Wayne's world

Simien's double-double puts Kansas in Sweet 16 for fourth straight year

Jeff Graves and Kansas' inside game was too much for Pacific. AP Both Pacific's Bob Thomason and Kansas' Bill Self showed plenty of class down the stretch. By Mark Beech ST. LOUIS REGIONAL First Round: Various Sites Thursday, March 18 • (10) Nevada 72, (7) Michigan State 66 • (2) Gonzaga 74, (15) Valparaiso 49 Friday, March 19 • (6) Boston College 58, (11) Utah 51 • (3) Georgia Tech 65, (14) Northern Iowa 60 • (1) Kentucky 96, (16) Florida A&M 76 • (12) Pacific 66, (5) Providence 58 • (9) UAB 102, (8) Washington 100 • (4) Kansas 78, (13) Illinois-Chicago 53 Second Round Saturday, March 20 • (10) Nevada 91, (2) Gonzaga 72 Sunday, March 21 • (3) Georgia Tech 57, (6) Boston College 54 • (4) Kansas 78, (12) Pacific 63 • (9) UAB 76, (1) Kentucky 75 Regional Semfinals Edward Jones Dome Friday, March 26 • (4) Kansas 100, (9) UAB 74 • (3) Ga. Tech 72, (10) Nevada 67 Regional Finals Sunday, March 28 • (3) Georgia Tech 79, (4) Kansas 71 More from SI.com • Updated bracket | Daily schedule • SI.com Writers: Inside the tournament • E-mail Alerts | Hoops Bracket Challenge • Complete NCAA tournament coverage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The 6-foot-9 power forward, who sat out Kansas' run to the Final Four last year with a hurt shoulder, had 18 points and 12 rebounds and shook off a nagging groin injury to lead the Jayhawks past Pacific 78-63 Sunday in the St. Louis Regional.

It was the 10th double-double of the season for Simien, who aggravated the groin injury in a first-round victory over Illinois-Chicago.

"I felt great out there," Simien said. "The adrenaline and the atmosphere and the emotion overrode everything that I was feeling."

The Jayhawks (23-8), who are in the round of 16 for the fourth straight year, overcame the plucky No. 12 seed with a 15-3 run late in the second half.

Simien and 6-foot-9 forward Jeff Graves combined to give the Jayhawks a 40-27 rebounding edge and a 24-5 advantage in second-chance points.

"They're really strong inside," Pacific guard David Doubley said. "You basically have to adjust your entire game plan for them. Those big guys really hurt us."

Fourth-seeded Kansas, trying to reach the Final Four for the third straight year, will face ninth-seeded Alabama-Birmingham in the St. Louis Regional semifinals on Friday. UAB was a 76-75 upset winner over No. 1 seed Kentucky.

"Fans probably think KU caught a break," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I've watched UAB probably a half and they are pretty unconventional. I am not sure that is a huge upset. We haven't seen that style yet this year."

Pacific, the Big West Conference tournament champion, had won 16 in a row coming in and trailed by just four at halftime. The Tigers (25-8) tied the Jayhawks on three straight trips down the court midway through the second half, the last at 51-51.

But then Keith Langford drove the lane for a short jumper and Michael Lee made four straight free throws to ignite a 15-3 run for the Jayhawks, who won for the 21st time in their last 24 games in friendly Kemper Arena.

"I thought we played terrific," Self said. "We were tough, we rebounded, and we defended well."

Lee got nine points in the spurt.

"They flexed their muscles a little," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said. "But we tied it up and I thought we had a shot. Then we missed two wide-open 3s and that gave them the momentum back."

They are a powerful team and deserve to win."

Pacific got 22 points from Guillaume Yango, and 10 each from Tom Cockle and Miah Davis, the Big West player of the year who had averaged more than 15.

"Going in, I knew that in order to beat them we'd have to play great and be on all cylinders," Thomason said. "With seven minutes to go, the possibility was there. We just couldn't get it done."

Kansas took a 46-38 lead four minutes into the second half when Simien stole a pass and drove to the bucket, where he was fouled and sank both free throws.

But back came the Tigers. Davis hit a 3-pointer, then a moment later Yango twisted into the lane for a layup, got fouled and made the free throw to make it 49-47.

Pacific's loss means Nevada, the No. 10 seed in the St. Louis Regional, is the only team from west of Texas left in the tournament.

The Jayhawks reeled off a 15-2 run midway through the first half and seemed to be pulling away from the 12th-seeded Tigers when David Padgett hit a short jumper for a 31-20 lead.

But then the Tigers, who had gone almost six minutes without a field goal, went on a 12-0 run of their own. Yango started the spurt with a three-point play and had seven of the 12 points during the spurt. Cockle added five during the run, including a 3-pointer with 3:03 left that made it 30-31 and silenced the partisan Kansas crowd expecting an easy romp,

Yango's putback put the Tigers on top 32-31 and then the Jayhawks scored the last five points to go into halftime leading 36-32.

Graves had 12 points for Kansas, attempting to get back to the Final Four again despite losing NBA lottery picks Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. Langford had 16 and J.R. Giddens 13.

"We knew they would be bigger and stronger than us," Pacific center Christian Maraker said. "We obviously couldn't deal with it today."