Jayhawks erase 15-point hole to win Big 12 opener
LAWRENCE, Kan. — KJ Adams scored the go-ahead basket with 5.8 seconds left, Kansas stopped Oklahoma State twice at the other end, and the No. 4 Jayhawks came back from 15 down to beat the Cowboys 6967 on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
Jalen Wilson scored 20 points and Adams finished with 14 to lead the Jayhawks (12-0), who trailed 45-30 at halftime but used a 22-5 run in the opening minutes of the second half to not only wipe out the deficit but take the lead.
Kansas took a 65-64 lead on Kevin McCullar Jr.'s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, and Wilson added two free throws a moment later to stretch the lead. But the Cowboys' Bryce Thompson, who began his career at Kansas and matched a career high with 23 points, drilled a 3-pointer with 14.8 seconds left to tie the game at 67.
NO. 22 XAVIER 83
NO. 2 CONNECTICUT 73
Zach Freemantle scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Colby Jones also scored 16, helping the Musketeers hand the Huskies their first loss of the season in Cincinnati.
Jack Nunge started the game for Xavier (12-3, 4-0 Big East) despite an illness that limited him during warmups, and sat out some of the second half. He still finished with 15 points in 24 minutes. Jerome Hunter also had 15.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 69 ARIZONA STATE 60
Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points, Oumar Ballo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and the Wildcats withstood a second-half comeback by the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz.
Kerr Kriisa had 12 points and five assists for the Wildcats (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12), who won their fifth straight in the series.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 74 GEORGIA TECH 56
The Cavaliers blew away the Yellowjackets with a 25-0 run beginning at the end of the first half and carrying over after the break, cruising to a victory in Atlanta that pushed Tony Bennett into a tie with Terry Holland for the most coaching wins in team history.
NO. 17 DUKE 86 FLORIDA ST. 67
Ryan Young came off the bench for a seasonhigh 20 points, Jaylen Blakes scored 17 points in his first career start and the Blue Devils beat the Seminoles in Durham, N.C.
Young, a transfer from Northwestern, had 12 rebounds.
NO. 19 KENTUCKY 86 LOUISVILLE 63
Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Jacob Toppin added 24 points and the Wildcats dominated the Cardinals in Lexington, Ky.
The battle for Bluegrass bragging rights resumed after a one-year pause.
KANSAS STATE 82
NO. 24 W. VIRGINIA 76 (OT)
Markquis Nowell had a game-high 23 points and 10 assists, Keyontae Johnson scored 18, and Abayomi Iyiola added a careerbest 14 points as the Wildcats rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Mountaineers in Manhattan, Kan.
Kansas State (12-1) scored the first six points in overtime after West Virginia forced the extra period on a tying 3-pointer by Keadrian Johnson with one second left in regulation. It West Virginia's third 3-pointer in the game.