Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

The Road of Kansas to the Title Game

Published on April 2, 2012 by Scott Shirley   ·   No Comments

The Kansas Jayhawks had some close games in their run to the title game but in the end they found a way to win and that is all that matters. Below is a recap of Kansas’s wins in the tournament to get to the championship game in New Orleans.

Second Round

Kansas- 65 Detroit-50

-Thomas Robinson was once again unstoppable inside. He finished this game with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

- Elijah Johnson finished with 15 points including 3 three’s.

- Tyshwan Taylor also finished with 10 points and Jeff Withey had 9 rebounds.

- The Jayhawks played outstanding defense holding Detroit to 32 % shooting from the field.

-The Jawhawks did have some negatives in this game. They were outrebounded and had more turnovers than assists.

Third Round

Kansas-63 Purdue-60

-Kansas was down most the game but they just found a way to win in the end, that’s what good teams do.

-Kansas star’s Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor did not have their best games. Robinson had 13 rebounds but he just finished 2 of 12 from the field. Taylor finished with 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting.

- Kansas outrebounded Purdue by 3. The Jayhawks also had 15 offensive rebounds. If they want to go far they will have to shoot better.

- One player who really stepped it up for Kansas was Elijah Johnson. He finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He also made 3 three’s.

Sweet 16

Kansas-60 NC State-57

-The story of this game was the play of the Kansas big men and the defense of Kansas.

- Thomas Robinson had another monster game with 18 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Six of those rebounds were offensive. Robinson did only shoot 7 of 17 from the field and 4 of 9 from the free throw line. So he left a lot of points out there.

- Jeff Withey only had 8 points and 5 rebounds but his impact on this game was with block shots. Withey, the Big 12 defensive player of the year finished the game with 10 blocks. NC State just kept on trying to go at Withey with no success.

- The Jawhawks won this game because of defense. NC State only shot 28 % from the field, and from three. In three NCAA tournament games Kansas opponents are only shooting 33 % (59-180) from the field. That is great defense. Even if they are struggling on offense they can also count on their defense. The Jayhawks forced 14 turnovers.

- Kansas star point guard Tyshawn Taylor really struggled in this game. He finished with 6 points on 2 of 14 shooting. He was also just 2 of 5 from the free throw line. Taylor also committed 5 turnovers. He did however impact the games in other ways. He did finish with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. If Kansas wants to go to the final four he needs to play a lot better.

-Elijah Johnson continued his hot play with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He also added 3 assists.

- Travis Releford had 7points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. While Conner Teahan and Kevin Young each had 5 points off the bench

- They Jayhawks need to shoot better. They were just 1 of 14 from three and 11 of 20 from the charity strike.

Elite 8

Kansas-80 North Carolina-67

- Kansas was up 68-67 with about 3:30 minutes left, and all they did to finish the game was go on a 12-0 run. After allowing 47 points in the 1st half the Kansas defense really turned it up in the 2nd half only allowing 20 points. A major reason for this was the triangle and two defense Bill Self used. What a great coaching move.

- The story of this game was Kansas star point guard Tyshawn Taylor, who was really struggling coming into this game. Last game he was 2 of 14 from the floor. Against UNC Taylor finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Talk about filling out the box score.

- Thomas Robinson was his usual dominant self-finishing the game with 18 points and 9 rebounds. He even hit a three in this game. After struggling at the free throw line last game Robinson was a prefect 5 for 5 in this game. Robinson could shoot a higher percentage, as he was only 6 of 16 from the field.

- Jeff Withey had a huge game; he finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. He was 5 of 5 from the field and 5 out of 6 from the free throw line. However, he made his impact on the defensive end. He really shut down Tyler Zeller and John Henson. The two only combined to score 22 points.

- Travis Releford finished with 11 points but his biggest impact on the game was defense. He held Harrison Barnes to 5 of 14 shooting and really frustrated him at times.

- Elijah Johnson was only 3 of 11 from the field but he hit a clutch three late that put the game away. Johnson also had 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

- Kevin Young only had 2 points but he brought down 8 rebounds. Four of those rebounds were offensive.

- The Jayhawks out rebounded the best rebounding team in the nation by 10. They also took care of the ball only committing 8 turnovers.

- North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller great career has come to an end. He finished this game with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

- You can play the what if game but if Kendall Marshall played in this game I think the Tar Heels would have won. Without Marshall, the best passer in the game, the Heels had no one who could penetrate the lane. Barnes really needs Marshall without him he really struggles. Don’t forget besides Marshall UNC also lost two guards for the rest of the season. The injury bug continued for UNC in this game as John Henson sprained his ankle. Henson already had a sore wrist in this game.

Final Four

Kansas-64 Ohio State-62

- Once again the Jayhawks play excellent defense in the second half to move on to the title game to play Kentucky. This Jayhawk just does not give up. They were down as many as 13 points in this game and they only led for a total of 3 : 48 minutes. They just have the will to win, that other teams don’t have.

- Leading the Jayhawks was once again Thomas Robinson, who finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Robinson though did his work on defense limited the leading scorer in the tournament Deshaun Thomas to 9 points on 3 of 14 shooting. He also got Thomas into foul trouble.

- Jeff Withey only had 4 points but he was a beast on the defensive end. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the year finished with 8 rebounds and 7 blocks. He probably alters a lot of shots too. He frustrated Ohio State Jared Sullinger into 5 of 19 shooting from the field. Withey’s length gave him all kind of problems.

- Travis Releford really stepped up his offensive game for Kansas last night. Coming into this game he was only averaging about 8 points in the tournament against Ohio State he had 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting. He was 4 of 4 from the line with all the free throws coming late in the 2nd half. Releford also finished with 6 rebounds.

- Point guard Tyshawn Taylor shooting woes continued but he did make two free throws late to seal the victory for the Jayhawks. Taylor was just 3 of 11 from the floor. He has not made a three this whole NCAA tournament. Taylor did impact the game with his passing he finished with 9 assists but he also had 5 turnovers. He did come up with a big steal late. If Kansas is to beat Kentucky Taylor needs to play a lot better.

- Elijah Johnson continued his hot play in the tournament. In this game he finished with 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting including 1 big three pointer. He also brought down 10 rebounds not bad for a guard. Johnson had a layup late to give the Jayhawks a three point lead.

- Conner Teahan hit a big three for Kansas off the bench and Kevin Young brought down 5 rebounds. 4 of those rebounds were offensive.

- Last time out the Jayhawks outrebounded UNC the best rebounding team in the country. This game was no different as they outrebounded Ohio State by 11. The Jayhawks played lights out defense the whole game limiting the Buckeyes to 34 % shooting from the field.

- If the Jayhawks want to beat Kentucky on Monday night they are some things they need to improve. They cannot commit 17 turnovers and shoot 3 of 11 from behind the arch.

 

 

 

 

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