Baylor hands No. 7 Kansas second straight setback
WACO, TEXAS » RayJ Dennis had 19 points and 10 assists, Jayden Nunn scored 18 points with consecutive fastbreak layups in a key run for No. 15 Baylor and the Bears beat seventh-ranked Kansas 82-74 on Saturday, handing the Jayhawks consecutive losses for the first time this season.
Yves Missi added 17 points and fellow freshman Ja’Kobe Walter had 11 for the Bears (21-8, 10-6 Big 12).
Nunn first drove the length of the court with 13:49 left after grabbing a defensive rebound. Then after 7-foot freshman Missi blocked a Kansas shot, Dennis passed ahead to a breaking Nunn for another layup. Those baskets 25 seconds apart ignited a 13-2 run that pushed Baylor’s lead from one to 12 with 10 minutes left.
Big 12 scoring leader Kevin McCullar Jr., in his return to the lineup after missing four of the previous five games with a bone bruise in his knee, and Hunter Dickinson had 20 points each for Kansas (218, 9-7), which was coming off a 76-68 loss at home to Big 12 newcomer BYU. Dajuan Harris had 12 points and nine assists.
(12) CREIGHTON 89, (5) MARQUETTE 75. » Baylor Scheierman scored 26 points and made three straight 3-pointers late in the game to lead Creighton (22-8, 13-6) to a victory over Marquette (22-7, 13-5).
Scheierman, a candidate for Big East player of the year who was playing his final game at CHI Health Center, had 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double in 10 games and 14th of the season.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 19 points and Trey Alexander added 18 points for the Bluejays.
The Golden Eagles played without injured star guard Tyler Kolek and big man Oso Ighodaro (illness).
(6) ARIZONA 103, OREGON 83 » Caleb Love scored 22 points, Oumar Ballo had his ninth straight double-double and Arizona (23-6, 14-4) closed out the Pac-12 era at McKale Center with a beatdown of Oregon (19-10, 11-7).
Keyed by Love and then Kylan Boswell, Arizona had a 17-point lead by the midpoint of the first half and didn’t let off the gas. The Wildcats shot 61% overall, went 14 for 25 from 3 and had 27 assists on 39 made field goals to finish the season 15-1 at home.
(8) IOWA STATE 60, UCF 52 » Tre King had 16 points and Iowa State (23-6, 12-4 Big 12) had a late 11-0 run to beat UCF (15-13, 6-10) for its third straight victory and seventh in eight games.
Milan Momcilovic added 11 points for Iowa State. He hit a basket with 2:20 left to give the Cyclones a three-point lead.
(9) NORTH CAROLINA 79, NC STATE 70 » Harrison Ingram scored a season-high 22 points as North Carolina (23-6, 15-3 ACC) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and beat North Carolina State (17-12, 9-9).
Elliot Cadeau scored 15 points and RJ
Davis, who put up a Smith Center-record 42 points Monday night against Miami, finished with 14 after being held to two in the first half. Armando Bacot added 13 points for North Carolina, which won its fourth straight game and maintained its hold on first place in the conference, ahead of Duke.
(11) AUBURN 78, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63 » Johni Broome had 17 points, Denver Jones scored 15, and Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) bounced back from a road loss at fourth-ranked Tennessee with a win over Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8).
Auburn set the tone with its defense, as Mississippi State missed 17 of its first 19 shots. The Tigers never trailed, and they recorded nine blocks and eight steals in the victory.
(13) ILLINOIS 91, WISCONSIN 83 » Marcus Domask had 31 points, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 23 and Illinois (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten) continued its recent mastery of Wisconsin (18-11, 10-8).
Illinois has won its last six matchups with Wisconsin, which represents the Illini’s longest winning streak in the series since beating the Badgers 16 straight times from 1981-89. Wisconsin beat Illinois 15 consecutive times before this stretch.
(16) KENTUCKY 111, ARKANSAS 102 » Rob Dillingham scored 11 of his 15 points in the final 6:33 and Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC) rallied for a victory over Arkansas (14-15, 5-11).
The Razorbacks led 86-77 with 8½ minutes remaining before the Wildcats stormed back with a 21-6 burst to open a 98-92 lead.
(18) SOUTH CAROLINA 82, (24) FLORIDA 76 »
Meechie Johnson scored 25 points including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 43.4 seconds to play as South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC) rallied for a victory over Florida (209, 10-6).
The Gamecocks trailed 56-46 with 12 minutes to play, but behind Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles turned things around with a 26-12 surge. They kept themselves in the chase for an SEC title, a game behind co-leaders No. 4 Tennessee and No. 14 Alabama when the day started.
(25) SOUTH FLORIDA 76, CHARLOTTE 61»
Chris Youngblood scored 17 points, Kasean Pryor had 16 points and nine rebounds, and South Florida (22-5, 15-1 AAC) beat Charlotte (17-11, 11-5) for its 14th consecutive victory.
Selton Miguel chipped in 13 points for the Bulls, who haven’t lost since Jan. 7 and entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history earlier this week.
Lu’Cye Patterson had 17 points for Charlotte (17-11, 11-5), which had its eight-game home win streak snapped.
Cam Christie scored 19 points, Elijah Hawkins added 18 and Minnesota (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half and beat Penn State (14-16, 8-11)to sweep the season series.