Jayhawks Prove Too Mighty for Bobcats

Whittington IV, Williams shine in loss

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Ohio's Tim O'Shea
 
Ohio's Tim O'Shea
  
 

Dec. 15, 2007

Box Score |  Notes

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-The third-ranked Kansas men's basketball squad placed four players in double figures Saturday as it breezed to an 88-51 wire-to-wire victory over Ohio at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The unbeaten Jayhawks improved to 10-0, while the Bobcats dropped to 6-3.

 

Mario Chalmers led the Jayhawks' effort with 17 points, while Darrell Arthur had 14, Brandon Rush went for 13 and Darnell Jackson posted 11. Ohio was led by junior guard Bert Whittington IV's (Temecula, Ca.) 10 points and senior forward Leon Williams' (Baltimore, Md.) 11 rebounds.

 

Kansas used one of their most consistent performances of the season to put away Ohio, shooting the exact same percentage from the floor in both halves, while nearly doing the same from the 3-point line (6-13 first, 5-12 second).

 

Kansas held a commanding 46-27 edge on the glass, paced by eight apiece from Arthur and Jackson.

 

Ohio senior guard Bubba Walther (Cincinnati, Ohio) had a decent floor game with three assists and three steals. Kansas guard Russell Robinson had a game-high 11 assists, while Chalmers posted four steals.

 

Kansas unleashed a multi-faceted attack on the Bobcats, scoring 42 points in the paint but connecting on 11 3-pointers as well. The Jayhawks also turned 17 Ohio turnovers into 26 points. The 37-point loss was the worst for the program since a 49-point loss (106-57) at Ball State on January 8, 1998.

 

Ohio connected on just 28.3 percent of its field goals (17-60), while it struggled to get quality looks for Williams and junior forward Jerome Tillman (Beavercreek, Ohio) inside. Kansas made 54.8 percent (34-62) of its field goals. Kansas also blocked seven shots to Ohio's none and held a 24-9 edge in assists.

 

The Bobcats kept things tight early, pulling to within one (10-9) on a 3-pointer by Walther with 16:08 to play. After that, Kansas capped off a 19-0 run with a fast break dunk by Chalmers at the 9:52 mark to blow the game open.

 

The Bobcats will continue their whirlwind road tour with a trip to the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii next week. Ohio will face St. John's (4-2) Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Hawaii) in the first of a three-game set.