Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Second-half surge sends Kansas past Kentucky
No. 2 Jayhawks use 3s to topple No. 4 Wildcats
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Second-ranked Kansas missed all of its 3-point attempts in the first half, and still the Jayhawks kept shooting.
That confidence paid off in one of college basketball’s toughest, loudest environments.
Josh Jackson made consecutive 3-pointers to jumpstart the Jayhawks, Frank Mason III scored 21 points, and Kansas beat No. 4 Kentucky 79-73 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The Challenge’s marquee matchup between college basketball’s two winningest programs ended with the Jayhawks (19-2) earning their second straight win over the Wildcats (17-4) on Kentucky’s home floor.
Three-point shooting was critical for Kansas. It shook off an 0-for-8 first half to make 5 of 11 after halftime, starting with Jackson’s backto-back makes that provided the first of several leads in a back-and-forth half.
Kansas led throughout the final seven minutes.
The Jayhawks shot 59 percent in the second half, and Jackson totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“I find making 3s gets kind of contagious,” the freshman said. “I think it kind of opened it up for us a little bit.”
Mason had 13 second-half points, and Landen Lucas contributed 13 points — including a layup with 4:41 left to cap an 11-0 run for a 69-59 lead — and five rebounds before fouling out.
No. 3 Gonzaga 96, Pepperdine 49 — At Malibu, Calif., Przemek Karnowski scored 16 points for the Bulldogs (22-0, 10-0 West Coast Conference), who shot 58.6 percent and held the Waves (6-16, 2-8) to 30.2 percent in matching their longest win streak at 22.
No. 5 Baylor 78, Mississippi 75 — At Oxford, Miss., Manu Lecomte hit a decisive 3-pointer with 23 seconds left and totaled 17 points for the Bears (20-1), who rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to edge the Rebels (12-9) for their fifth straight win.
Syracuse 82, No. 6 Florida State 72 — At Syracuse, N.Y., John Gillon had 21 points and 11 assists for the Orange (13-9, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led 44-26 at halftime and held off the Seminoles (18-4, 6-3) for their first win over a ranked team.
Miami 77, No. 9 North Carolina 62 — At Coral Gables, Fla., Bruce Brown scored 30 points for the Hurricanes (14-6, 4-4 ACC), who held the Tar Heels (19-4, 7-2) to 35-percent shooting and a season low in scoring — 27 points off their average.
Colorado 74, No. 10 Oregon 65— At Boulder, Colo., Derrick White scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to help the Buffaloes (12-10, 2-7 Pac-12) improve to 7-0 against the Ducks (19-3, 8-1) in Boulder and halt Oregon’s 17-game win streak.
Georgetown 85, No. 11 Butler 81 — At Indianapolis, Jessie Govan beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer with 1:03 left and totaled 20 points for the Hoyas (12-10, 3-6 Big East), who halted the 14-game home win streak by the Bulldogs (18-4, 7-3).
Georgia Tech 62, No. 14 Notre Dame 60 — At Atlanta, Josh Okogie made a fastbreak layup as time expired for the Yellow Jackets (13-8, 5-4 ACC), who got 25 points from Tadric Jackson in their upset of the Fighting Irish (17-5, 6-3).
No. 15 Wisconsin 61, Rutgers 54, OT — At New York, Ethan Happ shot 12 of 18 and scored seven of his 32 points in overtime for the Badgers (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten), who overcame 33.3-percent shooting to upend the Scarlet Knights (12-10, 1-8).
No. 16 Creighton 83, DePaul 66— At Omaha, Neb., Khyri Thomas scored 18 points for the Bluejays (19-3, 6-3 Big East), who downed the Blue Demons (8-13, 1-7) for the 10th time in their past 11 meetings.
No. 17 Duke 85, Wake Forest 83 — At Winston-Salem, N.C., Luke Kennard was 6 of 6 on 3-pointers, including one with 6.6 seconds left, and totaled 34 points for the Blue Devils (16-5, 4-4 ACC) in their win over the Demon Deacons (12-9, 3-6).
No. 18 West Virginia 81, Texas A&M 77 — At Morgantown, W.Va., Jevon Carter had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers (17-4), who raced to a 51-31 lead and held off the Aggies (11-9).
No. 21 Saint Mary’s 72, Santa Clara 59 — At Santa Clara, Calif., Jock Landale had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Gaels (19-2, 9-1 WCC), who made 11 of 12 free throws in the final five minutes to subdue the Broncos (12-11, 6-4).
No. 22 Maryland 85, Minnesota 78 — At Minneapolis, Justin Johnson hit 5 of 5 3-pointers and totaled 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (19-2, 7-1 Big Ten), who overcame a 41-31 disadvantage in rebounds to deal the Golden Gophers (15-7, 3-6) their fifth straight loss.
No. 23 South Carolina 63, Missouri 53 — At Columbia, Mo., Sindarius Thornwell had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help the Gamecocks (17-4, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) hand the Tigers (5-15, 0-8) their 11th straight loss.
No. 25 Florida 84, Oklahoma 52 — At Norman, Okla., Kevarrius Hayes scored 20 points for the Gators (16-5), who held the Sooners (8-12) to 27.7-percent shooting.
MOUNTAIN WEST UNR 82, New Mexico 65 — At Reno, Cameron Oliver scored 26 points for the first-place Wolf Pack (18-4, 7-2), who shot 52 percent and didn’t trail in the second half in halting the four-game win streak by the Lobos (139, 6-4).
Colorado State 78, San Diego State 77 — At San Diego, Gian Clavell made a driving layup with 3.8 seconds left and totaled 37 points for the Rams (14-8, 6-3), who overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to edge the Aztecs (11-9, 3-5).
Utah State 78, Fresno State 65— At Logan, Utah, Koby McEwen scored 22 points for the Aggies (9-11, 3-6), who shot 56 percent and held the Bulldogs (13-8, 5-4) to 35 percent in halting a fourgame skid.
Boise State 80, Wyoming 65 — At Laramie, Wyo., James Reid scored 16 points for the Broncos (13-7, 6-3), who cruised past the Cowboys (14-8, 4-5) for their fifth win in their past six road games.