the Bison’s 20,000 fans remain on their feet during a Self timeout with KU’s lead down to four at 47-43.
Following the timeout, Collins forces up another terrible shot. Against more talented defensive teams, KU needs that kind of tough shot. The Jayhawks don’t need it against the Bison.
Next possession, Collins takes a few dribbles in before lobbing it to Aldrich for a dunk. That’s the high-percentage shot the Jayhawks are looking for.
KU scoring
Collins 17 (8-for-12 shooting), Aldrich 8 (4-for-5 shooting), Marcus Morris 6, Taylor 6, Morningstar 3, Markieff Morris 2, Reed 1.
KU was 19-for-34 from the floor (55.9 percent), 2-for-5 from three (40 percent) and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line (50 percent).
NDSU was 13-for-30 from the floor (43.3 percent), 7-for-13 from three (53.8 percent) and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line (33.3 percent).
Woodside had 16 first-half points on 7-for-10 shooting.
KU out-rebounded NDSU, 20-16. NDSU had five turnovers to KU’s two.
Halftime thoughts
•Would you have felt confident if I told you before the game that the Bison would hit seven of 13 threes in the first half? KU has built its lead by overpowering the Bison offensively. The Jayhawks, if they pass it long enough, have been able to get good, open shots against the Bison.
•Only two first-half turnovers for KU? That has to be the best mark in a half this season. Not only are the Jayhawks getting good shots, they’re also getting shots.
• KU has tried about every defender it has on Woodside, and not many seem to be working. The best option, so far, has looked like Tyrone Appleton, so I wouldn’t be surprised (especially if KU’s leading) if he logs quite a few more minutes in the second half (He had four first-half minutes).
• Don’t overlook Marcus Morris’ line in the first half: Six points, 2-for-2 shooting, four rebounds, one assist and no turnovers in 10 minutes.
KU 43/NDSU 34 — Halftime
Nice pass by Markieff Morris, who lobbed it to Aldrich under the basket for an easy layup.
KU had a chance to go ahead double digits, but Collins kills the momentum. He tries to go one-on-three, forcing up a tough shot in the lane that misses. KU has been getting easy buckets inside, so don’t know why Collins feels like he has to do things himself.
Sure enough, NDSU follows with a quick run. Woodside drives for a layup, then Brett Winkleman rattles in a three for a 5-0 run. Timeout KU.
The Jayhawks go back to what works. Collins drives, then finds Aldrich inside on an easy pass for a slam. It’s that easy if the Jayhawks want it to be.
Costly missed free throw by Woodside at the end of the half. He bricked the front end of a one-and-one, and KU once again scored in the final 5 seconds of the first half, as Collins swished a 16-foot fadeaway. What could have been a five-point deficit for NDSU instead balloons to nine.
KU 34/NDSU 29 — 3:48 left in first half
NDSU can keep up with KU offensively, but the Bison’s defensive woes are starting to show through. KU pushes ahead with a 7-0 run, and none of the shots (Aldrich dunk, Morningstar three, Taylor layup) were defended well by NDSU.
Woodside has an answer after the break, floating in a jumper. KU hasn’t found a way to slow him down yet, as Woodside has 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting.
KU 27/NDSU 25 — 6:47 left in first half
Woodside buries a three over Mario Little. The Bison are 4-for-6 from three.
Bad shot for Collins, who pulled up from 18 feet with a man right in his face.
KU fails to hustle to a loose ball, and it turns into a Woodside three. Self doesn’t look pleased that his team looked too tired to make a defensive play.
The good news for the Jayhawks is that they don’t look tight or tense. They just haven’t played good enough defense so far to build much of a lead.
KU 21/NDSU 19 — 10:53 left in first half
Collins isn’t passing the ball much. The good news for KU is that he isn’t missing much either.
He’s scored 11 straight for KU, and he shows the ‘I’m feeling it’ face to the KU fans.
Tyrone Appleton checks in early for KU. This shows the value of a deep bench. Appleton has played just 15 minutes in conference play, but he will have value today if he can slow down NDSU’s Ben Woodside today.
Lucas Moormann, NDSU’s 6-10 center, just picked up his second foul. The Bison will have to play small.
KU 12/NDSU 11 — 14:47 left in first half
North Dakota State hits the first basket — a three from Mike Nelson — and the crowd erupts.
At least early, NDSU is showing a ton of energy. One guy dives to save a ball from going out of bounds. Another dives at a ball that goes just out of his reach. The crowd loves it.
Collins has taken some questionable shots early on. He looks to be forcing the issue just a bit.
Already three three-pointers from NDSU. The Jayhawks’ three-point defense hasn’t shown improvement from the Baylor game yet.
Marcus Morris gets a two off an offensive rebound, and Cole Aldrich gets free for a dunk on an alley-oop. The Jayhawks should realize now that that is where they have the biggest advantage.
11:30 a.m.
Fair or not, this is a great atmosphere for NCAA basketball.
Here we go.
11:20 a.m.
After consulting with Gary Bedore, we’re going to say that there are 20,000 Bison fans here. I guess NDSU coach Saul Phillips wasn’t lying earlier this week when he said that his team’s fans would single-handedly boost the economy in Minneapolis.
The “Let’s Go, Bison” chant has reverberated across the court a few times already. It would be best for the Jayhawks to get off to a good start.
11 a.m.
Now that I’ve told you KU has a great chance to win, we have to get to the bad news for KU fans.
There’s no doubt now: This will be a true road game for the Jayhawks.
There is yellow everywhere. There is only one small section across from me where I see more blue-shirted fans than yellow-shirted ones.
The only good news for the Jayhawks is that many Bison fans are on the outskirts of the arena — quite a ways from the court. I don’t know how well we’ll hear those fans.
Having said that, 10,000 Bison fans would probably be a low estimate for today’s game.
10:52 a.m.
I know you came to this blog for good news, so here are four statistical reasons the Jayhawks will win today:
1. North Dakota State allows 68.6 points per game. KU is 24-1 this year when it scores 68 points or more.
2. North Dakota State’s opponents have shot 36.1 percent from three this year. KU is 22-1 when it shoots 36 percent or better from three.
3. NDSU is 2-3 against teams ranked in the top 100 of Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. The Bison have lost to Minnesota (52nd), Stephen F. Austin (91st) and Southern Cal (28th) but beat Oral Roberts twice (88th). KU is ranked 11th in KenPom’s rankings.
4. KU has not allowed a team to shoot 50 percent or better all year. NDSU is 26-6 overall, but just a pedestrian 10-6 when it doesn’t shoot 50 percent or better.
10:24 a.m.
Welcome back to the Newell Post Live, coming to you from the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., where the third-seeded Kansas Jayhawks are getting ready to face the 14th-seeded North Dakota State Bison.
The most intriguing part of the pre-game, to me, will be seeing just how many fans from the state of North Dakota State show up here today. We’ve heard all sorts of predictions: 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000.
My guess would be somewhere in the 10,000 range, which would give the Bison a distinct home-court advantage.
I can tell you this much: the yellow shirts are already starting to descend into the seats. I’d say there’s already a few hundred Bison fans here, and with the yellow shirts, they should be able to spot on TV.
Is this fair for KU? Should the third-seeded Jayhawks have to play a road game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament? Probably not.
Then again, the game is played on the court. The Jayhawks are more talented than the Bison, and they’ve had a week to get themselves ready for this game.
The Jayhawks also have been told again and again how great North Dakota State is. There’s no way the Jayhawks should overlook the Bison today.
We’ll have more coming up from Minneapolis as the game gets closer.
