National Basketball Association
Kansas 105, UMKC 62
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
Officials:
# Jeb Hartness, # Byron Jarrett, # Ray Natili
Attendance:
16300
By The Sports Xchange
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Frank Mason was virtually unstoppable Tuesday, scoring 30 points in 31 minutes as No. 3 Kansas overwhelmed Missouri-Kansas City 105-62 in Allen Fieldhouse.
However, after leading the Jayhawks in scoring for the seventh time in nine games and matching a career best he set in the season opener, Mason dwelled little on his performance.
"That's really cool," he said, "but the most important thing is we played really well as a team. We shared the ball and we played well defensively."
The win was the eighth straight for Kansas (8-1) and also the 600th for coach Bill Self, who is in his 24th season overall and 14th with the Jayhawks. A video tribute featuring former Kansas players, as well as those Self coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois, was presented after the game, along with a commemorative basketball.
In the locker room, the celebration was festive but short.
"We hugged him. That was about it," said freshman guard Josh Jackson, who added a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. "We tried to get him to cry, but he was like, 'Naa, I'm not going to cry.'"
Self said the victory could not be treated so much as a milestone because so many other coaches have more victories. Still, his path to 600 wins was the ninth fastest among those in Division I.
The testimonials former players offered in the video certainly touched Self.
"Many of those guys have gone on to do good things, not just on the basketball court, but with their lives," he said. "That was really nice. I certainly didn't anticipate that, but I was moved watching those kids."
Hot shooting carried the Jayhawks. By going 15 of 27 from 3-point range, they fell just one short of the Kansas record for treys. The total was an Allen Fieldhouse record as the Jayhawks boosted their home-court winning streak to 47, tops in the country.
Mason went 6 of 7 from 3-point range while adding five rebounds and five assists. Junior guard Devonte' Graham went 6 of 8 on treys to account for all of his 18 points. Junior reserve guard Svi Mykhailiuk added 10 points, sinking two 3-pointers.
"We don't care who scores the points," Graham said. "We all know we can score. We like to get in the extra pass and the assist."
Self famously said once the 3-pointer can be fool's gold.
"He still says the same thing. He says it in practice," Graham added. "There's going to be a game where we're not making shots, and we'll see how tough we are as a team."
That was not necessary against UMKC (6-4) considering the Jayhawks led 51-35 at halftime and then reeled off an 18-0 run to begin the second half.
"Their physicality took over the game," UMKC coach Kareem Richardson said. "I thought our guys started off well, and I don't think they were intimidated by the moment. But the third-ranked team took its toll."
The Kangaroos made their first five 3-point attempts to match the Jayhawks' outside proficiency at the outset. UMKC, however, finished 10 of 26 from long distance and had just one double-figure scorer, senior guard LaVell Boyd, with 17 points.
"We approached (the game) the same way. We're going to play hard," Boyd said. "We just want to get better as a team. That's all we wanted to do tonight was get better."
The Jayhawks used 7-0, 8-0 and 10-0 runs, the last coming at the end of the half, to establish their halftime bulge behind 17 points from Mason.
Jackson added 11 first-half points on 5-for-7 shooting, with three assists.
The Jayhawks went 9-for-15 from 3-point range, where Jackson and Mason each drained three bombs.
UMKC was 8 of 15 on 3-pointers in the first half but added only five other baskets. Boyd scored 11 first-half points on 4-for-8 shooting.
NOTES: Senior F Landen Lucas and junior G Svi Myukhailiuk started for the Jayhawks in the second half over freshman C Udoka Azubuike and sophomore G Lagerald Vick. ... Kansas improved to 7-0 all-time against the neighboring Kangaroos. Just two meetings were in Kansas City, but none at UMKC's home arena, Municipal Auditorium. That facility has been the site of nine Final Fours, the most of any venue. ... Senior G Martez Harrison missed his fourth straight game for UMKC serving a disciplinary suspension coach Kareem Richardson termed an "internal matter." Harrison averages 16.5 points. ... The Kangaroos came into the game shooting 43 percent from 3-point range, which ranked seventh in Division I, with 10.6 treys on average.
Top Game Performances
UMKC |
|
Kansas |
LaVell Boyd 17 |
Scoring |
Frank Mason 30 |
LaVell Boyd 2 |
Assists |
Josh Jackson 5 |
Darnell Tillman 5 |
Rebounds |
Josh Jackson 12 |
LaVell Boyd 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Udoka Azubuike 4 |
Xavier Bishop 2 |
Steals |
Frank Mason 3 |
Jordan Giles 2 |
Blocks |
Udoka Azubuike 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
UMKC
|
62 |
35.5 |
10-26 |
8-11 |
9 |
23 |
3 |
6 |
14 |
Kansas
|
105 |
56.5 |
15-27 |
12-22 |
22 |
52 |
7 |
7 |
12 |