Bill Self joined the Allen Fieldhouse fans in giving Florida Atlantic coach Rex Walters a thunderous ovation during pre-game introductions on Wednesday night.

“I got goosebumps,” Self, Kansas University’s fifth-year coach, said of the applause accorded to ex-Jayhawk standout Walters prior to opening tip of the Jayhawks’ 87-49 rout of Walters’ Owls.

“It was not a highly contested game, so that was about as loud as our building got tonight. That was nice. I told him after the game, ‘The people here really appreciate the way you played and the way you conducted yourself.’ I think he’ll do fine (as a head coach). He is so competitive, and he was coaching them to the end.”

The Jayhawks started fairly slowly against Walters’ Owls in leading 20-13 with 7:51 left in the first half. But a 12-0 run, fueled in part by two threes from Mario Chalmers, opened it up.

By halftime, KU led, 38-19, and it was no contest the rest of the way.

“I think tonight they struggled,” Self said of the 1-6 Owls. “They had UMKC down in the second half on Monday night (in 77-66 loss at Municipal Auditorium). Defensively they were fine. They struggle scoring the ball if Monroe (Carlos, four points on 1-of-8 shooting) is not (scoring).

“They are not the team they will be probably be later on in the season. Rex will do it the right way. He’ll sacrifice some performances for the good of the program long-term, Keeping three guys at home shows that.”

The Owls on Wednesday were without leading scorer Paul Graham, who is on indefinite suspension.

As far as KU’s play …

“I thought we played OK,” Self said. “We did not make shots, and therefore they hung around. Some individuals that needed to play well played better. I thought Sasha was a lot better and aggressive,” he noted of Sasha Kaun. “Darnell did some good things, and Shady (Darrell Arthur) played well while in foul trouble. He played smart. We did pretty well tonight.”