Kansas rolls in game that ends with wild brawl
Third-ranked Kansas and Kansas State ended their bitter showdown Tuesday night with a wild melee behind the basket that included punches, shoving and at least one player picking up a stool, moments after the host Jayhawks tried to dribble out the time on their 81-60 victory.
Silvio De Sousa was stripped by the Wildcats’ DaJuan Gordon near midcourt at Allen Fieldhouse, and Gordon tried to go in for a layup. The Jayhawks’ big man recovered and blocked his shot, sending Gordon to the floor, then stood over him barking. That triggered benches to empty and punches to be thrown in what amounted to a rugby scrum. At one point, De Souza picked up a stool and held it above his head before assistant coach Jerrance Howard grabbed it from him.
It took both coaching staffs and security to separate the teams. Then, adding to the bizarre finish, both teams were summoned back from the locker rooms by officials and one-tenth of a second was put on the clock. Kansas State shot technical free throws to booing from a few thousand fans left — necessitating a change to the final score.
“Well, obviously it’s an embarrassment,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “It’s not something to be proud of. What happened showed zero signs of toughness. It’s a sign of immaturity and selfishness more so than toughness.”
Kansas beat the Wildcats for the 14th straight time at Allen Fieldhouse. NO. 8 DUKE ROUTS MIAMI TO END 2-GAME SKID » Matthew Hurt scored 22 points as eighth-ranked Duke (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) got back on track by blistering visiting Miami 89-59 at home. Tre Jones dumped in 16 points and Vernon Carey Jr. added 11 points to help the Blue Devils end a twogame skid.
The Hurricanes (10-8, 2-6) have lost three in a row and five of their past six.
NO. 9 VILLANOVA ROLLS OVER NO. 13 BUTLER » Saddiq Bey hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points, and Jermaine Samuels had 20 points to lead No. 9 Villanova to a 76-61 win over No. 13 Butler. The Wildcats (15-3, 5-1 Big East) methodically pulled away at home in the second half. The anticipated matchup between two of the supposed best in the Big East lost a bit of luster when the Bulldogs (15-4, 3-3) lost consecutive games to Seton Hall and DePaul.
NO. 21 ILLINOIS RUNS AWAY IN 2ND HALF TO SWEEP PURDUE » Kofi Cockburn finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds, Trent Frazier added 21 points, and No. 21 Illinois pulled away in the second half for a 79-62 victory at Purdue. The Fighting Illini (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten) swept the Boilermakers (10-9, 4-4) for the first time since 2008-09.
TCU UPENDS NO. 18 TEXAS TECH » Desmond Bane scored 27 points, Kevin Samuel had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and TCU returned home after a miserable week on the road to upset No. 18 Texas Tech 65-54.
The Horned Frogs (13-5, 4-2 Big 12) pushed ahead to stay with a 13-2 run to start the second half. Jahmi’us Ramsey had 15 points for Texas Tech (126, 3-3).
MCCARTY FIRED AS EVANSVILLE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES » Walter McCarty has been fired as Evansville’s coach after an investigation revealed additional allegations of off-court misconduct, the university announced. Former Butler coach Todd Lickliter was hired late Tuesday to replace McCarty, the university announced. Lickliter signed a multiyear contract and will take over immediately. The Purple Aces play Drake tonight, and Lickliter will be on the sideline, the university said. Lickliter was an assistant to McCarty last season.
McCarty was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 26 so university officials could investigate allegations of sexual misconduct and violations of the school’s Title IX policy.