No. 7 Kansas 74, Southeast Missouri State 55: Jeff Withey had 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks as the Jayhawks overcame a dismal first-half shooting effort to win their 40th straight home opener against the Redhawks in the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Highly touted freshman Perry Ellis finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in his college debut for Kansas (1-0), which won despite hitting only one of its first 20 3-point attempts.
Despite shooting 28 percent from the field in the first half, the Jayhawks held a 32-17 halftime advantage by forcing more turnovers (eight) than the Redhawks had field goals (six).
But Southeast Missouri State (0-1) scored 20 of the next 31 points over the first 8:50 of the second half to pull with six before a pair of free throws from Withey sparked a 17-6 run as Kansas pulled away and led by as many as 21 points in the final seconds.
Nick Niemczyk finished with a team-high 14 points and Nino Johnson added 12 for the Redhawks.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Kansas, which finished 2-of-21 beyond the arc, improved to 19-0 all-time against the Ohio Valley Conference. …. Southeast Missouri State hasn’t won a season opener since 2005. … The Jayhawks are 146-7 at home under coach Bill Self.
SE Missouri St. | Kansas | |
Nick Niemczyk 14 | Scoring | Jeff Withey 17 |
Lucas Nutt 3 | Assists | Ben McLemore 5 |
Nino Johnson 9 | Rebounds | Ben McLemore 12 |
A.J. Jones 5 | Free Throws Made | Jeff Withey 7 |
Nick Niemczyk 3 | Steals | Perry Ellis 1 |
Nino Johnson 2 | Blocks | Jeff Withey 5 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
SE Missouri St. | 55 | 29.0 | 4-16 | 15-20 | 6 | 32 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
Kansas | 74 | 38.7 | 2-21 | 24-28 | 12 | 46 | 10 | 5 | 13 |