KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Kansas, for the second straight season, has faced heartbreak in the Elite Eight.
No. 3-seeded Oregon used an 8-0 run in the final 1:27 of the first half to claim an 11-point halftime lead, stretched it to 18 early in the second half, and upended the Jayhawks, 74-60, Saturday night at Sprint Center.
It marked KU's second loss in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in two seasons, KU falling last year to Villanova.
Tyler Dorsey had 27 points, Dillon Brooks 17 points, Dylan Ennis 12 points and Jordan Bell 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks for Oregon, which improved to 33-5 heading into next Saturday's game against either North Carolina or Kentucky in the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
KU's season ended at 31-5.
"We're obviously very disappointed we didn't perform better today," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Give Oregon credit. They were the aggressor and certainly controlled the game almost from the jump." "We needed to play a lot better today and didn't do it. Congratulations to them. It's obviously a disappointing evening for us.
"It doesn't take away the biggest picture how these guys have played all year, represented their school and each other. Sad, but still yet proud."
Frank Mason led the Jayhawks with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailiuk each had 10 points for Kansas.
KU did not quit, cutting the 18-point deficit to six with 2:49 left in the game. But Oregon's Dorsey answered to make it a nine-point lead at 1:51 and the Ducks dominated the rest of crunch time.
There were some ugly numbers that contributed to KU's demise.
The Jayhawks hit 35 percent of their shots overall, including a miserable 5 of 25 on 3-pointers. Jackson, who picked up two early fouls and had zero points in 10 minutes the first half, finished with his 10 points in 30 minutes. Devonte Graham had a tough night against Oregon's man-to-man and matchup-zone defenses, scoring three points on 0-of-7 shooting, including 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.
Oregon, meanwhile, hit 50.9 percent of its shots, including 11 of 25 from beyond the arc.
The Ducks didn't stop at halftime, stretching their 11-point margin to 52-37, at the first TV time out (15:59) of the final half.
Mason scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in the first half, connecting on six of Kansas' 12 baskets (in 28 tries). Lagerald Vick had seven points in the half.
Meanwhile, Dorsey scored 14 points, Ennis 10 and Brooks nine for Oregon in the first half, which hit 18 of 30 shots for a sizzling 60 percent. Oregon cashed seven 3s the first half in 12 tries to KU's 4 of 10.
Oregon led, 36-33, with 1:27 left in the half, following a bucket by Kansas' Landen Lucas. But the Ducks stormed to eight straight points to take that double-digit lead into halftime. Ennis opened the run with an inside bucket, then Dorsey hit a pair of 3s, including one that banked off the backboard right before halftime.
KU's Jackson picked up his second foul early _ with 17:23 left in the half _ and returned at the 8:45 mark, KU trailing 17-16 at the time of his return. Oregon used a 10-2 run to grab a 12-5 lead at 13:11. However, Kansas went on a 7-0 run that tied the score at 11:51. Lucas scored on a dunk, followed by a 3 from Mykhailiuk and bucket from Vick.
Oregon used a 10-1 run to grab a 36-28 lead at 3:19 left in the half. KU cut it to 36-33 before the half-ending Oregon run.
KU cut the 18-point deficit to 10 with 7:08 left in the game. But Dorsey immediately hit a 3 to keep Oregon comfortably ahead.
