The No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks made sure there would be no upsets on their watch as they made light work of the No. 12 Richmond Spiders in a 77-57 win on March 25 in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament Southwest Region Semifinals in San Antonio.
Richmond surprised critics when they reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1988, but they lacked manpower to go blow-for-blow with Kansas.
Senior guard Brady Morningstar led three Kansas players in double-digit scoring with 18, making four of seven three-pointers. Junior forward Marcus Morris followed with 13 points, while freshmen Thomas Robinson, a forward, and guard Josh Selby, who starred at Baltimore’s Lake Clifton High School, came off the bench to add 12 and 9 points, respectively.
Richmond senior forward Justin Harper led his team with 22 points and nine rebounds, but his teammates failed to produce.
“We didn’t really play that well tonight, so finishing like that is tough,” Richmond senior center Dan Geriot said, who added that the team could “have competed a little better.”
Richmond ends their season with a 29-8 record, while Kansas advances on to the Elite 8 to face No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth University on March 27.
