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College Basketball Capsules - Men: Jones scores 22 to lead No. 6 Baylor over Texas
WACO (AP) — Close games are becoming the norm for No. 6 Baylor.
Even more importantly for coach Scott Drew and the Bears, winning these tight contests have also become a regular occurrence.
Perry Jones III scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, Pierre Jackson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer and Baylor withstood a second-half rally to beat Texas 76-71 on Saturday.
The Bears (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) improved to 5-1 in games decided by five points or less. On Tuesday night, Baylor needed a late push to pull away from Oklahoma in a 77-65 victory.
"It's a lot easier to teach after a win than it is a loss," Drew said. "We've been fortunate to win. Hopefully, we keep improving and getting better."
It appeared early in the second half that the Bears might be able relax down the stretch as their lead grew to 12 points
A late string of turnovers and J'Covan Brown's hot shooting helped the Longhorns tie the game with less than 3 minutes left.
Jackson answered with his 3-pointer that gave Baylor the lead for good with 2:36 left, and the Bears hit seven free throws down the stretch to seal the victory despite committing 18 turnovers — twice as many as the Longhorns.
"If we cut down on the turnovers, then the game wouldn't have been that close," said Jones, who has 43 points and 26 rebounds the past two games.
Brown scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half for Texas (13-8, 3-5), but he missed a 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left that would have tied the game.
Texas struggled to find offense outside of Brown. The rest of the Longhorns hit only 13 of 38 shots and 10 of 18 free throws.
The Longhorns have lost four of five since starting conference play 2-1. Texas is in the midst of a six-game stretch when they play five ranked opponents. Things don't get any easier for Texas as it hosts No. 2 Missouri on Monday night.
"I think the biggest thing is consistency with everybody," coach Rick Barnes said. "We need guys that we know we're going to get something from every single night. We still don't have that consistently."
Quincy Miller had 18 points for the Bears, who are 6-2 in conference play for the first time since 1986-87. Brady Heslip added 11 points, and Quincy Acy had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Brown, leading the Big 12 with 19 points per game, was 11 of 22 from the field and broke out of an offensive slump. The junior guard had made only 18 of 70 shots in his last three games.
Brown scored six points during a 14-2 run that tied the game at 54. He then connected on a 3-pointer that tied it at 66 with 2:56 left.
"J'Covan was special," Drew said. "We didn't have an answer for him."
Jackson had five turnovers, but he made up for those miscues with his 3-pointer that gave Baylor a 69-66 lead.
"That's not really like Pierre," Heslip said of the turnovers. "He does a great job for us, so he's allowed to do that."
Jones and Acy each hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 73-66 before Texas made one last surge to pull to 74-71. Brown couldn't complete the rally as his 3-point attempt in the final seconds was well off.
"I didn't help my team get a win," Brown said. "I just didn't come through for them. Those shots I made, they don't even matter because we didn't win."
Miller scored 13 points in the first half, and Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds to give Baylor a 38-29 halftime lead.
Jonathan Holmes scored to give the Longhorns a 19-18 edge with 9:14 left in the first half.
Texas, which came into the game shooting just 40 percent in conference games, missed six of its first seven shots. The Bears capitalized as they went on a 15-5 run over the next 5:29 to take the lead for good.
The spurt was capped by an alley-oop dunk from Jones on a pass from Jackson that gave Baylor a 33-24 lead with 3:45 remaining in the first half.
Turner leads Texas A&M over Oklahoma State
COLLEGE STATION (AP) — Texas A&M was missing two key players on Saturday against Oklahoma State.
The Aggies made up for it with what both Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy and Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford called aggressive, hungry and feisty play in a 76-61 win. The same couldn't be said for the Cowboys, who described their effort with a very different adjective.
"We came in this game nonchalant and Texas A&M took advantage of us," Oklahoma State's Markel Brown said.
Ford was disappointed that his team, which upset second-ranked Missouri 79-72 on Wednesday, felt that way.
"If they're saying that, then yeah you're not going to win many games," Ford said.
Elston Turner scored 23 points and David Loubeau added 13 points for the Aggies (12-8, 3-5 Big 12), who led by a point at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Texas A&M was without second-leading scorer Khris Middleton, who missed his second straight game, and point guard Dash Harris, who didn't play after injuring his right foot Monday against Kansas.
"I just thought our guys were a little hungrier," Kennedy said. "I thought they were more excited to play. We had more energy and they were having fun."
The Aggies are thin at the guard position. With Harris out the Aggies had to shuffle their lineup, moving Turner to point guard and starting freshman Jordan Green at the other guard spot.
"We talked about it all week. We're beat up, we need everyone to give a little more," Kennedy said. "We need to pay attention to details. Those are things we can control."
Turner has had to carry the offense lately because of injuries and has scored a combined 70 points in A&M's last three games. On Saturday he also had five assists, three rebounds and made 10 of 12 free throws.
Daniel Alexander added a career-high 11 points and had two blocks, and Green and Zach Kinsley chipped in eight points apiece. Guard Alex Baird, a senior who entered the game having played just two minutes this season, didn't score, but had four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 21 minutes.
"I was very confident putting him in the game," Kennedy said of Baird. "I made a conscious effort to tell him that we were going to play him. Obviously, he gave a big lift to our team and our bench."
A&M's bench played a key role, contributing 25 points.
