Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor had successful surgery on his right knee Sunday morning and is expected a full recovery, head coach Bill Self said.

“Tyshawn had surgery this morning and I spoke with the doctors and it went as well as expected” Self said Sunday afternoon. “Nothing had changed in the time frame for recovery, which is one to three weeks. He will be up and around tomorrow morning and will be back in the shortest time possible. The time for recovery depends on swelling and how he reacts to rehab.”

Following No. 13 Kansas’ 78-67 victory against No. 2 Ohio State Saturday, Self announced on the Jayhawk IMG Radio Network Postgame Show Taylor tore his meniscus in practice prior to the Long Beach State game Tuesday (Dec. 6) and would undergo surgery Sunday.

“We said (Tyshawn Taylor) tweaked his knee, but he tore his meniscus,” said Self. “He could have had surgery last Tuesday. He said there was no way he was going to miss these two games, so he’s going to have surgery tomorrow. (I don’t know) how long he’ll be out, two to three weeks. Maybe if everything goes perfect, it’ll be sooner than that. I can get on Tyshawn for turning it over. I can get onto him for not making some plays, which I think is conducive to being an extension of the head coach, but I can’t get on him for toughness. He’s been hurt, and he goes out there and gives his body up. We don’t beat Long Beach State without him, and we certainly don’t win this game without him. I think our fans should really appreciate him playing nicked up, and we’ll do surgery tomorrow.”

Through nine games this season, Taylor is averaging 15.9 points and 4.7 assists per game. He had nine points and a career-high 13 assists against Ohio State. Kansas’ next game will be Monday, Dec. 19, against Davidson at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., at 8 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Tyshawn Taylor played through the pain. Jared Sullinger did not.

That may have been the difference for No. 13 Kansas in its victory over second-ranked Ohio State.

The Jayhawks’ starting point guard had a career-high 13 assists despite a torn meniscus and sprained MCL in his right knee, helping Kansas to a 78-67 victory over the Buckeyes, who were missing Sullinger for the second consecutive game because of back spasms.

“I can get on Ty because he will turn it over every now and then, but where would we be without him?” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We don’t win the game tonight if he doesn’t play. He definitely isn’t 100 percent.”

Thomas Robinson took advantage of Sullinger’s absence inside to score 21 points, and newcomer Kevin Young came off the bench to add a career-high 14 for the Jayhawks (6-2), who extended their winning streak to 47 games over nonconference opponents at Allen Fieldhouse.

William Buford had 17 of his 21 points in the second half for Ohio State (8-1), which was playing on the road for the first time this season. Deshaun Thomas added 19 points.

“When you make mistakes, Kansas is so good, they’re going to make you pay, and we made some key mistakes,” Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. “Our guys competed — just made mistakes down the stretch.”

Taylor hurt his knee in practice earlier in the week and could have opted for surgery, but the Jayhawks’ medical staff decided he wouldn’t harm it any more by playing. They left it up to him to the senior to decide whether he could manage the pain, and Self didn’t ask how much he was experiencing.

“If you ask them if they’re hurting, then you give them an opportunity to give you an answer,” Self said, adding that Taylor hadn’t practiced all week until Friday.

He’ll have surgery Sunday and will miss about three weeks.

It was more publicly known that Sullinger was a question mark, but he wasn’t ruled out until just before the game, when his balky back simply wouldn’t loosen up.

“As I told Coach Self when we shook hands before the game, ‘Merry Christmas early,'” Matta said.

“I don’t think his exact words were, ‘Merry Christmas,'” Self said with a grin. “I think there were some other words in there, maybe describing the holiday.”

“I don’t think you put an asterisk with the win,” Self added. “Ohio State can certainly say, and rightfully so, ‘Jared didn’t play.’ And we know he didn’t play, and they’re a much better team with him. We wanted him to play. But just because he plays doesn’t guarantee anything.”

The Jayhawks were desperate for a high-profile victory after losses to top-ranked Kentucky and Duke (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP), and they got on against a Buckeyes team that had led the nation in scoring margin.

“We had this awesome nonconference schedule set up and we still have some good teams to play, but the main teams were Kentucky, Ohio State and Duke,” Robinson said, “and it would have been incomplete if we didn’t get one of them.”

Buoyed by a frenzied crowd that jammed Allen Fieldhouse to the rafters, the Jayhawks raced to a 23-13 lead just over midway through the first half, the decibel level at one point registering 114 on the scoreboard — roughly equal to that of a rock concert.

Robinson did most of the work inside, capitalizing on the absence of Sullinger to score around the rim. He had all seven of his first-half points during the opening flurry, and Connor Teahan and Johnson each hit 3-pointers as noise seemed ready to lift the roof from the building.

The Buckeyes finally hit their stride, and it was Thomas who jump-started them.

The sophomore forward hit consecutive 3-pointers from well beyond the arc, and Amir Williams added his only basket of the first half to slice into the lead. Thomas’ third 3-pointer of the half and free throws by Lenzelle Smith Jr. and Evan Ravenel trimmed it to 33-29 with a minute left.

Young’s basket moments later off a feed from Robinson gave Kansas a six-point lead at the break.

The school announced new football coach Charlie Weis during the intermission, and he concluded a brief statement by saying, “Let’s go whup Ohio State. Rock chalk, Jayhawk!”

The Jayhawks gladly obliged.

Johnson hit two more 3-pointers early in the second half, and the lead swelled to 47-37 when Releford hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Johnson and Jeff Withey scored on a putback.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta called timeout to calm his team down, and Buford proved his veteran poise by scoring the first basket when play resumed. It was the start of four-minute run in which he scored all five of the Buckeyes’ field goals, getting them back within single digits.

