Kansas sophomore Landen Lucas drives for two points against Rider center Matt Lopez in the Jayhawks 87-60 win over Rider.

In need of a feel-good effort to bounce back from last week’s 32-point loss to Kentucky in Indianapolis in the Champions Classic, the Kansas University men’s basketball team returned home to warm and cozy Allen Fieldhouse and got exactly what it was looking for in the form of a 87-60 victory over Rider.

Behind huge first halves from freshmen Cliff Alexander (10 points, 4 rebounds in 9 minutes) and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists in 11 minutes), the Jayhawks (2-1) built a 51-22 halftime advantage and never looked back.

Mykhailiuk started the game alongside Frank Mason, Wayne Selden, Perry Ellis and Landen Lucas, and Alexander joined him in the starting lineup to kick off the second half, in place of Lucas.

The Jayhawks played with great effort and energy throughout the game and looked like anything but the team that was trounced by Kentucky just six nights earlier. That was to be expected, particularly against an overmatched Rider squad, but it was clear that the KU players paid close attention to what head coach Bill Self typically preaches during the past week — toughness, heart, effort, intensity. All of those characteristics, and more, were on display in this one, which proved to be the perfect bounce-back opportunity for a Kansas team still trying to find itself a little.

Brannen Greene (17 points, 5-of-7 shooting) hit jumpers, Perry Ellis (17, 5-of-6) attacked the rim and Wayne Selden delivered seven first-half assists — and 9 overall — to make sure KU’s offense got off and running early.

One quirky stat: Frank Mason, at 5-foot-11 one of the smallest dudes in the game, tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Mykhailiuk, who stands 6-8, was the other Jayhawk to rip down five boards. 

Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:

• The game turned when: Cliff Alexander checked in midway through the first half. In a two-and-a-half minute spurt, Alexander put up nine points, grabbed three points and pushed the KU lead from 15-8 to 24-8. Just a few minutes later, KU led 34-13 and the rout was on.

• Offensive highlight: Eight minutes into the first half, with KU leading 17-8, sophomore guard Wayne Selden picked up his fourth assist of the game on a sweet, no-look, alley-oop feed to Cliff Alexander, who flushed it with authority and sent the Fieldhouse faithful into a frenzy. Selden was sharp throughout the first half and made it clear from the opening tip that he was more interested in getting shots for others — easy shots at that — than putting up numbers himself. If he commits to that and the team responds around him, he’ll be a serious weapon in that right. The guy has great vision and good touch.

• Defensive highlight: It started as a simple defensive rebound from Wayne Selden and quickly turned into an easy bucket for Perry Ellis on the other end. Without hesitating, Selden zipped a perfect pass the length of the floor to Ellis, who gathered himself and went up strong to lay it in. It was a perfect example of the lightning quick defense-to-offense transition that this team is capable of hitting opponents with no matter who’s on the floor.

• Key stat: We’ll go with field goal percentage and assists, which, clearly, were closely connected in this one. Kansas shot 60 percent from the floor (31-of-52) and dished 22 assists, with five different Jayhawks recording at least two dimes.

• Up next: The Jayhawks travel to Orlando, Florida, to play three games in four days this weekend, starting with Thursday’s 1:30 p.m. tip-off against Rhode Island in the opening round of the holiday tournament in Florida.

— See what people were saying aboyt Monday night’s game on our live game blog.