Jayhawks head back to Sweet 16 with 75-56 rout of UNLV

OMAHA, Neb. -- Kansas made sure Blowout City lived up to its name one last time.

Capping off two days of mismatches in Omaha, the top-seeded Jayhawks pulled away from UNLV in the second half and romped to a 75-56 victory Saturday at the NCAA's Midwest Regional, another emphatic team effort by a deep, talented group out to win the proud program's first national title in 20 years.

Mario Chalmers led the way with 17 points, but he had plenty of help. Russell Robinson scored 13, Brandon Rush 12, Sherron Collins 10, Darrell Arthur 9 and Darnell Jackson 8.

Good luck trying to find the right player to stop.

All the drama was in Tampa and elsewhere -- everything in Nebraska went pretty much according to plan. Kansas State was the only lower-seeded team to win in six games, and there was no chance for a buzzer-beater unless the NCAA had changed the rules to allow a 14-point shot.

The closest margin in Omaha was 13 points, and the Jayhawks (33-3) sure did their part to make sure everyone could get a head start on their partying in the Old Market. They blew out No. 16 Portland State 85-61 in the opener, then handled the eighth-seeded Runnin' Rebels (27-8) with nearly as much ease to reach the round of 16 for the second year in a row.

The first half was close -- Kansas led by only five -- but that was just putting off the inevitable.

The Runnin' Rebels barely had enough personnel to finish the game. With only 10 players in uniform to begin with, they had one starter, Joe Darger, foul out with more than 9ˆ½ minutes remaining; another, Rene Rougeau, quickly followed him to the bench with his fifth.

UNLV's offense basically consisted of 6-footer Wink Adams trying to drive the lane, draw a foul and hit the free throws. He scored 25 points -- hitting 15 of 17 at the line -- but Curtis Terry was the only other player in double figures with 12.

The Rebels shot 27 percent (12 of 45) and were outrebounded 36-26. Kansas shot 58 percent.