Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Baylor tops Kansas
Jared Butler had a season-high 30 points and eight assists as No. 2 Baylor remained undefeated with a 77-69 victory Monday over No. 9 Kansas.
WACO, Texas — Jared Butler had a season-high 30 points and eight assists as No. 2 Baylor remained undefeated with a 77-69 victory Monday night over No. 9 Kansas, which has lost consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in nearly eight years.
The Bears (13-0, 6-0 Big 12) led throughout in a matchup of this year’s preseason league favorite and the team that has won or shared 15 of the last 16 regular-season titles. Butler made the first of his seven three-pointers on the first shot of the game, part of Baylor’s opening 11-2 spurt.
Kansas (10-4, 4-3) played for the first time since a 75-70 loss last Tuesday at Oklahoma State before the Jayhawks’ scheduled game Saturday was postponed because of covid-19 issues in Iowa State’s program.
The Jayhawks were within 65-60 with 3:18 left after Tristan Enaruna drove the baseline for a slam that capped an 8-0 run. Butler then hit a three-pointer at the other end, and Kansas never got closer.
Coach Bill Self’s team hadn’t lost consecutive Big 12 games since a three-game losing streak in February 2013 against Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma.
MaCio Teague added 13 points and Davion Mitchell 10 for the Bears.
Christian Braun had 14 of his 17 points for Kansas in the first half, while Ochai Agbaji had 13 of his 16 points after halftime.
Butler, the preseason AP All-America guard, had nine points in the game’s first five minutes. That came two days after he was scoreless until scoring seven points in the final seven minutes of a 68-60 win at Texas Tech that was Baylor’s first game this season decided by fewer than 10 points.
Baylor had as much as a 16-point lead in the first half, at 37-21 after another three by Butler that prompted Self to call his third timeout. That came only seconds before what would have been the under-four media stoppage, but he didn’t wait after the 3 that was set up when Matthew Mayer stole a bad pass by Marcus Garrett.
The Jayhawks are 98-14 after a loss under Self. Their last eight losses overall have been to Top 25 teams.
ST. JOHN’S 74, NO. 23 UCONN 70
STORRS, Conn. — Posh Alexander scored 18 points to lead five St. John’s players in double figures, and the Red Storm came from behind to upset No. 23 UConn.
Marcellus Earlington scored 15 points and Julian Champagnie, the Big East’s leading scorer, had 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Rasheem Dunn scored 11 points and Dylan Addae-Wusu chipped in with 10 for the Red Storm (8-7, 3-6 Big East), who won for just the second time in five games.
R.J. Cole scored 18 points and Tyrese Martin had 14 for UConn (7-2, 4-2), which played its third consecutive game without leading scorer James Bouknight, who is recovering from elbow surgery.
UConn led by as many as 14 points in the first half and held the lead for the first 33 minutes of the game. It was 3532 at the half, and the Huskies extended that to 49-41 after a 6-0 run.
Alexander tied the game at 59-59 with a pair of free throws, and a three-pointer by Earlington gave the Red Storm their first lead of the game, 64-62, with just over four minutes left.
Champagnie’s driving layup made it 71-67 with 1:17 left, and St. John’s held off the Huskies.