Oklahoma pulls upset over Kansas
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — De'Vion Harmon scored 22 points and Oklahoma beat No. 9 Kansas 75-68 Saturday for its second victory this month over a top-10 opponent.
Oklahoma (9-4, 5-3 Big 12) has won three of its last four games against Kansas (10-5, 4-4) in Norman and is 8-1 at home this season at the Lloyd Noble Center. Included in that record is a win over then-No. 9 West Virginia on Jan. 2.
Kansas, which entered the game coming off losses at Oklahoma State and No. 2 Baylor, now has lost three straight games for the first time since February 2013. Marcus Garrett had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks, who were limited to two offensive rebounds. Kansas entered the game leading the Big 12 in rebounding margin but the Sooners outrebounded them 36-26.
Jalen Wilson added points for Kansas.
A 9-2 run by Oklahoma broke open what had been a one-possession game and Austin Reaves' first basket (after starting with seven misses) put the Sooners ahead 60-54 with 5:53 left.
Kansas pulled within 63-60 when Ochai Agbaji split a pair of free throws with 3:40 left, but Reaves and Umoja Gibson each followed with a driving layup to make it 67-60 and Kansas came no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Reaves, Elijah Harkless, Harmon and Reaves again each hit two free throws in the final 1:36 for the Sooners. Reaves scored 16 points, all in the second half, and made 10 of 11 free throws.
Kansas put Oklahoma in the bonus early in the second half and the Sooners took advantage, making 18 of 22 foul shots after not having a free-throw attempt in the first half. Kansas made 10 of 14 free throws.
No. 8 Houston 68, Temple 51
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Marcus Sasser and Quentin Grimes each scored 15 points and No. 8 Houston rolled to its sixth straight win, 68-51 over Temple on Saturday.
The Cougars (13-1, 8-1 American Athletic Conference) also beat the Owls on Dec. 22 and completed the season sweep in a rout. Grimes and Sasser hit consecutive early 3s to build a 19-point lead en route to win a hastily scheduled game because of COVID-19 issues.
This game was originally scheduled for Feb. 8, but when Houston's game with Cincinnati was postponed, Temple and Houston got bumped up to fill the CBS spot. CBS broadcast a game from the Liacouras Center for just the second time in program history — and the Owls were not ready for the spotlight.
The Owls, though, were just grateful to get a chance to hit the court, considering Houston played its 14th game while Temple (3-4, 2-4) played only its seventh. So it goes this season, as college basketball tries to navigate schedules upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Owls had fits of good ball movement but couldn't finish at the rim and hit just about nothing from outside. The Owls made just nine of 28 shots (one 3-pointer) in the first half as Houston grabbed a 36-21 lead.
Under coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars again got solid games out of perhaps the best backcourt in the AAC in Grimes (17.8 points) and Sasser (16.5). They each hit three 3s and Grimes had nine rebounds. The Cougars, a 12-point favorite, made 9 of 20 3-pointers (45%). The Cougars' only loss of the season came when they missed 17 of 21 3s against Tulsa, and when they're connecting from deep, they're as tough to beat as any team.
The Cougars keep winning even as Caleb Mills, the preseason AAC player of the year, decided to enter the transfer portal earlier this month, leaving them without their leading scorer from last season. Houston reached as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25 and remain the favorite in the AAC.