Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson declared for the NBA Draft at a press conference in Allen Fieldhouse Monday morning.

After playing three seasons at Kansas, Robinson will give up his final year of collegiate eligibility and finish his career as the 55th Jayhawk to score 1,000 points in a career. Robinson’s name will forever decorate the career and single-season record list for points and rebounds. The 6-10 Washington, D.C., native finished his Kansas career with 1,026 points, 763 rebounds, 100 assists, 74 blocks and 32 double-doubles. His 763 career rebounds rank 14th all-time, while his 32 double-doubles rank seventh. After playing behind Cole Aldrich and Marcus and Markieff Morris his first two seasons, Robinson made the most of his junior season. He ranks in the top 12 in four categories on the single-season list: 692 points (eighth), 463 rebounds (second), 27 double-doubles (first) and 261 field goals made (11th). Robinson’s 27 double-doubles led the nation in 2011-12, while his 11.9 rebounds per game ranked second nationally.

His 27 double-doubles this season moved him ahead of Drew Gooden (25 in 2002) for first place on the single-season list. Earlier this season, Robinson posted one of the most impressive games by a Jayhawk in a long time as he joined elite company when he scored 30 points and pulled down 21 rebounds against North Dakota (12/31). He became the first Jayhawk to score at least 30 points and record 20 rebounds since Wayne Hightower scored 36 points and grabbed 21 rebounds against Missouri on Feb. 13, 1961. In KU history there have been at least nine other 30-20 games and two games that could not be confirmed – seven of those games were by Wilt Chamberlain, one by Hightower and one by Clyde Lovellette. Robinson is the sixth player in Big 12 history to accomplish the feat joining former conference player(s) of the year Kevin Durant (Texas), Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) in addition to Oklahoma State’s Mario Boggan.

Robinson was a unanimous Associated Press First Team All-American becoming the first since Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in 2009. He was the lone unanimous selection in 2011-12. Robinson is Kansas’ first AP First Team All-American since Wayne Simien in 2005.

He was part of three Big 12 regular-season championships, two Big 12 Championship titles, two Elite Eights and one Final Four at Kansas. Robinson lost just one time in Allen Fieldhouse, posting a three-year record of 50-1. His overall three-year Kansas record of 100-13 are the most wins in a three-year period in Kansas’ rich men’s basketball history.

During his sophomore season Robinson was the Jayhawks’ sixth-man. He averaged 14.6 minutes in 33 games with two starts and was the Jayhawks’ most productive player off the bench, averaging 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He notched four double-doubles on the season and his 60.1 shooting percentage ranked second highest on the team. Robinson missed the Jayhawks’ win at Colorado (1/25) to attend the funeral of his mother, Lisa. In the four games following his mother’s death, he averaged 12.8 points on 17-of-25 shooting and 7.8 rebounds per game. He was selected as one of 10 finalists for the V Foundation Comeback Award.

In his freshman campaign he played in 33 games with one start, while averaging 7.2 minutes, 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He appeared in 14 conference contests and four of five postseason games, while earning his first career start at Nebraska (1/13). Robinson’s first career double-double came with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds against Alcorn State (12/2).

Robinson will leave Lawrence after guiding the 2011-12 team to an appearance in the National Championship game and an overall record of 32-7.

— KU Sports Information —

No matter where Anthony Davis and his buddies go to make their millions, their ol’ Kentucky home will long remember this championship season.

The Wildcats hit the jackpot with their lottery picks Monday night, ignoring Davis’ bad shooting night and parlaying a roster full of NBA talent into a 67-59 victory over Kansas for the team’s eighth national title — and its first since 1998.

The one-and-doners did it in a wire-to-wire victory — a little dicey at the end — to cap a season in which anything less than bringing a title back to the Bluegrass State would have been a downer. They led coach John Calipari to his first title in four trips to the Final Four with three different schools.

“This is not about me. This is about these 13 players,” Calipari said. “This is about the Big Blue Nation.”

