Reno, Nev. ? Kansas University’s men’s basketball players picked a perfect time and place to model their new bright-red uniforms.

So says junior power forward and lifelong Kansan Wayne Simien, who grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds while scoring 15 points in the Jayhawks’ 72-52 victory Saturday over UC Santa Barbara at the University of Nevada’s Lawlor Events Center.

“I thought they were appropriate for the holiday season,” said Simien, who was a toddler the last time KU wore red — in a 1986 Final Four semifinal loss to Duke in Dallas. “They were like Santa Claus uniforms … all red.”

Simien gives the Jayhawks’ new uniforms high marks for Christmas fashion.

“They’re tight. I like ’em,” Simien said. “And our first game in them, we get a win.”

The Jayhawks, 6-1 entering today’s 9:30 p.m. contest against 4-3 Nevada, won’t be wearing red again tonight. In fact, KU coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks wore red Saturday just “so we wouldn’t have to stay up all night washing uniforms.”

The Jayhawks will wear blue tonight and take care of the laundry duties back home Monday in Lawrence.

For a time against UCSB, it appeared Self might be up all night fretting over Saturday’s game. KU hit nine of 37 shots the first half for 24.3 percent. The Jayhawks heated up the second half, however, hitting 62.1 percent of their shots and scoring 48 points.

Keith Langford scored 15 of his 19 points the second half, while Aaron Miles had all 13 of his points the second 20 minutes.

Kansas University's J.R. Giddens dunks over UC Santa Barbara's Cecil Brown in the first half of the Jayhawks' 72-52 victory. KU beat the Gauchos Saturday in Reno, Nev.

“Basically, coach told us we were playing selfish,” Miles said of Self’s halftime talk. “We took quick shots. Wayne and Keith are our star scorers, and we weren’t getting them the ball early on.

“We picked up our intensity level on the defensive end. We got steals. We shared the rock.”

Miles — who said of the uniforms, “I like ’em; they’re clean” — scored 11 points in a 21-7 run that turned a 24-18 halftime lead into a 45-25 blowout. Langford had five in that surge, while J.R. Giddens, who had 10 points the first half, hit a three.

“We certainly can perform better than that,” Self said of the first half. “We were taking a lot of bad shots. That was my main concern. We did a good job attacking their zone the second half.

“If you are not going to shoot better than that, you have to guard harder.”

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Simien took advantage of KU’s bad shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds the first half, marking the most in a half since Nick Collison had 13 in the second half of last year’s national title game.

“There were a lot of rebounds to be had,” Simien said. “I took a couple of possessions off. I should easily have had 20.”

Simien had four points and Giddens three as KU outscored UC Santa Barbara, 7-0, to take a 17-10 lead with 5:41 left in the first half. In the horrific half, Santa Barbara and KU each went more than seven minutes without a field goal in one stretch.

“Nine-for 30-something shooting in one half obviously isn’t what you want,” Simien said. “But we eventually played better and got the ‘W.”’

Langford thrived offensively the second half, hitting six of seven shots.

“We got after them a little bit better,” Langford said of the second 20 minutes.

And in doing so the Jayhawks were able to win in red and maybe make fans forget that Duke game in ’86.

“They are OK,” Langford said of the uniforms. “I think we should put ’em away for a while because of all the controversy.”