The closest it ever got was 62-58, though.

Back-to-back turnovers by Thomas and Jordan Sibert prevented the Buckeyes from having a chance to take the lead, and Robinson converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a putback off a miss by Young with 2:40 remaining in the game. His free throw restored the lead to 71-61.

Robinson and the Jayhawks took care of things from the foul line down the stretch, allowing the reigning Big 12 champions to beat the defending Big Ten champs for the fourth straight time.

“We competed. We’re a competitive team and that’s a positive,” Thomas said. “Without Jared, we came out and competed without him. We’re a great team with him, don’t get me wrong, but we came out and competed and that’s one thing that coach noticed.”

— Associated Press —

Charlie Weis knew little about the Kansas football program when his phone rang Wednesday morning. He knew that the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl a few years ago, and that they finished 2-10 this season under Turner Gill, but that was about it.

When Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger began to talk to him about the job, though, Weis realized that he was hearing an opportunity too good to pass up: The chance to build a long-suffering program into a winner, and prove that his failed attempt at Notre Dame was a distant memory.

Weis was introduced as the Jayhawks’ coach during a news conference Friday, about 24 hours after he accepted the job and just a couple days after he emerged as the leading candidate.

“It was too good of an opportunity,” he said, “being able to go into a place that was down low and being able to see it through the rise back up top. Anyone who is goal driven in anything, whether it was a startup, taking a business and doing good — this is what I do.

“The team was 2-10 and you’re going to be the one that’s directly involved with taking that team and moving it to the other end of the spectrum.”

Terms of Weis’ contract have not been finalized, but Zenger said it would be a five-year deal that pays Weis about $2.5 million annually, almost all of which is guaranteed.

That’s a hefty price for a school that parted ways with Mark Mangino just a few years ago, and is still on the hook for about $6 million on the five-year, $10 million deal Gill had signed.

Zenger said he had a list of about a dozen names when he began his search, and he talked to “eight to 10” on the phone. When he finally came around to discussing Weis, it was only after he had spoken to numerous people in the coaching profession that could vouch for him.

“He has an incredible football mind, he is disciplined, principled and a tireless worker. We believe he is the right coach at the right time to help Kansas raise the bar and compete in the Big 12,” Zenger said, adding that Weis’ name recognition was “icing on the cake.”

If the Jayhawks were hoping for a boost in interest, they apparently got it.

The school announced season-ticket packages on Friday to coincide with Weis’ hiring, and several hundred new orders had been placed. An image of Weis already topped the athletic department website, and a bold banner proclaimed a “new era” for Kansas football.

The disciple of Bill Parcells and Bill Belichik helped the New England Patriots win three Super Bowls, and also spent time with the New York Jets and New York Giants.

He was given the opportunity to take over at Notre Dame, his alma mater, and went to a pair of BCS bowl games. But things went sour not long after he agreed to a 10-year extension, and Weis was unceremoniously fired despite the hefty amount of money still on his contract.

He was the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs last season, helping them to a surprise AFC West title, before leaving to take over as the Florida offensive coordinator.

Weis said the move to Florida was made with his family in mind.

His son, Charlie Jr., wants to get into coaching and had the opportunity to help out on the Gators’ staff; he’s already transferred to Kansas for the spring semester. The more pressing reason was the well-being of Weis’ daughter, Hannah, who has special needs. She was able to enroll in a school that allowed her to flourish, and that weighed heavily on Weis when Kansas came along.

“For us to leave that, there had to be a special circumstance for us to be able to do that,” said Weis, adding that his wife will remain in Florida with Hannah and he’ll fly back and forth between Ocala and Lawrence on a regular basis. “When we could find a way to make it work as a family, that’s the first time this became a possibility and a reality.”

The 55-year-old Weis ambled into a packed auditorium with the use of a cane for his introductory news conference Friday. He had knee replacements in 2008 and earlier this year, and will have hip replacement in the coming weeks, all stemming from injuries sustained in a sideline mishap.

Weis said that otherwise he feels good, and that he’s actually looking forward to surgery.

Until then, the priority will be assembling a coaching staff and getting out on the road to recruit. Weis said running backs coach Reggie Mitchell will be kept from the previous staff, and the rest of the assistants should be hired in the next few days.

Weis has already met with some members of the team, which returns largely intact next season, and laid out exactly what the expectations will be once spring practice rolls around.

“It’s not going to be pleasant around here in the springtime. There are not many things I can promise, but I can promise that. It’s not going to be pleasant,” Weis said he told the team.

“He made it pretty clear to us that things are going to be tough, but I understand that,” said defensive end Toben Opurum. “You can’t go from 2-10 to where we want to go without hard work.”

Several times Weis referenced Kansas State, which has hammered its in-state rival the past couple of years. He doesn’t know longtime Wildcats coach Bill Snyder except by reputation, but he used his program to illustrate the possibilities that exist to win at Kansas.

“The University of Kansas was 2-10. The other major school, Kansas State, was 10-2. I only have on question to ask: Why?” Weis said. “I don’t have that answer, but that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to find out why that is and see what we’re going to do to change that, and that’s the bottom line.”

Snyder, who once had Zenger on his coaching staff, said earlier in the day that he’s looking forward to meeting Weis in the coming weeks.

“I think he’ll do a wonderful job. I’m quite certain of that,” he said. “His reputation has been extremely positive. I think the world of Sheahon Zenger. I know it was a very quality hire for the University of Kansas. I’m anxious to have an opportunity to see him and visit with him. I don’t know him, but I certainly know of his background.”

— Associated Press —