Markel Brown's 19 points led Oklahoma State (10-11, 3-5). Brian Williams added 14 points and Le'Bryan Nash had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Texas A&M led by seven points with about 10 minutes remaining before using a 12-4 run to extend its lead to 63-48. Alexander and Kinsley each hit a 3-pointer in that span.
Turner was impressed with the way the team came together on Saturday.
"Everybody stepped up today, and if we get that consistent effort when everybody comes back, we're going to be a tough team to beat," Turner said.
Kennedy said Middleton is feeling better, but he isn't sure when he or Harris will be ready to play. The Aggies host No. 6 Baylor on Wednesday.
The Aggies were up by four points with about 15 minutes remaining when they went on a 9-0 run fueled by seven points from Turner to stretch the lead to 49-36. The first basket of that run was a two-handed put-back dunk by Loubeau off a missed 3-pointer by Turner.
Oklahoma State hadn't made a basket for more than five minutes when Brown ended the drought with a long jump shot followed by a 3-pointer. A three-point play by Williams after a basket by A&M got Oklahoma State within 51-44 midway through the second half.
The Cowboys shot a season-high 59 percent in their win over Missouri, but managed just 38 percent shooting on Saturday as they lost to A&M for the fourth straight time.
A&M was the hot-shooting team on Saturday, shooting 58 percent.
Oklahoma State led by seven points with about 9 minutes left in the first half after a 3-pointer by Brown. The Aggies followed with a 14-6 run to lead 30-29 at halftime.
-- Kristie Rieken
Texas Tech falls short against Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Tolbert's absence in the second half because of foul trouble was costly for Texas Tech.
Tolbert, the Big 12 freshmen leader in rebounds per game (6.4) and field goal shooting (56.6 percent), could only watch as his Red Raiders struggled to come back from a seven-point halftime deficit and lose 63-50 to Missouri.
"Obviously it was too difficult because we didn't get it done," Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie said.
Tolbert tied his season low of four points on 2-of-4 shooting and four rebounds after getting called for his third and fourth fouls early in the second half. He also committed eight turnovers in his 16 minutes.
"He had a tough day today," Gillispie said. "He got pushed around a little bit and didn't respond nearly as well as he needs to. But that's part of the education process for a freshman, especially when we don't have a whole lot other than him to help him inside."
Jaye Crockett scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Ty Nurse added 13 points, but Texas Tech (7-13, 0-8 Big 12) has lost its first eight conference games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
"I've always been proud of our guys, I love our guys," Gillispie said. "But I hate losing. We have to do something about getting beat all the time."
Kim English scored 19 points in the first half and Marcus Denmon had 13 after the break to help Missouri (19-2, 6-2) avoid a second straight upset.
Clark Lammert's 3-pointer off the glass at the shot clock buzzer with 2:36 to go cut a 15-point Texas Tech deficit to seven.
But the Tigers answered with six straight points to finish the game, including Ricardo Ratliffe's dunk in transition with a minute left after English blocked a shot and then saved the ball from going out of bounds.
English finished with 22 points, Denmon with 19 despite 4-for-15 shooting and Phil Pressey matched his career best with 12 assists.
Missouri remained unbeaten at home, three days after an upset at Oklahoma State. The Tigers' first 11 home victories had been by an average of 27 points.
"Their game plan was to take our paint production out and they did a nice job of that," Missouri coach Frank Haith. "It was tough getting the ball inside to Ricardo but I'm proud of our guys adjusting, not getting frustrated. We had to be patient on both ends of the floor."
English and Pressey had impressive totals at the half — English with four 3-pointers and 19 points and Pressey a heavy contributor without taking a shot, racking up seven assists and three steals.
English hit a pair of 3s to fuel a 10-0 opening run, but Missouri missed nine of its next 11 shots as Texas Tech rallied to tie it at 14. English scored nine points in the final 6 minutes, helping build an 11-point cushion before the Red Raiders closed the gap to seven at the break.
Tolbert picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first 1:39 of the second half, the latter a flagrant foul with Denmon hitting a pair from the free throw line to put Missouri up 35-24.
"We needed him out there," Crockett said. "I was talking to him and telling him, 'be smart, be smart.' But you also have to be aggressive. So that's kind of difficult, trying to be aggressive and staying out of foul trouble."
Heralded national football recruit Dorial Green-Beckham got a huge ovation when he arrived courtside just before game time, escorted by Missouri assistant coach Andy Hill. Fans later chanted "MIZ-DGB!" and Green-Beckham, a wide receiver from Springfield, watched the game from behind the Missouri bench.
The wooing continued when most of the football team was introduced during a break in the first half along with a recitation of the school's accomplishments under coach Gary Pinkel. Green-Beckham got a standing ovation on his way off the court, stopping to pose for a picture with Truman the Tiger, the school mascot.
New Mexico handles TCU
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — When New Mexico needed a play Saturday, Tony Snell was there to deliver, helping the Lobos beat TCU 71-54.
Snell finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists for New Mexico (17-4, 3-2 MWC) and Kendall Williams added 14 points and five assists. Amric Fields scored 16 points and J.R. Cadott added 15 and nine rebounds for TCU (12-8, 2-3).
Snell had a 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 New Mexico run in the first half that put it up 22-16. And after TCU had closed within 33-28 at the start of the second half, Snell sparked a 12-0 run, sandwiching 3-pointers around a Hugh Greenwood fast-break layup on which Snell dished out the assist. Snell's big day started early when he sliced through a crowded lane for a layup and a 6-2 Lobos' lead.
