TULSA, Okla., Sporting Alert — No. 1 seed Kansas beat No. 16 seed UC Davis 100-62 in its NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional First Round game here in Tulsa on Friday night.
Frank Mason had 22 points and eight assists and shot 8-for-14 from the floor for the Jayhawks, as top seeds stayed perfect since the NCAA Tournament expanded with a 133-0 record against No. 16 seeds,
Freshman Josh Jackson, who missed the Big 12 Conference Tournament, added 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds.
“I’ve been really excited to play for a while now, been itching to play for about a week and a half, so just coming out there today felt really good to get back out there with the guys,” Jackson said.
“When I step out there on that court, I’m really not thinking about anything else but basketball, something I’ve been doing for most of my life.”
Devonte’ Graham made four 3-pointers in tallying 16 points with four assists and four blocks for Kansas (29-4) to win its opening game for the 11th straight year.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk ended with 16 points and Laden Lucas added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Big 12 regular season champion, which shot 56.3 percent from the floor on 36-of-64 shooting.
Chima Moneke scored 20 points and nine rebounds to lead UC Davis (23-13), which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament.
Brynton Lemar finished with 17 points and three steals for the Aggies, who shot 33.9 percent and missed 16 of their 20 3-point attempts.
“We just had as emotional a locker room as I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve been a part of a lot of teams,” UC Davis coach Jim Les said.
“They accomplished a lot of wonderful feats, and I don’t want this game to take away from (that). There’s a lot to be grateful for.”
Kansas started out slowly, but picked up the pace to score 50 points in both halves.
“We were a little nervous early, anxious early, and they certainly made it very difficult to score early on,” Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters.
“And then, I thought from about the 12-minute mark of the first half, the lid came off the basket and I thought we executed very well.”
The Jayhawks will meet the winner of the Michigan State v Miami on Sunday in the second round.
