Kansas vs. Maryland: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

Perry Ellis scored a game-high 27 points, and Wayne Selden Jr. had 19 as the No. 1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks cruised to a 79-63 win over the No. 5-seeded Maryland Terrapins at Louisville's KFC Yum! Center on Thursday. 

Ellis, who was 10-of-17 from the field, seemed to score from everywhere on the court. He threw down a big dunk, had multiple layups, stepped out to hit a couple of 15-footers and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.

Andrew Baker of Channel 6 in Lawrence, Kansas, noted Ellis seemed locked in during the game:

Although Kansas ended the game shooting 46.8 percent from the field, it got off to an inauspicious start. 

The Jayhawks missed nine straight field goals during a five-minute stretch early in the first half and started 4-of-18 from the field to fall behind by six points. However, they nailed eight of their next 11 shots to take a 29-26 lead at the 4:20 mark of the first half.

It was short-lived, as Maryland scored the next six to grab a three-point lead. The game went back and forth from there, with the Jayhawks clinging to a slim 34-32 lead at halftime.

Rasheed Sulaimon had a team-high 12 points at the break after scoring eight of Maryland's first 12 points. He and sophomore Melo Trimble combined for 22, shooting 8-of-16 from the field.

Maryland had just two steals in the first half, both by Jake Layman, who turned one of them into two points on a monster dunk—although he received a technical foul for hanging on the rim:

Ellis, who tied a season high in points, was the leading scorer with 12 at the break, passing former Kansas star Paul Pierce on the school's all-time scoring list along the way, per CBS Sports CBB:

Head coach Bill Self said during a halftime interview he thought both teams fought hard for the first 20 minutes, but that doesn't mean they played well.

The Jayhawks and Terrapins combined to shoot 3-of-17 from three-point land and 42 percent from the field.

Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star felt as though the Jayhawks needed to speed the game up to pull out the victory:

The teams fought just as hard to start the second half, and the Jayhawks took Mellinger's advice. Point guard Frank Mason III, who seemed hobbled in the first half, looked like himself in the second, coming around on a curl and swishing his first three-pointer of the tournament for a 41-37 Jayhawks lead.

He drew a foul a few possessions later on a quick move to the basket, and after Selden scored five more points, Kansas had its largest lead at 50-43 with 16:12 left in the game.

While Maryland was never out of the game, it also never led for the rest of the way. Jerry Meyer of 247Sports lamented the fact that there were so many whistles during the contest:

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN had a different take:

Ellis didn't hit a three-pointer, as Smith alluded to, but he was the reason the game went in Kansas' favor with his best all-around effort of the season.

And it wasn't just on offense.

He showed he could play some defense, step in and take a charge when needed:

It has become customary for folks on social media to take shots at Ellis, who looks older than others on the court. CBS Sports' Matt Norlander did just that, but not without praising him toward the end of the game:

Ellis and Selden were the Jayhawks' leading scorers, but junior Landen Lucas contributed as well, notching a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Sulaimon led Maryland with 18 points, while Trimble had 17.

The Jayhawks advanced to their sixth Elite Eight in 13 years under Self and will play the No. 2-seeded Villanova Wildcats.

While Kansas is the No. 1 overall seed and has been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament, Villanova may be playing even better.

The Wildcats are averaging 88.3 points per game in the tournament and are coming off a 92-69 victory over the No. 3-seeded Miami Hurricanes on Thursday night.

It should be a great matchup between two teams that can score and run with any other team in the country. As good as the Wildcats have been, there's no indication the Jayhawks have dropped from the top overall spot as they seek to reach the Final Four with another victory.

Postgame Reaction

The victory for the Jayhawks was their 17^th in a row and they will now play in their sixth Elite 8 in 13 years under Self. Political sports writer Dave Zirin of The Nation seemed to be in awe of Self’s success following the victory:

Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated shared a unique photo of some Jayhawk players celebrating the victory:

It wasn’t all fun and games early on for Kansas when it was struggling to put the ball in the basket, but in the end Self was happy with his team’s effort, per ESPN.com.

"I thought we played just superb," he said. "I thought (in) the second half, we defended, we rebounded."

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon was disappointed after the game and conceded his alma mater was the better team, according to Kerkhoff: "We lost to the best team in the country,” he said.

However, if you ask Selden, they weren’t being treated as the best by the media, per Chris Fickett of the Kansas City Star:

The Jayhawks certainly look like the best team in the country, but they’ll be challenged from here on out in a tournament that will be down to just eight teams the next time they step on the court.