Mar 23, 2007, 2:40 GMT
San Jose, CA - Brandon Rush scored 12 points on a perfect 6- of-6 from the field, pulled down five rebounds and dished out five assists as Kansas edged Southern Illinois, 61-58, to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson each posted nine points for the Big 12 champion Jayhawks (33-4), who have won 14 straight games and will collide with UCLA in the West Regional final on Saturday.
Top-seeded Kansas shot an incredible 60 percent (25-of-42) from the floor.
'I thought the game went exactly as the coaches thought it would,' Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. 'It was a grind-it-out game. We were very fortunate to win. We played a very well-coached, tough basketball team that can play with anybody anywhere. We feel very fortunate tonight.'
Jamaal Tatum poured in 19 points -- 17 of which came in the second half -- for the fourth-seeded Salukis (29-7), who have never reached the Elite Eight. Tony Young chipped in 14 points and Randal Falker added 11 with nine boards in defeat.
'First of all, just very, very proud of my seniors,' Salukis coach Chris Lowery said. 'We came up short. We got some looks. We missed a layup there, a turnover there. Maybe the outcome of the game is different.'
Kansas opened the contest on a strong note, taking a 10-2 lead at the 15:16 mark. Later in the frame, however, Southern Illinois went on an 11-2 run -- capped by Tatum's jumper -- for a 24-21 edge with 4:11 left in the first half.
Darnell Jackson then hit back-to-back dunks and Rodrick Stewart drained a jump shot as the Jayhawks led 27-24 at the break.
The Salukis opened the second half with a 9-0 spurt -- ended by Young's three-pointer -- to go up by six, but Kansas responded with seven straight points for a 34-33 lead.
Things were nip-and-tuck for the next few minutes with Southern Illinois leading by as many as four before the Jayhawks went on top 58-53 with 1:23 to play. Tatum then drilled his first trey of the game after missing his first six attempts to cut the Salukis' deficit to two with 1:08 to play.
After Chalmers made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, Tatum buried a jumper on the ensuing possession as Southern Illinois trailed 59-58 with 47 seconds remaining.
Rush, though, drained a layup with 25 seconds left to ice the game, while Young's desperation 40-foot triple as time expired banked off the glass.
The Salukis finished 37 percent shooting in the contest.
Game Notes
The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood...Jackson ended with eight points and five rebounds...Matt Shaw posted nine points and grabbed six boards for the Salukis...SIU scored 26 points off 19 Kansas turnovers...The Jayhawks advanced to the Elite Eight for the 19th time in school history.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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