TCU used a 17-6 second-half run that featured 3-pointers from four different players, cutting the deficit to 51-45 at the 9:04 mark after a Cadot dunk.
But Snell and the Lobos responded as he took a pass from Williams and dunked, capping a 10-2 New Mexico run and extending its lead, 61-47.
New Mexico controlled the rebounds throughout, holding a 36-27 edge, including a 10-3 advantage on the offensive end.
New Mexico also got some strong bench play from Jamal Fenton and Phillip McDonald, each finishing with nine points.
Texas-Arlington rallies to beat Texas State
SAN MARCOS (AP) — Shaquille White-Miller hit two free throws with 15.9 seconds left and Texas-Arlington closed the game on a 7-0 run to defeat Texas State 82-79 Saturday and extend its school-record winning streak to 11 games.
White-Miller's free throws gave the Mavericks (15-5, 7-0 Southland) an 80-79 lead, and after a Texas State turnover, LeMarcus Reed added two more for the final margin.
Texas State (8-12, 1-6), which has lost four straight, led 79-75 with 1:11 remaining but turned the ball over on its next three possessions.
Reed led Texas-Arlington with 17 points. White-Miller and Bo Ingram added 12 each, Kevin Butler had 11 and Brandon Edwards 10.
Brooks Ybarra had 17 points, Matt Staff and Wesley Davis 14 each, and Eddie Rios 12 for Texas State.
Texas-Arlington has played four of its last five games on the road, but returns home for its first game at the new on-campus College Park Center on Wednesday against UTSA.
Prairie View rallies to beat Alabama State
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Marcellus Jackson scored all 11 of his points in the second half and Prairie View rallied to beat Alabama State 58-51 on Saturday night.
The Panthers (9-12, 5-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) trailed 48-43 with 4:03 remaining and scored 15 straight. Louis Munks made both his free throws to put Prairie View up 58-48 with 41 seconds left.
Alabama State (7-13, 4-4) committed five turnovers, leading to six points, and Jackson scored eight points during the 3:22- spurt. The Hornets finished with 16 turnovers in the game, and were outscored 43-37 in the second half.
After shooting 28.6 percent in the first half (8 of 28), Prairie View got 10 points from Munks and made 15 of 36 from the field in the second.
Munks finished with 15 points, Jourdan Demuynck 12 and Jules Montgomery had 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
Tramaine Butler led Alabama State with 19 points.
Texas Southern defeats Alabama A&M in SWAC
NORMAL, Ala. (AP) — Fred Sturdivant posted a double-double, scoring 19 points to lead Texas Southern to a 73-61 victory over Alabama A&M Saturday night in Southwestern Athletic Conference action.
Sturdivant also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Tigers (7-13, 6-2). Dexter Ellington added 12 points. For Alabama A&M (4-13, 2-6), Casey Canty led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Demarquelle Tabb chipped in 12 points and Jeremy Ingram 10.
Sturdivant, who helped Texas Southern take a 34-25 halftime lead, hit 6 of 7 shots from the floor. At the foul line, he was 7 for 10.
The Tigers shot 53.5 percent from the field, making 23 of 43 field goal attempts. Alabama A&M was just 21 for 65 (32.3 percent).
While the Bulldogs made twice as many 3-pointers as the Tigers, they were 8 for 29 from the arc compared to Texas Southern's 4 for 9. The Tigers outscored A&M 23-11 at the foul line.
Clarkson carries Tulsa past SMU
DALLAS (AP) — Jordan Clarkson had 22 points, six assists and four blocked shots as Tulsa defeated Southern Methodist 66-60 Saturday.
Clarkson hit 9 of 14 fields goals, including 3 of 4 3-point attempts, for the Golden Hurricane (13-9, 6-2 Conference USA), who won their sixth straight game. Scottie Haralson added 17 points, and Eric McClellan had 10. Robert Nyakundi had 18 points and Leslee Smith 10 for SMU (10-11, 2-5).
The Mustangs grabbed their only lead of the game when Jalen Jones converted a three-point play and London Giles followed with a jumper to put SMU ahead 40-37 with 16:28 remaining. Clarkson responded with a layup and McClellan hit a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run that put Tulsa back on top for good.
SMU pulled within 58-54 with 1:54 remaining, but Clarkson hit a 3-pointer and then scored on a fast-break dunk to put the game out of reach.
UTSA jars Sam Houston State for fifth straight
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Melvin Johnson III scored 18 points Saturday to help UTSA win its fifth straight with a 78-66 victory over Sam Houston State.
Alex Vouyoukas added 14 points, Kannon Burrage 13, Michael Hale III 12 and Jeromie Hill 11 for the Roadrunners (14-7, 6-1), off to their best Southland Conference start since 1992 and winners of eight of nine. Steven Werner paced the Bearkats (8-13, 2-5) with game highs of 27 points and nine rebounds. Konner Tucker scored 17.
UTSA was outrebounded 40-23, and both teams made 23 baskets. But the Roadrunners sank 8 of 19 3-pointers to 4 of 16 for Sam Houston State and made 24 of 31 free throws to the Bearkats' 16 of 23.
