Kansas Pounds Prairie View 110-52

Now that the warmups are over, No. 2 Kansas can go about the business of trying to reach the Final Four.

The top-seeded Jayhawks and their two All-Americans, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz, overpowered No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M 110-52 in the first round of the Midwest Regional Friday night. Pierce scored 25 points and LaFrentz had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

It was a game in which the seedings didn't lie. Prairie View (13-17) was the only team in the tournament with a losing record and had the lowest power rating of any team in tournament history.

Kansas (35-3) exploited the Panthers' weaknesses from the start and wound up winning by the second-widest margin in tournament history.

"We're more gifted, naturally, than they are," coach Roy Williams said. "I'm not trying to put them down. We had more weapons and I was really pleased with the way our kids focused on playing the game."

Kansas made its first five shots while Prairie View, in its first NCAA tournament, missed its first nine. By the time the Panthers made a field goal, Kansas led 20-5.

They started out 0-of-9 from the floor, and later were 2-of-18 and 4-of-25. They wound up 17-of-73 (23 percent), while Kansas hit better than 60 percent.

"I think you saw a Final Four team tonight. I don't see anyone in this bracket who can beat them," Prairie View coach Elwood Plummer said.

"To beat them, you have to play them tough because they're big and strong. They were just too big and strong for us."

The Jayhawks had runs of 13-0, 11-0, 9-0 and 11-2 on the way to a 60-24 halftime lead. That was the most points by Kansas in any half of their 83 NCAA tournament games.

Kansas also set school tournament records for rebounds (68), points and margin.

Once Kansas took control, the game took on the look of a pickup game. The Panthers shot quickly on just about every trip down the floor and the Jayhawks didn't waste any time, either.

Pierce was particularly impressive while scoring from all over the floor. He was 10-of-12 from the field, including three 3-pointers and a handful of soaring dunks over the outmanned Panthers.

Another highlight for Kansas was the play of guard Billy Thomas, who hadn't played since March 1 due to a thigh injury. Thomas hit a 3-pointer about 10 seconds after checking in and finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

LaFrentz was one rebound short of a double-double when he got cut over his right eye late in the first half. He returned after getting stitched up.

"I think it's important to try to improve every day," Williams said. "We went to the zone late in the game because we need to work on being a better zone team. I'm glad they pressed us because we need to work on our press offense."

"I tink we did some things that will help our basketball team and help us in the next game."

The Jayhawks play Sunday against No. 8 seed Rhode Island, which defeated Murray State 97-74.

The biggest cheers of the night were reserved for Prairie View's pep band, which delighted the crowd with its raucous, high-stepping routine at halftime.

Tamarron Sharpe led the Panthers with 16 points.

The only other NCAA tournament game with a wider margin of victory came in 1963, when Loyola, Ill., beat Tennessee Tech by 69.

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