Doron Lamb, a sophomore with first-round-draft-pick possibilities, led the Wildcats (38-2) with 22 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that put them up by 16 with 10 minutes left.

The Jayhawks (32-7), kings of the comeback all season, fought to the finish and trimmed that deficit to five with 1:37 left. But Kentucky made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Davis’ fellow lottery prospect, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, was another headliner, creating space for himself to score all 11 of his points in the first half.

Davis, meanwhile, might have had the most dominating six-point night in the history of college basketball, earning the nod as the most outstanding player. He finished with 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals — and made his only field goal with 5:13 left in the game. It was a surefire illustration of how the 6-foot-10 freshman can exert his will on a game even on a rare night when the shot isn’t falling.

“Well, it’s not me, it’s these guys behind me,” Davis said after his 1-for-10 performance. “They led us this whole tournament. This whole game I was struggling offensively, and I told my team, every time down, you all score the ball; I’m just gonna defend and rebound.”

So much easier when you’ve got teammates like this. Davis is the likely first pick in the draft should he choose to come out, and Kidd-Gilchrist won’t be far behind. Another first-round prospect, freshman Marquis Teague, had 14 points. And yet another, sophomore Terrence Jones, had nine points, seven rebounds and two of Kentucky’s 11 blocked shots.

“We’ve got a lot of great players on this team,” Teague said. “Other players stepped up and made plays. He had confidence in us to make plays and that’s what we tried to do.”

Kansas also has a lottery pick in AP All-American Thomas Robinson. But he was harassed all night by Davis and Jones and finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds on a 6-for-17 shooting night.

The Jayhawks won the “B” League this year, as Calipari avenged a final-game loss to Bill Self back in 2008 when Cal was coaching the Tigers. Not a bad season in Lawrence, though, considering where KU began.

Kansas lost four of its top five scorers off last year’s roster. There were times early in the season when Self and his old buddy and mentor, Larry Brown, would stand around at practices and wonder if this was a team that could even make the tournament. It did. Won its eighth straight conference title, too.

None of this, however, was for the faint of heart. The Jayhawks trailed by double digits in three of their five tournament games leading to the final and played every game down to the wire. They fell behind by 18 late in the first half of this one and this time, there was no big comeback to be made; not against these guys.

“We came up short, but I don’t think we lost. I think they just beat us,” Self said.

Davis realized early this was no shoot-first night for him at the Superdome. Sporting his near-unibrow, which the UK Wildcat mascot also decided to paste on, he endured the worst shooting night of a short college career in which he makes 64 percent. No big deal. He set the tone early on defense, swatting Robinson’s shot twice, grabbing rebounds, making pretty bounce passes for assists.

Early in the second half, he made a steal that also could have been an assist, knocking the ball out of Robinson’s hands and directly to Jones, who dunked for a 46-30 lead.

Then, finally. With 5:13 left in the game, he spotted up for a 15-foot jumper from the baseline that swished for a 59-44 lead, putting a dagger in one of Kansas’ many comebacks.

“He was terrific,” Self said. “The basket he made was one of the biggest baskets of the game.”

The crowd, a little more full of Kentucky fans than Kansas, went crazy. If this guy only stays one year and only makes one shot, they’re fine with that.

It’s the new normal at Kentucky, where Adolph Rupp set a standard, Rick Pitino lived up to it for a while, then Calipari — hardly the buttoned-down type — was hired to bring back the glory.

He goes for the best player, no matter what their long-term goals.

Normally, the prospect of losing all those players in one swoop would have people thinking about a tough rebuilding year.

But Cal has mastered the art of rebuilding on the fly.

He’s the coach who brings in the John Walls, Brandon Knights and Derrick Roses (at Memphis) for cups of coffee, lets them sharpen up their resumes, then happily says goodbye when it becomes obvious there’s nothing left for them to do in school.

