After telling his Kansas players there’d be times this season when they would have to “win ugly,” they appear to be doing just that lately.

The 15th-ranked Jayhawks (5-2) followed a lackluster win over Florida Atlantic earlier this week with rough first half on Saturday in which they struggled to a three-point halftime lead. However, they managed to pull away after the break and beat South Florida 70-42.

“They’ve taken it to a different level than I ever imagined,” Self said. “We were awful. … I told our guys before the season that we were going to have to really enjoy winning ugly because we don’t have as many offensive weapons like we’ve had in the past.”

Tyshawn Taylor, held to four points in the first half, had 20 in the second, and Thomas Robinsin had 14 points and eight rebounds, ending his stretch of six straight double-doubles for Kansas (5-2).

After making only one of 11 3-point shots in the opening half, the Jayhawks got three straight 3s from Travis Releford, Connor Teahan and Taylor, triggering a long run that put Kansas firmly in command, finally.

Kansas had more points (46) in the second half than South Florida had in the game.

“I don’t know which team you want to talk about — our first-half team or our second-half team,” South Florida coach Stan Heath said. “Our second-half team lost a little focus and more than anything, couldn’t keep pace with Kansas. I thought they did a great job in the second half of continuing to attack and having a little more patience.”

Kansas opened the second half with a 7-0 run keyed by Robinson. The 6-10 junior rebounded a teammate’s miss and scored on a soft putback to make it 28-21, then stole a Bulls pass and fed Taylor streaking downcourt on a fastbreak. Taylor rattled in the free throw to put the Jayhawks up 10.

Augustus Gilchrist had 11 points for the Bulls (5-4), who were facing their first ranked opponent of the year.

Hugh Robertson’s bucket cut Kansas’ lead to 38-31, then Releford’s 3-pointer seemed to ignite the Jayhawks. Taylor, fouled by Gilchrist, hit a pair of free throws and then Releford scored on a fastbreak for a 51-35 lead that allowed the 167th straight sellout crowd in Allen Fieldhouse to finally breathe easy.

“I think we just came out in the second half with a different attitude,” Taylor said. “First half was a little sluggish for us. We didn’t have much energy as a team. n the second half, we just wanted to come out with a little more energy, pressure the ball a little more, get some fastbreak points. And that’s what we did. We just tried to pressure the ball a little bit more.”

Anthony Collins and Shaun Noriega each had eight points for South Florida. Teahen had 11 for Kansas.

In a seesaw first half that saw nine lead changes, the Bulls stayed close by slowing down the tempo, draining the shot clock and benefiting from awful Kansas shooting. The Jayhawks hit only five of their first 16 shots and never led by more than two until Teahan drove in for a layup and then made a foul shot for a 24-19 advantage.

Shaun Noriega cut it to 24-21 with the final bucket of the half. It was the third straight game the tenacious South Florida defense held an opponent under 30 points over the first 20 minutes.

With 2 seconds left in the half, Collins stole the ball and drove in for what would have been an uncontested dunk if the buzzer hadn’t sounded just as he went up. After a review, officials disallowed the bucket, sending the 16-point underdogs into intermission trailing by only three.

Ron Anderson Jr., a transfer from Kansas State who had averaged 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in the Bulls’ last three games, had early foul trouble and spent much of the game on the bench. He finally fouled out with only two points.

Another reason for Kansas’ sluggish play may be “the crud,” according to Self.

“We’ve all got the crud. The crud’s going around,” he said. “That’s no excuse. But head colds, guys not practicing. Throwing up. We’ve had several people at the infirmary, including the coach. They haven’t felt great.

“But — good gosh!”

— Associated Press —

Junior Carolyn Davis scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the final 11 minutes, while Angel Goodrich notched six of her game-high eight assists during that span to help Kansas women’s basketball pull away down the stretch for a 75-52 victory against SMU in Allen Fieldhouse Thursday night.

