Texas and Big 12 Capsules: No. 24 Baylor beats No. 6 Texas 80-77 in OT
AUSTIN — Given the rarity of Big 12 road wins for Baylor — let alone wins over Texas — it was no wonder a small group of fans stayed high up in the rafters Saturday to rain down a few more chants on the departing Longhorns.
"Let’s go, Baylor!"
It’s been a long time since Bears backers felt such pride in Austin.
The chance to cheer long after the final buzzer was too much to resist after freshman guard A.J. Walton, a 47 percent free-throw shooter, made three of four foul shots in the final 17 seconds of overtime to send No. 24 Baylor to an 80-77 victory over No. 6 Texas.
It was Baylor’s first regular-season win over Texas since 1998 and it came after the Bears snapped a 24-game losing streak in the series in last season’s Big 12 tournament.
"This is a little better feeling up here than normal," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "You saw the heart of our players today."
Texas has lost three of four since reaching No. 1 in the nation for the first time in school history.
Baylor led 77-76 before Walton made the second of two free throws. Texas’ Justin Mason made one of two before Walton got to the line again with 10 seconds left and calmly hit both.
"I just stepped to the line, cleared it out and knocked out the free throws," Walton said.
Texas had one last chance to tie it but Avery Bradley’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Tweety Carter led the Bears (16-4, 3-3 Big 12) with 27 points. Walton scored 14 and made six of seven free throws. The Bears also scored 27 points off 18 Texas turnovers.
Texas (18-3, 4-2) rallied from 14 points down in the second half to take the lead late in regulation. Damion James scored 20 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds, but he fouled out in the final minute of overtime.
The Longhorns could have used Walton’s steely nerves at the line. One of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country, Texas went 19 of 31 against the Bears and misfired on several late shots.
"If we want to win, they’re going to have to figure it out," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I wish I could come up with a remedy for it."
One of those misses, by the Longhorns’ best shooter, J’Covan Brown (94 percent), would have given Texas a three-point lead with 16 seconds left in regulation.
"I walked to the line with confidence. It looked perfect, but the next thing you know it was short," Brown said.
Given the opportunity to tie it with a basket, Baylor sent the game into overtime when Ekpe Udoh shot a wild airball on a 3-pointer and Anthony Jones was left alone underneath the basket to snag it for an uncontested layup with 0.3 seconds left.
"We got them to shoot the kind of shot we wanted," Barnes said.
Barnes said it was Bradley, a freshman, who lagged off Jones and gave up the easy basket.
"Nobody blocked me out and the ball just fell into my hands," Jones said.
Udoh, 0 for 11 from the field to that point, made Baylor’s first three baskets in overtime. He hit a soft hook over Dexter Pittman and converted an easy layup when he drove the lane through a group of Texas defenders.
"He’s a leader. He never stopped playing. Never," Drew said.
Brown cut the lead with a 3-pointer for Texas, then turned the ball over, leading to Udoh’s dunk.
Two free throws by Walton pushed the Baylor lead to 71-67. Udoh fouled out with 1:12 left and James got Texas to 75-73 with two free throws and a dunk after he stole the ball at midcourt.
Even with his shooting struggles this season, Baylor ended up putting the ball in Walton’s hands at the end. That was partly because shooting guard LaceDarius Dunn, an 83 percent free-throw shooter, had fouled out.
Walton didn’t even look nervous with the chance to get one of Baylor’s biggest wins in a decade.
"A.J. wasn’t a freshman at the line at the end," Drew said. "He really came up big. He’s a winner."
Texas, which ran out to a 17-0 start, now finds itself battling to stay near the top of the Big 12.
The Longhorns have a quick turnaround with a Monday night game at Oklahoma State before a road trip to rival Oklahoma. After that, No. 2 Kansas comes to Austin.
Pittman had his best offensive game in weeks with 14 points, but grabbed just one rebound. Mason and Dogus Balbay, who had breakout scoring games in a win over Texas Tech, were non-factors against Baylor.
For Baylor, which had lost league road games at Kansas and Kansas State, Saturday’s victory makes the Bears look like one of the most dangerous teams in the Big 12.
"This was a great win for us, but it doesn’t stop here," Carter said. "We know we can play with anybody."
Texas A&M beats Texas Tech 85-70
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M has won two straight home games despite horrible 3-point shooting.
They figure that means they’ll be pretty hard to stop if their shots finally start falling.
"We’ll start making them," said Donald Sloan, who scored 28 points as Texas A&M beat Texas Tech 85-70 on Saturday night. "If we start making our 3s we’ll be a heck of a team. Once they do start falling, and I think they will, we’ll be pretty dangerous."
The Aggies (15-6, 4-3 Big 12) won despite shooting just 2 of 16 from 3-point range. They have made just 4 of 39 3-point tries in their last two home games.
The win is A&M’s 15th straight at home and leaves the Red Raiders (14-7, 2-5) winless on the road in conference play.
Texas A&M trailed for most of the first half but led the entire second half.
Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon wouldn’t discuss his team’s long-range shooting woes, but he has added more work in the area.
"We do a lot more shooting in practice," he said. "We do more contests, trying to have fun with it. I think the way we’ve shot the ball so far, to be 4-3 says a lot about the group I have. We’re tough and we fight through things. We know we have to get better though to win in this league."
