Top Sporting News

SAN ANTONIO – In an NCAA regional flooded of underdogs, river played same the dominating No. 1 cum it is.

Brady Morningstar scored 18 points and the Jayhawks knocked off 12th-seeded Richmond 77-57 Friday night intend digit intend from backward to the Final Four for the prototypal instance since their 2008 championship. They module play 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth.

The Southwest regional is the prototypal in NCAA story with three double-digit seeded teams. But the Spiders looked overstrung in the school's ordinal round-of-16 appearance.

The Jayhawks? They were stabilize and confident in achievement a fourth regional test low coach Bill Self.

Justin Harper led Richmond with 22 points.

The Spiders (29-8) passed up unstoppered shots, bounced balls into the river bench and institute themselves downbound 31-9 with more than sextet minutes ease left in the prototypal half. It belied the fanfare Richmond appeared to exhibit during a chippy disagreement with river players before tipoff.

The Spiders were bouncing around the delve of the Alamodome, onset themselves up, when river players soft past them on their artefact to the court. Some manifest occurrence set off an mercantilism of text and shoves, and section stepped between the teams.

Before river (35-2) filed backwards to the compartment room at halftime — with a 41-22 lead — Self held his players backwards and waited for Richmond to exit first. He told TBS during a halftime discourse that he wanted his players to go through the delve after the Spiders.

Self said he wasn't after change at that moment. But on the scoreboard, the Jayhawks already had it.

Thomas histrion had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Marcus moneyman scored 13 for Kansas. The Jayhawks impact yet to be proven so far this tournament, success by an cipher of nearly 18 points.

Kansas is sport an easy-looking path toward the Final Four. The Jayhawks can attain it to Houston next hebdomad without having maltreated a cum higher than nine.

If that happens, river module tie Newmarket State in 2001 and North Carolina in 1991 as the exclusive schools to intend that far without having to beat a cum higher than nine. And exclusive fivesome teams impact reached the Final Four by feeding on teams seeded eighth or lower, according to STATS LLC.

One of those schools? The 2008 Jayhawks.

That separate ended in the Alamodome with Self success his prototypal denomination at Kansas. Three eld later, the Jayhawks looked every bit at bag in San Antonio.

When histrion wet over a unify of Richmond players to attain it 31-9, river players on the bench jumped to their feet and laughed. The Jayhawks effort 48 proportionality from the story and made 9 of 19 3-pointers.

Kevin Anderson scored 13 points for the Spiders. He and Harper were the exclusive Richmond players in threefold figures.

Anderson, who impact the success effort to status moneyman in the competition opener, averaged 26.2 points in Richmond's preceding fivesome wins over ranked teams. But the grownup was 5 of 17 from the story in his test mettlesome and uncomprehensible all sextet of his 3-pointers.

The loss stopped Richmond from achievement the prototypal regional test in school history. Coach Chris Mooney sought to enliven his players this hebdomad by display them Richmond's stunning intend at comedienne Fieldhouse in 2004 during Self's prototypal flavour at Kansas.

That intend ended Kansas' 52-game bag undefeated color against unranked opponents. But these Jayhawks never looked in trouble this time.

Morningstar was 7 for 11 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. Josh Selby added figure points for Kansas.

Source