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Jayhawks sharp in 94-44 rout over Central Arkansas

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By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Tyrel Reed hit four 3-pointers for 12 points and No. 1 Kansas scored 23 straight points in the first half to overwhelm Central Arkansas 94-44 Thursday night.

Coming off a tight victory over Memphis two days earlier, Kansas (3-0) dismantled Central Arkansas from the start. Spreading the ball around on offense, the Jayhawks shot 57 percent and had four players score 12 points for their 43rd straight home win.

Central Arkansas (1-2) never stood a chance in its first game at Allen Fieldhouse. The Bears had trouble even finding shots and missed when they did, shooting 25 percent. Jared Rehmel had 11 points to lead the Bears, who went 12 minutes without a field goal during Kansas' big first-half run.

Kansas eked out a 57-55 win over Memphis in a rematch of the 2008 NCAA title game Tuesday in St. Louis, surviving a sloppy offensive performance and a last-second shot by the Tigers. The Jayhawks had 21 turnovers in that game, most on ill-advised passes and from dribbling into trouble, and had their fewest points in a win since 2000.

The small-conference Bears were just what Kansas needed to get better.

Kansas had a good defensive game against Memphis was, not surprisingly, even better against Central Arkansas. Closing out on their shooters and allowing virtually nothing inside, the Jayhawks forced 15 straight misses in the first half and held the Bears to 1-of-14 shooting from 3-point range.

Offensively, the Jayhawks moved the ball around the perimeter for open jumpers and deep postups, looking nothing like the team that had coach Bill Self shaking his head in St. Louis.

Senior guard Sherron Collins seemed to be clear of the leg cramps that plagued him against Memphis, but appeared to turn his right ankle early in the second half. He limped off to the locker room, but returned a few minutes later and quickly hit a jumper, finishing with 12 points.

There was plenty to go around.

Twins Marcus and Markieff Morris had their way inside, scoring on power moves and rebound slams. Marcus had 12 points, Markieff eight.

Freshman Xavier Henry had 12 points after going 3 for 11 against Memphis and Reed shook off an 0-for-2 night by going 4 for 5 from 3-point range. Tyshawn Taylor recovered from his seven-turnover performance with a solid, no-turnover night at the point and freshman Thomas Robinson had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas pulled off the rout without much help from center Cole Aldrich.

Central Arkansas double-teamed the preseason All-American nearly every touch in the post and he didn't handle it well early, opening the game with consecutive turnovers that had Self screaming from the sideline.

Aldrich pulled himself together after that, kicking out of the double teams quickly to set up open shots on the opposite side of the floor. He took just seven shots and had seven points.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Matt Seigel

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