Hot shooting leads No. 3 Kansas past Texas Southern, 114-71 (Nov 21, 2017)
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Kansas shot the ball from 3-point range better than it ever has in its illustrious history.
Once the Jayhawks found their rhythm from deep, their offense was virtually impossible to stop. Texas Southern coach Mike Davis was in awe.
''I've never seen a team pass the ball and shoot the basketball as well as they do,'' Davis said.
Svi Mykhailiuk scored 21 points, Udoka Azubuike added 20 and No. 3 Kansas cruised to a resounding 114-71 victory over Texas Southern on Tuesday night in the Jayhawks' first game of the Hoophall Miami Invitational.
They got after it early, as with just under 5 minutes remaining in the first half Lagerald Vick hit the team's seventh 3 of the half - a program record. A similar feat was achieved in the second half, when Devonte' Graham hit No. 17, the record for 3s in a game.
''It's super fun,'' Graham said. ''Being active, sharing the ball, it's contagious. Just making that extra pass, and when the ball's going through the hoop like that, it just feeds energy into us.''
Graham, Vick and Marcus Garrett all finished with a double-double for Kansas, as Vick posted 19 points and 10 rebounds, Graham had 17 points and 11 assists, and Garrett logged 13 points and 11 boards.
Texas Southern's Demontrae Jefferson led all scorers with 24 points. Donte Clark added 19 and had a game-high 14 rebounds as well.
Davis has seen plenty of high-powered offenses run by Bill Self, as the pair used to meet regularly when they coached at Illinois and Indiana, respectively. After watching a performance like this, he has no doubts over his former rival's future chances.
''I've been around for a long time,'' Davis said. ''If you play basketball like they play basketball, they'll be cutting the net down in April.''
BIG PICTURE
Kansas continues to thrive without freshman Billy Preston, who remains benched as the school investigates a single-car on-campus incident involving him earlier in the month. His absence has left Self with just two big men, but the lack of depth has yet to truly hurt the Jayhawks.
Texas Southern is still searching for its first win after facing a daunting schedule to start the season. Even though the Tigers have yet to find themselves in the win column, games against bigger schools like Kansas will continue to provide invaluable experience regardless of the score.
''It was a great opportunity for us,'' Davis said. ''We leave tomorrow to go play Clemson on Friday, and this game right here will get us ready for our next game.''
T'ED UP
Azubuike earned a technical foul midway through the first half when he hung on the rim following a thunderous dunk.
''He deserved it,'' Self said of the technical. ''I told the official - he said `I hate calling that,' I said `but you got to call it.' I mean, that's good for us ... he has a bad habit of doing that, and I was glad they called it because that may end up not costing us where we really need it, in a close game.''
SARCASTIC SELF
While Self agreed that the Jayhawks shot the ball about as well as they possibly could have, he wasn't overtly enthused by the record, as per usual.
''I couldn't be happier. I think we should celebrate for a week,'' Self said. ''My reaction is we made shots. That doesn't mean anything to me.''
MODEL FOR SUCCESS
''Love the way they play,'' Davis said of the Jayhawks. ''That's the way I want my team to play. When we get to January and play in our conference, that's the way we want to be playing basketball.''
UP NEXT
Kansas will continue Hoophall Miami Invitational play Friday night with another home game against Oakland, which has already dropped its first two games of the tournament.
Texas Southern will once again face an uphill battle for its first victory as it travels to Clemson on Friday.
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