Last year, the formula resulted in a trip to the Final Four that ended with a crushing loss to Connecticut in the semifinals.

This year, Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist came to Lexington with big-time bona-fides, and they didn’t disappoint. Kentucky lost only twice all season — once on a buzzer-beater at Indiana, the second time last month in the SEC tournament title game to Vanderbilt.

The Vandy loss might have been, as Calipari put it, just what the doctor ordered for a team that could sometimes border on arrogance.

They rebounded nicely for the real tournament, and through it all, the coach refused to apologize for the way he recruits or how he runs his program. Just playing by the rules as they’re set up, he says, even if he doesn’t totally agree with them. Because he refuses to promise minutes or shots to any recruit and demands teamwork out of all of them, he says he comes by these players honestly.

He has produced nine first-round picks in the last four drafts with a few more coming. This latest group will have an NCAA title in tow and the everlasting love of a fan base that bleeds basketball.

“I don’t know of any team that has sacrificed for each other like this team and they deserve this moment, they really do,” Calipari said.

— Associated Press —

University of Kansas head coach Bill Self was named the 2012 Naismith Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. This accolade makes Kansas the only university to have three different Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year winners, as Self joins 1988 winner Larry Brown and 1997 winner Roy Williams. Self edged out finalists Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Frank Haith (Missouri) to win the most prestigious national award presented annually to the top men’s college basketball coach.

Self was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The academy based its criteria on coaching performances this season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.

“Bill has done a remarkable coaching job this season and deserves all the accolades that come his way,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “There’s always something special about adding another chapter of Kansas Basketball to the Naismith Awards family.”

In his ninth season at Kansas, Self led the Jayhawks to a 31-7 record, including a perfect 16-0 at home, leading them to a record eighth straight regular season Big 12 Title and earning his second consecutive Big 12 Coach of the Year award. He owns a 269-52 record at the school and a 476-157 overall career record, including a national championship with the Jayhawks in 2008.

“This is a terrific honor. When you think of postseason awards, anything that has (James) Nasmith’s name in front of it is a huge award and certainly I’m very proud of this,” Self said. “It is a reflection of how our team performed all year long. There are so many good coaches out there to choose from but I am honored they picked me.”

Entering the 2012 NCAA Men’s Division I tournament as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest region, the Jayhawks defeated No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 2 seed Ohio State to reach their second NCAA Championship game in four years.

Last year, San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher claimed the Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year award, the first ever for the Mountain West Conference.

— KU Sports Information —

The tightrope walk rocks on for the Jayhawks.

Kansas, the underrated, undervalued team that’s been teetering on the edge of the tournament since before it even began, is now one of the last two left.

Tyshawn Taylor made two big free throws late, and All-American Thomas Robinson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds Saturday night to lift the Jayhawks to a come-from-behind 64-62 win over Ohio State in the Final Four — a game Kansas led for a grand total of 3 minutes, 48 seconds.

After scoring the game’s first bucket, Kansas didn’t lead again until Travis Releford made two free throws with 2:48 left. That lasted for 11 seconds, but the Jayhawks (32-6), who trailed by as many as 13, overcame another deficit and finally held on against the Buckeyes (31-8).

“It’s just been our thing all year, coming back,” Robinson said. “I don’t like doing it, but for some reason my team is pretty good when we’re down.”

More than pretty good. Kansas is one more magic act from bringing its second title in five years back to Allen Fieldhouse. It might take exactly that. The opponent is Kentucky, the big-time favorite to win it all, and a 69-61 winner over Louisville in the evening’s first semifinal. The Wildcats are an early 6.5-point favorite.

“It’s a dream to play the best team in the country, up `til now, hands down, the most consistent,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It’s a thrill. And I think it’s even more of a thrill for us, because I don’t think anybody thought we could get here.”

