No. 6 Kansas holds on against Oklahoma
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The message from Kansas coach Bill Self to his team was simple: You played lousy for 20 minutes and you’re still in the game, tailing Oklahoma by just two points at halftime.
Quite the compliment, in a roundabout way — and an odd but effective way to provide some confidence.
The sixth-ranked Jayhawks leaned on that message throughout the second half Saturday, turning their showdown with the short-handed Sooners into a nip-andtuck game. David McCormack hit the clinching short hook shot with 12.8 seconds to go, giving him 17 points and Kansas a hard-earned 63-59 victory.
“When coaches say they didn’t play well,” Self said, “it makes it look like you’re not giving the other team credit. I think Oklahoma was prepared and had a lot to do with us not playing well, but I thought we absolutely stunk the first half.”
As for the second?
“You know,” Self said, “considering we didn’t really make any free throws and didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, we came out and played better in the second half. … It’s a pretty good win considering they got easy stuff and we didn’t.”
Ochai Agbaji added 14 points and Jalen Wilson had nine points and 11 rebounds, helping the Jayhawks (10-2, 4-1 Big 12) avoid back-to-back losses in Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since their first season under Roy Williams in 1988-89.
NO. 1 GONZAGA116 PORTLAND 88
Joel Ayayi posted the first triple-double in Gonzaga history and the topranked Bulldogs won at Portland for their 16th straight win.
Ayayi had 12 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds, and Drew Timme had 26 points for the Bulldogs (12-0, 3-0 West Coast Conference), who were riding the nation’s longest active winning streak.
NO. 7 CREIGHTON 97 ST. JOHN’S 79
Denzel Mahoney scored a season-high 24 points to lead six players in double figures and the Bluejays pulled away early in a victory at Omaha.
The Bluejays (10-2, 6-1) won their sixth straight Big East game in the same season for the first time since joining the conference in 2013. The Red Storm (6-6, 1-5) dropped to 0-4 on the road.
OHIO STATE 79
NO. 15 RUTGERS 68
Duane Washington Jr. scored 17 points and the Buckeyes upset the Scarlet Knights at Piscataway, N. J.
The Buckeyes (9-3, 3-3 Big Ten) used a 22-4 burst to send Rutgers (7-4, 3-4) to its third straight loss.
NO. 22 VIRGINIA 61 BOSTON COLLEGE 49
Jay Huff matched his career-high with 18 points, adding eight rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to victory at Boston.
Sam Hauser scored 17 with 10 boards to help the Cavaliers (6-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their third straight since a Dec. 26 loss to Gonzaga.
NO. 21DUKE 79 WAKE FOREST 68
Matthew Hurt scored a career-high 26 points to help the host Blue Devils winin Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski’s return from a one-game absence due to COVID-19 protocols.
Freshman DJ Steward added 21 points for the Blue Devils (5-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 51 percent to extend their home-court dominance in the long-running in-state series.
Women
NO. 3 CONNECTICUT 87 PROVIDENCE 50
Freshman Paige Bueckers scored 23 points and the Huskies routed the Friars at Storrs, Conn., to give coach Geno Auriemma his 1,098th win.
That ties the late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for the second most wins in Division I history behind Stanford coach Tara Van Derveer (1,104).