Davis made eight of her 10 shots from the field to improve her field goal percentage to 70.2 percent for the season, which ranks in the top five nationlly. Goodrich added 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, which included 1-for-3 from three-point range, to go along with four steals and four rebounds. Goodrich’s eight assists marked her 20th-straight game with at least five helpers. As a team, KU shot 56.9 percent from the floor to increase its nation-leading field goal percentage to 51.7.

Kansas improved to 7-0 for the second-straight season, while SMU fell to 4-3 with the loss.

Senior forward Christine Elliott had a double-double for the Mustangs with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Akil Simpson added four steals in the loss.

With Kansas leading 46-37 at the 11-minute mark, Davis and Goodrich re-entered the game, and the Jayhawks proceeded to score the next 11 points to open up a 20-point advantage. Seven of Davis’ eight field goals came on layups, helping the Jayhawks dominate the game’s points in the paint, 50-22. KU also outrebounded SMU, 35-31, continuing Kansas’ streak of outrebounding every opponent this season.

Goodrich topped all scorers with nine points on 4-for-8 shooting from the field to build a 33-27 halftime lead. Freshman guard Natalie Knight had five of her six rebounds in the first 20 minutes. For the visitors, Elliott led the Mustangs with six points and three rebounds at the break.

Kansas will travel to Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 4 to play the Crimson Tide at 2 p.m. Following the trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., KU’s next four games will be at Allen Fieldhouse. That homestand will kick off Thursday, Dec. 8, against Wisconsin at 7 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas coach Bill Self masked his frustration, his downright disdain, for a poor performance against Florida Atlantic with the kind of sarcastic wit that leaves folks in stitches.

Asked about the Jayhawks’ 77-54 victory Wednesday night, Self said that he thought it looked like his team had a “Maui hangover” from its trip to the tournament in Hawaii, in which they played well in losing to Duke (No. 4 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP) in the championship game.

Asked whether the “Maui hangover” contributed to 17 turnovers against the Owls, Self said he thought the Jayhawks (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) were just as good at turning it over inland as they were in Hawaii.

Asked about the play of Elijah Johnson, who had seven turnovers without scoring against Florida Atlantic, and Self said it had nothing to do with the “Maui hangover.”

“He’s still in Hawaii,” Self said. “He didn’t get hung over, he got left behind.”

It was a good thing Thomas Robinson caught the flight back to Kansas.

The bruising big man had 19 points and 17 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, the longest streak to open a season in school history, helping Kansas overcome its sloppy execution against the reigning Sun Belt regular season champions.

“We’re not a good team yet, to the point where we’re a good team for 40 minutes,” said Robinson, the reigning Big 12 player of the week. “That’ll get better, just keep our focus and not catching ADD halfway through the game.”

Tyshawn Taylor added 18 points, Travis Releford had 11 and Jeff Withey 10 for Kansas, which hadn’t played at Allen Fieldhouse since a season-opening win over Towson on Nov. 11.

Since then, the Jayhawks lost to top-ranked Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, beat Georgetown and UCLA in the Maui Invitational, and then lost to the Blue Devils in the championship game.

“We had plenty of time off since Maui,” Withey said. “We definitely came out slow in the first half, and even in the second half. We definitely need to change that.”

Pablo Bertone had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Owls (4-4), despite giving up 9 inches to the 7-foot Withey. Dennis Marvin also had 17 points, most of them in the second half.

“I would have loved to have had a closer game,” Florida Atlantic coach Mike Jarvis said. “We had a couple of chances to get it into single digits and that would have been a lot more fun.”

Florida Atlantic started off on a 9-3 run, forcing Self to call a timeout less than 4 minutes into the game. It seemed to serve as a wake-up call, and Withey scored the first field goal when play resumed to start an 11-2 run that Taylor capped with a basket with 11:29 left in the half.

Raymond Taylor hit a deep 3 for the Owls, but it hardly slowed the Jayhawks’ momentum. Conner Teahan hit the first of his three first-half 3-pointers, Justin Wesley scored his first basket and Teahan knocked down another 3 as the Jayhawks extended the lead to 29-16 with 6:08 left.

