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DES MOINES, Iowa -- Kansas secured its spot in this year's Sweet 16 by picking up its 16th consecutive win on Saturday, as the top-seeded Jayhawks defeated ninth-seeded Connecticut, 73-61, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's South Regional held at Wells Fargo Arena.

Nearly from the start, Kansas (32-4) was in command. The Jayhawks used separate 13-0 and 19-0 runs in the first half to lead by as many as 24 points and ultimately take a 44-24 advantage with them into halftime. The 19-0 run included UConn going through a scoring drought of 7:08.

"It was real tough out there," UConn sophomore guard Daniel Hamilton said. "They denied the pass and they denied us from getting the ball and we kind of got trying to one-on-one in the first half. Can't win like that."

Paving the way for Kansas was the duo of senior forward Perry Ellis and junior guard Wayne Selden, Jr. Ellis compiled 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and also grabbed eight boards for the Jayhawks. Selden emerged with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and tallied seven rebounds himself.

"It gave us a lot of confidence and we were just defending and rebounding so well," Selden said about Kansas' first-half runs. "We just were having fun and just playing."

UConn started the second half by clamping down defensively and got within single digits, trimming the Kansas lead down to 50-41 with 9:33 remaining. But then Ellis and Selden started firing again and within minutes, that lead ballooned back up to 15 points. Selden put the exclamation point on the Jayhawks' victory with a dunk in the closing minutes off a lob pass from sophomore guard Devonte' Graham.

"They were zone and Perry made about a 16-footer right from the free-throw line in the middle of the zone," Kansas head coach Bill Self said in describing Ellis' bucket that pushed the Jayhawks' lead back up to double digits. "That, to me, was the biggest shot of the game, if there was a biggest shot."

The Huskies were led in defeat by junior guard Rodney Purvis, who put up 17 points and did so on 6-of-11 shooting. UConn also received a 20-point effort from senior guard Sterling Gibbs and Hamilton went for 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

"I was just so proud of the guys that they battled back, but it just wasn't enough," UConn head coach Kevin Ollie said after seeing his seven-game winning streak as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament come to an end. "Give credit to Kansas. They really pressured the basketball from the beginning, took us out of our offense and disrupted our timing. But at the end of the day, I thought our guys battled to the zeros on the clock and I'm very proud of this team."

Kansas will face either fifth-seeded Maryland or 13th-seeded Hawaii in the Sweet 16 on March 24 in Louisville. The Terrapins and Rainbow Warriors meet Sunday in Spokane, Wash.

NOTES: Saturday's game was the first meeting in the NCAA Tournament between the Huskies and Jayhawks and third overall matchup. Kansas won the previous two meetings on neutral floors during the 1990s. ... Kansas junior G Wayne Selden, Jr., reached double figures scoring during the first half, marking the fifth time in the Jayhawks' last six contests he has scored 10 or more points. Selden came into Saturday's contest averaging 13.3 points per game. ... UConn was only able to get to the foul line 11 times Saturday, including just four in the first half. The Huskies knocked down 22 of their 23 free-throw attempts in their 74-67 first round win over Colorado on March 17.