No. 2 Jayhawks Romp to Remain Unbeaten

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer

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LAWRENCE, Kan. —

Darnell Jackson had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 2 Kansas remain unbeaten Wednesday night with an 83-59 romp over Iowa State.

The Jayhawks (19-0, 4-0 Big 12), one of two unbeaten teams in Division I when the night began, dominated almost from the start, leading by 10 at halftime en route to their 33rd victory in their last 34 games.

The 6-foot-8 Jackson, with his first double-double of the season, scored six points during a 15-5 run in the second half that gave Kansas a comfortable 64-41 lead over the Cyclones (12-7, 2-2), who had won nine of their last 11 but hadn't played a ranked team all year.

The spree began with a play that made the sellout crowd in venerable Allen Fieldhouse catch its breath. On a fast break, junior guard Brandon Rush was fouled under the basket and came down very hard on his right knee, where he still wears a brace after undergoing ACL surgery last June.

But Rush bounced right back up and hit two free throws, and finished with 11 points to go with a career-high six assists. Mario Chalmers rebounded an Iowa State miss and then hit a 3-pointer for a 54-36 lead, then Jackson made two consecutive baskets.

Darrell Arthur had 16 points for Kansas, which shot exactly 50 percent and held Iowa State to 31 percent, including 6 of 28 3-pointers. Chalmers had 10 points and Russell Robinson had 11. Wesley Johnson, the current player of the week in the Big 12, had 21 points, giving him 65 points in his last three games. Craig Brackins had 13.

With their deep front court, the Jayhawks outscored Iowa State 42-16 in the paint

With about 3 minutes left, Kansas coach Bill Self emptied his bench onto the floor. With almost 2 minutes to play, Iowa State coach Greg McDermott did the same, leaving almost entirely reserves to end the game for both teams.

In the first half, the Jayhawks took a 16-point lead on Sherron Collins' steal and driving layup and appeared to be pulling away. But then Bryan Peterson and Johnson canned 3-pointers as the Cyclones ended the first half on a 6-0 run and went into intermission trailing 42-32.

Iowa State's Rahshon Clark recovered from an apparently painful mistake late in the first half. The 6-foot-6 senior went up for an uncontested dunk but got crossed up, missed the shot and fell with a thud and lay there several minutes before gingerly walking back to the bench.

A couple of minutes later, however, he came back into the game and this time made a dunk, drew a foul and made the free throw for a three-point play.

The Cyclones have not beaten a ranked team on the road since 2005 when they upset No. 2 Kansas 63-61.

After the Cyclones sliced the lead to 18 points with about 8 minutes left, Jackson and Chalmers each popped in short jumpers, putting Kansas comfortably ahead 62-48 again.

Iowa State had only seven assists while Kansas had 22, with Chalmers and Rush each getting six.