Taylor’s two free throws with 8.3 seconds left gave Kansas a 64-61 lead, matching its biggest of the game. The Jayhawks intentionally fouled Aaron Craft with 2.9 seconds left. Craft made the first, then quickly clanked the second one off the front of the rim but was called for a lane violation.

Kansas dribbled out the clock and celebrated a win that played out sort of the way the whole season has in Lawrence.

With most of the experienced players from last year gone, Self at times wondered if this team was even tournament material. The Jayhawks still won the Big 12 title — for the eighth straight time — but came into the tournament as what some felt was an underrated No. 2 seed.

They played down to their billing in their second game, against Purdue, barely escaping with a 63-60 win that looked a lot like this game in the Superdome.

“It was two different games,” Self said of the latest escape act. “They dominated us the first half. We were playing in quicksand it looked like. And the light came on. We were able to play through our bigs; we were able to get out and run, but the biggest thing is we got stops.”

Kansas’ next test will feature a coaching rematch between Self and John Calipari, who was with Memphis in 2008 when the Tigers missed four free throws down the stretch and blew a nine-point lead in an overtime loss to Mario Chalmers and the Jayhawks.

A big comeback. Sound familiar? This year’s Jayhawks also overcame a 19-point deficit to win their final regular-season meeting against Missouri — their long-time, SEC-bound archrival.

“It’s a 40-minute game,” Self said. “There’s no 13-point plays. You have to grind it and get one stop at a time.”

This was a heartbreaker for the Buckeyes, who came in as co-Big Ten champions and a slight favorite in a game — a rematch of a 78-67 Kansas win back in December when Ohio State’s All-American, Jared Sullinger, was not available.

Sullinger was there a-plenty Saturday night, but he struggled. He finished with 11 points on 5-for-19 shooting, no fewer than three of them blocked by Jeff Withey, the Kansas center who finished with seven swats. Sullinger also had 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, but the sophomore who gave up NBA lottery money to return and win a championship will go without for at least another year.

When the buzzer sounded, he plopped at midcourt, clearly pooped — and maybe wondering how his team let this game slip away.

“These guys got tears in their eyes, blank stares on their faces,” Sullinger said. “It’s tough on me.”

Ohio State-Kansas was billed as “The Other Game” of this Final Four — garnering much less ink than the Kentucky-Louisville blood feud that preceded it — and started off looking like every bit the undercard.

The Buckeyes built an early 13-point lead on the strength of the shooting of William Buford, who came out of a 13-for-44 tournament slump to lead the Buckeyes with 19 points on 6 for 10 from the floor. Kansas trailed 34-25 at the half and only a steal and layup before the buzzer prevented the Jayhawks from a season-low.

Things changed when Ohio State came out and promptly missed its first 10 shots from the field, while Deshaun Thomas — the Ohio State big man in charge of shutting down Robinson — headed to the bench with his third foul.

That opened things up for KU: A couple easy layups for Robinson and a kick-out to Elijah Johnson for a 3-pointer were part of a 13-4 run to open the half. It tied the game at 38 and set up for a nip-and-tuck finish between these No. 2 seeds, each of which were in the hunt for top seeding all the way up to Selection Sunday.

Releford finished with 15 points and six rebounds for the Jayhawks. Johnson had 13 points and 10 boards. Taylor finished with 10 points and nine assists — not bad considering the time Craft spent glued to him much of the night.

Craft said he thought a quick brick and a rebound on the final free throw was his best chance to save the game. There wasn’t much of an argument after he got called for the lane violation, however.

“There is no explanation,” Craft said. “Apparently I crossed before it hit the rim. I just knew I had to miss it. I thought that would be the best way for us to get the ball back.”

That end-game was set up when Releford made two free throws with 1:37 left to put KU ahead 60-59. Buford tried to take the ball to the basket on the next possession, but Withey swatted it away. Johnson followed with a layup — hardly as dramatic as his game-winner against Purdue, but enough for a three-point lead, which seemed like a million for the Jayhawks in this one.