The Aggies led by 11 before a wild sequence with about 1 ½ minutes remaining that included four quick points off two steals, the second of which left Tech’s leading scorer Mike Singletary on the court injured.
Singletary was hurt while fighting for a ball with Bryan Davis. Play continued with Sloan finishing the fast break with a layup while Tech coach Pat Knight yelled at the officials to stop play so he could attend to his player.
Singletary was escorted to the locker room holding his right shoulder and grimacing after being looked at for a couple of minutes.
Tech officials said Knight wasn’t finished talking to his team after the game and sent associate head coach Chris Beard to address the media. He said they didn’t have any information about Singletary’s injury.
David Tairu led Tech with 13 points and Singletary finished with 11.
Texas Tech got within three points with about eight minutes remaining but Davis responded with a dunk to push A&M’s lead to 65-60.
The Red Raiders made a pair of free throws before Sloan made four straight points, including a jumper in the paint off a nifty spin move, to make it 69-62 with 6 ½ minutes remaining. Texas Tech didn’t get within five points after that.
A&M’s night was helped by committing only four turnovers while forcing the Red Raiders to make 13. The four turnovers are the fewest for the Aggies in a Big 12 game.
"Give A&M the credit," Beard said. "They have great spacing and really good team chemistry. Guys know their roles. They spread the floor and pass the ball. It’s hard to get steals on them."
Texas A&M led 57-51 after a 3-pointer by Nathan Walkup with about 11 minutes remaining. The Red Raiders then went on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 59-58 two minutes later.
The Red Raiders wouldn’t get any closer as Texas A&M scored four quick points to push the lead to 63-58.
Texas A&M got 19 points and nine rebounds from David Loubeau and Davis added 15 points and had four blocked shots.
"Three players that really concerned us coming in were Loubeau and Davis — and Sloan is one of the best players in the league," Beard said. "We attempted to stop one or the other, but obviously they got off on both ends. Their perimeter game was great and their outside game was great. That’s why we sit here with the outcome we had."
Texas Tech scored the game’s first six points and led by as many as eight in the first 11 minutes.
Tech was up by eight with about eight minutes left in the first half before the Aggies went on an 13-3 run capped by a pair of free throws by Sloan to take their first lead, 34-32, three minutes before halftime.
The Aggies outscored Tech 7-4 to end the first half and led 41-36 at halftime.
-- Kristie Rieken
No. 23 New Mexico beats TCU 73-57 for 20th win
FORT WORTH — With everything going so well for No. 23 New Mexico, coach Steve Alford had enough confidence in his team that he didn't feel the need for a high-energy, pregame pep talk.
When pesky TCU stayed close despite all its turnovers, Alford had a different approach at halftime of the Lobos' 73-57 victory Saturday.
"Halftime was spirited. I probably should have did it before the game, to be honest with you," Alford said.
The Lobos (20-3, 6-2 Mountain West) responded, with Darington Hobson keying a 9-0 spurt after they had only a two-point lead at halftime. They stretched their winning streak to six games and clinched their third consecutive 20-win season under Alford.
TCU (10-12, 2-5 Mountain West) was still within the halftime margin of two points before Hobson scored consecutive baskets to start the game-turning, 3-minute run. He capped the spurt with a tip-in with just under 13 minutes left to put New Mexico up by 11, and the margin never got closer to nine after that.
"It just woke us up," Hobson said of his coach's halftime speech.
"When you're 19-3, you've won five in a row, you've had really no bad stretches, sometimes you just have to trust them," Alford said. "They didn't do the things I thought they needed to do in the first half, so we had to have a little bit more spirited halftime to kick them a little bit. I thought they did a good job."
After trailing by as many as nine, TCU closed the first half with a 13-6 run and was within 30-28 when Ronnie Moss hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Hobson finished with 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting, following a three-game stretch in which he had only 19 points combined. He was 1-of-11 shooting with five points in the Lobos' 76-72 victory over No. 12 BYU on Wednesday night that ended the Cougars' 15-game winning streak.
"The games that I've been struggling, I felt like I was forcing it," Hobson said. "Coaches said that I really wasn't. I just had to get back to being aggressive. ... I told myself tonight that no matter what happened, I was going to keep my head, stay aggressive and try to make plays."
Phillip McDonald added 18 points and Roman Martinez 16 for the Lobos, whose winning streak has come since they started conference play with consecutive losses. Will Brown and Hobson had eight rebounds apiece.
Moss had a career-high 30 points, on 12-of-17 shooting with five 3-pointers, and eight assists. Zvonko Buljan, who is from Croatia and one of five international players on the roster, finished with 11 points after not making the trip with the team for Wednesday night's loss at Colorado State because of personal reasons.
TCU was still within 34-32 after Buljan's 3-pointer before Hobson took over.
New Mexico never trailed after McDonald's jumper six minutes into the game made it 11-10, and Hobson converted a steal into a 3-pointer about a minute later.
Buljan hit a 3 after getting a bounce pass from Moss but the Frogs had only one basket over the next eight minutes, when Nikola Cerina had a steal and passed to Moss, who penetrated the lane and made a layup between defenders.
