Jayhawks win, widen Big 12 lead

Landen Lucas made two free throws with 11 seconds left and No. 3 Kansas didn’t allow No. 4 Baylor to get the ball to Johnathan Motley on the last possession, as the Jayhawks put a stranglehold on the Big 12 race with a 67-65 win Saturday in Waco, Texas.

Kansas (24-3, 12-2) has a three-game lead in the Big 12 with four to play. With one more win, it will match the UCLA teams of the 1960s and ’70s by winning 13 consecutive conference championships, though Jayhawks coach Bill Self isn’t ready to talk about that.

“We put ourselves in a great position, (but) we’re not going to take it for granted,” he said. “With a different outcome, you’re up one (game) with four to play, so I’m really proud of our guys and how hard they compete.

“As far as a mentaltoughness team, I would take this team and go to the house and let it ride.”

Five days after overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final 2 minutes, 43 seconds of regulation and then winning in overtime at home against No. 9 West Virginia, Kansas only had to come back from six down in the final 31⁄2 minutes this time.

“We just showed toughness and leadership as far as the older guys,” said Frank Mason III, who led Kansas with 23 points, “and I think the younger guys did a great job of following.”

Motley had 19 points for Baylor (22-5, 9-5), which didn’t score in the final 3:34 and has lost four of six. ’Nova clinches tie: Jalen Brunson had 22 points and a career-high 10 assists as No. 2 Villanova clinched a tie for an unprecedented fourth straight Big East regularseason title with a 92-70 victory over Seton Hall (1610, 6-8) in Newark, N.J.

The Wildcats (26-2, 13-2), who shot 67 percent from the field, used a 22-1 spurt bridging the halves to take command. Seminoles upset: Sheldon Jeter scored a career-high 29 points and had eight rebounds as host Pittsburgh upset No. 17 Florida State 80-66.

Jamel Artis added 16 points for the Panthers (1512, 4-10 Atlantic Coast Conference). Xavier RathanMayes led Florida State (21-6, 9-5) with 12 points.