No. 3 Kansas 83, Miami (Ohio) 56

No. 3 Kansas 83, Miami (Ohio) 56

Published Jan. 3, 2011 2:06 a.m. ET

It's a pretty sure sign of a successful game when the most pressing postgame question is: Which dunk was the best?

After No. 3 Kansas cruised past Miami of Ohio 83-56 on Sunday, there were plenty of slams for the Jayhawks to choose from: Elijah Johnson's dunk after Travis Releford's alley-oop pass off the backboard, Josh Selby's swooping baseline throwdown or Marcus Morris' elevating flush over a RedHawks defender.

So?

''It has to be the one off the backboard,'' Marcus Morris said. ''That was unselfish.''

ADVERTISEMENT

The Jayhawks (13-0) could afford to show off a little while extending the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to 67 games. They led by 26 points at halftime and were able to bring huge scoring - Markieff Morris had 20 points and twin brother Marcus had 18 - off the bench. Selby, the freshman guard, scored 18 points.

Orlando Williams had 11 points and Allen Roberts added 10 for Miami (5-9), which really had no answer after a 14-0 run put the Jayhawks ahead 33-13 and on track to a 47-21 halftime lead. Kansas remains one of the seven unbeaten teams in Division I.

''I think the first half was probably the best we've looked this year,'' Kansas coach Bill Self said.

That effort was spurred by the Morris twins, whose uneven play has led to spots in Self's doghouse. They had 29 points - eight more than Miami - by halftime, and Markieff's 10 rebounds helped lead to a 46-17 rebounding advantage. The Morris twins were a combined 16 of 22 from the field.

''The Morris brothers just had us beat,'' Williams said. ''They were, tonight, just more athletic and more physical. Our big men just didn't really compete tonight.''

Self has used holiday break practice to stress more energy on defense, and Marcus Morris said all the dunks were a result of the Jayhawks taking that to heart and applying pressure.

Miami coach Charlie Coles agreed.

''If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes,'' Coles said. ''And we did a lot of looking at Kansas' behinds today because they were going the other way with the ball.''

Selby's speed was a big part of that, as well. Playing his fourth game, the dynamic freshman was coming off his first struggle as a Jayhawk, going 1 of 9 in 26 minutes against Texas-Arlington on Wednesday.

He shook that off to go 7 of 12 from the field - 4 of 5 on 3-pointers - in 25 minutes. He had seven rebounds - two fewer than he had in his first three games combined - and five assists.

''I just had a bad shooting night last game,'' Selby said. ''My teammates said just keep playing your game and it will come to you. So that's what I did.''

The RedHawks have lost to the nation's current top three teams, having lost 79-45 at No. 1 Duke and 66-45 at No. 2 Ohio State in November.

''In my opinion, Kansas is on top,'' Miami forward Antonio Ballard said.

share