Sweet Sixteen Recap – St. Louis Region
(4) Kansas 100, (9) UAB 74
It was over almost as soon as it started. Demario Eddins gave the Blazers an early 1-0 lead, but from there the Kansas Jayhawks dominated in all facets of the game, winning 100-74 to advance to the Elite Eight, where they will face Georgia Tech with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Jayhawks struck early, taking an 18-6 lead during the first five-plus minutes and never trailed by more than nine points the rest of the way. Wayne Simien, relatively quiet during Kansas’ first two tourney wins, exploded for 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists. J.R. Giddens scored eighteen points and Jeff Graves added thirteen, as the Jayhawk frontcourt scored in bunches thanks to their backcourt mates who continuously broke the UAB pressure. Point guard Aaron Miles finished with ten assists. It was the second-straight season Kansas eliminated the final C-USA team in the field in blowout fashion. Last year in the Final Four they mauled Marquette, xx-xx.
After practicing against eight players this week, Kansas was prepared to match the Blazers speed with their own. They still committed seventeen turnovers, but forced twelve UAB turnovers, eliminating any advantage to the underdogs. Factor in Morris Finley’s 4-of-19 shooting performance and the Blazers never had a chance. The only fireworks came during the second half, when UAB head coach Mike Anderson received his second technical of the game and was ejected. Anderson came ten feet onto the court, seemingly to call a timeout, but received an early exit. The second-year coach was frustrated the whole game, as his team’s pressure broke down all over the place, while his offense sputtered. The Blazers shot 32.4 percent from the field and 8-of-33 from beyond the three-point line. The Jayhawks owned this one get a chance to return to the Final Four Sunday at 2:40 p.m.
