Kansas, Vanderbilt routs lead to Maui Invitational championship game

Hoosiers came out exactly like you’d expect a team that got punched hard yesterday to come out.

Wake Forest upset one ranked opponent in the first round of the Maui Invitational and Tuesday, the Demon Deacons will try to take down another when they meet No. 16 Vanderbilt in the semifinals. The Maui Invitational has always afforded coaches the opportunity to wear, shall we say, more casual attire. Should IN drop two-IN-a-row IN Maui, the perennial hot-seat might start warming up for coach Tom Crean. IN freshman center Thomas Bryant was also schooled by Wake Forest senior center Devin Thomas, but should have an easier time against the much younger Sima. Hartman had to throw a desperation pass. In the first half, perimeter-oriented Konstantinos Mitoglou gave him a ton of problems.

“It obviously wasn’t something we planned for”, Bielfeldt said. “We were hoping to go all the way”. “I think that’s how it played out”. After a short delay, he returned, took the podium and stood for his entire press conference. “But they played a very good ballgame”. “When they get the ball in transition, I think their backcourt is one of the best in the country”, Manning said.

IU was in the driver’s seat midway through the second half.

Of his team’s rout, Vandy coach Stallings said: “I did not anticipate the final margin would be the way it was”.

Kansas will take on Vanderbilt for the tournament championship today at 5 p.m. UCLA (3-2) will play Wake Forest in the third-place game at 2:30 p.m. Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr, and Troy Williams must find a way to create for each other and spread the floor.

For the season, the Jayhawks are taking more than 34 percent of their shots from three-point range.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons came into the game with five players averaging in double figures.

Thomas scored 13 of his game-high 21 points over the final 20 minutes.

“There is a good chance of fatigue and that usually means unforced turnovers”, Crean said.

The Runnin Rebels improved upon a disappointing 37 percent shooting effort in the first half by hitting 57 percent (26-for-46) in the second.

No matter. Had the Hoosiers coughed up an eight-point lead Monday to lose to Wake Forest, they would have run into the same Damian Jones-operated buzz-saw that cut down the Demon Deacons, 86-64.

The way that IN struggled defensively much of the first half and wilted down the stretch is discouraging for a team that spent the offseason trying to get better at that end of the floor.

There were five games on Monday night, with a pair of Big Ten programs facing off against a pair of ACC programs in a preview of the upcoming Big Ten – ACC Challenge. “He carried us in the first half”.

The center dominated with 17 points of his own and 10 rebounds.

It may not have been the prettiest or the best game the Hoosiers have played all season, but it was enough to get the job done.