Las Vegan Johnson scores 26, propels No. 3 Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Elijah Johnson headed home to Las Vegas over the weekend for the funeral of an uncle, the junior guard for No. 3 Kansas had steeled himself to support his family through a difficult time.
It seemed all anybody wanted to talk to him about was basketball.
"Everybody was supposed to be sad," said Johnson, a Cheyenne High product. "I just realized where I'm at. ... I couldn't wait to get back to school."
He couldn't wait for the Big 12 tournament, either.
Johnson hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 26 points Thursday, complementing a strong performance by Thomas Robinson and helping the Jayhawks rout Texas A&M 83-66 in the quarterfinals as they pursue a third straight tournament title.
"I just needed to get a little love from my family, honestly," Johnson said. "When I went home for a little bit, I think it just gave me a little something going into March."
Robinson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and All-Big 12 guard Tyshawn Taylor added 16 points for Kansas (27-5), which will play No. 12 Baylor today.
Texas A&M (14-18), which beat Oklahoma in the first round, simply couldn't contain Johnson. He set his previous career high of 23 points early this season against UCLA, before spending several months struggling with his shot.
"Those are the shots he usually takes; those are the shots he practices every day," Taylor said. "He just hit them today."
Kansas scored on 10 of its first 11 possessions of the second half to pull away. Johnson started the run with a jumper.
The Jayhawks have won nine straight games and improved to 14-2 in Big 12 quarterfinals.
AROUND THE NATION
BIG EAST
NO. 2 SYRACUSE EDGES UCONN -- At New York, Dion Waiters had 18 points and James Southerland scored all 10 of his points in the final eight minutes to lift No. 2 Syracuse (31-1) to a 58-55 victory over Connecticut (20-13) in a Big East tourney quarterfinal.
LOUISVILLE TIPS NO. 9 MARQUETTE -- At New York, Kyle Kuric scored 20 points, and Louisville (24-9) gained an 84-71 upset of No. 9-ranked, second-seeded Marquette (25-7).
CINCY OUTLASTS NO. 13 HOYAS -- At New York, Cashmere Wright banked in a runner with 7.6 seconds left in the second overtime, and Cincinnati (23-9) gained a 72-70 victory over No. 13 Georgetown (23-8).
BIG 12
NO. 12 BAYLOR ADVANCES -- At Kansas City, Mo., Perry Jones III scored a career-high 31 points to power No. 12 Baylor (26-6) to an 82-74 victory over Kansas State (21-10) in a Big 12 quarterfinal. Pierre Jackson (Desert Pines) added 13 points and eight assists.
BIG TEN
HOOSIERS BREAK POSTSEASON SKID -- At Indianapolis, Jordan Hulls scored 20 points, and No. 15 Indiana (25-7) got its first postseason win since 2007, 75-58 over Penn State (12-20) in a Big Ten first-round game.
PAC-12
BEAVERS STUN TOP-SEEDED HUSKIES -- At Los Angeles, Jared Cunningham hit a go-ahead layup with 31.8 seconds left, and ninth-seeded Oregon State (19-13) rallied for an 86-84 victory over top-seeded Washington (21-10) in a Pac-12 quarterfinal.
ARIZONA OUSTS UCLA -- At Los Angeles, Solomon Hill scored 25 points, and Arizona (22-10) gained a 66-58 win over UCLA (19-14).
CONFERENCE USA
MARSHALL WINS 3OT THRILLER -- At Memphis, Tenn., DeAndre Kane scored 40 points, and Marshall (20-12) pulled out a 105-100 victory over Tulsa (17-14) in the first triple-overtime game in the 17-year history of the Conference USA tournament.
