Kansas Jayhawks 77, Richmond Spiders 57
Kansas has to be laughing right now at the NCAA Tournament seeding committee. They inherited a fairly easy bracket to get to the Final Four (although that sort of competitive value hardly helped Pitt), and now they won't even have to face any team from their bracket higher than a NINE seed. #12 Richmond was the latest victim, and they were thoroughly dominated from beginning to end.
It couldn't have gone more swimmingly for Kansas, who dominated one of their biggest strengths while shutting down Richmond on the other side. The best two point offense in the country actually didn't shoot all that great inside, as Richmond's interior defense held them down to only 47% shooting. It was the outside that killed them; the Spiders had to zone up to ensure minimal damage for Kansas from the inside, and the Jayhawks stroked nine threes that eventually made all the difference offensively. Combine that with Kansas's excellent three point defense shutting down Richmond's three point offense (only 4 for 26), and that was the big difference in this one.
Brady Morningstar put up 18 points and knocked down four triples, Tyshawn Taylor distributed 7 assists, and Thomas Robinson picked up the slack for the Morris brothers offensively (who were the focus of Richmond's defensive efforts most of the night) with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris still managed to get 9 offensive boards and 13 rebounds. Justin Harper managed 22 points and 9 rebounds to lead Richmond, but Kevin Anderson only put up 13 points on 5 of 17 shooting.
Kansas moves onto face VCU (who beat Florida State in overtime) in the Elite 8. For more reaction from Jayhawk fans, head over to Rock Chalk Talk.