Kansas’s Big 12 title streak is not dead yet.
If the Jayhawks were allowed to play all of their conference games on Monday nights, it’s quite possible the streak would never end. Ever.
Backs against the proverbial wall and two games out of first place with four league contests to go after being drubbed by Texas Tech on Saturday, Kansas got right back into the Big 12 race Monday night. The Jayhawks had the perfect opportunity to do so, hosting first-place team and long-time rival Kansas State, and KU took advantage with a 64-49 win in the 291st renewal of the long-running series between the two Sunflower State schools.
The Jayhawks did it with a pep in their step on defense, as well as important contributions from the bench. Kansas State shot just 31.6% (18 of 57), was outrebounded 41-31, and scored a whole eight points in the paint. The Wildcats also didn’t have an answer for Mitch Lightfoot, who chipped in nine points, five rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench, part of KU getting 18 points, 13 boards and five blocks from its reserves.
It was easy to forget after the Jayhawks were skunked so badly on Saturday, but by the numbers, if one was ever going to bet on a bounce back it was this game. Kansas was home, coming off an embarrassing loss and playing a rivalry game. It also had a 12-game winning streak playing on ESPN’s Big Monday overall and had won 32 straight Big Monday games at Allen Fieldhouse. ‘Automatic’ may not be a strong enough word for KU at home on a Monday.
Kansas didn’t play a perfect game by any means-the Jayhawks shot just 39.6%, and Dedric Lawson was just 6 of 20 from the field even as he scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The home crowd-fed energy and the result, though, were exactly what we’ve come to expect from a program that has gotten it done for so long.
As for Kansas State, we saw again that this is a team that can go through some woeful offensive stretches. The Wildcats got little from Dean Wade (eight points), but they got little from anyone, period. Kamau Stokes scored 12; otherwise, it was an uninspired effort on the offensive end, with few open shots and absolutely no interior presence. Play like this in the NCAA Tournament, and K-State will be a prime candidate for an early round upset.
Side Dishes:
- Two more of the many Big 12 teams that are hard to trust met with Iowa State pulling away to top Oklahoma 78-61. The Cyclones were on offensively, shooting 51.9% and hitting 11 of 23 from three. Eight of those came in the second half when ISU made a big run early in the half after leading by just one at halftime. Iowa State looks great when rolling. It’s when the shots aren’t falling that is concerning.
- There was a big one in the Big Sky, and the league race got more interesting as Northern Colorado went on the road and won at Montana 74-72, as Jordan Davis made two free throws with 5.5 seconds left for the winning points following an ill-advised Grizzlies foul. Montana is playing shorthanded with big man Jamar Akoh out for the last five games now, but this was still at home, but the Bears led much of the way and never wilted, responding every time the Griz made a run. Montana saw a 10-game winning streak halted; it still leads the Big Sky at 13-3, but Northern Colorado is now just one game back and also has the confidence of a win on the road at the current league leader. Also, its excellent glue guy and defender Jonah Radebaugh has a world class mullet that has to be seen, a two-tone coif that would’ve made A.C. Slater proud.
- Lipscomb may well have burned its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes last week with a loss to Florida Gulf Coast, but the Bisons are still fighting for the Atlantic Sun regular season title. Lipscomb edged New Jersey Tech 81-77, with Garrison Mathews scoring a season-best 32 points and hitting six of the team’s 16 three-pointers. Turnovers are sometimes an issue for the Bisons but they had just five in this one.
- Florida State held off Notre Dame 68-61. Another game effort by the Fighting Irish, but FSU’s depth came up big, accounting for 31 points, including 13 from freshman Devin Vassell, who came in averaging just over four ppg but made 5 of 6 shots, including all three of his three-pointers.
- In the SWAC, Prairie View A&M squeaked by Arkansas-Pine Bluff 48-44 to move to 13-1 in league. This one had all kinds of oddball numbers. The Panthers shot just 29.4% (15 of 51) in the win, and the teams combined to make 4 of 32 from three-point range (12.5%) and 22 of 39 from the foul line (56.4%). Prairie View also won despite getting hammered on the boards 48-29, thanks to 22 Golden Lions turnovers. Reserves were the leading scorers for both teams, and UAPB got nearly half of its points from one player with Shaun Doss scoring 20 points off the pine. Pine Bluff also has a familiar name on its roster as freshman Artavious McDyess is starting. He is the son of former Alabama star and NBAer Antonio McDyess, and he scored eight points while making all four shots in this one.
- North Carolina Central got a national television showcase and dumped South Carolina State 72-62 on ESPNU. The Eagles-two-time defending MEAC tourney winners-made 11 three-pointers.
- News off the court on Monday came with Yahoo’s Pete Thamel reporting that Arizona coach Sean Miller and LSU coach Will Wade have received preliminary notifications that both will be subpoenaed to testify at a trial in April in regards to college basketball’s FBI scandal. The move has been expected for some time, but now its seeming immediacy should add a different level of jangled nerves to this story. While Miller has long been coach most talked about with the scandal, his team has struggled this year, and don’t be surprised when more spotlight hits Wade now, with the Tigers poised to be in the NCAA Tournament next month.
Tonight’s Menu:
- The game starts with a host of tips at 7 p.m. Eastern, led off by Duke without Zion Williamson but still with a bottomless cup of five-star recruits on the road at Virginia Tech (ESPN). Perhaps the night’s two premier games are in the ACC as later on Syracuse goes to North Carolina.
- Iowa plays at Ohio State in the matchup of Hawkeyes against Buckeyes (7 p.m., Big Ten Network). OSU is still not an NCAA Tournament lock; a win here would be advised given games at Purdue and Wisconsin await.
- Another MAC Tuesday is led by Akron at Buffalo, which is starting to rightfully again climb the national polls a little. Also, West Division leader Toledo is at Ball State, which thoroughly tattooed the Rockets in the teams’ first meeting.
- Perpetual bubble team Alabama is at South Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN2). The Gamecocks deserve a lot of credit for how they’ve rebounded in SEC play, currently sitting tied for fourth at 9-5. Also in the SEC, Missouri is at Mississippi State (7 p.m., SEC Network) and later on Kentucky hosts Arkansas (9 p.m., SEC Network) and Texas A&M is at LSU (9 p.m., ESPN2).
- Butler is another on the lengthy list of schools benefitting from the horrendous state of bubble teams this year. The Bulldogs have one they should be in charge in tonight when they host Providence (7 p.m., FS1), which is winless against teams not named St. John’s since Jan. 27.
- Like Butler, TCU has a gotta-have-it game when it travels to West Virginia (7 p.m., ESPNU).
- Still-solid Atlantic 10 contender Dayton is at Massachusetts.
- Wisconsin travels to slumbering Indiana (9 p.m., ESPN), and watch this one at least to see Ethan Happ and Juwan Morgan duel.
- Temple continues to hang around right on the fence for the NCAA Tournament, but the Owls deserve as spot as of now. They have a tough one, though, going to feisty Memphis (9 p.m., ESPNU) and red-hot Jeremiah Martin, who is averaging 30.7 points per game this month.
- Utah State just keeps winning, and it faces a big week. First up is San Diego State (9:30 p.m., CBSSN), and watch out for the Aztecs coming up on the outside in the Mountain West-SDSU has won five straight and eight of nine.
- Finally, the night wraps up with a good Utah Valley team at Seattle, which has struggled in the WAC. The Wolverines are in a battle with Grand Canyon for second in the league and are very capable of snagging the league’s automatic berth.
Have another Super Tuesday, the final one of February.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
