Jayhawks roll over Red Raiders

By By Ryan Colaianni (Contact)

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Brandon Rush got loose in the open court during the second half and went up to throw down a reverse dunk.

Besides thinking about making the dunk, the freshman guard was thinking about another accomplishment — getting the acrobatic highlight on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10.

With two SportsCenter anchors in attendance, there is a good chance that Rush saw himself various times on television after Kansas’ 86-52 victory over Texas Tech Monday night.

“He‘s pretty quick witted. He‘s got a lot of one-liners after a game,” Kansas coach Bill Self said about Rush wanting to make Sportscenter.

The Jayhawks played their third game in six days, but saved the best showing for last. Kansas created 21 turnovers and ran well in transition to produce points.

“It was real fun just to go down and make an easy basket,” Rush said.

Nearly nothing went wrong for Kansas last night. Whether it was a Julian Wright shot. which hit sharply off the rim, straight into the air and back down through the basket, or a Darnell Jackson dunk off a missed offensive shot, the Jayhawks dominated the game from start to finish.

Kansas kept a quick pace to the game and outran Texas Tech, which came off an overtime victory on Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma State. Kansas coach Bill Self said that the final score didn’t tell the entire game.

“We caught a tired team tonight and they missed some shots that were open. Certainly we can play better,” Self said.

Kansas never trailed in the game and received another balanced scoring effort.

Three players scored in double figures and 11 different KU players registered points.

Rush, who tied a career high with 24 points and also hauled in 11 rebounds, led the Jayhawks. It was the eighth straight game that Rush scored in double figures.

Rush helped put the game away early in the second half, scoring 12 points in the half’s opening eight minutes. Rush drove toward the basket for baskets and poured in three-point shots. He drilled 4-of-6 long-distance attempts.

The reverse dunk in the second half wasn’t Rush’s lone big dunk. Rush dunked the ball again in the first half. He stole the ball, sprinted to the basket, leaped into the air and threw his arm backward for a tomahawk slam.

In front of a rauchous crowd, Kansas won its fourth straight contest.

“I don’t want to play Kansas right now,” Rush said. “Those boys are tough right now.”

Basketball Notes:

Chalmers shines

Freshman Mario Chalmers was named Big 12 rookie of the week by the conference on Monday. Chalmers averaged 18 points and 6.5 assists during two games last week. Chalmers is the second player from Kansas to be named player of the week.

Chasing greatness

After Rush’s 22 points, he currently is averaging 14.6 points per game, which has tied him for the most points per game as a freshman with Danny Manning.

Back in the groove

Sasha Kaun’s double-digit point effort was the first from Kaun since a Jan. 4 game against Yale.

Halftime honor

The Kansas women’s volleyball team was recognized at halftime by athletics director Lew Perkins.

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