Mar 17, 2016; Des Moines, IA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) dunks the ball against the Austin Peay Governors during the first half in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
DES MOINES, Iowa — Kansas demonstrated why it is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, cruising to a 105-79 victory over 16th-seeded Austin Peay on Thursday during the first round at Wells Fargo Arena.
For the first eight minutes, the Governors hung around and were within two points at 12-10. But just before the under-12-minute timeout, the Jayhawks’ onslaught began.
Sophomore guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk came off the Jayhawks’ bench and drained two 3-pointers to extend the lead to 18-10. Mykhailiuk remained hot and ended up finishing with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field.
“He fired one right off the bat and I think it went down, and then after that, he was ultra-aggressive the rest of the way,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought his moves off the bounce were maybe more impressive than his shots off the catch. I thought he looked athletic.”
From there, Kansas was able to flex its muscles inside with junior Landen Lucas and senior Perry Ellis leading the charge. The Jayhawks led 48-28 at halftime and then Kansas proceeded to shoot 63 percent from the field in the second half.
Lucas came away with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Ellis provided 21 points.
“They were big, strong and athletic,” Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos said. “We’re, quite honestly, not equipped to handle a team like that inside with their numbers and size.”
The Governors struggled with its shooting, particularly from outside the 3-point arc, from where the Governors only made 4 of 15.
Sophomore guard Josh Robinson led Austin Peay in scoring with 24 points and senior center Chris Horton added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Kansas’ next task will come Saturday against ninth-seeded Connecticut, which defeated eighth-seeded Colorado 74-67 earlier in the afternoon.
NOTES: Thursday marked only the seventh time all season that G Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scored in double figures. During the Big 12 Tournament last week, the Ukraine native only played a combined 30 minutes and didn’t score against Baylor or West Virginia. … Kansas F Perry Ellis has scored in double figures in 33 of the Jayhawks’ 35 games this season, including each of the last six games. … Austin Peay’s anemic 3-point shooting display was not indicative of its season. Long-range shooting was the reason the Governors made it to the NCAA Tournament. They made 16 3-pointers against Tennessee-Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game.
