No. 5 Kansas blasts Oklahoma St.
STILLWATER, Okla. — Kansas guard Gradey Dick was the main target of jeers from Oklahoma State's noisy fans Tuesday night.
His outside shooting quieted the crowd. The freshman scored 17 of his season-high 26 points in the second half as the fifth-ranked Jayhawks rolled to an 87-76 victory over the Cowboys.
Dick said Oklahoma State's fans gave him energy.
“I love it,” he said. “I love it. I kind of like being, you know, the hated one going into (visiting arenas). And they were doing their little chants. But it definitely fuels the fire, for sure.”
Dick made 10-of-17 field goals, shooting 4-of-9 on 3-pointers.
And his performance allowed Kansas to get away with a bit of an off night from the Big 12's leading scorer. Jalen Wilson had 14 points — nearly seven below his average coming in.
Wilson said Dick's production was exceptional, especially for a freshman.
“He did great,” Wilson said. “You guys have seen all year, he has no conscience when it comes to shooting the ball, and that's what makes a great shooter. Every time he shoots the ball, we think it's going in just like he
thinks it's going in.”
Kansas shot 66 percent from the field in the second half to pull away from the Cowboys. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, but the Cowboys couldn't figure out the Jayhawks.
“We've got to defend better,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “We're a better defensive team than we showed. We just didn't have our fastball tonight and our curveball wasn't good enough.”
Kansas (21-5, 9-4 Big 12) has won three straight. The Jayhawks are tied with Texas and Baylor atop the conference standings.
Kalib Boone scored a career-high 27 points, John-michael Wright had
18 and Bryce Thompson added 17 for Oklahoma State (16-10, 7-6).
OKLAHOMA 79 NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 65
Grant Sherfield scored 22 points as the host Sooners used a 12-0 run early in the second half on their way to a victory over the Wildcats.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak in Big 12 play for Oklahoma (13-13, 3-10 Big 12) and prevented Kansas State (19-7, 7-6) and first-year coach Jerome Tang from earning their 20th win of the year.
Tanner Groves scored 16 while freshman Milos Uzan added 13 for the Sooners. Nae'quan Tomlin scored 17 points — 13 of them in the first half — and added 10 rebounds to pace Kansas State.
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 94 NO. 18 CREIGHTON 86 (2OT)
Devin Carter had 25 points as the Friars outlasted the visiting Bluejays.
Bryce Hopkins and Noah Locke each scored 20 for Providence (19-7, 11-4 Big East), which ended an eight-game winning streak for Creighton that began with a Jan. 14 victory over Providence at home.
With the win, the Friars tied the Bluejays (17-9, 11-4) for third place in the Big East standings. Both teams were a half-game behind Xavier and a game back of first-place Marquette in a crowded race for the regular-season title.
SYRACUSE 75 NO. 23 N.C. STATE 72
Judah Mintz scored 20 points as the Orange secured an upset at home over the Wolfpack.
With the score tied at 70 with two minutes to go, Jesse Edwards finished strong at the rim and drew a foul to give Syracuse a 3-point lead. The Orange would then use a mixture of defensive pressure and clutch freethrow shooting to hold on for the victory.
Edwards finished with 18 points for Syracuse (16-10, 9-6 ACC), which also got 11 from Chris Bell, 10 from Malik Brown and 14 from Joe Girard III.