Not that the Jayhawks need a big lead — or any lead.

“I think we’re trying to make it fun for y’all,” Robinson said. “Seriously, I wish it would stop. I mean, I’d feel better at the end.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis continues to revamp the Jayhawk defensive line as he announced the signing of former Nebraska defensive end Josh Williams here Monday afternoon. Williams, who has completed his degree at Nebraska and signed a grant-in-aid, will transfer to Kansas in June and be eligible to play his senior season of football with the Jayhawks in 2012.

After redshirting his freshman season, Williams saw action in 29 games on the Cornhuskers defensive line. A 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end, Williams played in three games during his redshirt freshman season and then played in all 13 games for Nebraska in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Williams, who started two games in 2011, collected 27 tackles during his time in Lincoln. He had three quarterback hurries, one TFL, one forced fumble and one blocked kick during his three seasons at Nebraska.

Williams, is a 2008 graduate of Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, where he was coached by Joey Florence. Williams made 75 tackles, including 25 TFLs and 12 sacks as a senior. He earned first-team Class 4A all-district honors in both 2006 and 2007.  He was regarded as one of the top defensive ends in the country by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Scout.com coming out of high school. He was listed as the No. 19 prospect by the Dallas Morning News in its Area 100, while Rivals.com listed him among the top 50 players in Texas in the 2008 recruiting rankings.

Williams, the son of Rose Williams, earned his degree in business administration from Nebraska in Dec. 2011. He is the fourth player to transfer to Kansas since Weis took over the reins of the program, joining Dayne Crist (QB, Notre Dame), Jake Heaps (QB, BYU) and Justin McCay (WR, Oklahoma).

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson was a unanimous selection to the Associated Press All-America First Team, while senior guard Tyshawn Taylor picked up third team honors it was announced Monday.

Robinson is the first unanimous selection since Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in 2009. The 6-10 Robinson is averaging 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds this season and he was a first-team pick by all 65 members of the national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. He was the lone unanimous selection in 2011-12. Robinson is Kansas’ first AP First Team All-American since Wayne Simien in 2005.

Joining Robinson on the first team were Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, the first repeat All-American in three years; freshman Anthony Davis of Kentucky; Draymond Green of Michigan State and Doug McDermott of Creighton.

Taylor, a Hoboken, N.J. native, led Kansas in conference games with an 18.6 scoring average. A two-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season, Taylor’s 16.7 points per game overall in 2011-12 rank sixth in the league. Taylor fared well against the eight ranked foes Kansas faced in 2011-12 averaging 19.1 points, 4.9 assists and shooting 48.0 from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range. He also had six of his 13 games with 20-points against ranked competition this season. Taylor ranks among the top six in the Big 12 in scoring (16.7 ppg), field goal percentage (48.2) percent and assists (4.7 apg).

Robinson and Taylor turn their attention to Ohio State for a Saturday evening matchup in the National Semifinals. The Jayhawks, who have appeared in each of the last three Final Fours hosted by the city of New Orleans, defeated the Buckeyes 78-67 in Lawrence on Dec. 10.

— KU Sports Information —

Back in December, Kansas was scuffling along at 7-3 and simply making the NCAA tournament would have been considered an achievement.

Look where the overachievers are headed now.

Kansas is on its way to the Final Four for the first time since winning it all in 2008, thanks to a clutch performance by Tyshawn Taylor, some stifling defense and the Jayhawks’ unshakable belief that they were better than anyone gave them credit for.

Taylor broke out of his scoring slump with 22 points and the Jayhawks handcuffed top-seeded North Carolina for the last 5½ minutes of an 80-67 victory over old coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels on Sunday.

“This would have been a year, if we got to the second weekend (of the tournament), most Kansas fans would be happy. But that’s not how those guys think,” coach Bill Self said. “They think this is their year, and I’m certainly not going to tell them anything different.”

