Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Iowa State clobbers haphazard Kansas
IOWA STATE 77, NO. 5 KANSAS 60
AMES, Iowa — Marial Shayok scored 24 points, and Iowa State routed Kansas for its fifth consecutive victory. Freshman Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points for the Cyclones (12-2, 2-0), who opened Big 12 play with backto-back victories for the first time since 2015. Quentin Grimes scored 19 points for Kansas, and Dedric Lawson had 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Jayhawks (12-2, 1-1) committed a season-high 24 turnovers. Despite getting outrebounded 41-26, Iowa State made surprisingly easy work of Kansas in an early Big 12 test. The Cyclones opened their first double-digit lead when Tyrese Haliburton made a corner three-pointer with 9:59 to go. Lagerald Vick answered with a hasty threepoint try that bounced off the bottom of the backboard, and Lindell Wigginton connected from long range to make it 60-47 and force Kansas Coach Bill Self to burn his third timeout in 11 minutes. Shayok’s three with just under seven minutes left put Iowa State ahead 65-49, and the rout was on.
NO. 4 VIRGINIA 65, NO. 9 FLORIDA STATE 52
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Kyle Guy scored 21 points and Virginia limited Florida State to just 15 field goals. Guy scored 18 in the first half as the Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) opened a 42-23 lead. Braxton Key had 20 points for Virginia, which is off to its best start since the 2014-15 team won its first 19 games. Phil Cofer scored nine points for the Seminoles (12-2, 0-1), who shot just 34 percent (15 for 44) from the field.
NO. 8 MICHIGAN STATE 86, NO. 14 OHIO STATE 77
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cassius Winston scored 25 points, Nick Ward added 21 and Michigan State earned its eighth consecutive victory. The second half was tied six times before the Spartans (13-2, 4-0 Big Ten) took the lead on a Ward foul shot, and a layup by Kenny Goins put them up by three with 3:28 left. A Kyle Ahrens put-back at the 2:35 mark, a turnover by Ohio State’s Keyshawn Woods and a pair of Aaron Henry foul shots all but sealed it for Michigan State. Kaleb Wesson scored 25 points for Ohio State, and Luther Muhammed had 12. The Buckeyes (12-2, 2-1) had won six in a row.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA TECH 77, BOSTON COLLEGE 66
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points to lead Virginia Tech to its eighth consecutive victory. Alexander-Walker went 9 of 14 from the floor for the Hokies (13-1, 2-0 ACC), who shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) in the second half. Boston College (9-4, 0-1) led early in the second half, but Virginia Tech grabbed control with an 11-0 run. Jordan Chatman paced the Eagles with 18 points. Boston College shot just 39.6 percent (19 of 48).
NO. 11 TEXAS TECH 63, KANSAS STATE 57
LUBBOCK, Texas — Davide Moretti scored 19 points and Matt Mooney added 14 to help Texas Tech hold off Kansas State. Barry Brown led the Wildcats with 16 points and Cartier Diarra added 11 on a day when they shot just 33 percent (19 of 57) from the field. Kansas State (10-4, 0-2 Big 12) trailed 34-19 at halftime, but Brown knocked down a three-pointer with 6:55 to go that pulled the Wildcats within one. But Texas Tech (13-1, 2-0) found some offensive rhythm to pull away, despite some struggles at the free-throw line in the second half.
NO. 15 NORTH CAROLINA 85, PITTSBURGH 60
PITTSBURGH — Cam Johnson scored 15 points in his homecoming, and North Carolina rolled to the road win. Johnson, a graduate transfer from the Pittsburgh suburbs who left the Panthers in the spring of 2017, shook off the boos and hit his first three shots as the Tar Heels (11-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) provided the rebuilding Panthers a reminder of how far they still have to go under first-year Coach Jeff Capel. Johnson grabbed a season-high nine rebounds for North Carolina. Coby White led the Tar Heels with 22 points. Trey McGowens scored 17 points for Pittsburgh (10-4, 0-1), which lost its 23rd consecutive regular-season ACC game.
NO. 23 OKLAHOMA 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 64
NORMAN, Okla. — Kristian Doolittle had 16 points and eight rebounds, helping Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State. Brady Manek scored 15 points and Christian James added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Sooners (12-2, 1-1 Big 12), who bounced back from a 70-63 loss at No. 5 Kansas on Wednesday. It was another stellar defensive effort for Oklahoma. Oklahoma State, which entered the day leading the Big 12 in three-point percentage at 39 percent, went 6 of 26 from long range. The Cowboys shot just 34 percent overall. Thomas Dziagwa scored 16 points and Michael Weathers added 13 for Oklahoma State (6-8, 0-2).