, who converted on every crucial play down the stretch to advance to the semifinals of the Midwest Region.They'll take on the winner of Sunday's game between Auburn and Clemson in Omaha, Nebraska.Delgado finished with 24 points and 23 rebounds in a virtuoso effort for the No. 8 seed Pirates (22-11), who snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament skid in the opening round.Khadeen Carrington finished with 28 points, many of them on 3-pointers in the closing minutes, and Myles Powell added 14 as the pair of guards tried in vain to keep Seton Hall alive.It was 71-66 with 53 seconds left when Devonte Graham made two free throws for Kansas. Carrington kept pouring in shots for Seton Hall, but the Jayhawks kept making foul shots to seal the win.Azubuike played just three minutes in the Jayhawks' opener because of a lingering knee injury, but he came up big against Delgado. The 7-foot, 280-pound sophomore played 22 minutes, including some tough defense on his bruising counterpart, rendering Seton Hall's star far less effective than when Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa were trying to guard him.Kansas led just 31-26 at halftime, when Delgado had already piled up 12 points and 12 rebounds, and was forced to make some significant adjustments in the locker room.On defense, coach Bill Self called for double-teams on Delgado whenever he got the ball down low, especially when Azubuike was sitting on the bench. On offense, he had his guys throw it to Azubuike on the block or rely on Mykhailiuk - by nature a 3-point specialist - to slash to the basket.Together, they helped the Jayhawks stretch their lead to double digits.Delgado kept the Pirates in the game, though. Azubuike went to the bench with four fouls with about 9 minutes left, and coach Kevin Willard instructed his own guys to go right back to their center.Delgado was so effective that Self gambled by putting `Doke right back in the game.Seton Hall closed to 63-59 with 3:22 to go, but Newman answered with a 3-pointer and a pair of foul shots, and the poised Jayhawks never allowed the Pirates to come all the way back.BIG PICTURESeton Hall was often rattled by a crowd that gave Kansas a hometown advantage. The game was played about 2 hours south of the Jayhawks' campus in Lawrence, and about 90 percent of the 15,000-plus at Intrust Bank Arena cheered on the home-state school.Kansas survived without much production from Graham, who scored 29 against Pennsylvania in the first round. He took a wicked shot to the head from a teammate late in the first half, and wound up with eight points on 1-for-7 shooting. He was also 0 for 4 from the arc.UP NEXTThe Jayhawks are headed to Omaha for the regional semifinals. They'll play the winner of Sunday night's matchup between fourth-seeded Auburn and No. 5 seed Clemson.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events)
Mar 16, 2018 WICHITA, Kan. -- For top-seeded Kansas, production at the point made up for the loss of a post in the paint in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.That tradeoff might be difficult to pull off Saturday, however, when the Jayhawks (28-7) face brawny Seton Hall (22-11) at Intrust Bank Arena.Senior point guard Devonte' Graham was sensational in a first-round win over Penn, posting 29 points, six rebounds and six assists to wake up the slow-starting Jayhawks. The performance prompted Bill Self to stack up his point guard with past Kansas greats."I don't know if I've consistently seen anybody play better for us than what he has," said the Jayhawks' 15th-year coach. "We've seen this many, many times with him, and I don't know if anybody could ever predict the guy would go from an unknown to a first-team All-American, but he is one terrific guard." The value provided by Graham, who initially signed with Appalachian State, is reflected in 16 complete games of 40 minutes.While Graham is exceptional involving teammates, averaging 7.4 assists, he took on the scoring load against Penn after Kansas trailed by 10 in the first half. The output was partly necessitated by the absence of 7-foot sophomore center Udoka Azubuike, who played just three minutes in the first-round win. He continues to nurse a sprained MCL, which kept Azubuike from participating in the Jayhawks' Big 12 Tournament championship."I'm just going to keep playing the same way I've been playing all year, stay in attack mode," Graham said. "We know it's do-or-die for everybody. Nobody wants their season to end, so we're all going to play with reckless abandon and a lot of emotions." Azubuike worked out for most of Kansas' closed practice on Friday, said Self, and is expected to contribute more against Seton Hall and the physical presence it imposes."Unless there's some form of setback, we certainly anticipate him being available in a way that you can actually play him to try to win the game," Self said. "It may not be 25 or 30 (minutes), but we should get some competitive minutes out of him." Seton Hall, which tied for third in the Big East and is seeded eighth, scored on its first eight possessions and led throughout its 94-83 first-round win over North Carolina State.Senior guard Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points to lead the Pirates and also averages 4.5 assists. Senior wing Desi Rodriguez, who averages a team-high 17.9 points, netted 20 in the first round.The toughness the Pirates possess could key an upset bid, especially underneath where senior center Angel Delgado averages 13.3 points and 11.5 rebounds. Senior forward Ismael Sanogo averages 5.3 boards and has swatted a team-high 29 blocks."(Rebounding) is something you've got to balance with Kansas," said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, "because they're so good in transition. The best transition defense is the offensive rebound, because if you get second-chance points it stops teams from leaking out."
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