No. 1 Kentucky dismantles No. 5 Kansas in lopsided affair

John Calipari's platoon system proved successful on Tuesday, and Kentucky's interior defense looked as good as it ever has.

The Harrison twins combined for 18 points, Karl-Anthony Towns and Marcus Lee both blocked four shots and No. 1 Kentucky dismantled fifth-ranked Kansas, 72-40, in the second game of the Champions Classic.

Andrew Harrison scored 10 points, with his brother Aaron chipping in eight for Kentucky, which got at least four points from all 10 members of its rotation. Towns contributed nine points and eight rebounds and Willie Cauley-Stein had a game-high 10 boards for Kentucky's Harrison-led "blue" platoon, which is its starting unit.

Dakari Johnson had 11 points off the bench to lead the Wildcats (3-0), who outscored Kansas 30-12 in the paint and blocked 11 shots as a team.

Wayne Selden had nine points for Kansas (1-1), which fell behind early and never found a way to consistently score against Kentucky's aggressive defense. The Jayhawks shot just 19.6 percent from the floor and 3-for-15 from behind the arc.

Kentucky blocked three shots during the opening segment, with each member of its starting frontcourt unit getting in on the action. Alex Poythress denied Perry Ellis at the rim in transition, and Towns brought the crowd to life with an emphatic swat on Devonte' Graham. The Wildcats led 8-6 at the first media timeout.

Kentucky's "white" platoon checked in and extended the lead to 12-7, with Tyler Ulis getting a baseline runner to fall and Lee scoring on a sweeping hook.

Later in the first, Cauley-Stein converted a tip-slam seconds after his own missed free throw, and Andrew Harrison hit a three to cap a 12-0 run as Kentucky extended its lead to 24-9.

All 10 members of Kentucky's rotation scored at least two points in the first 14 minutes of the game, with Johnson's putback layup making it 30-15 at 6:13.

The Jayhawks closed the half on a 7-1 run, with a pair of freshmen doing all the work. Kelly Oubre scored five straight and Cliff Alexander tipped in Frank Mason's missed layup. Johnson split a pair of free throws at the other end, and it was 38-28 at intermission.

Kentucky scored the first six points of the second half to regain control. Kansas didn't score until Alexander's free throw at 14:39.

Another 7-0 burst put the Wildcats up 55-35, and it was no contest from there.