The Roadrunners used a 9-0 run to turn a 31-25 lead into a 40-25 edge with 1:53 left in the first half and coasted home. UTSA swept the season series.
Stephen F. Austin dumps Corpus Christi
CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) — Antonio Bostic scored 18 points and Stephen F. Austin held Texas A&M Corpus Christi to 15 first-half points Saturday night en route to a 64-49 victory.
Jereal Scott added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lumberjacks (11-9, 5-2 Southland), and Hal Bateman had 12 points off the bench. Terence Jones led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (4-16, 3-5) with 20 points.
The Islanders hit just 6 of 22 shots and 1 of 2 free throws while committing 10 turnovers in the first half. Jones also struggled, going 2 for 8 from the field for five points.
Trailing 30-15 at the break, Corpus Christi warmed up in the second half, hitting 52 percent of its shots, but never got closer than seven points.
Stephen F. Austin outrebounded the Islanders 39-27 and had just 10 turnovers in the game.
Houston comes back, beats UTEP in overtime
HOUSTON (AP) — Jonathon Simmons scored 25 points and Houston rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat UTEP 81-76 in overtime on Saturday night.
Simmons' three-point play with 34 seconds left in the extra period gave the Cougars the lead for good at 77-76. The final score was Houston's largest lead of the game.
TaShawn Thomas had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Cougars (11-9, 3-4 Conference USA), and Alandise Harris had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Thomas also blocked four shots.
UTEP led 38-23 late in the first half, but Houston rallied and finally went ahead 64-63 with 2:04 left, capping a 9-0 run.
John Bohannon led the Miners (10-11, 3-4) with 17 points and 13 rebounds. His layup with 50 seconds left made it 66-66. Julian Washburn had 16 points and eight rebounds for UTEP.
Mitchell, North Texas top Arkansas State
DENTON (AP) — Tony Mitchell had 21 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots to lead North Texas to a 76-64 win over Arkansas State on Saturday.
Brandan Walton scored a career-high 19 points and Roger Franklin had 10 points for the Mean Green (13-9, 6-3 Sun Belt), which jumped to a 9-2 lead and never trailed. North Texas shot 50 percent from the field overall and made 54 percent of its 3-point tries.
Brandon Peterson led Arkansas State (9-14, 3-6) with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Malcoln Kirkland added 11 points for the Red Wolves.
It was the 200th win for North Texas coach Johnny Jones, who is 200-157 in 11 seasons. His teams have won 20 or more games in each of the previous five seasons.
Ibrahim, Frizzelle lead Rice past Tulane
HOUSTON (AP) — Ahmad Ibrahim scored a career-high 23 points and Connor Frizzelle scored 22 to lift Rice past Tulane 88-74 Saturday night.
Dylan Ennis had 10 points and 11 assists for Rice — the most assists for an Owls player in a game in six years. Ibrahim also blocked four shots, and Omar Oraby contributed 16 points and eight rebounds for the Owls (12-10, 3-4 Conference USA), who never trailed in the contest. Frizzelle's total was his highest point output of the season.
Ricky Tarrant led Tulane (14-7, 2-5) with 18 points and eight assists. Jordan Callahan scored 17 points and Josh Davis had eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Green Wave.
Lamar beats Nicholls State
BEAUMONT (AP) — Mike James scored 21 points and had seven assists Saturday to lead Lamar to an 80-56 victory over Nicholls State.
Anthony Miles contributed 16 points for the Cardinals (13-8, 4-3 Southland), whose biggest lead was the game's final margin. Brandon Davis scored 13 points and Devon Lamb had 11 points and six rebounds for Lamar. The Cardinals shot 62 percent for the game, and led by double figures for the last 25 minutes of play.
Bryan Hammond had 19 points to lead Nicholls State (5-15, 1-7). Jeremy Smith scored 11 points. The Colonels made 44 percent of their shots.
Big 12
Iowa State stuns No. 5 Kansas
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Royce White has been so bad from the free throw line lately that his struggles have literally turned into nightmares.
A few hours after waking up from a dream in which he couldn't hit anything from the line, White sank the two biggest freebies of his career to give Iowa State a landmark win for coach Fred Hoiberg.
White had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cyclones upset fifth-ranked Kansas 72-64 on Saturday, snapping the Jayhawks' winning streak at 10 games.
White, the versatile big man who entered shooting an abysmal 39 percent from the line in Big 12 games, hit a pair that rattled in to put Iowa State up 64-59 with 1:47 left.
Kansas then threw the ball away and Chris Babb drained a backbreaking 3 to give the Cyclones an eight-point lead with 55.6 seconds left.
"I woke up this morning dreaming about missing free throws. So I was in the gym this morning and shot free throws trying to get it right," White said. "Teammates keep encouraging me and telling me, 'You can make free throws.'"
Tyshawn Taylor led five players in double figures with 16 points and 10 assists for Kansas (17-4, 7-1 Big 12), which hadn't lost since Dec. 19 against Davidson.
Big 12 player of the year favorite Thomas Robinson had 13 points, but he committed five turnovers and the Jayhawks were outrebounded 36-23.
"I thought we got stops, but I didn't think we cleaned up. How many times did they miss a shot and the ball go off of us and us not secure or whatever?" Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Obviously, we didn't do a good last 3 minutes defensively at all."
