Williams tickled with victory
Anaheim, Calif. ? Roy Williams felt lucky after Kansas University defeated Utah State, 64-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when senior guard Kirk Hinrich scored only eight points March 20 at Oklahoma City.
Williams should have been downright giddy Thursday after second-seeded KU defeated third-seeded Duke, 69-65, at Arrowhead Pond, despite Hinrich scoring only two points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Kansas advanced because KU’s other senior All-America candidate, Nick Collison, scored a career-high 33 points.
“If you had told me before the game that he was going to be 1-for-9, I would have thought we were going to have a bad night,” said Williams, whose team will meet top-seeded Arizona in the West Regional final Saturday. “But it’s Kansas’ team. It’s not Kirk only or Nick only. At times out there tonight it looked like it was Nick only.
“Kirk is so good on the defensive end of the floor. There have been a couple games this year where he’s been sensational on the defensive end of the floor, and perhaps it’s taken some of his focus away.”
Thursday, Hinrich’s defense helped KU survive. He harassed Duke freshman J.J. Redick into a 2-for-16 shooting performance, which included a 1-of-11 effort from three-point range.
Redick was the Blue Devils’ second-leading scorer with an average of 15.3 points per game and led Duke (26-7) with 94 three-pointers, but he finished with five points against Kansas (28-7).
Williams needs more than just hustle from a senior who averages 17.5 points per game. Hinrich’s two points was his lowest output since his freshman year.
“We need to be able to guard like that on defense and still be able to get something from him on the offensive end,” Williams said.
WIBW video: Jayhawks battle to hard-won victory over Duke, 69-65
KU fans enjoy Nick’s time
Photos: Duke game pix
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