NEW ORLEANS -- The Jayhawks bounced back after halftime and held off Ohio State for a 64-62 victory and a date with Kentucky in the national championship game.
The Jayhawks opened their national semifinal game Saturday night without much energy and trailed Ohio State 34-25 at halftime in the Superdome.KU hasn't led at halftime in an NCAA Tournament game since its opener against Detroit. The Jayhawks trailed Purdue and North Carolina State and entered the locker room in the Midwest Regional final tied with North Carolina.The malaise lasted longer against the Buckeyes, but the half ended on a good note.After Tyshawn Taylor hit a pair of free throws that cut the deficit to 34-23 with 23.6 seconds remaining, the Buckeyes looked to take the final shot. Point guard Aaron Craft, who controlled the half with his playmaking, tried to challenge Jeff Withey at the basket. Withey swatted it away, which started a fast break that ended with Travis Releford's layup at the buzzer.After a Thomas Robinson jumper opened the game's scoring, KU missed its next seven shots and that set the tone for the half.Before the first media timeout was taken, KU coach Bill Self burned one of his, as he did against Purdue and N.C. State."That's ridiculous!" Self said in the huddle.Kansas fell behind by as much as 26-13, its largest deficit of the NCAA Tournament.Robinson was missing near the basket, and everybody who took a three-pointer was off. That included Tyshawn Taylor, who entered the game having missed his last 20 three-pointers, who misfired on his two.Meanwhile, after a slow shooting start, the Buckeyes warmed up with William Buford knocking in threes on successive possessions.At the break, Ohio State was shooting 46.2 percent, KU had warmed up to 36.7 percent.Robinson had eight points to lead the Jayhawks.
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