Jayhawks Fly Past Huskers

Lawrence, Kan. --- Aleks Maric led the Huskers with a game-high 14 points and picked up a milestone with his 600th career rebound, but Kansas used a 14-0 first-half run to extend its lead to double figures before cruising to a 92-39 victory over Nebraska Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Nebraska's 39 points were its fewest in a game since 1984, while the 53-point loss marked the second-largest loss in school history and the largest since the Jayhawks beat the Huskers 102-46 in Lawrence on Feb. 8, 1958.

Maric opened with a basket just 51 seconds into the game and the Huskers held tight the first eight minutes. He added a pair of free throws and Ryan Anderson put in a pull-up jumper as the Huskers tied the game at 6-6 before Brandon Rush scored five straight to open an 11-6 KU advantage, forcing NU to use the first of three opening-period timeouts.

Anderson stopped Rush's run with a 3-point basket at the 15:01 mark and, after a strong defensive stretch by the Huskers, NU pulled even on Maric's turnaround hook shot three minutes later. Darrell Arthur then put the Jayhawks back up by two, but Marcus Perry answered with a long two-pointer to knot the score at 13-all with just more than 11 minutes remaining.

Sherron Collins' 3-pointer in transition pushed the KU lead back to three and Russell Robinson's layup a minute later made it 18-13 in favor of the Jayhawks. Paul Velander got the Huskers going again as he nailed a trey and Perry picked up a loose ball and drove the basket before Maric put back the miss with a two-handed dunk to tie the game at 18-18 with 7:08 left before intermission. 

Kansas then turned up the defense as it held the Huskers to just two more baskets the rest of the half. Darnell Jackson's basket and six straight points from Collins extended KU's advantage to five and started a 14-point swing for the Jayhawks. A free throw from Arthur, a trey from Mario Chalmers and Rush's third basket of the half extended the lead to 32-18.

Maric snapped the 14-0 Jayhawk run with a strong baseline move to the basket, scoring his 10th point at the 2:46 mark and pulling NU back within 12. Maric added another basket less than 40 seconds later and the Huskers went into the intermission trailing by 14, 36-22.

The 6-11, 270-pounder from Sydney, Australia, led NU with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting in the opening frame and tied for the team lead with three rebounds. His final board of the first half was the 600th of his career, as he became just the 15th player in NU history with 600 rebounds and only the third Husker to reach the mark before the end of his junior season.

Neither team shot well from outside the arc in the first period as NU hit just 2-of-13 long-range attempts while the Jayhawks were limited to three 3-pointers on 13 tries. KU made the difference inside the arc as it hit 12-of-17 in the paint while winning the battle on the boards with a 20-13 advantage at the break.

After the break, Maric got back on the board 11 seconds into the period and held KU scoreless until Julian Wright hit the second of two free throws at the 17:29 mark. That started an 11-0 KU run -- including 3-pointers by Rush and Chalmers -- to push the lead to 47-28 before the Huskers called their final timeout of the game at the 14:30 mark.

Maric's basket was the last for the Huskers until Perry hit a runner with 14:17 to play, as NU missed six straight shots. NU hit just 7-of-24 shots in the second half, while going just 1-of-7 at the free throw line.

While Nebraska struggled to score, Kansas was red hot, hitting 20-of-30 shots in the second half, including 8-of-12 on 3-pointers. After missing their first five tries from behind the arc, the Jayhawks connected on 11-of-20 the rest of the way while Nebraska managed just 16 total field goals. The Huskers shot just 31.4 percent while Kansas hit a blistering 58.3 percent, including 44 percent from 3-point range.

Kansas not only held a decided advantage in shooting percentage, but the Jayhawks out-rebounded the Huskers, 42-24, and forced 14 turnovers which led to 25 points. Brandon Rush and Darnell Arthur led five Jayhawks in double-figures with 13 each as 13 different KU players scored in the game.

Nebraska (15-10, 4-7 Big 12) returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 21, when the Huskers travel to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. and can be seen in Nebraska on FSN Midwest and in Texas on FSN Southwest.