ST. LOUIS (KRT) – Marques Lewis slumped in a chair in Alabama-Birmingham’s locker room Friday night, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
Many of his teammates hurriedly gathered their belongings, eager to leave the Edward Jones Dome.
Funny how this NCAA Tournament works.
One day you’re on top of the world after stunning UK, the next day you’re wondering what went wrong after being humiliated by KU.
The Blazers didn’t have to search long for answers after their 100-74 regional semifinal loss to Kansas.
They shot 32 percent and struggled to contain the Jayhawks with their full-court pressure defense.
“That was just the way it went tonight,” said UAB guard Mo Finley, who made 4 of 19 shots after sinking a game-winning jumper last Saturday in a 76-75 win over top-seeded Kentucky.
“The ball doesn’t always bounce your way. Who do you blame?”
There was more credit than blame being offered after UAB’s worst loss in its 19 NCAA Tournament games.
Credit to KU for carving through the Blazers and scoring 48 points in the paint, including 13 first-half layups.
“It surprised us a little bit,” UAB’s Gabe Kennedy said. “But they must have scouted us really well.”
The Jayhawks placed much of their pregame focus on UAB’s press, which yielded an average of 11.5 steals this season, best in the nation.
KU worked against multiple combinations of defenders in practice, and it paid off.
“We played five against eight, then seven, then six, then five,” KU coach Bill Self said.
“And when you get to five, the floor seems more spread. We did a good job of attacking the pressure.”
On many occasions, KU didn’t have to deal with the Blazers’ traps. That’s because UAB came out cold, particularly from long range.
Finley missed his first six shots and UAB started the game one of 11 from three-point range.
“When that first one and second one don’t go down, it’s hard to get a rhythm,” UAB coach Mike Anderson said of Finley’s shooting woes. “And Kansas found him.”
The Blazers kept the pace fast enough to force KU into 17 turnovers, 13 on steals.
But after scoring seven straight points to cut its deficit to 40-32, UAB quickly faced another double-digit margin, and never erased it.
UAB’s frustration peaked in the second half.
Anderson received a technical foul after Lewis missed two shots near the basket and was called for a foul.
KU’s Wayne Simien and Jeff Graves capitalized with four free throws to make it 81-57.
Then referee Bob Donato Jr. gave Anderson his second technical with 5:24 remaining as Anderson tried to call a timeout after he walked onto the court.
“It was because he was on the floor, approximately five feet out, while the ball was alive,” Donato said.
It was Anderson’s first career ejection.
After he remained on the court for a few minutes, Anderson grabbed his suit coat and shook Self’s hand as he headed to the locker room escorted by a law enforcement officer.
“I thought the play was getting a little ratty,” Anderson said. “It was getting ugly. I was just trying to get the official’s attention to call a timeout.”
Anderson’s exit didn’t make things better for the Blazers. After Simien hit the two technical free throws, KU’s Aaron Miles fed J.R. Giddens for an alley-oop dunk and a 94-66 lead.
“Coach preaches poise all the time, and we just didn’t get anything going tonight,” UAB’s Tony Johnson said.
“They’re a good team and they were well-prepared for us.”
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c 2004, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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