Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mario Chalmers didn’t get the memo that Kansas was supposed to be tired and lethargic on Thursday. Kansas’ NCAA tournament opener started at 11:25 a.m., and conventional wisdom held that the Jayhawks would still be snoozing at tip-off. Chalmers, whose first class on Thursday is usually at 9:30 a.m., wasn’t buying it.
Photo Gallery
Kansas Basketball vs. Portland State
Photo gallery of men's basketball game against Portland State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament Thursday at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
“It’s our first game of the tournament,” said with a seemingly incredulous look. “We were just exited to get it started.”
No surprise then that Chalmers looked plenty awake on Thursday morning.
Four days after a career-high 30-point performance against Texas in the Big 12 tournament championship, the junior guard picked up right where he left off.
Chalmers scored 16 points, made three of his six three-point attempts, and helped spark Kansas to a 85-61 victory against Portland State.
“When his feet set, he’s almost automatic,” senior guard Russell Robinson said.
Chalmers, who also finished with four assists and three steals, helped Kansas take control early against Portland State.
After hitting a three-pointer to give Kansas a 7-3 lead, Chalmers made an impact on the defensive end. Chalmers blocked a shot, saved the ball from going out of bounds and ignited a fast break that ended in a Darrell Arthur dunk.
“Anytime you get a dunk start off the game like that,” Chalmers said. “It’s going to bring a lot of energy to the team.”
Chalmers added another steal and a dunk a few possessions later to give Kansas a 31-18 lead.
Chalmers quick hands drive opposing guards batty, but it’s his three-point stroke that continues to be Chalmers’ weapon of choice.
After Thursday’s victory, the junior is shooting 48.1 percent from behind the arc this season, and he’s really heated up in March. Chalmers is 18-of-33 from three-point line in Kansas’ last seven games.
But if Chalmers gained any extra confidence after hitting a career-high eight three-pointers against Texas on Sunday, he’s not admitting it.
Chalmers claims he’s felt confident all season long.
“I’m looking for him all the time,” Robinson, who finished with five points and four assists, said. “I’m really confident in his shot, he’s really confident in his shot.”
And the Jayhawks have good reason to be shooting with confidence. After a mid-February swoon that saw the Jayhawks’ outside shooting percentages plummet, Kansas hasn’t missed much the last three games. Kansas has made 52.3 percent of its threes during that three-game span, including 12-of-25 against Portland State.
“Brandon hit shots, Mario hit shots, and Sherron hit shots,” Robinson said. “We all fed off of that.”
But Kansas coach Bill Self isn’t totally sold on Kansas as a three-point shooting dynamo.
“Well, we’re not knocking everything down,” Self said “We can’t rely on making three’s like we have the last three ballgames, but certainly it’s a nice bonus.
“My personal opinion is if we could just guard a little better and rebound a little better, our offense would get better, because we would generate points off of defense.”
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