ST. LOUIS – Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to finish one shy of the NCAA Tournament record, and No. 2 seed Kansas held on to beat North Carolina State, 60-57, Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals.
The Jayhawks (30-6), who hit only 1 of 14 3-pointers and finished 37.5 percent from the floor overall, advanced when Richard Howell’s off-balance heave at the buzzer came up well short.
Elijah Johnson added 11 points for the Jayhawks, including a layup off an inbound pass from Tyshawn Taylor with 13.5 seconds remaining that gave them a calming cushion.
N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried called a timeout to set up a play, but Scott Wood stepped out of bounds while fielding a cross-court pass with five seconds left.
C.J. Leslie had 18 points for the 11th-seeded Wolfpack (24-13), despite sitting much of the second half with four fouls. Wood finished with 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting.
Howell had 4 points and 16 rebounds for N.C. State, which led at halftime, 33-32.
– Associated Press –