KANSAS CITY, Mo.– When top seed Kansas plays like it did here last night against Purdue, it has an extra gear than no one in the NCAA tournament can match.

The Jayhawks went to warp speed in the second half of the Midwest Region semi-finals, blowing by the Big Ten Boilermakers, 98-66, to advance to an Elite Eight match up against Oregon at the Sprint Center Saturday.
It was a frightening display of speed and shooting skill and a nationally televised showcase for senior guard Frank Mason III, who poured in 26 points, making 9 of 11 shots; and had seven rebounds and seven assists, making a compelling case for National Player of the Year.

Guard Devonte Graham also had 26 points and 6-8 freshman forward Josh Jackson– who brought back memories of Syracuse’s freshman Carmelo Anthony during the Orange’s 2003 national championship run– had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (31-4) who led 47-40 at half before just wearing the Boilers out with a 51 point second half.

No one, it seems, can control this team in the open floor because of the creativity of the Jayhawks’ four guard offense. Kansas shot 54.8 percent for the game and made 15 threes. They even out rebounded the bigger Boilers, 36-29. The highlight of the blowout was a steal by Lagerald Vick, who turned a breakaway into a spectacular 360-degree dunk, sending the sellout crowd that was dominated by Kansas fans into a frenzy.

It has been 22 years since this town hosted a regional.

The Jayhawks turned it into a personal celebration that spread throughout the state. especially in nearby Lawrence.

“On a game where you get in a neutral site anything can happen,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “They’re going to play a good Oregon team and it is here in Kansas City and they have earned that right. If they play like they did the second half they can’t (be stopped). You cannot let them get in transition. They’re going to keep getting those opportunities and shoot the way those guards shot then they can’t be stopped. They don’t shoot like that every single night.”

The rest of the field can only hope so.
It was a wild night of basketball. Third seed Oregon held off Michigan, 69-68, in the first game of the doubleheader. In the Western Regional semi-finals, top-seed Gonzaga rallied in the final minute to defeat West Virginia, 61-58; and Xavier used a 12-2 run at the end of the game to stun second seed Arizona, 73-71.

Maybe North Carolina, UCLA or Kentucky will leave a similar impression in the South Region semi-finals Friday night.

But no one has been more impressive than Kansas in the first three games of this tournament. And no back court has been more dominant.

“We have two point guards and Frank is on the ball probably 65, 70% of the time, but Devonte, we saw tonight, that he’s awfully good on the ball, too, coming off ball screens and things,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

“We’re spoiled. We’re spoiled because our situation inside, if (center) Landen (Lucas) were to get in foul trouble it could make you nervous. A situation on the perimeter you’ve always got, in my opinion, an All-American-type guard to be the leader and run your team. To have two guys out there playing like they’re playing, I think just gives everybody confidence and it can help totally control the pace of the game.”