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Chalmers, Kansas start fast on way to rout of Florida Atlantic

Nov 29, 2007 - 6:14 AM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- It took just a perfect opening half by Mario Chalmers for Kansas to notch another win against a team from the Sun Belt Conference.

Chalmers scored 11 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting as the fourth-ranked Jayhawks captured an 87-49 victory over Florida Atlantic on Wednesday.

Although the sophomore guard did miss the only attempt he took after the break, Kansas (6-0) added on to a 40-19 halftime advantage, pulling ahead by 40 points at one point before improving to 16-2 against the Sun Belt.

"They (Florida Atlantic) are not the team that they will probably be later on in the season," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "In the first half, even though I thought we played OK, we did not make shots and therefore they hung around."

In his first game following a 36-minute outing in which he had 17 points in a 76-72 overtime win over Arizona on Sunday, Brandon Rush once again looked strong, notching the same scoring output.

"Brandon was aggressive coming in and shot the ball early to get us some offense," Self said.

The 6-6 junior had been limited to no more than 16 minutes in either of his first two games after tearing the ACL in his right knee in a spring workout for the NBA draft.

Rush hit a 3-pointer three minutes into the second half to make it 45-25. After a layup by teammate Darrell Arthur, Rush added a dunk in transition in the midst of a 23-3 run.

Rush had 10 points in the burst, including a 3-pointer that capped the spurt with 10:07 remaining, making it 65-28.

Darnell Jackson finished with 13 points and Arthur added 12 for the Jayhawks, who shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) with 11 3-pointers.

Chalmers had three of those 3-pointers along with freshman Conner Teahan, who finished with nine points.

"I think since Florida Atlantic is so small they wanted to keep the ball out of the paint and by them doing that, it left us wide open for threes," Chalmers said. "If you've got an open shot you've got to take it."

Coming off the win over Arizona over the weekend, Kansas next will hit the road to face another Pac-10 Conference squad, going up against No. 24 Southern California on Sunday.

"They are good," Self said about the Trojans. "Anybody that beats Southern Illinois by 25 on a neutral floor and scores 70 (is good).

"O.J. (Mayo) is terrific. He will be the best player that we have played so far and that includes (Arizona's Chase) Budinger. Taj Gibson is very good. Davon Jefferson is very good. They are a very talented team. I'm sure their place will be jumping and it will be a great test for us."

Sanchez Hughley and Carderro Nwoji had 14 points apiece for the Owls (1-6), who are coached by Rex Walters, who played for Kansas from 1991-93.

Walters, who helped the Jayhawks reach the Final Four in 1993, received a ovation from the 16,300 at Allen Fieldhouse during the introductions.

"It was very special," said Walters, who scored 1,064 points in two seasons. "That introduction was very nice. It touched my heart. I have said all along that the people are what make this state and Kansas basketball so special. It means an awful lot to me for them to show that much respect and love. Then, unfortunately, we had to play a basketball game."