Tyshawn Taylor added a circus-like scoop layup after Florida Atlantic snapped a 4-minute scoring drought, and his deep 3-pointer from the top of the key pushed the lead to 16, the Jayhawks’ biggest of the first half. Taylor hit two foul shots with 1.2 seconds left for a 42-26 advantage.

“We missed too many layups and free throws and didn’t rebound,” Jarvis said simply.

The Jayhawks briefly extended the lead to 19 when Robinson converted a three-point play early in the second half, but their sloppiness nearly allowed Florida Atlantic back in the game.

On consecutive trips, Johnson threw the ball away, Kevin Young was stripped under the basket and Tyshawn Taylor was stripped by Mavin, who had 12 points in the second half.

The Owls got the lead down to 13 on a 3-pointer by Raymond Taylor with 7:14 left, but Withey scored at the other end and added another basket moments later to extend the lead, and Kansas cruised over the final 5 minutes to its 53rd nonconference home win in its last 54 games.

“I knew they’d be flat,” Self said. “You look at those teams coming back from Hawaii, nobody has looked very good. UCLA beat Pepperdine, otherwise everyone got their clock cleaned pretty good.

“We just didn’t have it,” Self said. “That’s OK, to be in a grind-it-out mode. That’s OK to be in that mode. But you have to enjoy that. If we don’t have as much energy or whatever, you have to enjoy playing the best way to give us a chance. And I thought we took a step backwards tonight.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week Monday. He earned the honor for games of Nov. 21-27 in voting by a panel of media covering the conference. It is the first career weekly honor for Robinson.

Robinson, 6-10, 237 from Washington, D.C., led Kansas to a 2-1 record at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, with wins over Georgetown (67-63) and UCLA (72-56) before the Jayhawks fell to No. 6 Duke (68-61) in the event’s title game. Robinson averaged 17.0 points and 12.3 rebounds, notching a double-double in each contest for the Jayhawks. He shot 50 percent (20-of-40) from the field and connected on 11-of-17 (.647) free throws while adding four assists and two steals.

Robinson tied his career-high against the Hoyas, finishing with 20 points. He also posted a career-best rebounding total with 15 versus the Blue Devils. Robinson has five double-doubles this season and is one of two players in the Big 12 that is averaging a double-double (16.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg). He leads the conference with his 12.0 rebounds per game average and his 16.0 points per game are tied for fourth in the league with senior teammate Tyshawn Taylor.

Kansas (3-2) plays host to Florida Atlantic (3-4) on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas fired coach Turner Gill on Sunday after two losing seasons and with three years remaining on a contract that still owes him about $6 million.

The school announced the move in a news release Sunday, the day after the Jayhawks lost 24-10 to rival Missouri and finished the season 2-10.

Gill was 5-19 at Kansas. He was hired by Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger’s predecessor, Lew Perkins, and given a five-year, $10 million contract.

The university says Zenger informed Gill of his decision late Sunday afternoon. He also said he would honor the terms of Gill’s deal.

“After a thorough evaluation of our football program,” Zenger said in a statement, “I have concluded that new leadership is necessary to place us on the path toward competing for championships in the Big 12 Conference. I come to this conclusion reluctantly, because I have the utmost respect for Turner Gill as a quality individual who wants only the best for the young men he coaches.”

Zenger said recruiting coordinator Reggie Mitchell would act as interim coach.

Gill came to Kansas from Buffalo, a perennially downtrodden Mid-American Conference team that he led to a league championship. At Kansas, he replaced Mark Mangino, who was fired in 2009 amid allegations he mistreated players.

Gill, a former star quarterback at Nebraska, said late Saturday that he had not spoken with Zenger, but sounded optimistic that he’ll be invited back for another season — it took him three years to make Buffalo into a winner.

“I do think we made good progress,” he said. “I guess it may be we have more to go than we anticipated, including myself coming in. I just think we can still get some things done here and move this program the right direction and do the things we need to do, win games and win bowl games.”

— Associated Press —

Kansas looked unbeatable early and flustered in the middle before securing a hard-earned victory in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.

