ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kansas knows all about Stanford now.
The Cardinal couldn’t deny a slight at a news conference a day earlier fueled them just a bit before pulling their second — and much bigger — upset of the NCAA tournament.
Kansas freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden Jr. ducked their heads and giggled Saturday when asked about Chasson Randle, Stanford’s leading scorer.
“We definitely saw that video,” Randle said Sunday after the No. 10 seed Cardinal beat the second-seeded Jayhawks 60-57 to advance to the Sweet 16 in the South Regional.
“Coach told me not to talk about it but I definitely took it as a challenge. It was a little big extra motivation.”
Enough for the Cardinal to make the Jayhawks the second No. 2 seed to be knocked out of this tournament in the third round and enough for them to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2008.
Wiggins was held to four points on 1-for-6 shooting in what could have been his final college game. He accepted his share of the responsibility for the loss.
“I let a lot of people down,” Wiggins said. “If I would have played better, we wouldn’t be in this situation, you know? I blame myself for this.”
Dwight Powell had 15 points and seven rebounds despite playing with four fouls much of the second half and Randle added 13 points, six steals and four assists for the Cardinal (23-12), who were making their first NCAA appearance since 2008.
“To beat a team like this, a storied program with great coaching, great players, always feels amazing,” Powell said. “So as of right now we’re still in the race and we’re still playing in March, and it feels great.”
Stanford beat No. 7 seed New Mexico on Friday and will have a higher seed for the first time when it faces 11th-seeded Dayton in the regional semifinal in Memphis, Tenn. The Flyers beat No. 3 Syracuse 55-53.
The 6-foot-8 Wiggins, a likely NBA lottery pick if he decides to leave school, was saddled with four turnovers for Kansas (25-10). Wiggins had averaged 28 points the previous four games but the Jayhawks were missing 7-foot freshman Joel Embiid, who was sidelined by a stress fracture in his back.
Coach Bill Self thought Stanford’s height up front bothered Wiggins, but added, “I think he had an off-game, too. Give them credit for that, we put him in position to make some plays.”
Josh Huestis, who had the primary responsibility for guarding Wiggins, played 39 minutes and had six points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
“That was Josh’s assignment and he took it to heart,” Dawkins said. “He had help. We just tried to make it as difficult as we could for him to score.”
Self said the game seemed like “a struggle from the opening tip.”
Everything didn’t go right for Stanford, either. The Cardinal were 0 for 9 from 3-point range.
“We can make 3s but that’s not what we rely on,” Dawkins said. “I didn’t even notice it because that’s not what we’ve been.”
Tarik Black had 18 points and six rebounds for the Jayhawks, but he fouled out with 5:25 to go. Conner Frankamp had 12 points on four 3-pointers, the last two in the final 23 seconds to make it close after Stanford had pulled ahead by seven.
Stanford was 9 for 12 at the free-throw line over the final 2:04 and needed all those points. Frankamp’s second 3-pointer narrowed the gap to 59-57 with 14.9 seconds left.
Anthony Brown hit one of two free throws with 12.9 seconds to go and Frankamp banged a third 3-point attempt off the glass near the buzzer in a bid to tie it.
“I knew when that left my hand it was off,” Frankamp said. “I didn’t get a great look at it.”
Kansas went to a full-court press down five points with about 11 minutes to play and forced five turnovers the next 6 minutes to tie it.
Kansas had been 0 for 10 from 3-point range for the tournament, seven of the misses against Eastern Kentucky, before Frankamp connected with 3:34 to go in the half.
Frankamp hit another one just before the halftime buzzer off a turnover to put the Jayhawks up 24-22, their first lead of the game. They trailed most of the first half against Eastern Kentucky, too, before pulling away for an 80-69 win.
Powell hit his first shot on a drive after going 0 for 8 against New Mexico on Friday. He had 10 points before drawing his fourth foul early in the second half.
Villanova, the No. 2 seed in the East Regional, lost 77-65 to seventh-seeded Connecticut on Saturday.
— Associated Press —
The Northwest Missouri State baseball team fell to Fort Hays State, 12-11, on Sunday afternoon in 10 innings at Larks Park in Hays, Kan. The Bearcats held an 11-8 advantage heading into the bottom of the ninth but the Tigers rallied, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth and plated the winning run in the 10th. Northwest is now 14-10 on the year and 10-7 in MIAA play.
