Lawrence, KS -- (Sports Network) - Sherron Collins scored 16 points to lead 24th- ranked Kansas past the UMKC Kangaroos, 71-56, in the season-opener for the defending national champion Jayhawks as part of the O'Reilly CBE Classic. .

Cole Aldrich added 13 points and five rebounds for Kansas (1-0), which hosts Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Tyrel Reed had 12 points in the win, while Markieff Morris had just seven points but grabbed 15 rebounds. Kansas, at 37-3 last year, won its third national championship and first since 1988 with an overtime victory over Memphis.

"It was a struggle," Kansas head coach Bill Self said. "It was pretty frustrating, but we hung in there. We need to play a game like this, a grind- it-out game where we don't make shots."

Dane Brumagin scored 14 points for the Kangaroos (0-2), who will play at Wichita State on Wednesday. Reggie Hamilton had 13 points in defeat, while Latreze Mushatt grabbed 10 boards. The Kangaroos finished with an 11-21 overall record and a 6-12 mark in Summit League play last season.

A Brumagin jumper gave the Kangaroos an 11-7 lead early in the first half. Marcus Morris, though, answered with a layup to pull the Jayhawks within two.

Femi Akinpetide's jumper, two free throws from Mushatt and a free throw from Fred Ford gave the visitors a 16-9 lead with 11:35 left in the half.

The teams traded baskets and Kansas found itself trailing by five late in the first half. The Jayhawks scored the final five points of the half to pull even at 32-32 heading into the intermission. Markieff Morris scored the first three points of the run and Brady Morningstar's layup closed it out.

"We came here to play the game and win," Hamilton said. "We looked at it as a game that we could win, and we came prepared. A couple of shots here and there are probably what decided the game. I thought that the effort we gave in the first half was great."

Reed's jumper, followed by his layup, a free throw from Tyshawn Taylor and a dunk by Aldrich opened a 42-35 Kansas lead with 15:16 left in the game.

The Kangaroos got within five points midway through the second half, but Collins poured in two fastbreak layups and Travis Releford followed suit for a 55-44 lead for the Jayhawks.

UMKC pulled within eight points, but two free throws from Reed sparked a 14-3 Kansas run that put the game out of reach. Releford's layup with just under a minute showing on the clock closed out the surge to give the Jayhawks an ample 71-52 lead.

Game Notes

UMKC has a total of 10 underclassmen on its 2008-09 roster, which includes five freshmen and five sophomores...As for Kansas, it returns eight letterwinners from last season's team, yet less than 20 percent of almost every statistical category. Self elected to stay in Lawrence after being tempted by his alma mater, Oklahoma State. Self also guided the Jayhawks to their third straight Big 12 Tournament title last season...Kansas owns a 5-0 series lead over UMKC.