LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)—Sasha Kaun had 25 points and 16 rebounds—both numbers dwarfing his meager numbers as a freshman—and Kansas routed Idaho State 90-66 Friday night in its first season opener as an unranked team since 1990.
Kaun, a 6-11 sophomore who averaged only 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds last year while struggling for playing time on a senior-laden team, got a huge ovation from the sellout crowd when he went to the bench with about 1:30 left.
Freshman point guard Mario Chalmers had 15 points for the youthful Jayhawks and Brandon Rush, another freshman, had 12. The Jayhawks will defend their co-Big 12 championship this year with five freshmen, six sophomores, no juniors and only three seniors.
But they were never challenged by the Bengals, who lost their first road game of the season for the 16th straight year.
The Jayhawks got off to a quick start and led 24-10 when Kaun’s bucket capped a 12-0 run. At that point, the Bengals had 13 turnovers to go with their 10 points. They ended with 24 turnovers against the bigger, quicker Jayhawks.
Tim Henry had 23 points for the Bengals, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Slim Millien, who led Idaho State last year with 11.8 points per game and set a school record by hitting 63 percent of his shots, was 8-for-14 for 22 points. David Schroeder had 15 points for the Bengals, who return two starters from last year’s 9-18 squad.
Nicholas Rhodes, the Bengals’ 6-9 junior, came down on his right foot in an awkward fashion in the first half and spent the rest of the game on the bench, with his shoe off and his foot elevated and heavily taped.
One point of concern for Kansas, which was scheduled to leave a few hours later for Hawaii and the Maui Classic, will be 3-point shooting. The Jayhawks were only 2-for-13. The Bengals were 9-for-26.
