LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Whether it was nifty moves near the basket or a jumper that fell right all night, Perry Ellis was determined to do whatever he could to push top-seeded Kansas a little bit deeper in the NCAA Tournament.
And thanks to teammates who followed the senior forward’s cool lead, the Jayhawks are one step closer to the Final Four.
Ellis scored 27 points to match a season high, Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 and Kansas topped No. 5 Maryland for a 79-63 South Region semifinal victory Thursday night. The win put the Jayhawks back into the Elite 8 for the first time since 2012, when they went on to reach the NCAA championship game before losing to Kentucky.
It took time for the Jayhawks (33-4) to get going. Once they finally seized the lead late in the first half, everything else fell into place for their 17th straight victory. They emerged from the break by making their first six shots and steadily took control behind Ellis, who made 10 of 17 from the field.
“They just tell me to be more aggressive, and that’s what I try to do,” said Ellis, who also scored 27 against Oklahoma on Jan. 4.
Selden was right there with 7-of-16 shooting to help Kansas earn a berth in Saturday night’s regional final against Villanova.
The Terrapins (27-9) dictated the early tempo and briefly engaged in a back-and-forth game with the Jayhawks before eventually falling behind the tournament favorite. Rasheed Sulaimon led Maryland with 18 points.
Landen Lucas added 14 points and 11 rebounds while Frank Mason III had 11 points for Kansas, which outworked Maryland 43-28 on the glass and outscored the taller Terps 40-28 in the paint.
Better shooting also helped the Jayhawks, who made 14 of 25 in the second half and finished 29 of 62 from the field (47 percent).
Kansas just had to take its time to slow down Maryland, which entered the game with every starter averaging at least 11 points per contest. Its main focus was keeping Maryland guard Melo Trimble (17 points) from getting hot, a strategy that worked as the sophomore made just 5 of 16 from the field with just one 3-pointer.
The Jayhawks defense kept other Maryland players from becoming factors on both ends as well and ended up holding the Terps to just 40 percent shooting including 35 percent after halftime. In fact, Kansas was so effective that Maryland made just 8 of 23 shots in the final 20 minutes.
“I thought we played just superb,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought (in) the second half, we defended, we rebounded.”
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon agreed and said, “they were just great on defense. We’re a good offensive team, we’re hard to guard, and they really locked in on us.”
Maryland dictated the early tempo before Kansas regrouped late in the first half to eventually grab a 36-34 lead at the break.
Sulaimon got the Terps started with the first of two 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to provide an 18-12 lead, significant considering they made just 1 of 18 from long range in their second-round win over Hawaii.
Kansas went 5 1/2 minutes without a field goal but didn’t flinch and eventually fought back to take its first lead at 27-26 on two Devonte’ Graham free throws with 5:33 remaining in the half. The teams then traded 6-2 runs with the Jayhawks making the last one for a slim edge, better than they could have expected after shooting 41 percent.
Ellis provided the steadying force with 12 points and added a couple more baskets during a 14-9 run for a 50-43 lead, a stretch in which the Jayhawks made their first six shots to start the second half.
Kansas was playing the way it wanted by that point and kept up the tempo in building a 16-point lead with four minutes left.
Woodard, Hield lead Oklahoma’s Sweet 16 romp
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Oklahoma Sooners proved they can thrive quite nicely in the NCAA Tournament even if Buddy Hield isn’t going off.
Because of that, the Sooners are one win away from returning to the Final Four for the first time in 14 seasons.
Jordan Woodard scored 22 points and Hield had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Sooners to a 77-63 romp over third-seeded and cold-shooting Texas A&M in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday.
It was a nice display of teamwork by the Sooners (28-7), who had five players in double figures as they advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009. They’ll play Saturday against Oregon, which beat Duke Thursday night.
“That’s even better,” Hield said. “I’m able to have fun around there and watch my teammates make shots and make plays.”
Hield had scored 27 and 36 points in the Sooners’ first- and second-round victories.
“We shared the ball really well,” he said. “I’m real proud of the guys for stepping up and making shots. We were just taking advantage of opportunities. We tried to drive-and-kick and when they doubled somebody I tried to make the right pass.”
Oklahoma lost to North Carolina in the South Regional final in 2009. Oklahoma is trying to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2002, when it lost to Indiana in the national semifinals.
Tyler Davis scored 17 for A&M (28-9), which reached the Sweet 16 with a thrilling double-overtime victory against Northern Iowa after rallying from 12 points down in the final 44 seconds of regulation.
The Sooners made sure it would require a big comeback in this one. They blew open a close game by going on a 19-4 run during the last 7:42 of the first half to take a 45-26 lead. The Sooners forced the Aggies into bad shots and turnovers, and Woodard was the catalyst on offense.
Woodard started the decisive first half run with a 3-pointer and had another shot from behind the arc with 3:15 to go. He also fed Khadeem Lattin for a slam dunk and then hit a sweet, off-balance bank shot as the shot clock was close to expiring with about 20 seconds left.
The Aggies went more than seven minutes without a field goal. Tonny Trocha-Morelos made a layup to pull them to 24-20 with 9:32 to go before halftime.
“They just did a great job defensively,” Davis said. “They made us pay for our missed shots, they hit 3s, we weren’t knocking down our free throws, they never let you get comfortable in the post.”
The best the Aggies could do was go on a 7-2 run to open the second half. All that did was pull them to 47-33, and the Sooners responded with a 6-2 burst, with Ryan Spangler making three straight shots.
Oklahoma shot 49.2 percent while holding the Aggies to 34.2 percent. Texas A&M added to its misery by making only six of 28 3-pointers and just 13 of 24 free throws.
No. 2 seed Villanova routs Miami 92-69 in South
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Jenkins each scored 21 points, and No. 2 seed Villanova never trailed in routing third-seeded Miami 92-69 Thursday night in the South Region semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats (32-5) are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2009, when they reached the Final Four. It’s their third trip to the regional final with coach Jay Wright. They turned in quite the offensive performance with former coach Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to the 1985 national championship, sitting nearby.
Villanova will play either top-seeded Kansas or No. 5 seed Maryland on Saturday in the regional final.
Daniel Ochefu added 17 points, and Josh Hart had 11 for Villanova, which shot 62.7 percent (32 of 51).
Miami (27-8) now is 0-3 in this round and 0-2 with coach Jim Larranaga.
Sheldon McClellan scored 26 points for Miami, and Angel Rodriguez added 13.
