Rivalry turns real in Kansas

Jayhawks vs. Wildcats ends in a melee

Third-ranked Kansas (15-3, 5-1) and Kansas State ended their bitter Big 12 showdown 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 in their 81-59 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

Silvio De Sousa was stripped of the ball by the Wildcats’ DaJuan Gordon near midcourt and Gordon tried to go in for a layup. The Jayhawks center 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, looking like he was about to swing it 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 the officials and one-tenth of a second was put on the clock as Kansas State (8-10, 1-5) shot free throws to a chorus of boos from the few thousand fans who were still in the arena.

“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.”

Villanova

Saddiq Bey hit four 3pointers and scored 14 points and Jermaine Samuels had 20 points to lead host No. 9 Villanova to a 76-61 win against No. 13 Butler (15-4, 3-3 Big East). The Wildcats (15-3, 5-1) methodically pulled away in the second half. Villanova led by 11 late in the game despite a 1for-7 shooting slump; still good enough with the Bulldogs on a 1-of-10 slump.

Kentucky

Ashton Hagans scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half and No. 15 Kentucky (144, 5-1 SEC) used a 14-4 run to pull away and beat Georgia, 89-79. The Wildcats had to work to put away the stubborn Bulldogs (11-7, 1-4), who overcame missing 11 consecutive first-half shots and trailed, 41-35, at halftime. The Bulldogs surged to close within 41-39 but then struggled to score.

Evansville

Coach Walter McCarty was fired and interim coach Bernie Seltzer took over leadership of the team. 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. In a statement announcing the decision, which was effective immediately, the school said it had received additional reports of off-court misconduct with members of the “campus community” during McCarty’s tenure of less than two seasons.