All that work just to face an even more formidable challenge: No. 6 Duke, the undisputed king of Maui, in the championship game.

Holding on after nearly blowing all of a 20-point lead, Kansas set up what could be one of the most exciting championship games in the Maui Invitational’s 28-year history with a 72-56 win over UCLA on Tuesday night.

Two of college basketball’s blue bloods in paradise, playing with a title on the line in a tiny gym in an atmosphere unlike any other.

Yeah, this could be good.

“I will bet the atmosphere for tomorrow night’s game will be as good an atmosphere as this building’s seen for this tournament,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “And this may be as good a neutral-court atmosphere as there is in college basketball, better than the NCAA tournament because you can feel the crowd.”

The Jayhawks almost blew their shot.

Kansas (3-1) appeared as though it was going to run away from the Bruins at the start, going up 12 points in the first 6 minutes and building from there.

The Jayhawks fizzled with a flurry of turnovers and defensive breakdowns to let UCLA back in it, then pulled away over the final 5 minutes for a harder-than-expected victory.

Elijah Johnson scored 23 points, Thomas Robinson had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyshawn Taylor added 13 points and six assists for Kansas.

Next up for the Jayhawks is Duke, the undefeated four-time champions in Maui.

“This is one of the games when you come to Kansas, you sign up for,” Taylor said. “This is one of those games we’ll probably always remember.”

The Bruins tried to ruin it.

UCLA (1-3) got off to a brutal start and rallied to trim a 20-point lead down to five. The Bruins lingered for a little while before running out of steam, headed toward the third-place game instead of the championship.

Tyler Lamb had 15 points and Jerime Anderson added 14 for UCLA.

“We were right there,” Anderson said. “That second-half comeback is much easier if we’re even or closer in the first half. Some things don’t go our way, we come back and if a team makes another run, that’s the hardest thing to do is come back from two runs.”

The young Jayhawks were humbled a bit in a loss to No. 2 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden a week ago, but responded with a poised-down-the-stretch win over scrappy Georgetown to open the Maui Invitational.

Kansas got off to a shaky start against the Hoyas, made a run to get the lead, then let Georgetown claw its way back. The Jayhawks grinded out the 67-63 win behind key plays down the stretch from Travis Releford, who hit two free throws with 15 seconds left and scrambled to dig out a loose ball after the Hoyas missed a shot.

Robinson was the catalyst with 20 points, 12 rebounds and what Georgetown coach John Thompson III said felt like 24 dunks — just the kind of aggression Self has been looking for from his dynamic big man.

Robinson wasn’t much of a factor against UCLA early, so Kansas spread it around.

Swinging the ball around in halfcourt sets and getting out on the break, the Jayhawks opened the game with a 14-2 run and kept pushing. Kansas hit 12 of 24 shots in the half — 5 of 9 from 3-point range — had 10 assists and got 13 points from Johnson to lead 43-26.

The Jayhawks still looked as though they were going to run away with it to start the second half, then went into a funk.

Unable to stop the Bruins or hold onto the ball, Kansas went nearly 6½ minutes without a field goal as UCLA trimmed a 20-point lead down to five with 8 minutes left.

The Jayhawks finally put a stop to UCLA’s momentum with a couple of baskets by Robinson, then pulled away as the Bruins cooled off.

“We knew they weren’t going to just go away and lay down,” Taylor said. “We got out to a big lead early, but we knew we had to continue to play. We just had to keep battling out there.”

UCLA opened a season of expectations in disappointing fashion, losing by double digits to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State. The Bruins avoided a potential meltdown in the Maui opener, turning a two-point halftime lead over Division II Chaminade into a blowout.

UCLA blew the game open with a 29-3 run and turned away any thought of a comeback by blocking 12 of the Silverswords’ shots in the 92-60 victory.

But Kansas isn’t anything like Chaminade, as the Bruins learned in a hurry.

Unable to find any room against the Jayhawks’ scrambling defense, UCLA missed its first six shots, had five turnovers and just two free throws until Reeves Nelson scored on a 3-pointer at the 13:36 mark.

