March 20, 2008
Rush, Kansas cruise past Portland State
OMAHA, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Kansas was in no mood for a miracle.
Brandon Rush scored 18 points to lead the top-seeded Jayhawks to a decisive 85-61 victory over No. 16 Portland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional on Thursday.
Top seeds are now 93-0 against No. 16 seeds since the tournament expanded to 64 teams 23 years ago. UCLA can make it 94-0 with a victory over Mississippi Valley State in the West Regional later Thursday.
The game was never in doubt for Kansas (32-3), which opened up early leads of 14-3 and 33-18 en route to a commanding 49-26 halftime advantage.
Darrell Arthur had 17 points and Mario Chalmers added 16 for the Jayhawks, who shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from 3-point range. Jeremiah Dominguez has 13 points to pace the Vikings (23-10), who were making their first appearance in the NCAAs.
Kansas, a regional finalist last season, awaits the winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 8 UNLV and ninth-seeded Kent State.
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