The second-seeded Jayhawks (31-6) will play Ohio State on Saturday in their first Final Four appearance since winning the 2008 national championship.

And how’s this for symmetry? Kansas began this year’s tournament in Omaha, Neb., the same place as four years ago.

As the game ended, Taylor — much maligned for his shooting struggles during the first three games of the NCAA tournament — ran to Kansas fans and raised both arms in the air. Travis Releford tossed his sweatbands into the crowd.

“This is what you come to Kansas for,” Taylor said. “It’s a great feeling, but it’s just one step.”

Taylor led all five Jayhawks starters in double figures. Player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds, and Elijah Johnson kept up his blistering pace in the tournament with 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:07 to play that sparked Kansas’ 12-0 run to end the game. Jeff Withey made two monster blocks to deny the Tar Heels during the final run — including one that set up a big three-point play by Taylor.

Taylor came up with the rebound after Withey swatted away a shot by John Henson and streaked downcourt for a layup, getting fouled by Stilman White in the process. As what seemed like the entire state of Kansas roared, Taylor butted his head into Robinson’s chest, then made the free throw to give Kansas a 74-67 lead with 1:59 left.

Withey blocked White’s shot on the other end, and the Tar Heels never threatened again in the Midwest Region final.

“There’s no way to put into words the way we feel,” Williams said. “There’s no way to put into words the way I feel. … It’s the NCAA tournament. One team wins and one team loses, and that’s what we have to understand.”

James Michael McAdoo scored 15 for the Tar Heels (32-6), who played better in their second game without injured star point guard Kendall Marshall. But North Carolina couldn’t make a basket over the last 5:46.

It was only the third defeat in 12 regional final appearances for the Tar Heels, but their second straight after losing to Kentucky last year.

“It was a game of runs,” Williams said. “And we didn’t answer the last one.”

Harrison Barnes finished with 13 points and four assists but also had three turnovers. Tyler Zeller had 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks in his final game.

“We had an opportunity to win that game and we didn’t come through,” said Barnes, who sat slumped in front of his locker, a towel covering his head, for several minutes. “I missed a lot of shots I usually make. Big-time players come through in big-time games, and it just wasn’t there tonight.”

This was only the second time Williams had faced Kansas since leaving the school where he spent his first 15 years as a head coach, taking the Jayhawks to the NCAA title game twice — they lost in both 1991 and 2003 — and two other Final Fours. Though Kansas fans have softened some — Williams was still greeted with a chorus of boos, and one fan held up a sign that said, “Roy Down, 2 to Go” — Williams said Saturday that facing his old team will always be unpleasant.

“Too emotional for me. That’s the bottom line,” Williams said, calling Kansas his “second-favorite” team. “I don’t think it’ll ever feel good for me, regardless of the outcome. I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable with it.”

At least this one went better than the first meeting, at the 2008 Final Four, where the Jayhawks walloped North Carolina on the way to winning the title Williams never could at Kansas.

“I enjoyed coaching these kids, and you hate it for them. That’s what it’s all about,” Williams said. “This is college basketball. It’s not about the coaches, it’s about the players.”

North Carolina was playing a second straight game without the dazzling Marshall, who Williams called “our engine, our driver, the head of the thing.” But unlike Friday, when the Tar Heels turned the ball over a season-high 24 times and looked surprisingly disheveled against No. 13 seed Ohio, they had things back under control Sunday.

White, a freshman, may be a “wacko,” as Williams has said affectionately several times the last few days, but the kid knows how to run an offense. He had seven assists Sunday, giving him 13 for the two games without a single turnover, and North Carolina shot almost 64 percent in the first half.

But the Jayhawks cranked up the pressure defensively in the second half, and North Carolina buckled. The Tar Heels shot just 7 of 31 after halftime and had six turnovers. Kansas finished with a 41-35 rebounding edge.

“We understood what got us to this point — playing defense,” Taylor said. “We stuck it out, got the stops when we needed to. Our bigs were huge on the boards. The defense was great down the stretch. That’s what’s going to win this thing.”

