LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Lagerald Vick added 12 points and four assists and No. 7 Kansas defeated No. 25 TCU 77-68 on Wednesday night.

Kansas City native Ochai Agbaji also added seven points four rebounds for Kansas (12-2, 2-1 Big 12) after relinquishing his redshirt eligibility on Tuesday following the season-ending injury to Udoka Azubuike. Agbaji made an immediate impact for the Jayhawks, scoring off an alley-oop in Kansas’ first possession with him on the court.

TCU (12-2, 1-1) continued to have troubles in Allen Fieldhouse, falling to 0-7 all-time there.

The Horned Frogs trailed 40-31 at halftime, but managed to stay in the game throughout. They got within two points of the Jayhawks with 10:33 remaining, but nine consecutive points from Lawson made it an 11-point deficit, which the Horned Frogs would ultimately fail to close.

RJ Nembhard scored a season-high 14 points for TCU while shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc. He helped offset the absence of Jaylen Fisher, who led the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (44.1) before a right knee injury ahead of TCU’s conference opener sidelined him.

The first half saw seven lead changes before Kansas finally opened the gap to four points following a 3-pointer from Lagerald Vick. Three turnovers by the Horned Frogs and a missed 3-pointer from JD Miller on TCU’s last possession of the half allowed Kansas to extend the lead to 40-31 at halftime.

TCU cut the deficit to two points following Kouat Noi’s third steal of the game followed by a layup.

Kansas extended the lead back to as many as nine points, but TCU cut the lead to three with under two minutes remaining. But Marcus Garrett’s offensive rebound and layup and subsequent turnover on the inbounds allowed Kansas to gain control of the game.

The Jayhawks made all four of their final free throws to finish the game.

BIG PICTURE

Bill Self improved his record at Kansas to 87-11 following a loss, after the Jayhawks fell to Iowa State on the road last Saturday. The win also moved Self’s record in Allen Fieldhouse to 48-3 following a loss.

The Horned Frogs’ shooting let them down. They shot 46.3 percent from the field, despite coming into the game leading the Big 12 in field goal percentage (49.9). The Horned Frogs missed six of their last seven field-goal attempts.

UP NEXT

Kansas: travels to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor on Saturday.

TCU: will stay on the road to play Oklahoma on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Fifth-ranked Kansas will be without center Udoka Azubuike for the remainder of the season after an MRI exam Sunday revealed the 7-footer tore ligaments in his right hand during practice.

Jayhawks coach Bill Self said in a statement that X-rays taken after Friday’s practice did not show the severity of the injury. The MRI exam revealed the tendon tear, which is similar to a torn tendon Azubuike had in his opposite hand in December 2016 that sidelined him the remainder of his freshman season.

“The surgery date will be set early this week,” Self said. “The doctors expect a complete recovery and Udoka will be able to resume full basketball activities at some point this summer.”

The injury is a significant blow to the Jayhawks’ interior depth, not to mention their national title aspirations. The nation’s preseason No. 1 already has been playing without sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa, whose eligibility remains in question after his name surfaced in the FBI probe into apparel company adidas.

Self said recently that there has been no change in De Sousa’s status.

The Jayhawks (12-2, 1-1) lost 77-60 to Iowa State on Saturday in their first game without their bruising center from Nigeria. But that was a byproduct of 24 turnovers and some patchy work on defense rather than any issues in the paint, where Kansas had a dominant plus-15 advantage on the boards.

“We’ve been living on the razor’s edge a lot,” Self said. “Granted, we don’t have a lot of where we can go to guarantee us having a great possession. We really don’t have good ball-handlers right now.”

Azubuike had been rounding into the sure thing before his injury.

After missing time earlier this season with a sprained ankle, he had been on a tear the past couple of games. He had 23 points and nine boards in a blowout of Eastern Michigan, then had eight points and nine more rebounds in a comfortable win over No. 23 Oklahoma to begin defense of the Jayhawks’ Big 12 title.

The only other true center on the Kansas roster is relatively raw freshman David McCormack, which means Self could be forced to use smaller lineups again. He prefers to run with two big men but has leaned on four-guard lineups the past couple of seasons because of the configuration of his roster.

The starting lineup Self used Saturday featured Dedric Lawson in the post, with Marcus Garrett joining starters Lagerald Vick, Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson in a four-guard backcourt.

