LAWRENCE — The last time Richmond visited Allen Fieldhouse, the Spiders handed Kansas one of seven home losses in the Bill Self era.
The ninth-ranked Jayhawks weren’t about to allow a repeat.
Richmond struggled against the stifling Kansas defense and shot just 32.8 percent for the game, settling for outside shots that simply wouldn’t fall in an 87-59 loss Tuesday night.
The Spiders (9-3) scored a season-low 18 points in the first half and were unable to score over an 8-minute period, during which the Jayhawks went on a decisive 18-0 run.
“We shot so poorly to start the game that it really gave us a very difficult time defending them in transition and finding other ways to score,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said.
Kansas’ Jeff Withey was an imposing force inside, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. He moved to fifth place in program history with 219 career blocks.
“We needed to do a better job of penetrating,” said Derrick Williams, who led the Spiders with 14 points. “I feel like guys were hesitating because he’s a great shot blocker.”
Four other Spiders finished in double-figures scoring, including a career-best performance from Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, who had 11 points and nine rebounds. All his points came in the second half, when he was 3 for 3 from the field and banked in a 3-pointer.
Travis Releford and Naadir Tharpe each added 11 points, and Elijah Johnson had seven assists for the Jayhawks (9-1), who will ride an eight-game win streak into a Saturday showdown at No. 7 Ohio State — a rematch of last year’s national semifinal won by Kansas.
“We’ve done a good job of holding serve at home and playing with energy,” Self said. “Now we’ll find out how good we are. Let’s be serious. The season starts Saturday.”
It sure didn’t start Tuesday night.
Richmond appeared stunned by the boisterous crowd of 16,300, allowing the Jayhawks to get out to a quick lead.
The Spiders’ three-point shooting allowed them to crawl within 15-11 with 11½ minutes left before everything suddenly went cold.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tuesday
At Lawrence
Allen Fieldhouse
No. 9 Kansas 87, Richmond 59
RICHMOND (9-3)
Robbins 0-2 1-2 1, Nelson-Ododa 3-3 4-8 11, Williams 4-12 4-8 14, Lindsay 4-8 2-3 12, Brothers 4-11 0-0 11, Anthony 2-10 0-0 5, Sparrow 1-7 1-1 3, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0, Allen 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-58 12-22 59.
KANSAS (9-1)
Young 4-4 0-0 8, Withey 7-9 3-4 17, Johnson 3-9 2-2 8, McLemore 5-9 2-3 14, Releford 4-5 2-2 11, Tharpe 4-5 0-0 11, Adams 2-4 0-0 4, White III 0-5 0-0 0, Manning 1-2 0-0 2, Self 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 1-1 0-0 2, Garrett 0-1 0-0 0, Traylor 1-2 0-0 2, Ellis 4-5 0-2 8. Totals 36-61 9-13 87.
Halftime—Kansas 39, Richmond 18. Three-point goals—Richmond 9-32 (Brothers 3-7, Williams 2-6, Lindsay 2-6, Nelson-Ododa 1-1, Anthony 1-4, Taylor 0-1, Allen 0-1, Robbins 0-2, Sparrow 0-4), Kansas 6-16 (Tharpe 3-4, McLemore 2-3, Releford 1-1, Manning 0-1, Johnson 0-3, White III 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Richmond 26 (Nelson-Ododa 9), Kansas 46 (Withey 13). Assists—Richmond 9 (Robbins, Sparrow 2), Kansas 17 (Johnson 7). Total Fouls—Richmond 17, Kansas 18. A—16,300.