Moss followed with turnovers on consecutive possessions, and TCU had five turnovers and four missed shots before Moss made a 17-foot bank shot with the shot clock running down with 4 minutes left in the half that cut New Mexico's lead to 24-17.
The Lobos, who scored 19 points off 16 TCU turnovers, now get a break. They don't play again until next Saturday, at home against San Diego State, before going to UNLV — the two teams that beat them to start conference play.
"We were really good defensively for all 40 minutes," Alford said. "It's amazing what this squad has done: 6-2 in the league, 20 wins before we get to February. ... Now we get a week off. We'll take advantage."
-- Stephen Hawkins
UTEP beats No. 25 UAB 74-65 in two overtimes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — UTEP thought it had the game won at the end of regulation. Derrick Caracter wouldn’t let the Miners quit through two physical overtimes against No. 25 UAB.
Caracter scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and UTEP snapped the Blazers’ seven-game winning streak with a 74-65 victory on Saturday night.
"We just had to stay positive and tell ourselves that this was our game," said Caracter.
With the score tied at 58 at the end of regulation, an apparent winning shot by Julyan Stone was nullified when teammate Arnett Moultrie was called for basket interference.
Each team managed only five points in the first overtime before Caracter had five points himself to help the Miners outscore the Blazers 11-2 in the second.
Jeremy Williams added 16 points for UTEP (15-5, 6-1 Conference USA), Randy Culpepper had 14 and Christian Polk 11. The win leaves the Miners tied with UAB and Tulsa atop the conference standings.
"I’m so proud of my kids, the way we toughed out a win against a team in first place, a Top 25 team. For us to come in here and hold them to 28 percent shooting on their homecourt, that’s a great defensive effort," said Miners’ head coach Tony Barbee.
Barbee said his players won the game because they kept their "poise, composure and confidence" but admitted he lost his when he was hit with a technical foul for arguing with the referees during a timeout late in the second half.
Kenneth Cooper had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Aaron Johnson scored 15 points and Howard Crawford added 10 for UAB (18-3, 6-1).
There was a scary moment with 2:41 left in regulation when Johnson and Culpepper collided heads and both players fell to the floor. Johnson left the court and did not return. UAB officials said he had a broken nose.
UAB Coach Mike Davis said losing the 5-foot-8 guard down the stretch hurt the Blazers.
"He’s the only guy who can really run our offense. He would have had his hand on the basketball late in the game. He would have been the guy getting the ball to other people," Davis said.
Davis said he’s not sure how much time Johnson will miss because of the injury.
Culpepper was able to stay in the game.
It was UTEP’s first victory against a ranked opponent since 2001 and its first road win against a Top 25 team since 1993. The Miners came in having lost 13 in a row against ranked opponents.
The Blazers shot only 26 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 33-26 at the break. UTEP shot 48 percent in the first 20 minutes and led by as many as nine late in the half.
The Blazers slowly fought back in the second half, pulling within 1 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Jamarr Sanders before Cooper’s dunk gave them a 48-47 lead with 7 minutes to play.
Polk hit several big shots for UTEP in the second half, including a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58 with 1:35 left in regulation.
"It’s the first time I can say we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. We had 22 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points. We just didn’t take advantage of it," Davis said.
-- Bob Johnson
Coleman scores 37 as Houston beats Marshall 81-66
HOUSTON — The NCAA's top scorer, Aubrey Coleman, gave his best showing of the season, scoring 37 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to lead Houston to an 81-66 win over Marshall on Saturday.
It was the third-straight game in which Coleman, who entered the day averaging an NCAA-best 25.6 points per game, scored 30 or more for the Cougars (11-9, 4-3 USA). It was also his highest scoring and rebounding game this season.
The Cougars took the lead after just four minutes and never lost it, leading by as many as 20 points midway through the second half.
Maurice McNeil helped out with 13 points, while Kendrick Washington and Kelvin Lewis each added 10.
Damier Pitts led the Herd (15-6, 4-3) with nine rebounds and 12 points. Antonio Haymon also scored 12, Chris Lutz added 13 and Hassan Whiteside 10.
Williams leads SMU over Memphis 70-60
DALLAS — Derek Williams scored 25 points and Papa Dia added 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead SMU to a 70-60 victory against Memphis on Saturday.
Williams was 5 of 13 from the floor and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line for the Mustangs (10-10, 3-3 Conference USA), who outscored Memphis 45-30 in the second half.
Elliot Williams had 19 points and Roburt Sallie 17 for the Tigers (15-6, 5-2).
An Elliot Williams field goal made the score 50-48 in SMU's favor with 4:34 remaining, but the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run and protected the lead with free throws down the stretch.
After a 64-game Conference USA winning streak that ended on Jan. 20, Memphis has lost two of its last four league contests.
Middle Tennessee State defeats North Texas 69-64
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Montarrio Haddock scored 15 points and Middle Tennessee State defeated North Texas 69-64 on Saturday night.
Calvin O’Neil added 13 points, and Desmond Yates and Rod Emanuel each had 12 for the Blue Raiders (13-10, 8-3 Sun Belt Conference), who have won five games in a row.
The Blue Raiders never trailed and held their largest lead of the game at 22-10 with 8:21 remaining in the first half. But the Mean Green battled back to cut the lead to 35-31 at halftime.
