KANSAS CITY — A three-point followup to top-seeded Kansas defeating K-State 85-63 in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals Thursday:
— Perry Ellis shines in his 13th league tourney: Last old-man joke, we swear. Besides, old men would love to play with this guy’s productivity. He made 8-of-11 shots for 21 points, and contributed six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
With an NCAA No. 1 seed apparently secure, Kansas (27-4) shot 57 percent overall, including 25-of-36 on two-point attempts.
“We talked about not giving them layups, and right away they got some transition, some layups and got going and feeling good, and then they started jumping up and making shots,” said Wildcats coach Bruce Weber.
— Self committed to two point guards: Frank Mason and Devonte Graham are comfortable sharing the floor and sharing the ball, just the way Bill Self prefers.
“At Tulsa we played two points and Illinois we played two points. When we went to the Finals in ’12, we played two points,” Self said. “Moving forward, recruiting-wise, we want to play two point guards. I’d play three if we could, as long as one of them was big enough to defend a three (spot).”
Mason was efficient—16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with seven assists—while Graham made 5-of-10 and finished with 11 points and eight assists. They combined for only three turnovers.
— Something to Bragg about finally: A consensus top-25 recruit who has been only a bit player as a freshman, Carlton Bragg Jr. produced 12 points for his second double-digit scoring game of the season.
He shot 5-of-6, but also fouled out in 11 minutes off the bench and didn’t stick around long enough to grab a rebound.
“This is Carlton’s first time in the interview room, and he may be a little nervous,” Self joked. “I told him most guys that come in here get more than zero rebounds.”
K-State (17-16), which got 23 points from Justin Edwards, remains hopeful of an NIT bid.
Next up for Kansas is a semifinal matchup Friday against Baylor.