Kansas Flattens Stanford

Kansas might not be the best basketball team in the nation, but it could be the hardest to figure out.

Two days after the Jayhawks flirted with becoming the first top-seeded team to lose an NCAA tournament opener, they turned in their most impressive performance of the season. Blitzing eighth-seeded Stanford with a 15-0 opening salvo, Kansas annihilated the Cardinal, 86-63, in a Midwest Regional second-round game in front of 31,484 in the Edward Jones Dome Saturday night.

“For all the doubters out there, that question mark on our team is slowly disappearing,” said Drew Gooden, Kansas’ All-American forward. “We have life left in us.”

The pregame story line--would Kansas star Kirk Hinrich be able to play after severely spraining his left ankle in the first round?--was rendered immaterial in a barrage of Kansas points. Hinrich did not start, but he came off the bench and provided inspiration, along with 15 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Hinrich also had a team-high eight “floor burns,” a cherished Jayhawk stat.

“That’s Jordan-like,” Gooden said.

Kansas has advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. It will face the Illinois-Creighton winner Friday night at Madison, Wis. A year ago, the top-seeded Illini eliminated the fourth-seeded Jayhawks in the same round.

When it comes to the NCAA tournament, Kansas is the ultimate cipher. Who’d have thought the Jayhawks would have an easier time with Stanford than they did with Holy Cross?

It will give the Illini something to think about next week, not that they’ll be overlooking pesky Creighton today at Chicago.

Saturday night’s romp extended Kansas’ pattern of NCAA unpredictability. A year ago, the Jayhawks thought they were flying after drubbing Syracuse by 29 points in the second round. Five days later, Illinois bounced them out of the tournament by 16.

Kansas Coach Roy Williams spent as much time on the off day between rounds working on his players’ psyches as he did preparing them for the Cardinal. The Jayhawks’ uncomfortably close 70-59 victory over Holy Cross gave rise to speculation Kansas was primed for another one of its patented March pratfalls.

Asked what he told his players as they prepared to meet Stanford, Williams replied, “The first thing I’m trying to tell them is, ‘Quit reading the paper; there’s nothing wrong with you guys.’”

Stanford will attest to that.

Hinrich, who wore a brace on his left ankle, entered the game with 13:05 to go in the first half. Two minutes later, he took an outlet pass and sailed downcourt, pulling up to swish a 10-foot jumper.

On the next possession, he knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing to give Kansas a 28-11 lead.

“I don’t know how to explain Kirk Hinrich,” Williams said.