The margin was eight points or less the rest of the way, and North Texas cut the lead to 66-64 with 1:37 to go on a 3-pointer by Shannon Shorter. The Blue Raiders iced the game with a dunk by Emanuel and a free throw by Haddock in the final minute.
Tristan Thompson had 17 points, Josh White added 13, and George Odufuwa had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Mean Green (13-8, 6-5).
Rice beats East Carolina 69-58
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Tamir Jackson and Trey Stanton scored 18 points apiece, leading Rice to a 69-58 win over East Carolina on Saturday night.
Arsalan Kazemi tallied a double-double for the Owls (7-13, 1-6 Conference USA), scoring 14 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Lucas Kuipers chipped in with 10 points.
Jontae Sherrod dropped in a layup to pull the Pirates within 20-16, but Stanton scored his second bucket in less than 30 seconds for the Owls to start an 11-0 run. The Owls led the rest of the way, taking an 18-point advantage at halftime and hanging on despite being outscored 35-28 in the second.
Darrius Morrow recorded a double-double to lead the Pirates (7-14, 1-6), scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
The Owls, who now share last place with East Carolina in the C-USA, stopped a seven-game losing streak while the Pirates have lost six of their last seven.
Haynes scores 21 as Texas-Arlington wins 82-78
SAN MARCOS — Marquez Haynes had 21 points and five assists Saturday as Texas-Arlington held off Texas State 82-78 in a foul-plagued game.
Both teams shot 46 free throws; Arlington made 33 and Texas State 26.
Dwight Gentry and Tommy Moffitt added 13 points each for the Mavericks (10-9, 2-4 Southland), and Brandon Long had 12.
Cameron Johnson had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Texas State (10-11, 4-3). John Rybak added 16 points and Ryan White had 14 points and 10 assists.
Arlington took the lead for good, 55-52, with 8:59 remaining on a 3-pointer by Long. The Mavericks led by as many as eight down the stretch before Texas State rallied.
Haynes missed 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to allow the Bobcats to pull within 80-78 on a jumper by Johnson with 11 seconds remaining, but Moffitt countered with two free throws with 7 seconds left to clinch it.
Lamar defeats UTSA 64-57
SAN ANTONIO — Justin Nabors had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Lamar held off UTSA 64-57 Saturday night.
Anthony Miles had 19 points to lead the Cardinals (11-11, 3-4 Southland) and Charlie Harper added 10.
Morris Smith IV led all scorers with 19 for UTSA (12-7, 2-4). No other Roadrunner was in double figures, but three players had nine points.
Lamar outrebounded UTSA 38-26, but never led by more than eight points and the game was still close in the final minute. Lamar led 59-57 after Demarco Stepter scored for the Roadrunners with 25 seconds to play. Miles made the first of two free throws, Coy Custer scored off Miles’ miss on the second one, and Miles later made two more free throws for the final margin.
Sam Houston State defeats Texas A&MCC 70-58
CORPUS CHRISTI — Corey Allmond had 16 points and Ashton Mitchell added 15 as Sam Houston State defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70-58 on Saturday night.
Gilberto Clavell and Lance Pevehouse scored 11 points each and Preston Brown 10 for the Bearkats (14-5, 6-0 Southland), who took sole possession of first place in the West Division, a game in front of the Islanders (11-9, 5-1).
Justin Reynolds and Kevin Palmer had 14 points each for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Reynolds added eight rebounds.
Sam Houston State overcame a 19-4 first-half deficit to lead 30-28 at halftime. The Bearkats led by three midway through the second half before a 19-10 run — in which Josten Crow scored all of his seven points — gave them a 64-52 cushion with 2:09 remaining.
Alabama State tops Texas Southern 62-61
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Menji Mundadi scored 15 points and hit a game-winning free throw down the stretch to push Alabama State past Texas Southern 62-61 on Saturday night.
Tramaine Butler scored 18 points to lead the Hornets (9-10, 6-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who have won five games in a row.
After Deandre Hall made two free throws to put Texas Southern up by two with 50 seconds left in the game, Tramayne Moorer made a layup 6 seconds later to tie the score at 61.
Travele Jones then missed a layup for the Tigers, and Mundadi made 1 of 2 from the foul line with 6 seconds remaining for the final score. Texas Southern had one last chance, but Junior Treasure committed a turnover on the final possession.
Treasure scored 18 points for the Tigers (10-10, 6-2), who saw a four-game win streak snapped.
Alabama A&M edges Prairie View A&M 59-54
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Cornelius Hester scored 14 points to lead Alabama A&M to a 59-54 victory over Prairie View A&M on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (7-9, 4-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) won their third consecutive game despite shooting 18.5 percent from the field (5-for-27) in the second half.
With Alabama A&M clinging to a 56-52 lead, neither team scored for a span of 4:08, until Prairie View A&M's Duwan Kornegay dunked with 36 seconds left.
But Evan Hilton hit three straight free throws to increase the margin to 59-54 with 18 seconds remaining.
Alabama A&M led throughout the second half after taking a 39-27 lead into halftime.
Jabari DeShields added 11 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 32.2 percent from the field (19-for-59) in the game.
Darnell Hugee scored 18 points, Kornegay added 11 points and Dorian McDaniel had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Prairie View A&M (10-9, 5-3).
