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Kansas forward Darrell Arthur dunks against Portland State on Thursday in Omaha, Neb.

AP photo

OMAHA, Neb. — Darrell Arthur got free in the lane and rocked the basket with a thunderous dunk. Darnell Jackson went flying down the court and slammed one through. Then it was Arthur’s turn again — yes, he soared above the rim for another jam.
Just over 3 minutes into the game, it was quite clear Kansas wasn’t in the mood for another first-round stunner.
Dunking on the inside and swishing 3s from beyond the arc, the top-seeded Jayhawks romped to an 85-61 victory over a Portland State team that got quite a hazing in its first NCAA tournament appearance Thursday. Brandon Rush scored 18 points and everyone wearing blue had a blast.
Kansas’ five seniors and Rush, a junior star who might be headed to the NBA, are determined to go out in style after some bitter disappointments in the tournament.
UNLV 71, Kent St. 58
OMAHA, Neb. — It wasn’t that UNLV was necessarily good.
Kent State just made the Runnin’ Rebels look that way.
Joe Darger made four 3-pointers and had 18 points, Wink Adams added 17 and UNLV tied an NCAA tournament record by holding Kent State to just 10 points in the first half of a victory in the first round.
The Mid-American Conference champions averaged a turnover a minute the better part of the first half, went almost eight minutes without a point and trailed 31-10 at halftime. And that was with UNLV shooting under 40 percent and committing nine turnovers of its own.
Kent State played evenly with the Rebels in the second half, committing only three of its 20 turnovers, but it was too late by then.
Kansas State 80, USC 67
OMAHA, Neb. — Turns out, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo weren’t the only freshmen on the court.
Redshirt freshman Bill Walker scored 22 points, true freshmen Jacob Pullen and Ron Anderson also reached double figures, and Kansas State’s Kiddie Corps moved on in the NCAA tournament, beating Mayo-led USC in the opening round.
Beasley overcame early trouble to have another big game for the Wildcats (21-11), scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the 27th double-double of his brilliant — and likely only — college season. The NBA beckons, after all.
Wisconsin 71, Cal State Fullerton 56
OMAHA, Neb. — Third-seeded Wisconsin finally shook No. 14 Cal State Fullerton late in the second half , to win the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.