Whether that sticks when Kansas returns to the floor against TCU on Wednesday night remains to be seen.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff we’ve got to hammer out,” Self said, “and hopefully we can do it relatively soon. …. There’s no question, eventually you’re going to play like you practice. So certainly, we’ve got to be better in practice, I think, and that will probably translate to better performances in the games.”

— Associated Press —

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State served notice that it’s a Big 12 contender again after an ugly rebuild last season.

Marial Shayok scored 24 points, and the streaking Cyclones routed No. 5 Kansas 77-60 on Saturday for their most lopsided victory over the Jayhawks in 46 years.

Freshman Tyrese Haliburton made four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for Iowa State (12-2, 2-0), which opened Big 12 play with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2015. It was the Cyclones’ fifth consecutive victory overall.

Kansas (12-2, 1-1) committed a season-high 24 turnovers in its worst loss to Iowa State since an 89-65 blowout in Lawrence in 1973.

“They’re the standard in our league and the team we’re all trying to catch,” Cyclones coach Steve Prohm said. “It’s a great win. I loved the way they competed.”

Despite getting outrebounded 41-26, Iowa State — now one shy of matching its win total from a dismal 13-18 campaign a year ago — made surprisingly easy work of Kansas in part by shooting 9 of 13 on 3s in the second half.

“We were awful. But they were good,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “They manhandled us.”

The Cyclones opened their first double-digit lead when Haliburton made a corner 3-pointer with 9:59 to go. Lagerald Vick answered with a hasty 3-point try that bounced off the bottom of the backboard, and Lindell Wigginton connected from long range to make it 60-47 and force Self to burn his third timeout in 11 minutes.

Shayok’s 3 with just under seven minutes to go made it 65-49, and the rout was on.

“We came out playing careless,” said Kansas star Dedric Lawson, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds, but committed six turnovers. “I played terrible. … I didn’t get guys open shots. A lot of this falls back on me.”

Quentin Grimes scored 19 points for Kansas, including 14 straight for the Jayhawks in one stretch.

Kansas played without big man Udoka Azubuike, who was hit on the right wrist during Friday’s practice. Self said about an hour before tip-off that X-rays on Azubuike’s wrist were negative, but he was in too much pain to play.

Azubuike, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, is scheduled for an MRI on Sunday. Azubuike needed surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist in 2017.

“It could be a one-game deal or it could be a season-ending deal. But there’s no indication that it’ll be the latter,” Self said.

THE BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Losing at Hilton Coliseum isn’t anything to be embarrassed about; the Cyclones are 5-2 against top-10 teams at home under Prohm, and Iowa State was actually a one-point favorite. But the Jayhawks were an absolute mess for stretches on offense — and they wasted a plus-15 effort on the boards without Azubuike. “We were just trying to play a little bit too fast,” Grimes said.

Iowa State: The Cyclones finally showed how much potential they have when they’re healthy. There’s little doubt that the rest of the Big 12 took notice of this result, because Iowa State has enough talent to do some serious damage in the league this winter.

THE NUMBERS

Kansas had just 12 assists on 24 baskets. Iowa State also had 13 steals, with Vick (seven) leading the way in turnovers. …Haliburton has begun his Big 12 career by shooting 8 of 11 from beyond the arc. … The Jayhawks opened play with a staggering 20-4 edge on the glass. But they still trailed by four at halftime, a sign of things to come. …Wigginton, coming off the bench for the third straight game, was just 2-of-11 shooting.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kansas, which has wins over Michigan State and Tennessee to its credit, likely won’t fall too far. The Jayhawks almost certainly will be joined in Monday’s poll by the Cyclones.

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts TCU on Wednesday.

Iowa State plays at Baylor on Tuesday.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The mantra at Kansas is “faces change, expectations don’t.”

Something else that doesn’t change? Oklahoma losing in Allen Fieldhouse.

Dedric Lawson had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Kansas’ young backcourt made enough crucial plays when it mattered, and the fifth-ranked Jayhawks began pursuit of their 15th consecutive Big 12 title by holding off the No. 23 Sooners 70-63 on Wednesday night.

Devon Dotson added 16 points and fellow freshman Quentin Grimes had 14 for Kansas (12-1, 1-0), which survived a nervy final minute to win its 18th straight against Oklahoma in the Phog.