Melvin Ejim had 15 points and Scott Christopherson added 14 for the Cyclones (15-6, 5-3), who had lost 13 straight to Kansas since their last victory in 2005. Iowa State students celebrated the program's biggest win in years — and first over Kansas at home since 2004 — by storming the floor.
"It was a great win for our program. But like I told our guys, you know, you've got to expect to win your home games," Hoiberg said. "I told the guys to enjoy it and get refocused."
This was Kansas' toughest true road test of the year so far — and it ended with the Jayhawks' first true road loss of the season.
But Kansas caught the Cyclones napping to start the second half and took its biggest lead to that point, 45-39, thanks to an 11-0 run. Big man Anthony Booker brought Iowa State back, sinking a rare 3-pointer to put the Cyclones ahead 50-49 with 12:13 left.
Neither team could get much going over the next 6 minutes, but Tyrus McGee's three-point play gave Iowa State a 56-53 lead with just over 6 minutes left. Robinson then blew an open dunk and White hit two layups — one a reverse he spun off the glass — to make it 60-55 Iowa State with 3:42 left.
"This was our first true road game with a good crowd, a good atmosphere. So, we're going to be seeing that from now on," Taylor said. "Our emphasis this week in practice is just going to be taking care of the ball and just rebound and rebound. You can't lose on the boards like that."
Iowa State fed off the energy of its second sellout crowd of the year and jumped on the Jayhawks early.
Booker drilled a 3 and Babb followed with a steal and layup that put Iowa State ahead 19-11, prompting Self to call timeout.
Kansas finally took a 31-29 lead on an impressive scoop through traffic from Taylor with 3:31 left before the break. Iowa State rallied to grab the halftime advantage, 37-33, despite committing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
The Cyclones led in part because of their defense on Robinson. He was 1-of-6 shooting in the first half and traveled three times trying to free himself up for shots in the paint.
Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford each scored 10 points for Kansas.
"Just not playing my game. Speeding up the game and not taking my time. I'm just not playing the same right now," Robinson said.
Kansas certainly knew what Iowa State was capable of after the Cyclones threw a scare into the Jayhawks in Lawrence two weeks ago.
Iowa State led at halftime back on Jan. 14 and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points before Kansas stormed back for an 82-73 win. The Cyclones might have been able to pull off that upset had they shot better than 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half.
Iowa State didn't let the opportunity pass by this time around — and it now has a marquee win that will look great on its resume come March.
"It definitely feels good to beat them. We felt like we should have won the first time," said White, who finished 6 of 11 from the line. "We knew that it was basically a must-win for us."
-- Luke Meredith
Pledger leads Oklahoma over No. 22 Kansas State
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Every once in a while, Lon Kruger has a senior moment.
The Oklahoma coach will be sitting in film study, or perhaps in practice, and draw on his experience playing and coaching at Kansas State to make a point. Only he'll talk about his days in the Big 8, and his players will gently remind him that, no, it's the Big 12 these days.
Yes, Kruger is back in the conference he once called home.
On Saturday night, he walked out of the building he once called home with a victory.
Steven Pledger scored 30 points and the Sooners weathered a second-half charge by the 22nd-ranked Wildcats — and some tense moments down the stretch — for a confidence-building 63-60 win.
"Pales by comparison to what it means to the players," Kruger said of his first game at Bramlage Coliseum since 1990, when he led the Wildcats in his final game before departing for the same job at Florida. "They're not aware where I went to school."
Actually, Lon, they are.
"This is where he rocked out on the court," Pledger said, "so this is great."
The Sooners squandered a 10-point second-half advantage but still led 59-56 on a pair of free throws by Pledger with 1:07 left, setting up a tense final flurry by both teams.
Will Spradling's slicing layup got Kansas State within a point, and Jordan Henriquez corralled a loose ball on defense with just over 10 seconds left. But Sam Grooms managed to poke it loose before it could be cleared, and Romero Osby went to the foul line.
Osby hit two free throws to restore Oklahoma's three-point lead, and the Sooners fouled Henriquez on purpose with 5.2 seconds left. He made both fouls shots to get Kansas State within 61-60, but Grooms matched him with two free throws of his own.
Kansas State had one final chance when Rodney McGruder got loose on the perimeter, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer clanked off the rim, allowing the Sooners (13-7, 3-5 Big 12) to escape.
"I had a clean look," McGruder said. "Just came up short."
McGruder finished with 19 points and Angel Rodriguez had 10 for the Wildcats (15-5, 4-4), who had won three straight but saw a chance to gain ground in the Big 12 slip away.
"They made it a real physical game. We didn't respond," said Kansas State coach Frank Martin, whose team was 3 for 19 from beyond the arc.
Martin probably wished he had Kruger letting it fly from long range.
The native of Silver Lake, Kan., was a star for the Wildcats in the 1970s, twice earning Big 8 player of the year honors. He later returned as an assistant coach and eventually the head coach, taking over after Jack Hartman retired and leading the Wildcats to four NCAA tournaments.
"It meant a lot to me, playing for Coach, knowing that he was a big-time player," Grooms said. "You want to win for him so he has a little bit of bragging rights."
Kruger received a nice round of applause when he walked onto the court before the game, but all those warm and fuzzy feelings were pushed aside after the opening tip.
Rodriguez gave the Wildcats a spark in the opening minutes, scoring eight of their first 13 points and helping them take an 18-12 lead. But the Sooners quickly reeled them in and then pulled ahead when Andrew Fitzgerald scored with 3:21 left to make it 25-24.
