From the onset you could tell who the better coached team was on Monday night and that was Kansas. The rebuilding Jayhawks showed a lot of discipline working the ball inside tonight against a taller Washington team and cruised to 73-54 win in the opening round of the CBE Classic.
Washington hit the boards strong all night but they couldn't hit a shot or a free throw if their life depended on it. Once again the perimeter game failed the Huskies as Kansas looked quicker and more in control the entire evening.
The Huskies trailed 32-22 at the half then came out stone cold to start the second stanza. The Jayhawks went on a 10-0 run to take complete control of the game 47-28. It was just a matter of trading baskets after that after the Jayhawks put the game on cruise control.
Isaiah Thomas led the team with 20 points on 7-17 shooting. Jon Brockman was effectively shut down with only 7 points hitting only 2-9 from the field but he finished with 16 rebounds.
Washinton has its work cut out for them if they want to make the NCAA tournament this year. they are a horrible shooting team. The Huskies only shot 29% from the field tonight and were only 9-16 from the charity stripe.
Washington is a team that doesn't shoot or defend well at this point. If they are going to do anything this year they are going to have to get it corrected during December.
Things don't get any easier because Florida is up next. The Gators fell to Syracuse in the opener earlier this evening.