“We don’t want any games to slip away from us,” Grimes said, “especially at home.”

The last time Kansas lost its initial Big 12 game was against Oklahoma on Jan. 8, 1991.

The Sooners (11-2, 0-1) nearly turned the trick again Wednesday night, rallying just about every time the Jayhawks went on a run. And when Charlie Moore missed two free throws in the final minute, Aaron Calixte’s off-balance runner got them within 67-63 with 31 seconds to go.

Dotson made the second of two foul shots at the other end for Kansas, and when Calixte and Kristian Doolittle came up empty for Oklahoma, Dotson made two more free throws to seal the win.

“We had some opportunities,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said, “we just didn’t finish.”

Lagerald Vick contributed 12 points for the Jayhawks, despite an off night shooting the ball. He was 2 of 7 from beyond the arc, where the Jayhawks were just 4 of 21 as a team.

Brady Manek led the Sooners with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Doolittle added 10 points and Christian James had 11, though he was just 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“Got to take care of the ball more,” Manek said. “Thought we played better in the second half.”

The Jayhawks got off to a slow start, but Dotson’s layup midway through the first half catapulted them on a 15-0 run. Most of it was fueled by defense, where Udoka Azubuike swatted a shot and turnovers turned into easy fast-break opportunities. Dotson capped it with a 3-pointer from the wing.

Oklahoma briefly nipped into the lead, but the Jayhawks closed with a 12-3 charge — Lawson scored his first two field goals after a 0-for-9 start — to take a 40-25 lead into the break.

“I thought the first half we ran well. Probably as efficiently as we’ve run all year,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “The second half was a dud. There was no transition at all the second half.”

Indeed, the Sooners ramped up their defense, which had been holding opponents to 66.1 points, and made their own run early in the second half. The highlight came when Doolittle threw down an alley-oop dunk to wrap up a run of nine straight points over the opening five minutes.

Lawson provided an answer for the Jayhawks.

The preseason Big 12 player of the year scored back-to-back baskets moments later. Then, after Dotson knocked down a 3 off a pretty assist from Marcus Garrett, Lawson added another basket to provide the Jayhawks a 58-45 lead and force Kruger to call for a timeout.

“I knew in the post they were doubling,” Lawson said, “so I just tried to feel where they were doubling from. I got a couple of one-on-one opportunities and tried to take advantage of it.”

Oklahoma got the deficit back to single digits by the final media timeout, and kept the game close the rest of the way. But the Jayhawks, despite missing crucial free throws, managed to hang on for their 28th consecutive Big 12-opening win.

“You know,” Self said with a wry grin, “even though we didn’t do a lot of good things, we’ve won a lot of games like tonight over the course of the years. You don’t play great but you make sure the other team doesn’t play quite as good as you do.”

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma had won seven straight heading into the Phog, yet the Sooners’ struggles in the venerable field house continued.

Kansas struggled from the perimeter but made up for it with defense and determination. The Jayhawks tracked down loose balls, forced the Sooners into 17 turnovers and made enough free throws to survive.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma returns home for Bedlam against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Kansas visits Hilton Coliseum to face Iowa State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Zylan Cheatham bounded down the hallway inside Wells Fargo Arena, half skipping, half jumping as he high-fived family, friends, anyone he could reach.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s gooooo!” the Arizona State forward shouted.

Let it be heard: the Sun Devils have arrived.

Poised down the stretch after trailing most of the night, No. 18 Arizona State pulled off one of the biggest victories in school history by knocking off No. 1 Kansas 80-76 on Saturday.

“This was a huge moment for our basketball program,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said.

It wasn’t easy.

Arizona State (9-2) had a hard time stopping Kansas preseason All-American Dedric Lawson inside, blew numerous shots at the rim and had a rough night at the free throw line.

Trialing by up to nine points, the Sun Devils rallied by double-teaming Lawson, digging in on defense and making the biggest plays down the stretch to beat a No. 1 team for the second time as a program.

As it did in beating Kansas a year ago in Lawrence, Arizona State rallied late, using a 10-0 run to go up 76-74 with 90 seconds left.

Kansas (10-1) turned it over twice in its final three possessions and Rob Edwards, who scored 15 points, and hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to start the celebration. Students poured out of the stands to join the players a center court, leaving security no chance of stopping the party.

