Live from the Qwest Center...
Kansas begins the road to the Final Four in Omaha, Nebraska.
March 20, 2008
By Rustin Dodd
1:17 p.m.
The Qwest Center officially doesn't have a pulse. The second half has seemed almost ceremonial. Like it had to occur before Kansas could move on to the next round.
Tyrel Reed and Jeremy Case checked in with under 2:00 minutes. Case promptly hit a three.
Conner Teahan and Matt Kleinnmann were right behind them.
The Qwest Center is so quiet, you could hear a KU fan yell, "Put it up," right when Teahan first touched ball...
And it's final...
Kansas 85, Portland State 61...
See you in a bit...
12:40 a.m.
Kansas leads 54-31 at the first television timeout of the second half...
But let's take a look at what's going on around the country...
Anybody keeping an eye on the Georgia - Xavier game?
Geez, Georgia is up 41-30 early in the second half. What an unbelievable story...
A week ago the Georgia Bulldogs were 13-16. Chew on that. Imagine if Iowa State or Colorado had done what Georgia just did...
Also, anybody think it's unfair that Xavier had to play Georgia in the first round? Is the champion of the SEC tournament a true 14-seed?
Other games: Michigan State leads Temple at Halftime 35-26...
12:27 a.m.
I'm living off apples and potato chips (and two cups of coffee) and I'm not sure if the apples cancel out the chips in terms of eating healthy. They were baked lays after all.
The Jayhawks are living off of three-point shooting. You have to wonder how long the Jays can keep this up.
Kansas was 8-of-13 in the first half from beyond the three-point line. Sherron Collins leading the way with three-of-four shooting from behind the arc.
His knee brace doesn't seem to be bothering him (see below).
Brandon Rush also has carried over his aggressive play from the Big 12 tournament. He took a 11 shots in the first half and has 15 points.
11:52 a.m.
Kansas staked a 16-5 lead and promptly stopped playing defense. Portland State went on a 13-8 run, cutting the lead to 24-18.
If Kansas fans were nervous, Kansas' 7-0 run to make it 31-18 helped soothe those butterflies.
Kansas seems to be trying to keep its focus, but two things seem to be holding it back.
1. The crowd... the Qwest Center is dead... Even on big momentum plays -- dunk, three-pointers -- the crowd has stayed relatively silent.
2. Portland State...
Kansas can score a will when it wants... and it just seems like the Jayhawks are having a tough time matching the intensity they showed against Texas...
That's probably to be expected, but it just seems like Kansas is going through the motions at the moment.
...Like the outcome is an afterthought.
11:40 a.m.
Two interesting developments at the first television timeout.
1. Kansas showed very little rust in jumping out to a 13-3 lead...
Portland State just hasn't made shots...not something you want to do against the Jayhawks.
2. More importantly, Sherron Collins kept up the NCAA tournament tradition of having knee issues. He came out today wearing a black knee brace... It'll be interesting to see if he looks limited at all in terms of quickness and speed.
10:35 a.m.
50 minutes until tipoff... Just enough time to break down Kansas' first round opponent, Portland State.
Here's what you need to know about the Vikings.
First off, cheers to Portland State for a quality mascot. The "Viking" is extremely under-utilized.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other Division I schools that use Vikings. You've got, the Minnesota Vikings and then of course, the Shawnee Mission West Vikings. Shawnee Mission West being the high school alma mater of former Vanderbilt standout Matt Freije as well as Hollywood star and former KU student, Paul Rudd.
Back to Portland State.
Record: 23-9, 14-2 in the Big Sky
Leading scorer:
Jeremiah Dominguez, 5-6 junior guard, 14.3 points per game,
Dominguez, who grew up in Salem, Ore., was the Big Sky player of the year.
What their saying:
It's interesting to note that yesterday at the media session, Portland State's players felt a little slighted by their 16 seed. The Vikings argued that they should have been a 14 or 15 seed. It's arguable that Portland State is the best 16 seed in this tournament. They dominated the Big Sky, which has produced NCAA tournament winners before in Montana and Weber State. Remember that Weber State team that shocked North Carolina?
All the analysis might be useless though. If Kansas comes out and play well in the first half, this game could get ugly in a hurry.
10:27 a.m.
Another week, another gorgeous arena.
The pristine Qwest Center in Omaha is a great place for Kansas to begin it's NCAA tournament journey.
The bad news? Kansas plays the early game today. 11:25 start time? Are you kidding me? Don't be surprised if Kansas comes out flat today against Portland State.
Stay tuned for updates, I've got to look for some free breakfast.
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