Columbia, S.C. ? Bill Self sometimes loses his cool behind padlocked doors at practice.

Rarely, however, does Kansas University’s basketball coach cause a stir during games, certainly not the public display of emotion that resulted in a technical foul – one that caught the attention of his players in the early going of a 70-54 victory over South Carolina on Sunday at Colonial Center.

“When coach got his technical, he was really angry, really mad. We figured we better get it going. We didn’t want to get yelled at, too,” sophomore guard Brandon Rush said after a game that eventually put a smile on the face of KU’s fourth-year coach.

Self was not a happy camper five minutes into the game when Julian Wright dove to the floor to chase a loose ball and was hopped on by a couple of Gamecocks’ players. Officials ruled a tie-up; there was no foul called on the play.

Realizing there’s a new point of emphasis this season requiring officials to call fouls on players that leap into piles, Self made a mad dash down the bench area, then he got in the face of an official well outside the coach’s box.

He was hit with the ‘T’ – believed to be just Self’s third in four seasons at KU.

“I didn’t know if I really deserved it. I thought I was barely out of the box,” Self cracked, realizing he ventured WAY out of his allotted space. “I deserved that one, that’s for sure.”

But Bryce Sheldon hit just one of two free throws, and KU responded with seven straight points – five from Mario Chalmers (he had a fabulous game with 19 points and five steals) and two from Rush.

Led by Chalmers, KU continued its sizz and built a 27-13 lead with 5:39 to play in the half.

“When coach got the technical, Mario got in the huddle and said we need to pick it up. It led to energy,” Rush said.

Chalmers scored 13 points and had four steals the first half. He agreed he fed off Self’s anger.

“We took coach’s energy and applied it to the court,” Chalmers said.

Self, whose Jayhawks had not played a road game since blowing a 14-point lead in a loss to DePaul on Dec. 2, was asked by a media member if the ‘T’ was planned to instill some fire in his 13-2 team.

“Did I get it on purpose? No, I am not that quick a thinker,” Self said. “It pretty much happened simultaneously with the play.”

As far as what made him so upset : he wouldn’t go there.

“By Big 12 rule, I can’t comment on officiating, so I will not,” he said, abiding by a new league rule requiring coaches to stop talking at all about calls.

Self did admit to being extra intense prior to the game, KU’s last nonconference game of the season.

“There’s something about this weekend that got me fired up, watching guys play games that count all across America,” Self said.

He was referring to the start of conference play. KU gets a later start than most, opening against Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Self was so juiced for Sunday’s contest he nearly received a second technical, which would have meant automatic ejection. He had to be restrained by assistants in arguing a call late in the first half.

“Jank kept saying, ‘Knock it off,”’ Self said with a smile, referring to assistant Tim Jankovich.

Coach Joe Dooley had escorted Self back from center court following the initial technical.

The intense Jayhawks followed their coach’s lead on the defensive end, holding South Carolina to 38.8 percent shooting while snatching 10 steals and forcing 16 turnovers.

Really the only letdown came during SC’s 15-5 run to close the first half – one fueled by two threes from Evaldus Baniulis – that cut the gap to 32-28 at the break.

KU had been outboarded 20-11 at intermission, but wound up winning the board battle, 31-28.

“The guys will tell you we’ll focus on rebounding the next couple of days,” Self said.

Sasha Kaun, who had no boards while playing just three minutes because of foul problems the first half, had six rebounds the final 20 minutes.

“Sasha kept saying, ‘Not my fault,”’ Self joked of Kaun on the first-half board discrepancy. “I thought Sasha was key the second half.”

So was Darrell Arthur, who had five of his 17 points in a 7-0 stretch that upped a 49-42 lead to 56-42.

“He looked like the ‘Shady’ of the first couple of weeks of the season,” Self said of Arthur, who had been in a funk of late.

KU’s lead reached 16 points (62-46) at 4:39, and it was apparent KU would not squander a big lead as it did at DePaul, when it blew a 14-point lead in the final 14 minutes.

A key for KU was the return of the 3-2 zone defense, which KU employed with 11 minutes left and KU up, 51-42.

“Our defense the first 15 minutes was excellent, borderline as good as it has been all year,” Self said. “We lost some aggressiveness because of foul problems. The biggest thing in going to zone is they were in the bonus so early again. We thought they’d live on the free-throw line if we didn’t go to it.”

As it turned out, SC hit eight of 19 free throws to KU’s four of 15.