Kansas advances past Michigan State, 90-70

“I think a lot of a lot of teams could have folded”.

Top-seeded Kansas turned away a Michigan State rally in the second half, getting 23 points from freshman Josh Jackson to win 90-70 in a Midwest Regional second-round game in Tulsa. “There was two minutes left, I dropped them and I had to keep playing, and we kept playing and kept fighting and hit the glass and got crucial offensive rebounds”, Dorsey said. With that in mind, Mason III and Swanigan will prove their worth on the biggest stage in college basketball, which is, of course, the NCAA tournament.

Everything about Josh Jackson’s demeanor screamed this game was personal, from the back-and-forth chirping with childhood friend Miles Bridges to his emphatic late-game dunk and celebration.

The Jayhawks led 54-53 with 12 minutes to play when Jackson recognized he was isolated against Spartans reserve Kyle Aherns.

The Jayhawks ran like halfbacks and grunted like fullbacks. It just sounds more formidable when you say it. Matt McQuaid, think about how you think of him now. “We have to feed off their energy”. The Jayhawks are averaging 83.2 points on offense while allowing 72.1 on defense. MSU closed the half on a 6-0 run to bring it back to single digits, but never managed to close the gap. “. We wanted to beat his brains in today”. “This crowd was great (at BOK Center)”.

“We played our ass off”. Those deficiencies were on display during MSU’s 90-70 loss to Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday. MSU’s big men will go from being a depleted unit that was taken advantage of to being the team’s biggest strength as Ward finds himself in the thick of the Big Ten player of the year race. “There was some pressure”.

All eyes are on returning to Kansas City and playing the Purdue Boilermakers. “He’s always gonna get on you, but it’s all teaching and you just got to take in the spirit it’s given and learn from it”.

Eventually, he would applaud Ellis for his unconventional “best” senior season. “And I just had to realize it was just another game, and it was about Kansas basketball versus Michigan State, and it wasn’t about me versus Miles”. He knows all those guys.

KU survived a mistake by Lagerald Vick, who slammed at 7:27 off a lob from Graham to give the Jayhawks a 69-59 lead. With 8:38 left to play, Ward was called for his fourth foul and put the Jayhawks into the bonus. All five starters scored in double figures with Frank Mason III leading the charge with 22 points and eight assists.

They will settle that score Sunday at 4:10 in the Round of 32. “He went out there confident, had a big game and I’m looking forward to seeing more of that”.

The Spartans leader followed that with high praise for his players and their effort this season.

The day before the game, the Spartans’ coach reminisced about recruiting Jackson and said: “I got on my hands and knees and begged him”. “I just hit some big shots”. We extended our lead by step-back threes, and-ones. Critical of MSU’s players – he told them so in the locker room. “Certainly that’s a tribute to the skill set over here”, Self added. That led to more open looks from outside and the Jayhawks banged home five triples after halftime.

“It was a tough battle”, Lucas said.