The No. 4/5-ranked Jayhawks drained 15 3-pointers to defeat Northern Colorado, 109-72, inside Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night.
The Jayhawks (1-0) shot 56 percent from the field and 58 percent from beyond the arc to earn their 14th consecutive season-opening win and 43rd consecutive home-opening win at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks’ 109 points are their most in a season-opener since KU scored 113 against Longwood on Nov. 12, 2010 and the second-most ever under Bill Self.
Junior guard Brannen Greene scored a team-high 18 points off the bench on a perfect shooting night – 6-of-6 from the field, including five 3-point field goals. Greene made his first triple from at the first-half buzzer, which gave KU a 53-31 advantage at the break.
Greene was one of five Jayhawks who reached double-figure points. Senior All-American candidate Perry Ellis posted an efficient 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 20 minutes. Junior guard Frank Mason III dished out nine assists with 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from long range. Junior guard Wayne Selden Jr., added 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 23 minutes.
Northern Colorado (0-1) committed 35 personal fouls to send Kansas to the free throw line 34 times. The Jayhawks netted 26 points on 77 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The Bears, picked seventh in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll, were led by a game-high 27 points from Cameron Michael.
Junior guard Wayne Selden scored the first basket of the regular-season on a fast-break layup for a 2-0 Kansas lead. The Jayhawks didn’t look back, leading by as much as 45 points late in the game. There were no ties or no lead changes throughout.
Greene ended with the most 3-pointers, but it was sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham who started KU’s upwards shooting momentum. Graham made two treys in the first four minutes to help give Kansas an 8-2 lead. Graham finished with 13 points and eight assist in 24 minutes.
Freshman guard Lagerald Vick introduced himself to the sold-out Allen Fieldhouse crowd with an alley-oop dunk, assisted by Selden, at the 7:11 mark of the second half for his first points as a Jayhawk. Vick finished with three points in 11 minutes.
Freshman forward Carlton Bragg Jr., made his first bucket as a Jayhawk on a layup in the paint at the 12-minute mark of the first half. Bragg finished with seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
Juniors Tyler Self and Clay Young joined senior Evan Manning on the court during the last three minutes of the game. Manning chipped-in to KU’s hot shooting night with a 3-pointer at the 1:43 mark of the second half. The basket marked Manning’s fourth career trey and 20th career point.
Kansas leads the all-time series with Northern Colorado, 2-0.
Kansas has a quick turnaround before facing Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic in Chicago on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPN). Fellow blue-blood programs Duke and Kentucky compete in the first game of the event at the United Center.
— KU Athletics —