Kansas sails past Texas Southern to advance in NCAA tournament

FORT WORTH, Texas (KSNT)- Kansas men's basketball had no trouble with Texas Southern in the opening round match of the NCAA tournament.

The game went about as most people expected it to. Kansas took control early and never sacrificed it. KU won 83-56 and will play Creighton in the round of 32 on Saturday, March 19.

"We shared it and defended and rebounded the ball well," head coach Bill Self said after the win.

KU took a 7-2 lead out the gate, and led by 15 just over 12 minutes into the game. The Jayhawks blew the game wide open from here, opening up a 28-point lead by halftime.

Ochai Agbaji came out hot, scoring seven of Kansas' first 17 points. Then, Dajaun Harris went on a scoring spree to add seven himself. From here, it was the Remy Martin show. Martin took over with aggressive defense, a couple steals and even a fast break slam.

Martin finished the game with 15 points, four assists and two steals. Dajaun Harris scored 12 points, too. The two point guards combined for a stellar 11-for-13 shooting from the field. Christian Braun scored 14, while Jalen Wilson and Agbaji each notched 11.

Mitch Lightfoot, who was listed as day-to-day with a knee sprain, did get in the game early for Kansas and is likely available moving forward.

The Jayhawks were able to rest their top players for much of the second half. Joe Yesufu, Zach Clemence, KJ Adams and Jalen Coleman-Lands all saw significant minutes in the second half.

Kansas finished the game shooting an impressive 50% from the field. They won the rebounding battle 44-31.

Creighton beat San Diego State, 72-69, in overtime to advance to play KU. Tipoff for KU vs Creighton is set for 1:40 p.m. on Saturday.