LAS VEGAS -- Third-ranked Kansas wasn't half bad in rolling to its 11th straight win, 71-53 over UNLV on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Jayhawks put on a dominating performance while building a 42-20 halftime lead. The second half was a different story, however.

"They were obviously better than us in the second half," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "It was a good road win. You tell us before the game we win by 18 on the road and we'd definitely would take that. But we had a chance to play much better tonight and we didn't."

"We've got guys thinking about flights (home for Christmas break), thinking about being home with family," added Kansas senior center Landen Lucas, who grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with four points. "That's OK, but you want to put that off until after the game. I think in the second half, once we got the lead ... we didn't take (UNLV) as seriously as we should have to start the half, and they came back to make it a game."

Freshman guard Josh Jackson scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Jayhawks, who led by as many as 24 points before the Runnin' Rebels got as close as 12 points down the stretch.

It was the 11th straight win for the Jayhawks (11-1) since a 103-99 overtime loss to Indiana to open the season in the State Farm Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu. It also marked the 11th time in 14 seasons under head Self that Kansas has posted winning streaks of 11 games or more.

Junior guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scored 20 points, hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts, and senior guard Frank Mason III added 13 points, eight assists and five rebounds for Kansas.

Senior forward Tyrell Green led UNLV (7-6) with 12 points. Sophomore guard Kris Clyburn finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Sophomore guard Jalen Poyser added 10 points for the Runnin' Rebels, who lost for the fourth time in six games.

Jackson had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half despite sitting out the final six minutes with two fouls as Kansas built a comfortable halftime lead.

"Josh got us off to a good start in the first half, and Svi (Mykhailiuk) was out best player in the second half," Self said. "We've got to tighten things up from an intellect standpoint and hopefully play a little smarter."

The Runnin' Rebels didn't help themselves with some dreadful shooting, connecting on just 5 of 16 free throws (31 percent) and 1 of 12 3-pointers (8 percent) while also turning the ball over nine times in the first half.

"We've got to make shots," UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. "The first 10 minutes we got some really good looks but didn't make them. I don't think we were being selfish."

UNLV closed within 13 points on a 3-pointer by Clyburn with 13:21 left, but Mykhailiuk quickly answered with a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run by the Jayhawks. The Runnin' Rebels, thanks to a late 8-0 run, got as close as 12 points before Mykhailiuk scored five straight points, including an open 3-pointer, to seal the win for Kansas.

"I just took open shots," Mykhailuik said. "I kind of had a ball screen and nobody was guarding me, so I just took my shot."

Green said, "We just had a little more fight in the second half than we did in the first. We're a new team. We're learning. Playing against (Kansas) was a great learning experience for us to get us ready for conference."

UNLV, which entered the game shooting free throws at a solid 72 percent, finished just 10 of 24 at the line.

"I just wish we would have shot better from the free-throw line," Menzies said. "It's one of those mental-toughness things. For the season, we've been shooting over 70 percent. Forty-one percent is just unacceptable."

The Rebels also finished 5 of 24 from 3-point range while shooting just 34.5 percent from the field. Kansas, meanwhile, shot 44.4 percent from the field, including 7 of 20 from 3-point range, and finished with a 38-20 edge in points in the paint.

The Jayhawks sank only 8 of 17 foul shots.

NOTES: Kansas announced earlier Thursday that starting C Udoka Azubuike will miss the remainder of the season after tearing ligaments in his left wrist during a practice in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The 7-foot freshman from Delta, Nigeria, one of four McDonald's All-Americans on the Jayhawks' roster, was averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and had a team-high 18 blocks. ... This was the Jayhawks' first game in an opponents' arena this season. ... Kansas opens Big 12 play against TCU on Dec. 30 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Jayhawks still have one nonconference game remaining: Jan. 28 at Kentucky. ... Kansas improved to 6-0 all-time vs. UNLV.