Kansas vs. New Mexico State: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The bleeding has finally stopped for the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA tournament. After the league went 0-3 on Thursday with Baylor and Iowa State losing in shocking fashion, Kansas got the Big 12 back on track with a 75-56 second-round win over New Mexico State in Midwest Region action on Friday.

The Jayhawks' win was never in doubt throughout the matchup. Kansas' official account provides a look at the final result from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska:

Frank Mason III paced the Jayhawks with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists after inconsistent play over the past few games. A knee injury's hampered Perry Ellis recently, but he looked much-improved in the second round of the tournament with nine points in the first half.

The Jayhawks also got good production off the bench with Jamari Traylor, Devonte Graham and Brannen Greene all scoring eight points apiece.

Overall, Kansas' offense was extremely efficient on Friday, with few wasted dribbles against New Mexico State. Sports Illustrated's Brian Hamilton pointed out just how solid the offense was:

However, the game didn't get off to a great start for Kansas or Ellis in general, highlighted by a few easy misses:

Ellis would recover from those early woes, but it was slightly comical to watch for the heralded program. Hamilton points out that the lack of burst from Ellis might have been from the injury:

That wild start for the Jayhawks was fun for non-KU fans, but they got right back to business. New Mexico State was unable to get much going offensively, while Kansas pulled away for a 36-23 lead heading into the locker rooms.

The Aggies got good production from Tshilidzi Nephawe with 10 points and eight rebounds. DK Eldridge also added 11 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range.

Even after a bizarre tournament day on Thursday, Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports noted Kansas' huge win might be telling for the rest of the second round:

Coming into the tournament, the Jayhawks were seen as somewhat of an underdog to advance far in the bracket. In a region with SEC champion Kentucky and ACC tournament champion Notre Dame, Kansas has been somewhat overlooked.

Coach Bill Self spoke about his team's mindset coming into March Madness (via Sean Keeler of Fox Sports Kansas City):

"

We don't get a chance to be an underdog all that often, so I don't think that's all bad. We can sell it however we're going to sell it.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time saying that people don't predict us to be this or that, because it doesn't really matter what people think. It only matters what we think. 

"

Some analysts may be overlooking them, but on Friday the Jayhawks proved they will be competitive. With Sweet 16 appearances in six of its last eight NCAA tournaments, Kansas will still be a team to watch over the weekend.

The Jayhawks may not have routed the Aggies in their opener, but they still won decisively. Sports Illustrated's College Hoops account compared the victory to a slow submission:

Thanks to the victory, the Jayhawks will now face the winner of No. 7 Wichita State and No. 10 Indiana on Sunday. With five wins in its last seven games, Kansas appears to be playing much better heading into the third round.

Ellis looked healthy, Mason III was solid and Kelly Oubre Jr. added some crucial three-point shots. Will all of these lead to a deep run for the Jayhawks? Sunday's matchup will be a telling sign of what's to come from the No. 2 seed.

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