The best the Bruins could do after that was get within six points and Kansas didn’t let that last, storming the Bruins a second time to push the lead to 19 before the half was over.

Then something clicked for UCLA.

Forcing turnovers and stroking 3-pointers, the Bruins went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half and kept dropping shots to pull within 57-52.

That turned out to be it for UCLA, which will face No. 15 Michigan in the third-place game.

“I was really happy the way the guys fought back in the second half,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “We had it down to five … and I think we ran out of gas.”

— Associated Press —

Ryan Tannehill threw for three touchdowns, Cyrus Gray ran for three more and Texas A&M got an easy 61-7 win over mistake-prone Kansas on Saturday.

The victory breaks a three-game skid by the Aggies and makes them eligible for a bowl game. It extends the Jayhawks’ Big 12 conference losing streak to 11 games, with their last win coming against Colorado on Nov. 6, 2010.

The Aggies built a 23-0 lead in the first quarter behind two touchdown runs by Gray and a TD pass by Tannehill. Three second-quarter turnovers by Kansas (2-9, 0-8) helped Texas A&M (6-5, 4-4) extend the lead to 44-0 by halftime.

Kansas quarterback Jordan Webb threw for 133 yards and lost two fumbles, threw an interception and was sacked six times.

Defensive end/linebacker Damontre Moore led a smothering defensive effort by A&M, finishing with eight tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Tannehill, who was replaced by backup Jameill Showers with eight minutes left in the third quarter, was 21 of 26 for 280 yards. Gray had nine carries for 94 yards to surpass 1,000 yards rushing for the season. He’s the third player in school history to post consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Gray didn’t play after halftime and was on the sideline in street clothes with what A&M officials called an unspecified injury.

Ryan Swope had nine receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns for Texas A&M.

The Aggies have lost three games this season after leading by double figures at halftime. There was no such letdown in this one, with A&M adding a rushing TD by Ben Malena, a field goal and a 72-yard punt return for a score by Dustin Harris in the third quarter to make it 61-0.

James Sims ran for 88 yards and scored on a 15-yard run with less than a minute remaining to make it 61-7.

The Jayhawks couldn’t get anything going on offense before that drive and came close to scoring only once, but a 39-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter sailed wide left.

Turnovers doomed Kansas in the second quarter, with the first one coming on a fumble that was recovered by Moore. The Aggies took advantage three plays later when Tannehill found Swope on a 52-yard touchdown pass on which he shook off two defenders on his way to the end zone to push the lead to 30-0.

Steven Terrell intercepted Webb on the Jayhawks’ next possession and Gray’s third touchdown came a few plays later to leave the score at 37-0.

Another turnover by Webb, this one on a fumble when he was sacked by Moore, ended the next Kansas drive. The Aggies were unable to score after that mistake, and Kansas got the ball back after Tannehill’s pass on fourth down fell incomplete.

Nate Askew grabbed a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tannehill a minute before halftime that left the Aggies up 44-0.

The Jayhawks got the ball back, but Moore sacked Webb and caused a fumble, which Kansas recovered to end the first half.

Gray put A&M up 7-0 when he scored on a 30-yard run on the Aggies’ first drive.

Texas A&M got a safety in the first quarter when the snap on a Kansas punt attempt sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone to make it 9-0.

Tannehill’s first touchdown pass to Swope for 27 yards stretched Texas A&M’s lead to 16-0 later in the first quarter.

Gray scored on a 36-yard run on which he tightroped the sideline and dashed into the end zone untouched to make it 23-0 with about two minutes left in the first quarter.

— Associated Press —

Senior forward Aishah Sutherland notched her first double-double of the season as the University of Kansas women’s basketball team downed the Creighton Bluejays, 73-59 Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse. The Perris, Calif., native recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and two steals during the contest. Her 14 rebounds tied a career high as she matched her output from last November in a win over Wisconsin.

