Omaha, NE -- (Sports Network) - Mario Chalmers led a balanced attack with 17 points, as Kansas pulled away in the second half for a 75-56 win over UNLV in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.

Russell Robinson tallied 13 points, Brandon Rush 12 and Sherron Collins 10 for the top-seeded Jayhawks (33-3), who will play next Friday in Detroit against either Villanova or Siena in the Midwest Regional semifinals. The Wildcats and Saints meet on Sunday in a matchup between the 12th and 13th-seeded teams, respectively.

Darrell Arthur scored nine and Darnell Jackson eight for Kansas, which dominated Portland State in the first round on Thursday, and two days later posted its ninth straight victory.

"I think from a coach's perspective, I thought it was a great game for us, because we didn't exactly execute the game plan," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We didn't get the ball inside with as many touches early and those sorts of things. But the way we got it was put in the guards hands and driving the ball, which turned out to be the biggest difference in the game."

This is the sixth time in the last eight seasons dating back to 2001 that the Jayhawks have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Wink Adams had 25 points and Curtis Terry 12 for eighth-seeded UNLV (27-8), which topped Kent State on Thursday. The Rebels shot 26.7 percent from the field, while Kansas lit up the floor to the tune of 58 percent.

"Kansas is, as a whole, a great defensive ball club," Adams said. "Watching them all year on TV, they stress defense just like we do. They have some six- eight guys that shot up the ball very well and they defend well. They can come out and defend the guards. Tonight their length was very effective against us and kind of had our shooting percentage down."

Two Adams free throws had the Runnin' Rebels within 46-41 with 12:20 remaining, but Kansas embarked on a 14-3 spurt to put the game away. Robinson nailed a three-pointer during the spurt, and Collins ended it with a beautiful dribble fake, as he knifed through the UNLV defense for a layup and a 60-44 lead with 7:46 left.

"They pressured out so far it just opened up lanes for us to drive," Collins said. "The guards had to get in a lane and make something happen, whether it was getting a shot for ourselves or getting our big men an easy basket."

Terry started the game by draining a three-pointer, but the Jayhawks scored the ensuing nine points, capped by Arthur's jam.

Matt Shaw's two free throws moved UNLV ahead 21-19 with under seven minutes left in the half, but the Jayhawks responded with the next eight points. Jackson's free throw culminated the flurry. Despite UNLV scoring the next five for a 27-26 deficit, Kansas upped its lead to 34-29 at the half.

Game Notes

Kansas made its second straight and 25th overall Sweet 16 appearance...The Jayhawks are 4-0 all-time against UNLV...The Runnin' Rebels were making their second straight trip to the second round for the first time since winning the national title in 1990 and returning to the Final Four in 1991. Last year, UNLV was the No. 7 seed in the Midwest and advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating 10th-seeded Georgia Tech and upsetting second-seeded Wisconsin.