Washington handles No. 2 Jayhawks 74-65
Lady Vols score 131 points in win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matisse Thybulle hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points, Jaylen Nowell added 15 and Washington led most of the way in upsetting second-ranked Kansas 74-65 on Wednesday night.
Noah Dickerson added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Huskies (7-2), who knocked the Jayhawks (7-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten with their first victory over them since December 1974.
Lagerald Vick had a career-high 28 points for Kansas, doing almost all his damage in the middle of the Huskies’ 2-3 zone. But he didn’t get a whole lot of help as the Jayhawks went 5 for 20 from the 3-point arc, lowlighted by lousy performances from sharpshooters Devonte Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk.
Graham, coming off backto-back 35-point outbursts, was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting, while Mykhailiuk was 3 for 12 from the field and scored eight points before fouling out.
The Jayhawks should have been prepared for Washington coach Mike Hopkins’ zone defense, considering he spent 22 years on Jim Boeheim’s staff at Syracuse and Kansas had recently beaten the Orange.
And in truth, the Jayhawks had little trouble getting Vick open shots in the middle of the zone.
They just weren’t falling most of the night.
Throw in foul trouble that sent the Jayhawks’ two big men, Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot, to the bench well before halftime and it was no surprise the Huskies took a 36-34 lead into the break.
Washington kept the pressure on early in the second half, pushing its lead to 52-44 with 12:10 left in the game, before the Jayhawks finally turned up the defensive intensity. Vick got going again inside and Azubuike’s slam of an alley-oop pass trimmed their deficit to 53-52 with 9½ minutes to go. LOYOLA-CHICAGO
63, No. 5 FLORIDA 59: In Gainesville, Fla., Aundre Jackson scored 23 points, Cameron Krutwig added 14 and the Ramblers (9-1) handed the Gators (5-3) a third consecutive loss.
“Hopefully we’ve been humbled a bit,” Florida coach Mike White said.
Florida hasn’t been the same since blowing a 17-point lead in the second half against top-ranked Duke on Nov. 26. The tailspin continued against rival Florida State on Monday and reached a new low against Loyola-Chicago.
“I can’t put a word on it. It’s pretty embarrassing,”
guard Jalen Hudson said. “It’s so embarrassing.”
No. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 104, WESTERN CAROLINA
61: In Chapel Hill, N.C., Luke Maye had 12 points and 12 rebounds while the Tar Heels (9-1) hit a seasonhigh 16 3-pointers to beat the Catamounts (3-7). No. 13 XAVIER 96, KENT STATE 70: In Cincinnati, Trevon Bluiett scored 26 points — the seventh time he’s had 20 this season — and the Musketeers (8-1) took control with an 18-point run to beat the Golden Flashes (5-4). MWC SOUTH CAROLINA 80,
WYOMING 64: In Columbia, S.C., Chris Silva had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Gamecocks (7-2) beat
the Cowboys (6-3). Wyoming’s Justin James had 20 points and 12 boards. UTAH STATE 62, UC
IRVINE 59: In Logan, Utah, sophomore guard Sam Merrill contributed 13 points as the Aggies (5-5) topped the Anteaters (4-7). ABILENE CHRISTIAN
62, AIR FORCE 58: In Air Force Academy, Colo., the Wildcats (6-3) got 14 points each from Jalone Friday and Tevin Foster to beat the Falcons (5-4). Trevor Lyons scored 13 points and had seven boards for Air Force. Women No. 3 NOTRE DAME 90,
MICHIGAN STATE 59: In South Bend, Ind., Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points and the Irish (8-1) beat the Spartans (5-3) in their first home game in 25 days.
The Irish went 6-1 on the road, the loss coming Sunday at No. 1 Connecticut. No. 11 TENNESSEE 131,
TROY 69: In Knoxville, Tenn., Jaime Nared scored 20 of her 27 points in the first half, Tennessee set a record for points in a quarter and the Lady Vols (9-0) had their highest point total of their storied history.
Nared opened with a 3-pointer and had seven points as the Lady Vols scored the first 12 points and raced to a 34-15 lead after one quarter. It was 61-39 at the half and then they got hot, setting a
school record with 44 points in the third and holding Troy (5-1) to nine for a 10539 advantage. No. 12 OHIO STATE 103, FLORIDA 77: In Gainesville, Fla., Kelsey Mitchell became Ohio State’s career scoring leader scorer in the first quarter and fnished with 30 points to help the Buckeyes (9-2) beat the Gators (5-4). No. 21 TEXAS A&M 71, TCU 58: In College Station, Texas, freshman Chennedy Carter had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, Khaalia Hillsman added 22 points, and the Aggies (7-2) beat the Horned Frogs (6-2).
Clovis High product Danni Williams added 13 points for Texas A&M. Note
UCLA-MONTANA: UCLA canceled Wednesday night’s game with Montana because of wildfires in the area.
The school said all other team workouts and practices scheduled for Wednesday had also been canceled.
Several wildfires are burning throughout Southern California, including near the UCLA campus.
The athletic department said refunds will be provided to fans who bought single-game tickets. Season-ticket holders will automatically receive a credit for the cost of the canceled game on their UCLA ticket account.