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Kansas defeats NC State 80-74 upon Self's instrumentality (1:43)
The Kansas Jayhawks propulsion disconnected the triumph against NC State successful Bill Self's instrumentality from his four-game suspension. (1:43)
5:46 PM ET
ESPN News Services
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Bill Self couldn't hold to get started Wednesday astatine the Battle 4 Atlantis. Neither could hot-shooting Kansas rookie Gradey Dick.
Dick scored a season-high 25 points to assistance the third-ranked Jayhawks bushed NC State 80-74 successful Wednesday's tourney opener, giving Self a palmy instrumentality to the seat aft a four-game suspension.
Dick had 18 points connected six 3-pointers successful the archetypal fractional earlier going 1 for 8 from the tract aft halftime. Jalen Wilson added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the reigning nationalist champion Jayhawks (5-0), who blew an eight-point halftime pb and a nine-point second-half pb earlier grinding it out.
"I deliberation it truly conscionable showed what our team's astir and successful crunch time, we tin travel retired with pugnacious plays erstwhile we truly request it," Dick said.
It besides helped, Dick said, to "have a Hall of Famer successful our corner" again.
Kansas had imposed the suspension connected Self and adjunct Kurtis Townsend arsenic portion of the fallout from a pending NCAA infractions lawsuit tied to the national probe into corruption wrong the sport.
Self was allowed to manager practices, truthful helium remained progressive with the team. But connected gamedays, helium said helium got a dose of the helpless position of a instrumentality portion adjunct Norm Roberts led the team. He said helium couldn't adjacent instrumentality notes until helium watched the crippled connected a replay.
He was acceptable for Wednesday close from the 7 a.m. wake-up call.
"I usually don't leap retired of bed," Self said, "but I benignant of did contiguous due to the fact that I was excited astir what was getting acceptable to happen."
As helium emerged from the tunnel, Self was greeted with large cheers from a boisterous Kansas instrumentality section. He had a flimsy grin arsenic 1 instrumentality dangled a Jayhawks nationalist rubric banner arsenic helium walked by and gave airy high-fives to a enactment of astir a half-dozen fans who had extended their arms implicit their railing.
Casey Morsell scored 21 points to pb the Wolfpack (4-1), portion Terquavion Smith added 19 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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