MINNEAPOLIS — A one-minute stretch in the middle of the second half of Kansas’ 84-74 victory against North Dakota State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament illustrated the whole game.

Sherron Collins made a 15-foot jump shot on one end of the floor. Before most fans even had a chance to look up, North Dakota State’s Ben Woodside answered with a layup. Ten seconds later, Collins made a layup after flying down the court. Then, Woodside converted on a three-point play.

Forget Jayhawks against Bison. Friday morning at the Metrodome featured Collins versus Woodside.

Photo Gallery

NCAA First Round, North Dakota State Bison

A photo gallery of the Jayhawks 84-74 first round win against the North Dakota State Bison at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn.

“I wasn’t thinking of it like that,” Collins, a junior guard, said. “But it definitely looked like it and felt like it at times.”

Collins finished with a career-high 32 points on 12-for-26 shooting. Woodside, a senior, recorded 37 points on 13-for-23 shooting. So yes, Woodside probably won the individual matchup.

But Woodside didn’t have Cole Aldrich. Therefore, Woodside’s performance was wasted. Aldrich’s 23 points and 13 rebounds were the difference for the Jayhawks.

“I thought Cole and Sherron were offensively — I’m not going to say defensively — as good as either one of them had been all year,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

Collins and Aldrich, a sophomore center, dominated in spurts. Collins opened the game with 13 points in seven minutes to give Kansas an 18-17 lead it never relinquished.

Aldrich wouldn’t let it happen. North Dakota State cut it to a three-point game three times in the second half. On two of those occasions, Aldrich prevented the Bison from getting any closer with dunks.

Those moments pleased Self the most. He warned the Jayhawks at halftime, when they led 43-34, that the Bison would make runs that needed to be weathered. Mission accomplished.

“I’m leaving out of here thinking we played good,” Self said. “One thing that was impressive to me was how much poise we showed when the game got tight.”

North Dakota State appeared to have one last gasp with two minutes remaining when Woodside hit a three-point shot to make the score 73-67. The Bison played tight defense on the other end and forced Collins into a wild layup attempt that ricocheted off the glass.

But Aldrich caught it and slammed it down for a putback dunk while being fouled. He converted on the free throw to make it a three-point play. Score: 76-67. Game: Ended.

After the highlight-worthy play, Aldrich hummed the Sportscenter theme song into Collins’ ear.

“It was really fun,” Aldrich said. “It was one of those things where the ball came off at the right place and I took it and threw it in.”

Woodside scored two more points before the buzzer sounded. Although Woodside’s final basket meant little, it appropriately showed that Kansas found no way to slow him all day.

Self gave five different players a chance to guard Woodside. None of them had prolonged success. Collins’ offense was the only way to combat Woodside.

“At one point, it seemed like there wasn’t anybody else on the court but them two,” junior guard Tyrone Appleton, who played six minutes against Woodside, said. “They were going basket-for-basket.”

Woodside wound up with more points, but Collins advanced. That’s the benefit of having Aldrich as a teammate.