Houston Baptist beats North Dakota 75-65
HOUSTON — Andrew Gonzalez scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to carry Houston Baptist to a 75-65 win over North Dakota on Saturday night.
The Huskies (5-16, 4-1 Great West) took the lead in the opening minute and led by as many as 24 points early in the second half.
They were cold from the field, shooting just 38 percent. But they made up for it from the free-throw line, where the team went 28-for-40 (70 percent).
Miles Dixon finished with 17 points and Wendell Preadom added 15.
The Fighting Sioux (4-17, 2-3) fared only slightly better from the field by shooting 40 percent. But Travis Bledsoe led the game in scoring with 25 points while Patrick Mitchell added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Nick Haugen scored 11.
State Women
Robinson leads No. 11 Oklahoma over Texas Tech
LUBBOCK — Danielle Robinson scored 26 points, including two free throws with 8.9 seconds left, to lead No. 11 Oklahoma to a 70-66 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday night.
Robinson was 10-for-10 from the free throw line for the Sooners (15-5, 5-2 Big 12), who beat Texas Tech for the 10th straight time. Nyeshia Stevenson added 17 points and Amanda Thompson had eight points and 13 rebounds.
Jordan Murphree scored 16 of her 28 points in the final 9 minutes to lead Texas Tech (13-7, 1-5).
The Sooners built a 10-point lead, but Murphree closed the gap, converting three-point plays down the stretch. She tied the game at 66 with 1:35 left.
Robinson broke the tie on Oklahoma’s ensuing possession, hitting a turnaround jumpshot as she fell out of bounds on the baseline to give Oklahoma the lead.
Murphree had two chances to tie the game, but missed two jumpers. Texas Tech sophomore Kierra Mallard missed a short jumper inside the lane on an inbounds pass with 15 seconds left and Robinson sealed the game from the foul line.
After trailing Tech 35-32 to start the second half, Robinson and Oklahoma outscored the Lady Raiders 22-7 over the next seven minutes to build their largest lead of the game at 54-42. Stevenson scored nine of her 17 points during the run for Oklahoma.
Beggin and Weissman help New Mexico upset TCU
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Amy Beggin has been delivering big shots for New Mexico all season.
Beggin scored 19 points, including hitting consecutive 3-pointers that helped the Lobos beat No. 20 TCU on Saturday.
"That’s what we expect her to do," New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said of his senior point guard. "We expect her to hit those big 3s. She wasn’t getting open. They were chasing her all over the place. She wasn’t getting a lot of really good looks but she can shoot it from 22-23 feet out."
Eileen Weissmann added a career-high 17 for the Lobos (13-7, 5-3).
Helena Sverrisdotter scored 14 to lead the Horned Frogs (15-5, 5-2), who shot just 17 of 57 (29.8 percent) from the field. TCU’s leading scorer, Emily Carter finished with 12, four below her season average.
"Give them credit, they played good defense," said TCU coach Jeff Mittie. "They did a good job on Carter early."
The first half was a defensive struggle as the Lobos took a 21-19 halftime lead.
"We thought we had some open looks," Mittie said. "I think the one thing they did was get us out of our rhythm and when you get open looks, then you might get a little bit anxious so give the credit for them for running a pretty good defense."
The Lobos started to find better looks of their own when the Horned Frogs switched out of their effective zone defense.
"They helped us actually by changing defenses and going to a man," Flanagan said. "I’m sure he had his reasons for that. But at the same time if they played zone the second half, we might have figured it out."
Big 12 Men
Clutch Collins carries No. 2 Jayhawks past K-State
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Sherron Collins winced through back spasms all night, only to have it flare up at the worst possible moment. He limped off the floor and started contorting his body, drinking electrolytes — anything to get the pain to stop.
It did, and just in time.
Collins returned from a debilitating bout with back spasms to score on a hard drive with 9 seconds left in overtime, helping No. 2 Kansas pull out a gritty 81-79 win over No. 11 Kansas State on Saturday night.
"He has a flair for the dramatic," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
The Jayhawks (20-1, 6-0 Big 12) needed it for their second shot at No. 1 this season.
After dismantling Missouri on Monday, Kansas closed out the rivalry week sweep by winning an epic back-and-forth battle with Kansas State (17-4, 4-3).
Cole Aldrich had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Marcus Morris finished with a double-double of his own (13-10), giving the Jayhawks a two-game Big 12 lead and a likely No. 1 ranking after Kentucky’s loss to South Carolina. Collins finished with 16 points for Kansas, which is 31-2 against Kansas State since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.
None were bigger than his final two.
The senior hit the floor hard with 2:44 left in overtime and gingerly walked to the bench, where he grimaced as a trainer worked on his back. Collins worked out the kinks, so to speak, then returned just in time to score on a baseline drive, also being fouled on the play. He missed the free throw, but Aldrich grabbed the rebound and Brady Morningstar hit two free throws to close out the Jayhawks’ 26th win in their last 27 games in Manhattan.
"It was crazy. I just wanted the ball in my hand," Collins said. "I knew I could make a play, I just kept cramping the whole game. Once I got the cramps out of the way, I was fine."
Kansas State had its chances.
The best one came at the end of regulation, when Collins, still wrought with cramps, turned the ball over with the game tied at 69. Dominique Sutton ended up with the ball in his hands and was streaking for the winning hoop, but Tyrel Reed chased him down for a strip at the buzzer.