The game was tied 47-all at halftime, and the Jayhawks seemed on the verge of pulling away several times only to have Carolina reel them back in. But just before the midway point of the second half, Kansas established some breathing room when Releford scored on a jumper to start an 8-2 run. Taylor capped the spurt with a swirl-in jumper and a dunk off a turnover by Henson to give the Jayhawks a 66-61 lead.

Zeller pulled the Tar Heels within two on a putback, and Barnes hit the first of two free throws to make it 68-67 with 3:58 to play. But Johnson, shooting almost 52 percent in the tournament, drained that 3 from NBA range to start the decisive run.

“It was a shot I was comfortable taking,” Johnson said. “He took a step backward, and I made him pay for it.”

Doubt the Jayhawks, and they’ll prove you wrong.

— Associated Press —

Tennessee was down 14 points against 11th-seeded Kansas, an unheralded bunch that few though could test the mighty Lady Vols.

Feisty sophomore Meighan Simmons gave Tennessee the boost it needed to survive and advance to yet another regional final.

Simmons scored 16 of her 22 points off the bench in the second half and Tennessee rallied past the Jayhawks 84-73 Saturday and advanced to its second straight regional final and 25th in 31 years.

Glory Johnson added 18 points for the second-seeded Lady Vols (27-8), who’ll meet undefeated and top-seeded Baylor on Monday night for a spot in the Final Four.

It was the 1,098th win for Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who announced in August she’d been diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type, and has yet to commit to coaching next season.

“The first half we tend to get ourselves in a hole, but we fought back,” said Tennessee associate coach Holly Warlick. “I thought our bench was outstanding.”

The Lady Vols trailed 26-12 in the first half, but cut the deficit to 35-30 by halftime. They took the lead for good with a 19-9 run to open the second half.

Angel Goodrich had a game-high 23 points and Aishah Sutherland had 19 for Kansas (21-13), which fell to 0-3 in regional semifinals.

Simmons helped pick up the sluggish Lady Vols.

“She has a scoring mentality. We’ve said she’s never seen a shot she didn’t like. But I tell you what, a lot of those shots she takes she makes,” Warlick said. “If we can learn from her and understand that great things can happen when you have a lot of heart, we won’t get down like that in the first half.”

Tennessee couldn’t do anything right for the first 11 minutes, falling behind to a Kansas team that finished below .500 in the Big 12.

But there’s a reason the Lady Vols always seem to be in the regional finals. The Jayhawks found out in the opening minutes of the second half, when Tennessee’s superior depth and athleticism simply overwhelmed the underdogs.

“The second-chance points on the glass, the offensive rebounds, which is what they’ve always been about,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “They got into us in the offensive glass, they got into us in transition. That’s the way they got the separation in the second half.”

The Lady Vols finally took the lead, 44-42, thanks largely to back-to-back 3s from Ariel Massengale, and a pair of free throws made it 53-46 Tennessee with 11:07 to go.

Freshman post player Chelsea Gardner did her best to keep the Jayhawks close with 14 points and 10 rebounds. But Simmons hit a layup off a give-and-go from Baugh to give the Lady Vols their first double-digit lead, 63-53, with 7:07 left.

Shekinna Stricklen had 16 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee, which shot 51. 5 percent in the second half.

This looked like the ultimate mismatch at the outset. Kansas was playing in just its third regional semifinal, while Tennessee was playing in its 30th — and shooting for a record 19th Final Four.

But early on, the Jayhawks seemed ready for the late morning start.

Gardner bullied her way for four inside buckets in the opening five minutes, and back-to-back layups through the paint by Goodrich gave Kansas a surprising 18-10 lead. The Lady Vols called timeout in an effort to quell the run, but Goodrich and Tania Jackson buried 3s to help push the lead to 14 points.