Cameron Clark went soaring for an alley-oop dunk on Oklahoma's next possession, and Pledger's 3-pointer just before halftime gave the Sooners a 34-28 lead.
"It was just a matter of getting into the right spots to help my team out," he said.
Spradling had fits trying to guard Pledger, who came in averaging 17.2 points but had 18 in the first 20 minutes alone. He consistently beat the sophomore guard off the dribble and, when McGruder switched onto him, buried an array of outside jumpers.
The lead swelled to 40-30 early in the second half.
"Pledger hit a couple big shots there," Kruger said.
Kansas State finally mounted a comeback. Henriquez started it with a putback, Rodriguez scooped in a layup and McGruder capped it off with a jumper that knotted the game 40-all.
The Wildcats pulled ahead 44-42 when Spradling was fouled by Pledger going to the basket and made both free throws. It was the fourth foul on Pledger and he took a seat on the bench with 10:55 left, but Kansas State couldn't capitalize when he was out of the game.
He checked back in at the 6:48 mark and immediately got to the foul line, making both free throws. Pledger then buried back-to-back 3s with about 5 minutes left, giving the Sooners a 55-51 advantage and hushing a sellout crowd stuffed inside Bramlage Coliseum.
It was silent again a few minutes later, when McGruder's open look from beyond the 3-point line at the buzzer hit the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor.
"It wasn't always pretty, but we did some things to hang in the ballgame," Kruger said. "I told the guys afterwards, the winning is great, but much more important, we showed a little more competitiveness, a little more fight than we have been."
-- Dave Skretta
Top 25
Capsules: Jones sparks Kentucky run in win over LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Terrence Jones highlighted a 27-point performance with a 13-0 run on his own and No. 1 Kentucky pulled away in the second half for a 74-50 win over struggling LSU on Saturday.
Anthony Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds despite briefly leaving the game when he hurt his right shoulder in a scramble for a loose ball.
Darius Miller added 13 points, including three 3-pointers for Kentucky (21-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), which has won 13 straight.
Johnny O'Bryant III had 12 points and nine rebounds for LSU (12-9, 2-5), which has lost four of five.
Jones had the last four points of the first half, then helped Kentucky break the game open by scoring the first nine of the second half on two dunks, a fast-break layup and another basket inside as he was fouled. His last of 13 straight points in the game gave Kentucky a 44-26 lead.
NO. 3 SYRACUSE 63, WEST VIRGINIA 61
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Brandon Triche had 18 points, including a pair of free throws that broke the final tie with 88 seconds left, and Syracuse beat West Virginia.
After Triche's free throws, the Mountaineers missed four straight shots, including an airball 3 by Darryl "Truck" Bryant and a miss on the follow by Deniz Kilicli. But when Kris Joseph snared the rebound and tried to dribble away, he fell out of bounds with 6.2 seconds left, giving West Virginia one last chance. Kevin Jones missed a 3 from the left corner at the buzzer and Syracuse hung on.
Syracuse (22-1, 9-1 Big East) has won 13 of the past 14 games against West Virginia (15-7, 5-4). The win was the 878th for Orange coach Jim Boeheim, moving him within one victory of tying former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for third in Division I history.
Jones led West Virginia with 20 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 8 DUKE 83, ST. JOHN'S 76
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mason Plumlee had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to help Duke hold off St. John's.
Ryan Kelly scored 16 points and Andre Dawkins added 14 for the Blue Devils (18-3), who led by 22 with 17 minutes left but shot just 30 percent in the second half while the Red Storm rallied.
Moe Harkless had 30 points and 13 rebounds for St. John's (9-12). He and D'Angelo Harrison each hit 3-pointers in the final minute to make things tense.
Austin Rivers finished with 12 points for the Blue Devils, who claimed their 94th straight nonconference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Harrison had 21 points for St. John's, the last non-Atlantic Coast Conference team to win at Cameron, in 2000.
PITTSBURGH 72, NO. 9 GEORGETOWN 60
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nasir Robinson scored 23 points and made all nine of his field goal attempts to lead Pittsburgh past Georgetown.
Lamar Patterson added 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds for the Panthers (13-9, 2-7 Big East), who never trailed while improving to 12-0 against Top 10 teams at the Petersen Events Center.
Otto Porter led the Hoyas (16-4, 6-3) with 14 points and Henry Sims added 10 but Georgetown couldn't overcome a 17-point first-half deficit.
The Panthers won their second straight following an eight-game losing streak.
NO. 11 MURRAY STATE 73, EASTERN ILLINOIS 58
MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Donte Poole and Isaiah Canaan each scored 18 points, and Murray State remained the only unbeaten team in Division I with a victory over Eastern Illinois.
Poole also had six assists and four rebounds while Ed Daniel grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for the Racers (21-0, 9-0 Ohio Valley Conference). Murray State tied the OVC record for longest winning streak set by Western Kentucky with 21 consecutive victories in 1953-54 and 1966-67.
Racers coach Steve Prohm matched Columbia's Lou Rossini (1950-51) for the third-best start to a season by a first-year coach.
Joey Miller had 17 points and four rebounds for the Panthers (9-11, 2-6).
NO. 12 UNLV 65, AIR FORCE 63, OT
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Chace Stanback stole a Todd Fletcher pass with two seconds remaining in overtime to help UNLV escape Air Force with a win.
