The Day After: Climbing Anteater Mountain

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Landen Lucas (33) and UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye (34) work for position during the second half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Landen Lucas (33) and UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye (34) work for position during the second half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye and the rest of the UC-Irvine big men came to Lawrence hoping to put a scare into the second-ranked Jayhawks.

And, for a half, they did just that. But KU’s superior talent and overall depth won out and the Jayhawks emerged with a 78-53 victory that pushed their record to 11-1 and paved the way for a possible jump to No. 1 in the nation thanks to Michigan State’s Tuesday night loss to Iowa.

The Jayhawks may have played 14 guys in this one, but that was mostly a result of the final score and KU having the game well in hand in the final 10 minutes.

Just six guys — Frank Mason, Devonte’ Graham, Wayne Selden, Perry Ellis, Brannen Greene and Landen Lucas — played 15 minutes or more and it’s clear that Self, though still searching for the move that makes the KU big man rotation click, has found the lineup he likes.

That should come as no surprise as late December typically has been the time when Self has pared down the rotation to give more minutes to the guys playing at the highest level.

A couple of key reserves certainly have carved out nice roles for themselves in that department and now, with the Big 12 opener coming Saturday, you can expect to see a lot of what you saw Tuesday night the rest of the way in terms of how the minutes are divided up.

Quick takeaway

KU’s final tune-up before a nasty start to conference play could not have gone much better from the tune-up standpoint. The Jayhawks were not on top of their game in this one yet found a way to make adjustments and grind out a good win against a good team. KU coach Bill Self said after the victory that he’d be surprised if UC-Irvine didn’t win its league and the Anteaters’ size, experience and nothing-to-lose mentality gave Kansas a perfect final test heading into the meat of its schedule.

Three reasons to smile

1 – KU’s game plan against Irvine’s 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye was fantastic. Ndiaye is not the kind of guy who’s going to go off like Wayne Selden is capable of, but, with that size and that touch from the free throw line, he’s definitely a guy who could dominate the offensive end with relative ease. That’s if you let him get comfortable. And KU never did. The bigs leaned and pounded on him all night and the guards helped down from the perimeter just about every time he touched it. Even if they didn’t come up with a steal, just that extra presence caused enough havoc and forced Ndiaye to either turn it over or kick it out.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr. (1) and forward Hunter Mickelson (42) knock the ball loose from the grip of UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye (34) during the first half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

2 – After a pretty ho-hum first half, the Jayhawks really turned it up in the second half. There wasn’t a soul in the Fieldhouse who did not expect to see that given the way KU slept-walked through the first half, but even knowing that Bill Self would light a fire under his guys at halftime, I was not so sure the Jayhawks could get it together in time to look as good as they did. UC-Irvine really had KU out of sorts on offense in that first half, but a couple of nice adjustments and increased energy and effort on defense helped KU roll to a 50-27 second-half advantage and a 25-point win. It wasn’t just one or two guys, either. Every KU player on the floor defended with a sense of urgency and purpose during the final 20 minutes, getting chest to chest with the Irvine players and making them sweat for every pass, dribble and shot.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) gets to the bucket past UC Irvine guard Aaron Wright (32) during the first half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

3 – Believe it or not, Brannen Greene was one of the few Jayhawks who showed great effort in the first half. He only scored once in that first 20 minutes, but you could tell he was engaged and did not fall victim to the lack of focus and intensity that usually plagues him but seemed to get his teammates in the first half. It’s just another example of the new Brannen Greene, a guy who maybe has finally “got it.” He plays hard every time on the floor now and does so without losing the flare and cockiness that he’s known for. Who knows if or how long it will last, but give the young man credit for responding to a bad situation with a great stretch.

Three reasons to sigh

1 – We know why Cheick Diallo has struggled to both produce and gain playing time, but now Carlton Bragg is in danger of falling into the same trap. Playing basketball in the Big 12 for Bill Self is not easy and I don’t care how talented you are as a freshman, you’re going to take your lumps and have growing pains. Both guys are dealing with that right now and even though Self urged KU fans to not give up on the two crazy-talented freshmen, it’s hard to envision them getting a ton of minutes the rest of the way unless they take drastic steps in all areas of the game.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Cheick Diallo (13) gets an earful from head coach Bill Self after a quick foul during the first half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

2 – Svi is headed in the wrong direction. Maybe it’s just because Mason, Graham, Selden and Greene have been so good lately, but after a promising start to the 2015-16 season, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has taken a step back toward irrelevance. He played just 10 minutes on Tuesday night — finishing 0-for-1 from the floor with 1 rebound and 3 fouls — and has not even logged 40 minutes in the past four games combined. The return of Greene, along with his increased effort and strong shooting, has knocked Svi back a bit in the rotation, but his recent slump can’t be blamed entirely on opportunity. Svi checked into Tuesday’s game at the same time Greene did. He just didn’t do as much with his minutes and is starting to look a lot more like the Svi from 2014-15, who blended in and disappeared at times rather than the Svi we saw in Maui who asserted himself and looked to be gaining confidence.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) and forward Jamari Traylor (31) try to trap UC Irvine forward Mike Best (33) during the second half, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

3 – There was a brief moment when Wayne Selden lost his cool. Midway through the first half after getting hip-checked and knocked to the floor, Selden, turned around, scoured at the referee and yelled, “What the (bleep).” Less than five seconds later, Selden was whistled for a foul after he retaliated by shoving the UC-Irvine player while setting a screen. Now, those types of shoves happen every game and nearly on every possession, but it’s not a good idea to execute one right after drawing that kind of attention to yourself. The momentary gaffe was about the only lowlight from an otherwise terrific game by Selden.

One for the road

The Jayhawks’ 25-point pounding of UC-Irvine….

• Gave KU its 10th consecutive win, which is the longest winning streak since the 2012-13 season, when KU won 18 in a row.?

• Gave KU its 10 consecutive wins for the 13th time in the Bill Self era.?

• Gave KU its 30th consecutive win in Allen Fieldhouse, including a 6-0 record this season.? Kansas is 196-9 in Allen Fieldhouse during the Bill Self era, including a 97-5 record against non-conference opponents. 734-109 all-time in the venue.?

• Improved Bill Self’s record to 363-79 (.821) while at Kansas and 570-184 (.756) all-time.?

• Made KU 2,164-832 (.722) all-time.

Next up

The Jayhawks will be back in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to kick off Big 12 Conference play against No. 23 Baylor at 3 p.m. After that, the Jayhawks have a quick turnaround for a Big Monday game against No. 3 Oklahoma.

More news and notes from Kansas vs. UC Irvine

— See what people were saying about the game during KUsports.com’s live coverage

By the Numbers: Kansas 78, UC Irvine 53