In the end, Kansas did to Providence what Providence had done to opponents all season long. They made big plays at the end, to win.
Led by Arizona State transfer guard Remy Martin, the top-seeded Jayhawks held a 13-point second half lead on the Friars, gave it up, then got it back again over the final five-and-a-half minutes. Martin was the key piece in the puzzle as Kansas held off PC 66-61 in the Midwest Regional semifinal at the United Center in Chicago Friday night.
With Kansas leading at the half 26-17 and Martin scoring half of the Jayhawks’ total, the lead stretched to as much as 13 on a Mitch Lightfoot basket with 14:53 to play. After shooting a miserable 1-13 from three in the first half, Noah Horchler finally got untracked with back-to-back threes to pull the Friars within one with 9:24 remaining.
The Friars’ first – and only – lead of the game came with 5:49 left on a Horchler move in the lane. Providence made a stop defensively and had possession with the lead less than a minute later, but Al Durham (who led PC with 21 points) was called for an offensive foul, charging against Kansas’ Martin.
Martin then personally keyed a 7-0 run by the Jayhawks, feeding Jaylen Wilson, Christian Braun and David McCormack for scores that put KU back up by six. And the Friars could never get within four from that point forward.
“I thought our team all year played with a resolve and resilience that was second to none in America,” PC head coach Ed Cooley said postgame. “These kids, men, have battled through a lot of adversity. I always tell them a long game goes fast. You need a bounce here.
“I’m heartbroken,” he added. “But I’m not going to let this one loss define the type of season we had.”
That the Friars came charging back from a 13-point second half deficit was one thing. How that created that deficit was also part of the story, managing only 20 percent shooting in the first half. Conversely, Kansas didn’t dominate by any means, either, hitting only 35 percent of their shots in the first half and 39 percent for the game.
But in the end, it was just a little bit better than Providence.
“We’re ecstatic that we’re here,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “We played really well defensively and rebounding the ball the first half and didn’t have as much to show for it, considering Providence couldn’t make a shot.
“There were enough individual plays taking place that kind of allowed us to get through it. Couldn’t be happier that we get a chance to play on Sunday.”
Martin led Kansas with 23 points, 13 in the first half and then sealing the decision with late free-throw shooting. Sophomore Jalen Wilson added 16. For the Friars, Durham led the way with 21 points, 14 in the second half in his final game. Horchler added 10 and led PC with eight rebounds.