**6:39 p.m.**: No, there wasn’t some symbolic reasoning behind Brandon Rush making his first start since ACL surgery in his hometown. Bill Self said after today’s romp that the junior guard would have started last Saturday had it not been for his legal troubles 48 hours earlier.But Rush opened the game hot, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the early moments of the first half. This one turned into a laugher pretty qucikly, and it was KU’s first game having a full host of healthy players. Tyrel Reed who had a pretty decent role in the roatation early in the season along with Rodrick Stewart, only played eight minutes. Stewart, who Self said just had a rough day, played 10. With everyone now healthy, Self can tinker all he wants with the substitution patterns. Late in the game, he subbed in Cole Aldrich at one point for Sherron Collins. How many other seasons would see that happen?Some final notes…-Russell Robinson set a career high with 11 assists. He now has 20 in his last two games.-Mario Chalmers’ four steals gives him 20 over his last four games.-KU’s big man quartet was extremely effective. Combining for 75 minutes on the floor, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich combined for 39 points, 27 rebounds and five blocked shots.-The Jayhawks absolutely gushed after the game about the Sprint Center, most notably Robinson, who claimed several times he can’t wait to come back for the Big 12 Tournament in early March. Bill Self pointed out that neither he or his players really ever got excited about going to Kemper Arena, but this trip was much different.-The most amazing stat of the night is still that Ohio had just _one_ two-point basket in the entire first half, shot 17.2 percent in the first half and finished shooting 28.3 percent from the floor. It’s hard to believe the Bobcats beat Maryland, even if the Terps are a tad down this year.-I can only imagine what a nightmare parking is going to be down here during the conference tournament. That’s really the only negative to the Sprint Center. I’ll be planning for that weeks in advance.Talk to you Tuesday from Atlanta…**5:55 p.m.**: Sloppy second half, but Aldrich’s slam and Case’s three were nice to finish it off. I’ll be back shortly with postgame nuggets.**5:31 p.m.**: Tom Keegan made a good observation in saying that this second half has made the game look like an oddly-matched No. 1 vs. No. 16 first round NCAA tournament game.While Bill Self continues to bark at his team on the offensive end, surely wishing they weren’t looking so sloppy in the late minutes, Ohio hasn’t done much to assert itself as any kind of a threat here in the second half.Mario Chalmers, on a statistical sidenote, now has 20 steals and counting in his past four games. He’s continued to create multiple open court chances for the Jayhawks, despite the overall mish-mosh look in the second half.**5:08 p.m.**: A few halftime numbers of note…-KU was 11-of-18 inside the three-point arc. Ohio was just one-of-12.-Darnell Jackson was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field.-KU outrebounded Ohio 27-11.-KU had 12 assists to seven turnovers. Ohio had two dimes to seven giveaways.**4:53 p.m.**: Well, looks like KU will have to wait until the Big 12 Tournament in March to get its first real challenge in the Sprint Center.For now, though, how about taking around the league today in what has been a pretty good day all around.Oklahoma knocked off Arkansas, who entered Norman at 8-1, by 11, while Nebraska took No. 16 Oregon to overtime and won by nine in Lincoln.Either way, if you don’t think KU is the cream of the Big 12 crop right now, then I don’t know what team you’re watching. You can’t help but be impressed by this team, which showed off everything it does well in the first half. The Jayhawks seem to have an answer for just about anything on the defensive end, while there’s seven or eight guys capable of scoring in double figures on any given night at the other end.I’ll have some official halftime numbers in just a moment.**4:40 p.m.**: While the threes from Rush and Chalmers have been nice, KU has completely overwhelmed Ohio on the defensive end of the ball. The Bobcats didn’t register their first two-point bucket of the game until the 9:15 mark in the first half, and leading scorer Leon Williams (nearly 17 ppg coming in) didn’t score until just recently…on a pair of free throws.No sign of Tyrel Reed off the bench yet. Gary Bedore made a great point a couple of minutes ago in hinting that it almost looks like Reed’s injury – a sprained ankle against Eastern Washington – may have pushed him out of the rotation a bit, with Rod Stewart playing such sound ball, Brandon Rush now back in the starting lineup and Sherron Collins being back ahead of schedule.**4:18 p.m.**: Brandon Rush, fittingly, is making his first start of the season just a handful of miles from his mother’s home in Kansas City, Mo. And he has been sensational early.Rush is three-of-four from three-point range, as KU is kicking around Ohio at will everywhere on the floor, leading 22-9 just over eight minutes in.One concern to the game’s opening tempo is the TV timeout factor. Usually they take place every four minutes, but due to a lack of stoppage in play, the first one didn’t occur until the 11:15 mark – or four minutes after it’s supposed to. If they have to make up for it by squeezing two together, that could help Ohio. But that’s about all that could help the Bobcats right now, as the Jayhawks’ athleticism underneath the basket has them completely flummoxed.**4:04 p.m.**: Tip time. The Sprint Center looks to be completely filled, which is a change of pace from last year’s Kemper Arena finale against Toledo, in which roughly 30 percent of the seats were left bare.Brandon Rush is making his first start of the season, taking the place of Rodrick Stewart, who did an admirable job keeping the junior guard’s seat warm in the starting lineup so far this season.**2:55 p.m.**: Well, we’re definitely not in Allen Fieldhouse anymore……sorry, I even disgusted myself by using that…anyway…Personally, this is my first time in the Sprint Center. It’s quite gorgeous. It’s got all the standard amenities that seem to come with new arenas, and is very reminiscent of the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla., where last year’s Big 12 Tournament was played.This will obviously not be KU’s last game in the Sprint Center this year, as the conference tourney will take place in these confines, but the opponent hailing from the MAC – Ohio University – should not be taken lightly.A lot of people may be shocked at the Bobcats’ [61-55 win at Maryland][1] Wednesday night, with the Terps having been an NCAA championship school within the past five years. But while Maryland is now more of just a brand name rather than what it was a few years back, it’s still an impressive victory.One thing the Bobcats don’t appear to be short on is scoring from their big men. The team’s top four scorers (Leon Williams, Jerome Tillman, Bubba Walther and Justin Orr) are all 6-foot-5 or taller. The other thing that pops out on the stat sheet is that Ohio has 131 assists this year to 117 turnovers. KU’s ratio is 187:122. That stat bodes well for KU’s backcourt, heralded by many as one of the nation’s finest on both ends of the floor.More than anything, this game is a beautiful change of pace from playing once a year in the outdated Kemper Arena. It’s bright in here, has gorgeous concourses and, in other words, would be the ideal home for an NBA franchise with a surrounding fan base that loves its hoops (wink, wink, cough, cough Seattle Sonics).Also worth noting is that KU is rocking the red alternate jerseys today for the second time this season. Also, Tyrel Reed is warming up at full speed, having not played last Saturday following his second ankle sprain in a three-week span.Talk to you in a bit. [1]: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200712120343