Juniors Carolyn Davis, Angel Goodrich and Monica Engelman each chipped in double-figure performances scoring 14, 12 and 12 points, respectively. As a team, Kansas shot a blazing 53.8 percent from the field during the game, including 4-of-9 behind the three-point arc.

The Jayhawks came out firing in the first half to gain a quick 7-2 lead capped off by a steal and fast-break layup by Natalie Knight. It marked the freshman’s only points of the night but she found other ways to contribute as she finished the evening with three assists and a pair of steals.

Three three-pointers each from Engelman, Goodrich and sophomore Keena Mays during a three-minute stretch broke the game open as Kansas went on a 17-6 run in the middle of the first half. Mays finished with a stat line of nine points and five rebounds. In all, the Jayhawks brought down 40 rebounds, out-rebounding the Bluejays by 11.

Front court play was key during the opening period, as Sutherland and sophomore Tania Jackson led the team down low. The two combined for eight of the team’s 10 points in a three minute stretch in the middle of the first frame, with Sutherland making two key steals during that span. The duo ended the opening frame with a combined 10 points and 10 rebounds. Davis also contributed six points in nine minutes of first half action as KU scored 20 points in the paint.

Kansas went into the locker room with a 36-27 lead with eight Jayhawks contributing at least two points. Goodrich led the team at half with eight tallies from 3-of-5 shooting, including two three-pointers.

Creighton stayed within reach for the first part of the second half but a jumper by Engelman with 10:23 left in the game kick-started an 8-0 run by the Jayhawks, capped by a pair free throws from Davis. Davis, who made her return from an early-season injury, started the second half and contributed 14 points and two blocks in 18 minutes of play on the night. Davis went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, while the Jayhawks converted on 13-of-14 free throws (92.9 percent) for the contest.

Back-to-back layups from Mays gave KU a 17-point lead with 5:40 left in the contest, its largest lead of the game, as the Jayhawks went on to win its sixth-straight regular-season non-conference game.

Kansas goes on the road for the first time this season as the Jayhawks travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., to play Wake Forest on Sunday, Nov. 20. The game is set to begin at 1 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Standout forward Perry Ellis from Wichita (Kan.) Heights High School has signed a national letter of intent to play at Kansas, KU head coach Bill Self announced Wednesday.

“We’ve been excited about Perry Ellis for a long time,” said Self, who started recruiting Ellis following KU’s NCAA national championship season. “We’ve been recruiting Perry pretty hard for a while. We felt like he was as important of a recruit as we have had since we’ve been here. You have to get your local guys and certainly he has a chance to be in that same mold of a Wayne Simien-type guy. Fans are going to fall in love with him because he is so responsible and disciplined. He’s a great student and will be a great ambassador for any program.”

The list of accolades for Ellis is long. With a 4.0 grade point average, the 6-8, 220-pound Rivals.com five-star recruit is the three-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year heading into his senior season. Last year, Ellis guided Wichita Heights to its second-straight undefeated season and its third-straight 6A state championship. The Falcons, under head coach Joe Auer, will be vying for their fourth consecutive state title in the largest class in the state in 2011-12. Ellis led Kansas Players AAU team, based in Wichita and coached by Steve Young, to several high finishes in major AAU events this past summer.

“He has progressed to the point to where he may play as much on the perimeter than on the inside for us,” Self said in describing Ellis’ game. “He’s going to be a three man. He has a very good skill set. Coach Auer and his staff; Steve Young and his team’s AAU program have put him into a position that he is able to do different things. He’s an athlete. He can really, really run. (He) is so explosive and so strong now. I’ve seen him develop and I think he’s prepared to have an impactful freshman year because we can pretty much put him out there and he can figure it out because he’s so versatile.”

Ranked No. 24 overall by Rivals.com, Ellis averaged 22.1 points and 7.9 rebounds his junior season at Wichita Heights. As a freshman, he averaged 19.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists, while the following year he averaged 22.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.