Oscar Bellfield's 3-pointer with 2:28 left in overtime broke a 61-61 tie and gave the Rebels (20-3, 4-1 Mountain West) the lead for good.
UNLV's Mike Moser had a chance to make it a two-possession game with 12.5 seconds left, but missed a pair of free throws.
Air Force committed six of its 17 turnovers and was only able to attempt one shot in overtime. The Falcons (11-8, 1-4) fell to 1-74 against ranked opponents.
Moser finished with a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, marking his 12th double-double of the season and eighth in the past nine games.
COLORADO STATE 77, NO. 13 SAN DIEGO STATE 60
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Wes Eikmeier scored 19 points and Colorado State made all 23 of its free throws, beating San Diego State for its first home win over a ranked team in more than eight years.
Will Bell added 17 points and the Rams (14-6, 3-2 Mountain West) frustrated the fatigued Aztecs (18-3, 4-1) all afternoon, limiting them to 3-of-21 shooting from 3-point range.
It was the first time Colorado State beat a Top 25 team at Moby Arena since knocking off Purdue 71-69 on Dec. 30, 2003. The Rams set a conference record by going 23 for 23 at the foul line.
Jamaal Franklin had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Aztecs, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped. Chase Tapley, the conference's leading scorer, was held to 10 points.
NO. 14 FLORIDA 69, NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI ST. 57
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 19 points, Patric Young made several crowd-rousing plays and Florida beat Mississippi State, extending its home winning streak to 17 games.
The Gators (17-4, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) used an 11-0 run in the second half — sparked by Beal's third 3-pointer and highlighted by Young's two dunks — to turn a tight game into a double-digit affair.
Mississippi State (17-5, 4-3) trailed 62-47 after the spurt and never got the lead to single digits. The Gators made enough plays down the stretch to secure their second win in six games against the Bulldogs.
Young, still battling tendinitis in his right ankle, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Arnett Moultrie led Mississippi State with 12 points and 13 rebounds, his league-leading 13th double-double of the season. He fouled out with 2:04 remaining.
NO. 15 CREIGHTON 73, BRADLEY 59
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Doug McDermott scored 24 points and Creighton turned back two Bradley comeback attempts in the second half.
A school-record crowd of 18,436 watched as the Bluejays (20-2, 10-1 Missouri Valley Conference) won their 10th straight. Bradley (6-17, 1-10) has lost 13 of 14.
Josh Jones and Gregory Echenique each had 14 points for the Bluejays, who have won 14 straight against Bradley in Omaha since 1998. Echenique also had 10 rebounds.
Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 19 points to lead the Braves, who twice cut Creighton's lead to three in the second half.
NO. 17 MARQUETTE 82, VILLANOVA 78
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Darius Johnson-Odom scored 26 points to help Marquette storm back from an 18-point deficit and beat Villanova.
Jae Crowder had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Marquette (18-4, 7-2 Big East) and played just as big a role in the second half as Johnson-Odom in helping the Golden Eagles win their sixth straight game.
JayVaughn Pinkston led Villanova (10-12, 3-7) with 17 points. Maurice Sutton had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Villanova had the lead with 6:15 left when Maalik Wayns was whistled for a technical. Johnson-Odom hit two free throws and Crowder tied it on a driving layup. Johnson-Odum made it 71-69, putting Marquette ahead for good.
NO. 19 VIRGINIA 61, N.C. STATE 60
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mike Scott scored 18 points to help Virginia beat North Carolina State.
Joe Harris and Sammy Zeglinski each added 12 for the Cavaliers (17-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who shot 60 percent in the first half to take the lead and then turned away a second-half rally.
Virginia led by 10 with about 6½ minutes left before the Wolfpack (15-7, 4-3) pushed back. Scott Wood hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 61-60 with 46.3 seconds to go, and N.C. State got the ball back with a chance to win.
But after a timeout with 7.8 seconds left, Lorenzo Brown managed a desperate 3-pointer that missed everything.
C.J. Leslie scored 17 points to lead the Wolfpack. Richard Howell had a career-high 18 rebounds before fouling out with 1:47 left.
NO. 21 ST. MARY'S 80, BYU 66
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Brad Waldow scored 19 points and Clint Steindl added 16 off the bench to lead St. Mary over BYU.
The Gaels (21-3, 10-0 West Coast) also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Rob Jones.
St. Mary's leading scorer Matthew Dellavedova had 10 points.
Steindl scored 14 points in the first half when he hit his first four 3-point shots. He finished 4 of 6 from behind the arc.
The Cougars (18-6, 6-3) were led by Noah Hartsock and Matt Carlino, who scored 15 points. Brandon Davies added 14 points and seven rebounds.
Former teammates now on opposing sides of rivalry
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — They started hanging out when they were 10 or 11, scooping the snow off of driveways and outdoor courts before grabbing a basketball and pretending they were playing in huge showdowns.
"He was kind of short and he was like fat, kind of, but he could play," Michigan's Trey Burke remembers of the first time he saw Jared Sullinger. "He had good footwork and things like that. No one could stop him down low because even though he was out of shape he had good footwork and he could finish around the rim."
The two battled in everything. Sullinger said that no matter who won, it usually ended in a fight because they were so competitive.
But they were best friends and learned a lot from each other.
