Jayhawk report: Iowa St. 70, KU 66
Saturday’s box score
No. 13 Iowa St. 70,
No. 9 Kansas 66
IOWA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
McKay | 29 | 5-7 | 1-4 | 2-8 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Hogue | 25 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 4-8 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Niang | 36 | 9-18 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 2 | 4 | 19 |
Morris | 33 | 2-9 | 7-8 | 0-1 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
Long | 30 | 2-7 | 2-2 | 0-6 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
Nader | 25 | 5-9 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Dejean-Jones | 17 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Thomas | 5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Totals | 200 | 26-60 | 16-24 | 11-37 | 9 | 16 | 70 |
Percentages: FG .433, FT .667. 3-Point Goals: 2-16, .125 (Nader 1-4, Niang 1-4, Dejean-Jones 0-1, Hogue 0-1, Morris 0-2, Long 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 2 (Niang, Nader). Turnovers: 6 (Niang 2, Thomas 2, Hogue, Dejean-Jones). Steals: 7 (Morris 2, McKay 2, Hogue, Niang, Dejean-Jones). Technical Fouls: None.
KANSAS | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Lucas | 24 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Ellis | 30 | 2-10 | 2-2 | 2-9 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Mason III | 36 | 2-11 | 8-9 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
Selden Jr | 35 | 8-12 | 8-8 | 1-5 | 0 | 5 | 25 |
Oubre Jr | 17 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Graham | 24 | 2-6 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
Mykhailiuk | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Greene | 16 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Traylor | 10 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mickelson | 8 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
Totals | 200 | 20-53 | 21-23 | 7-34 | 10 | 19 | 66 |
Percentages: FG .377, FT .913. 3-Point Goals: 5-12, .417 (Graham 1-1, Ellis 1-2, Selden Jr. 1-2, Greene 1-3, Mason III 1-3, Oubre Jr. 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 1 (Mickelson). Turnovers: 13 (Oubre Jr. 3, Greene 3, Ellis 2, Selden Jr. 2, Mickelson, Graham, Mason III). Steals: 2 (Greene 2). Technical Fouls: None.
Iowa St. | 23 | 47 | — | 70 |
Kansas | 37 | 29 | — | 66 |
A—19,075. Officials—John Higgins, Joe DeRosa, Doug Sirmons.
Ellis’ knee
The question was simple enough. Kansas’ Perry Ellis returned from a knee sprain and played two games during the Big 12 Tournament. But after being limited in both a semifinal victory over Baylor and championship game loss to Iowa State, would Ellis have been better off resting another weekend to prepare for the NCAA Tournament?
Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t think so.
“He didn’t play particularly great in the tournament, but we didn’t expect him to,” Self said. “The purpose for him playing in this tournament was getting him ready to go next week.”
Ellis, who finished with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting, had another mild scare when he tweaked his knee early in the second half. Ellis returned to the bench and rested for a moment before re-entering the game.
“I did a spin move and it kind of got tweaked a little bit,” Ellis said. “I told (Self) I needed (a breather) real quick, and I just tried to sit out and let it go away for a little bit.”
For now, Ellis said his mobility is still limited by the knee. But he’s hopeful he’ll heal even more before the NCAA Tournament begins next week.
“The whole deal is, he did exactly what he should do,” Self said. “He should get out there and go through it and get hit and see how he feels.
“He’s playing, and it’s only been (11) days. Give him six more days. I thought he did well.”
Seeding thoughts
While Kansas (26-8) appears a good bet to land a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament on the strength of a Big 12 regular-season title and the nation’s toughest strength of schedule, it could be possible that the Jayhawks fall to a No. 3 seed after losing to Iowa State on Saturday. That prospect seems unlikely, though, and one thing appears certain. The Jayhawks will likely be sent to Omaha to open the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
“Now it’s all about mindset,” forward Landen Lucas said. “It’s about attitude, getting people’s minds right. Because having messed up minds can be the reason for us going home.”
Rustin Dodd
This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 9:39 PM with the headline "Jayhawk report: Iowa St. 70, KU 66."