“Perry plays for one of the historical premiere programs in the country at Wichita Heights,” Self said. “They are going for their fourth straight state championship. Joe Auer and his staff have done a great job in running that program. He (Ellis) has also been put in a situation through his AAU program and Steve Young to be exposed to different things and has really been able to develop there as well. He’s had a nice blend of summer and high school, where everybody is on the same page.”

Off the court, besides his 4.0 GPA, Ellis is a volunteer youth basketball instructor and gives time to the Wichita Children’s Home.

“He’s so talented and going to be great. The fact he has never made a ‘B’. The fact he’s competitive in the classroom. The fact he will be a great ambassador for our University and athletic program, shows that he comes from great parents in Fonda and Will. They do a remarkable job with their children. We’re really excited about having this family be a part of everything we do,” Self added.

— KU Sports Information —

Celebrating Dr. James Naismith’s 150th birthday and junior Thomas Robinson’s return to the lineup, No. 13 Kansas broke out early and sailed to a 101-52 victory against Fort Hays State in the Jayhawks’ final exhibition contest, Tuesday evening.

The Jayhawks put on a show for the sold-out Allen Fieldhouse crowd, who used Tuesday night’s game to honor Naismith, the game’s inventor, by claiming their 39th-straight exhibition victory, dating back to the 1995 season. In his ninth season of exhibition play at Kansas, head coach Bill Self is now a perfect 25-0. For the 24th time in program history, the eighth time under Self, Kansas broke the 100-point barrier in exhibition play.

Returning from an injury that sidelined him from last week’s exhibition game against Pittsburg State, Robinson was welcomed by a huge ovation when the starting lineups were introduced. The Preseason All-American showed his appreciation with a double-double, pouring in a team-best 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Redshirt senior guard Conner Teahan picked up where he left off a week ago, after connecting for five three-pointers against PSU, he hit his first two attempts from beyond the arc. In fact, Teahan didn’t miss a shot all night. The redshirt senior went 5-for-5 from the floor and hit both shots from the free-throw line for a 14-point performance.

Off the heels of a Teahan three, Kansas sprinted out to a 16-6 lead using an 86-percent accuracy mark from the floor prior to the first media timeout. On a night where five Jayhawks hit double digits, that shooting mark would only slightly cool as KU finished the evening shooting 60 percent while holding the Tigers to 33 percent.

The defending MIAA Tournament Champions, Fort Hays State, was led by redshirt junior guard Lance Russell, who scored 11 points for the Tigers. Junior forward Marcus Yarbrough and senior forward KC Rodenburg each chipped in 10 points. Kansas snapped up most the opportunities on the boards, out-rebounding the Tigers, 37-27.

A cutting move to the basket resulted in junior Kevin Young’s first basket of the game, contributing to the Jayhawks’ 46 points in paint, a lopsided number alongside FHSU’s 16.

The points off turnovers mark also ended Jayhawk-friendly as freshman guard Naadir Tharpe got the Jayhawks’ transition offense rolling with a steal he took down the floor for a fast break layup at the 9:23 mark. Redshirt junior guard Travis Releford and Teahan would connect on a nearly identical play less than a minute later to push Kansas ahead, 36-14. Kansas would finish the night with 32 points off turnovers, compared to the Tigers’ 10.

Releford drained a three to propel Kansas halfway to the century mark with less than two minutes to play as Kansas took a comfortable 54-24 lead into the break.

Five minutes into the second frame, Rodenburg hit the Tigers’ first three of the night before Robinson answered with another of his signature dunks, kicking off eight of his second-half points.

Robinson had company in the final 20 minutes when Tharpe, too, caught fire for 15 second-half points. In his second-straight start, the freshman put up 19 points to finish behind Robinson as the team’s leading scorer, while dishing out seven assists. Midway through the second half, he converted a three-point play and followed that with the more traditional three. Robinson helped him continue to pile on, throwing down a dunk that would put the Jayhawks ahead by 40, 81-41.

Although Self worked every available member of his bench into the final exhibition, the gas pedal was never lifted. Kansas outscored the visiting Tigers, 20-11, in the final eight minutes to cruise to the 101-52 victory.

— KU Sports Information —