"Trey was about 5-foot and I was 5-foot-7 or 5-8. I was overweight at the time and just trying to handle the ball," Sullinger said. "And trying to beat Trey off the wing was really challenging so that really helped me out tremendously. We always played one-on-one, down in the basement in his house."
Now, years later, they'll meet on Sunday in a big rivalry game — on opposing teams.
Burke estimates that they've been teammates in more than a thousand games, in middle school, at Columbus' Northland High School, on AAU teams. This will be the first time they've ever gone against each other in a game that mattered.
Burke, a standout freshman point guard, and Sullinger, an All-American sophomore big man at Ohio State, were together when they won lots of games and lots of championships. This time they're playing with a share of first place in the Big Ten on the line between the 20th-ranked Wolverines (16-5, 6-2) and No. 4 Buckeyes (18-3, 6-2).
"Playing back in Columbus it's going to be kind of, I won't say weird, but it's going to be kind of different," Burke said. "It's going to be a lot of people that are Ohio State fans there that I know really, really well and they just want to see me do well — but want to see us lose."
Sullinger, a 6-foot-9 man-child, averages 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game while shooting a hair under 60 percent from the field. He verbally committed to Ohio State early, around the time he won the first of two Associated Press Mr. Basketball awards as the best player in the state. Along with J.D. Weatherspoon, a jumping-jack forward who now comes off the bench for the Buckeyes, and Burke, Northland won the state championship three years ago and was ranked among the top teams in the nation.
A year younger than Sullinger and Weatherspoon, Burke at first said he was going to go to Penn State. In the meantime, Ohio State locked up prized point-guard recruit Shannon Scott, the son of former North Carolina and NBA star Charlie Scott, and didn't have an opening for Burke.
Michigan swooped in and grabbed him just before he won the Mr. Basketball award. The Wolverines have been thrilled how it all worked out — Burke is averaging 14.1 points and 5 assists a game and is considered among the top freshmen in the country.
Sullinger was there when Burke signed his letter of intent with the Buckeyes' hated rivals.
No hard feelings.
"That was really special because that's like a brother of mine," Sullinger said. "It almost brought tears to my eyes, because of all the stuff that all the people said about him. They said he was too slow, too short, couldn't shoot, couldn't pass. Now everybody who looked past him is, like, 'Wow. We should have recruited that guy.' He's just making everybody eat their words."
The momentum has been building to the eventual showdown. Michigan coach John Beilein has cautioned Burke to rein in his emotions.
"We have spoken," Beilein said. "Embrace this experience that you're going back home — embrace every minute of it — but it cannot become a distraction."
Burke has been looking forward to what all of the friends knew would eventually be a red-letter day.
"It's going to be great playing against him," he said. "It's going to be so competitive. He's going to want to win so bad and I'm going to want to win so bad."
Just like it in the Burkes' basement.
-- Rusty Miller
News & Notes
Boatright cleared to play for Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The NCAA says it cleared Connecticut guard Ryan Boatright to play in Sunday's game against Notre Dame after determining he has lived up to an arrangement which gave him limited immunity for cooperating with an investigation into recruiting violations.
The governing body issued a press release Saturday detailing what it says were more than $8,000 in impermissible payments given to Boatright and his family by a third party both before and after the guard enrolled at UConn.
Boatright was suspended for the first six games of the season for accepting benefits. He played in 10 games before UConn sat him out again on Jan. 13 after the NCAA informed the school it was looking into additional information.
He has missed UConn's last three games, during which the Huskies were 1-2.
-- Pat Eaton-Robb
Several Okla. college players hurt in bus accident
SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) — Several members of an Oklahoma men's college basketball team have sustained minor injuries when their bus collided with a semi-truck east of Oklahoma City.
According to a statement from St. Gregory's University officials, the accident occurred Saturday afternoon as the bus was headed to Rogers State University in Claremore for a game. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West says the bus was traveling on U.S. Highway 177 when it hit the back of the truck.
About a dozen players were on the bus, and school officials said several players were transported to Unity Health Center in Shawnee for treatment. West says the injuries didn't appear to be serious.
The game was canceled. St. Gregory's is an NAIA school in Shawnee, about 40 miles east of Oklahoma City.
Arizona's Parrom lost for season with broken foot
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona guard-forward Kevin Parrom suffered a broken right foot during the first half of Saturday's 69-67 loss against Washington and is lost for the season.
The 6-foot-6 Parrom, a junior from New York City, will require surgery. It is the latest tough break for Parrom, who had seven points in 10 minutes before his injury. His grandmother died last summer. In September, he was shot in the right leg and left hand while visiting a friend in New York. On Oct. 16, his mother, Lisa Williams, lost her battle with breast cancer.
Parrom returned to the Wildcats in mid-November and averaged 4.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 20 appearances, with one start, this season. Saturday's injury is unrelated to any previous ailment, the school indicated.
Saint Mary's coach breaks left thumb in accident
PROVO, Utah (AP) — Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett is coaching with a broken left thumb after a locker room mishap.
Bennett was injured after the 21st-ranked Gaels' 71-64 win at Loyola Marymount on Thursday night. He opened the locker room door and a white board fell on his thumb.
The school says Bennett had surgery in Los Angeles about 2 a.m. on Friday and rejoined the team in time for a flight to Utah. Bennett is coaching Saturday night's game at BYU with a cast on his left thumb.
