March Madness 2016, Maryland vs Kansas: Full highlights

The No. 5 Maryland Terrapins and No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks put on a great show in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

The NCAA Tournament South Region has been quite the challenge, but the Maryland Terrapins and Kansas Jayhawks had no issues holding up in the first two rounds of the tournament. On Thursday night, the two teams met in a game that was fierce and saw plenty of energy on the court.

Knowing the power of the the Jayhawks, the Terrapins did their best to try and jump on Kansas early. A big steal and slam by Maryland’s Jake Layman highlighted the energy the Terrapins were looking to bring early and often. However, on that very slam, the refs called a highly controversial technical on Layman, which may have halted the momentum that the Terrapins were coming out with.

From there, Kansas played with the spirit of champions and made sure that the Terrapins didn’t increase their lead and put them in a bad spot. They would slowly cut into the lead and would eventually take a two-point lead heading into the half against a very determined Maryland squad.

For Maryland, despite their best efforts to try and take the game from Kansas early on, Melo Trimble was struggling to find his shot and that was allowing the Jayhawks to take back the lead and maintain their advantage in the second half.

For Kansas, it was the usual suspects running the show yet again as Perry Ellis had a dominant game and Wayne Selden Jr. had another fantastic showing. For all the fight that the Terrapins showed in the first half, Kansas was clearly the better squad in the second half.

In the waning minutes of the second half, the Terrapins would struggle to get points on the board and that’s all it would take as Kansas would extend their advantage and hold on for the victory. They will now head to the Elite 8 to take on the Villanova Wildcats.

Full Highlights

"defpensports: Melo Trimble pull-up on point"

Three Stars

3. Jake Layman, F, Maryland

Layman didn’t exactly have a night that jumps off the page, but it was spirit and hustle that set the tone for the game early on. Kansas ultimately matched that tone, but Layman’s performance can’t be understated. Layman finished the night with 8 points and 5 rebounds.

2. Wayne Selden Jr., G, Kansas

Wayne Selden Jr. had another great night scoring the ball for Kansas. He was second on the team in scoring and he did just as much work on the boards and passing as he did scoring. Selden would finish with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

1. Perry Ellis, F, Kansas

Like most nights, Perry Ellis brought the pain to the other team. That was the case again against Maryland as they had no answer for him and they just couldn’t stop him no matter how hard they tried. Ellis would finish the night with 27 points to lead Kansas to the next round.

Odds

Kansas came into the game favored at -5.5. With the win, they covered the spread.

What’s Next?

The No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks will play the No. 2 Villanova Wildcats in the Elite 8 with a chance to win the South Region.