Kansas’ five starters are among the best in the nation. They are so good that saying they overshadow their bench would be a gross understatement – either that, or the Jayhawk bench is so far below standard that the starting five MUST carry the load. Either way, KU dominated the Spartans in every way that one basketball team can dominate another. Take out UNCG’s top scorer and the visitors would have had only 39 points.

Nick Collison, Keith Langford and Kirk Hinrich all had over 20 points, and Wayne Simien has a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Lee was the only other Jayhawk to hit a field goal – he went 2-for-2 for four points. Aaron Miles had just two free throws, but dished eight assists. The rest of the team had just 11 points — all from foul shots.

Collison ended with 25 points, Langford had 24 and Hinrich added 23.

As a team, Kansas hit 22 of 33 free throws, but grabbed 16 steals. The Jayhawks’ 21 assists outwieghed their 11 turnovers. UNC Greensboro shot just over 44 percent from the floor, went only 2-for-8 from the charity stripe, and suffered 25 turnovers to just 16 assists. However, Jay Johnson led all scoring with 27 points – 22 of which were in the first half.

The Jayhawks hit just under 60 percent of their shots, and out-rebounded the Spartans 45-29, led by Simien with 10, Collison with eight and Hinrich with seven.

The two teams went toe to toe for the first several minutes, but Kansas’ pressure defense and better rebounding power helped the home team pull ahead. The game was tied up at seven points each, but KU went on a 12-0 run to pull away. UNC-Greensboro is trying to stay in it with three-point bombs, however, most of which from Johnson.

The second half started off just like the first: Jay Johnson dominating for UNC Greensboro, and Kansas’ starters playing like they were the best in the country. KU’s senior duo and two of the super sophs built a lead of 20 points just four minutes into the second half.

The Spartans folded after 30 minutes of solid basketball, led by an unearthly performance by Joseph. Despite his effort, the visitors seemed to have run out of gas late in the game, and Coach Williams emptyed the bench early.

The Spartans’ defecit was still under 20 points with about ten minutes to play, but a 19-2 Kansas run put the game into blowout mode. For a stretch, nearly every UNCG possession ended in either a turnover or a KU steal, and the Jayhawks were hitting every shot they put up.

First half numbers: Simien led the charge with 15 points, followed by Langford with 14, Collison with 10 and Hinrich with nine. Aside from Johnson, only three other Spartans have scored. UNCG’s Johnson hit nine of his 11 shots, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Tonight’s winner will face the UNC Tarheels next Wednesday in New York City for the continuation of the preseason NIT.