You might not have noticed the seeding difference for the first 15 minutes of Thursday’s opening-round matchup between No. 1 Kansas and No. 16 Howard at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Then, the top-seeded Jayhawks flexed their muscles and closed out the first half on a 19-5 run to remove any doubt. With a 50-37 lead over the Bison at the break, KU went on to cruise to a 96-68 victory in the Round of 64.
Only once in the history of the NCAA Tournament has a 16-seed ever beat a No. 1 seed, so Thursday’s outcome wasn’t ever really up in the air, especially since Kansas was favored by over 21 points via the pregame betting odds. Yet Howard did catch everyone by surprise to start, using its platoon system and playing up-and-down the floor.
After a sluggish start that included Jalen Wilson picking up two quick fouls, the Jayhawks eventually got things going. Freshman Gradey Dick was the biggest example of that, as he hit a pair of first-half 3-pointers after committing a few early defensive miscues.
Once settled in, it was business as usual for the defending champs, who now need just five more wins to go back-to-back.
Box score: Kansas 96, Howard 68
Dick recorded the first double-double of his career, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He added five assists and three steals for good measure. Wilson finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. K.J. Adams Jr. (13), Dajuan Harris Jr. (11) and Kevin McCullar Jr. (10) all joined them in the double figures.
Kansas was still without Bill Self on the sideline, as Norm Roberts served as the acting head coach once again. It remains to be seen if Self will be back at the helm for the Round of 32 this weekend.
KU is set to face the winner of the Illinois-Arkansas matchup on Saturday.