Kansas State trailed by one going into the final seconds of overtime, but couldn’t stop Collins or block out Aldrich when it counted. Jacob Pullen had 22 points and Denis Clemente added 13 on 4 of 15 shooting for the Wildcats.
"We had some possessions that we needed to capitalize and we didn’t," said Pullen, who spent part of the first half retching into a garbage can behind Kansas State’s bench. "We had some opportunities to really put them on their heels and try to make them fold, and we weren’t able to take advantage of them."
Kansas State had already proven it can win big games. The Wildcats have beaten four ranked teams, including two in nonconference for the first time since 1958-59. The biggest was a 71-62 win over Texas two weeks ago, when the Wildcats muscled the Longhorns out of the No. 1 spot.
The win over the Longhorns, one of the program’s biggest, had Bramlage Coliseum shaking from start to finish. Hard as it might be to imagine, the "Octagon of Doom" was filled with more (purple) juice for the Jayhawks.
For one, it was KU. Of all the games on the schedule, Kansas is the one team everyone in the Little Apple loves to hate. The teams have been meeting since 1907, one of the longest-running rivalries in college basketball, and this game had the added drama of being the first since 1958 where both were ranked in the top 15.
The fans had extra time to get lubed for the game, too; ESPN shot its college basketball show inside Bramlage, where more than 8,100 purple patrons yelled and screamed for the cameras before noon.
By the time the game rolled around, they were ready to burst like the balloons and beach balls that floated around the gym.
It was the worth the wait.
Shaking off some early-game jitters, the Jayhawks and Wildcats settled into a rhythm, playing like you’d expect from two top 15 teams. It had all the typical ingredients of a rivalry game, too; the bumping and banging, emotional swings with seemingly every possession.
Neither team led by more than eight in a game that included 20 lead changes and 14 ties, setting up a fittingly tense finish.
"From a fan’s perspective, I don’t think you can complain about anything," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "If there’s ever been a better college atmosphere, I’ve never even seen one remotely close to it. From a game perspective, I don’t think you’ll get a better basketball game than that, either."
-- John Marshall
Richardson’s 16 leads Nebraska to 63-46 victory
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska coach Doc Sadler walked down the bench and high-fived every one of his players Saturday night as the final seconds ticked off the Cornhuskers’ 63-46 win over Oklahoma.
"I’m proud of this team, man," Sadler said. "They’ve been busting their tails, and it’s good to see them rewarded."
Nebraska (13-8, 1-5) got its first Big 12 victory of the season and avoided its worst conference start since 1962-63 with a workmanlike performance against the cold-shooting Sooners (12-9, 3-4).
Brandon Richardson scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and the Cornhuskers pulled away for their first win since Jan. 5 against Southeastern Louisiana.
The win came just in time for the Huskers, who play five straight games against teams in the Top 25, starting Tuesday at home against No. 11 Kansas State.
"This was a good one for us and the team is happy," said Lance Jeter, who matched his career high with seven rebounds. "We know we have a tougher one Tuesday. We celebrate tonight. Tomorrow brings a new day."
The Sooners, winless in four conference road games, shot just 35 percent and had their fewest points since scoring 45 in back-to-back losses to Texas and Nebraska in February 2008.
"It was like two years ago. It was deja vu all over again," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. "We could never get into a rhythm offensively."
Ryan Anderson added 11 points and Jorge Brian Diaz 10 for the Huskers, who shot 52 percent in the second half and finished at 44.4 percent.
Cade Davis scored 13 points to lead the Sooners. Tommy Mason-Griffin, who scored 38 points against Iowa State on Wednesday and was averaging 28.3 in his previous three games, was held to nine.
Willie Warren and Tony Crocker, both of whom missed the Iowa State game with right ankle sprains, returned against the Huskers and scored a combined nine points on 2-of-9 shooting.
"Coach said to be more aggressive in the defensive game, and that’s what we did," Richardson said. "We caused them to miss shots, and we picked up our intensity to force turnovers."
Anderson and Diaz scored back-to-back baskets early in the second half to put Nebraska up 35-22, and the Huskers nursed double-digit leads until Davis’ 3-pointer pulled the Sooners to 53-44.
But after Christian Standhardinger converted a three-point play and Richardson hit a 3 and layup, the Huskers’ lead was up to 17 points with three minutes to play.
Richardson scored seven straight points for the Huskers during one stretch of the second half and finished 6 for 11 from the field.
"Injuries have slowed him down," Jeter said, "but when he’s healthy, he’s probably the best player out there because of the way he shoots and plays aggressive defense."
Nebraska had shot under 40 percent in its three previous games.
"I know this, this team has no chance to succeed unless we play harder than everybody else," Sadler said. "When we do that, we can play with most teams. Then we have to make shots. When this team makes shots, it’s a pretty good team."
Oklahoma missed 10 of its first 11 shots and made 30 percent from the floor in the first half but was still able to hang with the Huskers. The Sooners pulled within 21-20 when Mason-Griffin passed to an all-alone Andrew Fitzgerald along the baseline for an easy layin.
A three-point play by Standhardinger after putting back his own miss, Richardson’s two free throws and Anderson’s 3-pointer from in front of the Sooners’ bench gave the Huskers a 29-20 halftime lead. It was OU’s lowest halftime point total of the season.
