No. 4 Kansas tops Memphis in Jimmy V Classic

For a half, Memphis' freshman-dominated team hung with No. 4 Kansas, making up what the Tigers lacked in rebounding and experience with hustle and energy that forced the Jayhawks to throw the ball away repeatedly. Early in the second half, the No. 13 Tigers still were tied at 39 and looking like they might pose a serious threat.

But a KU team that still is in the formative stages compared to what it will be like in March calmed down enough in the second half. They took over under the basket with twin forwards Marcus and Markieff Morris and with power forward Thomas Robinson coming off the bench to dominate the paint as few teams can. The result was 63-percent second-half shooting and a comfortable 81-68 victory in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader last night at Madison Square Garden.

No. 7 Michigan State (6-2) and No. 8 Syracuse met in the nightcap.

Markieff Morris had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Marcus added 14 points and eight rebounds. Robinson had 10 and 10 in only 15 minutes and point guard Tyshawn Taylor from Hoboken had 13 points for the 8-0 Jayhawks.

Freshman Wil Barton topped Memphis (7-1) with 16 points, and another freshman, Chris Crawford, had 15.

Kansas struggled in wins over Arizona and UCLA, but simply asserted itself against the Tigers. Coach Bill Self praised the overall play of Taylor in front of his home-area crowd but noted he had four of KU's 22 turnovers.

"It was a big game for Tyshawn," Self said. "He started out nervous, and we had nothing going in the first half. He's a good player, but he's careless. The whole team was ridiculously careless."

That included the twins, especially Marcus Morris, who had five turnovers. Thing was, the Jayhawks continually looked inside to generate offense to outscore Memphis 46-35 in the paint and shoot 57.1 percent.

"When you shoot 57 percent, all you've got to do is get more shots," Self said. "We turned it over too much."

Even so, after the 39-all tie, Kansas went on an extended 35-20 run to build its biggest lead at 74-59, and Memphis never got closer than 11 down the stretch. Self called Robinson the "best performer. He rebounded and played smart and under control."

Robinson also was thrilled to play in the Garden. "I played to my identity," he said, "which is to rebound and basically be a beast, as Coach says."

Kansas is only going to get better from here, and not only because of the experience of going through the season. On Dec. 18, highly touted freshman guard Josh Selby, who was suspended nine games for receiving improper benefits, will debut.

"That will be the most anticipated home game in years," Self said.

As for the firepower Selby will add to Kansas' attack, Self said, "Our other players aren't doing poorly. Josh has to just be part of it. He's not going to be the guy. We don't have the guy."

No, the Jayhawks have a bunch of guys who can play.