“Those are the moments we live for,” said Arizona State’s Remy Martin, who had 10 points and a big pull-up jumper with 58 seconds left.

Kansas led nearly the entire game and had plenty of chances down the stretch to win its first true road game of the season, even with big man Udoka Azubuike missing his fourth straight game due to an ankle injury.

The Jayhawks were unable to come up with the defensive stops during Arizona State’s run and couldn’t get off a tying shot down two in the closing seconds, finding themselves at the center of a Sun Devil celebration — and likely out of the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25.

“It’s very tough one because we had the game and we let it slip right through our hands,” said Lawson, who led Kansas with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Arizona State pulled off the upset on the road last season, knocking off the No. 2 Jayhawks 95-85 on its way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.

Even with Azubuike out in the rematch, the Jayhawks dominated Arizona State inside early, opening up the perimeter.

Lawson was the focal point, repeatedly getting good position down low and throwing in a layup on a nifty spin move. The Memphis transfer had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting by halftime.

Arizona State struggled offensively, but held Kansas scoreless over the final 3:42 to stay within 39-31 at halftime.

The Sun Devils tried to make runs in the second half, but kept missing shots at the rim and the Jayhawks kept answering with baskets.

Arizona State started double teaming Lawson in the second half and pulled to 67-65 on Edwards’ second straight 3-pointer to start its comeback.

“They were feeling it, hitting their shots,” said Kansas guard Devon Dotson, who had 14 points. “It just came down to mental mishaps we got caught up in.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas will likely drop a few spots in the AP Top 25 after losing its first true road game.

Arizona State picked up one of the biggest wins in program history with a gutty performance down the stretch.

FREE-THROW STRUGGLES

Arizona State doubled Kansas’ free-throw attempts, but had trouble getting those free shots to fall. The Sun Devils finished 20 for 32 from the line, but were able to overcome it by hitting 17 of 32 shots from the floor in the second half.

LOUD CROWD

Wells Fargo Arena had one of the best crowds in school history on hand for one of the program’s biggest wins.

The second No. 1 team to play in Tempe drew a star-studded crowd, with Michael Phelps, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, Eddie House and Arizona governor Doug Ducey in the stands, along with more than two dozen NBA scouts.

Kansas had its share of vocal supporters, but they were washed away during the closing stretch and the court rushing.

“The fans gave us an extra boost,” Martin said. “I just want to say thank you to everyone. I’ve never had a feeling like that.”

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts Eastern Michigan next Saturday before kicking off its Big 12 schedule.

Arizona State hosts Princeton next Saturday in its final nonconference game.

— Associated Press —

ST. LOUIS – Kansas redshirt junior Dedric Lawson has been named one of 20 student-athletes to the midseason Oscar Robertson Trophy list the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) announced Friday.

Lawson, the 2018-19 Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is looking to become the second Kansas player to win the Oscar Robertson Trophy as Frank Mason III was the 2017 recipient.

Entering the Dec. 22 game at Arizona State, Lawson has a Big 12-leading seven double-doubles for the season, including one in each of his last three games for the No. 1 Jayhawks. The Memphis forward has scored 20 or more points in six of his last seven games. Lawson leads the Big 12 in rebounding at 11.1 boards per game and is second in scoring with a 19.7 points-per-game average. Lawson is the only player in the league averaging a double-double. A two-time Big 12 Player of the Week (11/12, 11/26) and two-time league newcomer of the week (12/3, 12/17), Lawson is tied for second on the KU team with 24 assists.

Balloting for the USBWA’s All-America Team, All-District Teams and the association’s individual awards will take place in March. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will be presented at a news conference on Friday, April 5, at the Final Four in Minneapolis.

2018-19 Midseason Oscar Robertson Trophy List
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech
R.J. Barrett, Duke
Bol Bol, Oregon
Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan
Jordan Caroline, Nevada
Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Mike Daum, South Dakota State
Carson Edwards, Purdue
Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Markus Howard, Marquette
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
Caleb Martin, Nevada
C.J. Massinburg, Buffalo
Luke Maye, North Carolina
Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s
Grant Williams, Tennessee
Zion Williamson, Duke

No. 1 Kansas (10-0) will play at No. 18/19 Arizona State (8-2) on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Charlie Moore made six 3-pointers en route to 18 points, and top-ranked Kansas pulled away in the second half for an 89-53 victory over plucky but overmatched South Dakota on Tuesday night.