Tipoff was pushed back to evening because of a snow and ice storm in Oklahoma that delayed the Sooners’ charter flight to Lincoln.
Capel said the difficult travel was no excuse.
"We got here in plenty of time," he said. "They just outplayed us, out-toughed us. That’s something we have to do a better job with."
-- Eric Olson
Missouri whips Oklahoma State 95-80
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Five days after getting routed at border rival Kansas, Missouri had a huge response.
Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford claimed he could see it coming after the Tigers made 17 3-pointers and hounded the Cowboys into a season-worst 24 turnovers in a 95-80 victory on Saturday.
"Did we catch them at the right time? Uh, uh, no," Ford said. "You don't want to catch a team after they've just gotten beat up in a rivalry-type game."
Kim English ended a scoring slump with 20 points and had four 3-pointers for Missouri (16-5, 4-2 Big 12), which was 17-for-31 from long range and shot 52 percent overall in recovering from the 84-65 loss to the Jayhawks that was more lopsided than the score indicated. The Tigers doubled Oklahoma State's season average for turnovers, producing 38 easy points.
"That's what we do, we try to disrupt people," guard Zaire Taylor said. "When we're doing that, it's rough."
James Anderson had a season-high 31 points with eight rebounds for Oklahoma State (16-5, 4-3). Matt Pilgrim added 21 points, 15 above his average, and added nine rebounds.
But the Cowboys missed point guard Ray Penn, out for the third straight game with a knee injury.
"They're so long and athletic and quick and they play hard the whole time," Anderson said. "They're just scrambling for the ball like a pack of wolves.
"If they get one turnover, they just feed off of it and they got a couple of turnovers and fed off of their crowd."
Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon also had four 3-pointers apiece. Laurence Bowers had 16 points and Taylor 14 for the Tigers, who have won 32 in a row at home and entered the game with a 29-point average victory margin. They've sold out the last three games.
"It's in the top three in the league for toughest places to play," said Anderson, the Big 12's leading scorer. "Probably here and Kansas State are the toughest we've played at this year."
Oklahoma State had won three in a row, including a victory at Kansas State a week earlier, but the issue was settled early in the second half as Missouri bounced back from its season-worst 28 percent shooting performance at Kansas.
"They were down about that game," Tigers coach Mike Anderson said. "So I thought they were looking forward to an opportunity to hopefully show people and the nation we're a much better team."
Missouri missed only one of 11 shots during an extended 27-9 run that provided a 79-60 cushion with just over eight minutes to go. The Tigers have won three straight in the series for the first time since 1994 and were the first team to top 90 points against Oklahoma State.
English fueled Missouri early, hitting five of his first seven shots and scoring 14 points in the first half. He leads the Tigers with a 14.6-point average, but had been shooting 28 percent in conference play and came off the bench at Kansas after making 14 straight starts.
Oklahoma State exceeded its previous season high of 20 turnovers with nearly 13 minutes to go after a rash of four straight giveaways that helped Missouri score 11 straight points for a 63-51 lead. The mistakes followed an impressive streak by Anderson, who had 14 points in the first 5:02 of the half to shave the Cowboys' deficit to one.
"When you've got a player like James Anderson, you kind of ride him," Missouri coach Anderson said. "They rode him, especially in the second half."
Anderson was 11-for-13 from the line and scored in double figures for the 35th consecutive game, breaking a tie with Richard Dumas for the second-longest streak in school history and topped his previous best by a point. The junior passed three players — Ivan McFarland, Randy Rutherford and Matt Clark — to move up to sixth on the school career scoring list.
-- R.B. Fallstrom
Iowa State sneaks past Colorado 64-63
AMES, Iowa — Iowa State's Craig Brackins broke out of his funk with a monster second half on Saturday night, carrying the depleted Cyclones to the cusp of victory.
Then, with one ill-timed pass, the star nearly became the goat.
Colorado's Marcus Relphorde missed a layup at the buzzer following a turnover by Brackins, and Iowa State held on to beat the Buffaloes 64-63 Saturday night.
Brackins had 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Cyclones (13-8, 2-4 Big 12), but he threw the ball away on an inbounds pass with nine seconds remaining. That gave Colorado (11-10, 2-5) a golden opportunity to break a 32-game road losing streak in Big 12 play, but Relphorde's shot bounced off the rim.
"We got the win, so it doesn't matter," Brackins said.
Cory Higgins had 21 points to lead the Buffaloes.
Colorado freshman Alec Burks left the game with an apparent knee injury early in the first half and didn't return. Burks entered Saturday averaging 17.2 points and five rebounds.
Iowa State snapped a three-game losing streak, but the Cyclones did all they could to give it to Colorado down the stretch.
With 24 seconds remaining, Higgins drove to the rim and converted a tough three-point play to cut Iowa State's lead to 62-61. Higgins hit another layup after a pair of Cyclones free throws, and Colorado trapped Scott Christopherson in the corner, forcing ISU to call a timeout.
Brackins was looking for Diante Garrett, who zigged when Brackins thought he was going to zag.
"(Garrett) faked me out, man," Brackins said. "He wasn't trying to fake me out, but I felt bad."