“The first couple of minutes we came out with a lot of energy on defense and offense. We were hitting a lot of shots,” Gardner said. “We just had great defense.”

That’s the kind of deficit that will get anyone’s attention. They Lady Vols came out of a timeout with considerably more energy, responding with an energetic 19-5 run to get back within 31-29.

Kansas lost star Carolyn Davis to a knee injury last month, but rallied to earn its first regional semifinals berth since 1998 with upsets of Nebraska and third-seeded Delaware.

Tennessee’s seniors now have the opportunity to avoid becoming the first four-year class in school history to miss the Final Four. They got it in large part because of the work of Simmons.

“Since it’s a one and done kind of thing, it just brings that energy inside me. Seems like I have that alter ego,” Simmons said. “I want to go out there and prove a point that I’m better than what people thought of me. I want our seniors to go to the Final Four.”

— Associated Press —

Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to finish one shy of the NCAA tournament record, and No. 2 seed Kansas held on to beat North Carolina State 60-57 Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

The Jayhawks (30-6) advanced to play top-seeded North Carolina for a spot in the Final Four when Richard Howell’s off-balanced heave at the buzzer came up well short.

Elijah Johnson added 11 points for the Jayhawks, including a layup off an inbound pass from Tyshawn Taylor with 13.5 seconds remaining that gave them a calming cushion.

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried called a timeout to set up a play, but Scott Wood stepped out of bounds while fielding a cross-court pass with 5 seconds left that kept one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters from getting off a shot.

C.J. Leslie had 18 points for the Wolfpack (24-13), despite sitting much of the second half with four fouls. Wood finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting.

— Associated Press —

Elena Delle Donne and Delaware are done, ousted from the NCAA women’s tournament by Kansas.

Angel Goodrich scored 27 points to lead 11th-seeded Kansas past Delle Donne, the nation’s leading scorer, and the third-seeded Blue Hens with a 70-64 victory Tuesday night.

The Jayhawks (21-12) move to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1998. They’ll face Tennessee on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

They advanced by rallying in the second half behind Goodrich, who fell one short of her career high in scoring. The junior was 12 of 21 from the field, 3 of 6 on 3-pointers, and also added six assists.

Aishah Sutherland added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Chelsea Gardner had 10 points for Kansas.

Delle Donne finished with 34 points for the Blue Hens (31-2), who had their 21-game winning streak snapped.

The standout junior, who had 39 points in an opening-round win over Arkansas-Little Rock, was harassed throughout by a swarming Kansas defense. She was double- and triple-teamed at times as the Jayhawks did their best to keep her from finding a comfort zone.

Delle Donne finished 9 of 18 from the field, 15 of 18 from the free throw line, and also had 10 rebounds.

Goodrich, meanwhile, had no such problems finding open space while running the point for Kansas.

The Jayhawks in the Sweet 16 seemed improbable when the team’s leading scorer Carolyn Davis went down for the season with a knee injury on Feb. 12.

Kansas lost six of eight to end the regular season and was anything but a certainty to make the tournament, but the Jayhawks have made the most of their stay so far.

Delaware led 37-31 at halftime, but Kansas took control early in second half behind Natalie Knight. The freshman, who scored only five points in the Jayhawks opening-round win over Nebraska, was scoreless at halftime before scoring eight points in a row at one point to put Kansas up 50-43.

That capped a 19-6 run to open the second half for the Jayhawks, and it was part of a 13-0 run that put them up 53-43 after a free throw by Gardner.

Delle Donne took control at that point with Delaware’s season on the line. She scored 12 straight points, the last three on free throws after she was fouled on a 3-point attempt, to pull the Blue Hens within 59-57.

They were never able to get closer, however, as Goodrich answered with nine of Kansas’ next 11 points. Her last during the stretch came after a steal and layup on the fast break to put the Jayhawks up 68-57 — their largest lead of the game.

Delaware was unable to get closer than six points after that.

— Associated Press —