BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self was happy with how his team responded after leading scorer Marcus Morris was ejected for a flagrant elbow to the head.
What led to the ejection is what had Self so bothered after another win.
Markieff Morris had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 3 Kansas overcame the ejection of his twin brother to beat California 78-63 in a testy game Wednesday night.
“It was ridiculous,” Self said. “We obviously contributed a great amount to it. I think Cal was chippy also, but we didn’t handle it very well. We let it bother us too much and had to get the last word in. I was disappointed in how our guys reacted, really disappointed in Marcus. He got exactly what he deserved.”
Freshman Josh Selby scored 18 points in his second game since an NCAA suspension and the Jayhawks (11-0) remained unbeaten and handed the Golden Bears (6-5) their third loss in four games.
This marked Kansas’ 10th straight win over Cal. But instead of being remembered for Selby’s sweet outside shooting or Morris’ strong play inside, this one will be remembered for the chippy second half that featured one flagrant foul, Marcus Morris’ ejection and three technical fouls.
“If they want to initiate a physical game, I feel very strongly we’ll end up on the winning side,” Kansas forward Thomas Robinson said.
Jorge Gutierrez scored 15 points, Allen Crabbe had 11 and Markhuri Sanders-Frison added 10 points and 12 rebounds for Cal. Coach Mike Montgomery failed in his first try to win his 600th career game.
Tyrel Reed scored 18 points and Thomas Robinson added seven points and 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who improved to 4-0 against Pac-10 teams this season. Unlike home victories over USC and UCLA, this one didn’t go down to the wire.
The Jayhawks scored the first nine points of the second half, highlighted by a three-point play from Selby, to take a 47-30 lead. But Cal responded with a 13-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer by Crabbe that was followed by Marcus Morris’ elbow to Harper Kamp’s head.
Kamp made both free throws for a five-point trip, while Morris was ejected after scoring eight points.
“The thing that bothers me in basketball is when guys put their own agendas ahead of their team. That’s very, very, very selfish,” Self said. “That was about as bad a basketball play as I’ve ever seen.”
The chippiness continued from there with Gutierrez and Robinson getting into a scrum during a fight for a loose ball. Gutierrez jumped up off the court angry at Robinson and had to be held back by Montgomery.
Other Cal players had to be held back on the bench as the officials tried to settle things down. Both players got technical fouls after the officials checked the replay monitor.
“It was a physical game,” Sanders-Frison said. “We were ready to play physical. We knew going in it was going to be a physical game so we were prepared for that type of play.”
Gary Franklin then hit a 3-pointer and Sanders-Frison added two free throws to cut it to 47-43, and Cal had three chances on the next trip to get even closer but couldn’t convert.
Robinson’s three-point play steadied things for Kansas, which quickly built the lead back to double figures.
Brady Morningstar got called for another technical later in the second half for Kansas, but the Jayhawks still managed to pull away without Marcus Morris.
“It was too bad he was out but we had to play with the guys we had,” Reed said. “Selby stepped up, Markieff had a big night. We’re a team and somebody is going to make a play.”
Cal made just 35 percent of its shots and was 19 of 33 from the foul line, failing to take advantage of opportunities to stay in the game in the second half.
“The free throw situation is scary because we were getting to the basket, getting fouls calls and then not getting anything out of it,” Montgomery said. “There’s (14) points that you don’t get, and against a team like that you don’t do that.”
Kansas was the highest-ranked nonconference opponent to visit Berkeley since No. 3 Kansas State came here in 1958. The Jayhawks’ only other trip here came two years earlier when Wilt Chamberlain led them to a 66-56 victory over coach Pete Newell’s squad.
Kansas started slowly, making just two baskets in the first five minutes before Selby sparked the Jayhawks with his outside shooting. Selby hit two 3-pointers in an 18-5 run that gave Kansas a 10-point lead midway through the half. The Jayhawks led 38-30 at halftime.
Selby picked up where he left off in his first collegiate game when he scored 21 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer in a 70-68 win over USC. He missed the first nine games because the NCAA ruled he accepted impermissible benefits.