Colorado's Austin Dufault scooped up the loose ball, but the Buffs didn't have a timeout left and Relphorde missed the potential game-winner.
"We got we wanted, a turnover and an opportunity in a scramble situation to see if we could get one more bucket," Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said of the final possession.
Relphorde had 11 points and Casey Crawford added 10 off the bench for the Buffs, who fell for the fourth time in five games.
For the first 24 minutes, it looked as though Colorado might cruise to its first Big 12 road win since 2006.
The Buffaloes led 37-25 early in the second half. But Brackins finally got going, scoring 10 quick points to help the Cyclones tie the score, and Diante Garrett's layup through traffic gave Iowa State a 41-39 lead with 11:11 left.
The teams traded buckets until Brackins hit a runner following his own steal to put the Cyclones ahead 54-50 with six minutes remaining. Brackins then followed a jumper with an emphatic one-handed dunk to give Iowa State a 60-55 lead with 1:48 left, but Relphorde answered with a 3-pointer.
Brackins came into play averaging just 12.8 points in league games, but he scored 22 points and grabbed 10 boards in the second half alone.
"Good to have (Brackins) back," Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said. "Anyone who's forgotten what (Brackins) can do when he is not double-teamed, tonight was a great reminder."
Iowa State's losing streak began after guard Lucca Staiger stunned the team by bolting to play professionally in Germany. The Cyclones were pounded by No. 2 Kansas 84-61 on Jan. 23 in Ames, and host Oklahoma jumped ahead by as much as 21 late in the first half before winning 89-84 on Wednesday night.
Iowa State got off to another bad start against the Buffaloes, falling behind 18-4. The Cyclones committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes, and four different Buffs hit 3-pointers to help push the lead to 14.
But Iowa State quickly rallied — something it couldn't do against the Sooners. The Cyclones went on a 21-6 run, capped by two free throws from Justin Hamilton that gave them a 25-24 lead.
The cushion didn't last long, as Colorado scored the next seven points and went into halftime ahead 31-25.
Hamilton had 10 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa State.
The Buffs lost Burks less than three minutes into the game. Burks, the only true freshman in the nation to score at least 10 points in every game, appeared to hurt his left knee on a drive to the basket.
-- Luke Meredith
Big 12 Women
No. 6 Nebraska beats Colorado, 80-64
BOULDER, Colo. — Kelsey Griffin and Nebraska are just focusing on the game at hand and not worried about being undefeated.
Griffin scored 24 points, including the 1,700th of her career, to help No. 6 Nebraska remain unbeaten with an 80-64 victory over Colorado on Saturday.
"We aren’t thinking about that right now," Griffin said. "We put all our focus on Colorado and after the game was over we put all our attention on Oklahoma State because we can’t afford looking any farther than Oklahoma State."
Dominique Kelley matched her season high with 18 points for Nebraska (19-0, 6-0 Big 12), which is off to the best start of any Big 12 team since the conference’s inception in 1996-97.
"We have the attitude that every game is a big game, to never get too high or too low," said Griffin, who has scored 1,715 points in her career at Nebraska. "I never expected to have a season like this as a team, but it has come together with a lot of dedication helped by the fact we’ve played together so long and we know each other’s tendencies."
Cory Montgomery and Yvonne Turner added 11 each for the Cornhuskers, who won in Boulder for the sixth time in 31 games and remain the only undefeated team besides top-ranked Connecticut. The Huskies blew out Pittsburgh 98-56.
"We really don’t look at it as pressure to win," Nebraska coach Coni Yori said. "The media likes to talk about it and it’s great because it helps to create interest in our program but at the same time we just need to keep taking care of what we’re doing and not look ahead too much in fact not look ahead at all.
Bianca Smith and Chucky Jeffrey led Colorado (12-8, 2-5) with 14 points apiece. Jeffrey had 11 rebounds for her first career double-double and the Buffaloes suffered their season-high third straight loss.
Nicole Neals made a 3-pointer and Kelley contributed a three-point play to make it 44-33 after Colorado had trimmed the lead to 38-33 on Jeffrey’s layup early in the second half.
"I didn’t even notice, said Griffin about the tightening of the game. "We just try to play every possession."
Griffin made two layups to increase Nebraska’s advantage to 13, but with Griffin getting a two-minute rest, the Buffaloes got to within 50-44 on Meagan Malcolm- Peck’s 3-pointer with 12 minutes left.
Griffin hit a layup, blocked a shot and came up with a steal upon her return and her basket with 9:03 to go put the Cornhuskers ahead 58-46. Montgomery had layups off an inbound pass and a steal and Turner followed with a 3-pointer to pad Nebraska’s lead to 70-52 with 4:31 remaining.
"I think we have to be tougher in those stretches," Smith said. "Sometimes, we lose our focus and that’s when teams push a six-point to 12 on us."
The Buffaloes never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Griffin was limited to eight points in the first half, but Kelley filled the void with nine as Nebraska built a 37-29 lead. Two free throws by Griffin and Neals’ 3-pointer gave the Cornhuskers their biggest lead of the half, 27-13, but Smith got the lead under double digits with a pair of 3-pointers in the last minute.
"There is no doubt Nebraska is one of the top teams in the country," Colorado coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "They have a very solid starting five that I would match against any starting five in the country."