Freshman forward David McCormack added a career-best 12 points off the bench for the Jayhawks (10-0), helping to soak up minutes while Udoka Azubuike is sidelined with a sprained ankle.

Kansas has won 40 consecutive games in Allen Fieldhouse as the nation’s No. 1 team.

Stanley Umude scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Coyotes (6-6), who have never defeated a ranked team in seven tries. Tyler Peterson added 15 points, and leading scorer Trey Burch-Manning was held to two points on 1-for-5 shooting before fouling out.

Neither team was particularly good in the first half.

The Jayhawks struggled to stop South Dakota’s relentless backdoor cuts, and eventually Kansas coach Bill Self was so fed up with their defensive execution he started to burn timeouts.

Not that the Coyotes did much with all those easy looks. They committed 12 first-half turnovers, allowing the Jayhawks to slowly pull out to a 37-27 advantage at the break.

Most of the work was done without Lawson, who was forced to the bench with two fouls.

The Jayhawks’ dominant point forward joined Moore in helping the Jayhawks pull away in the second half. Lawson scored in the paint, Moore hit a 3-pointer and Lawson added a pair of foul shots to turn a 49-40 lead into a 56-40 lead with about 12 minutes to go.

The undersized Coyotes answered with a run of their own, but Moore and Lawson provided one more answer. Moore curled in his fifth 3-pointer, this time from the wing, and then took a run-out to the rim before dropping a pass to Lawson for an easy layup and a 66-47 lead.

The advantage only grew from there as Moore, a transfer from California who once scored 38 in a game as a freshman, and the massive McCormack continued to put together breakout games.

BIG PICTURE

South Dakota hung around long enough to keep Kansas on the edge, but the Jayhawks’ superior athleticism was evident. They were quicker in transition, better on the boards and were able to pull away when the Coyotes went cold from beyond the arc.

Kansas finally got an easy win after surviving nail-biters against everyone from New Mexico State and Stanford to Villanova and Tennessee. It was the first time all season that the Jayhawks put away a game in time to empty the bench in the final minutes.

UP NEXT

South Dakota hosts Southern Miss on Friday night.

Kansas visits No. 18 Arizona State on Saturday night.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. -Les Miles’s first coaching staff as head coach at The University of Kansas is nearly complete, and will include two familiar faces in Clint Bowen and Tony Hull. Bowen will coach the KU safeties, while Hull will continue to lead the running backs.

“I can’t say enough great things about Clint and Tony,” said Miles. “The work they have done since I have been here to help us in regards to the players already in our program and in recruiting has been extremely beneficial. They are talented coaches and recruiters, but what sets them apart is their ability to establish strong relationships with their student-athletes. Their familiarity with the program is a great asset to us as we move forward in building something special together here at KU.”

Bowen recently completed his 23rd year in the Kansas program, including 20 seasons as a coach. He has coached cornerbacks, safeties and linebackers during his time at his alma mater. In 2018, Bowen worked with the KU cornerbacks, guiding true freshman Corione Harris to Freshman All-America honors by 247Sports.com.

In his most recent stint coaching safeties at Kansas in 2016, Bowen coached a pair of hard-hitting safeties, led by veteran Fish Smithson with 93 tackles and then-freshman Mike Lee with 77 stops. Smithson earned All-Big 12 First Team honors on his way to signing a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins. Lee found his name on Athlon Sports’ Freshman All-America Team, while he also picked up All-Big 12 honorable mention honors.

In 2015, Bowen guided Smithson to an FBS-leading 87 solo tackles. Smithson came within three tackles of tying Bowen’s top-three mark in KU history for tackles in a season by a defensive back and became the first DB to lead the team in tackles since one of KU’s all-time great players, Darrell Stuckey in 2009. Smithson’s 111 tackles were the most by a DB since 1998.

Hull, who just completed his third season in Lawrence, has seen success in his role coaching the Jayhawks running backs. In 2018 he guided Pooka Williams Jr., to All-America Second Team honors from both the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Phil Steele Magazine.

Under Hull’s guidance, Williams took home Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors and was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team as both a running back and as a returner. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was a first-team honoree as an all-purpose player by the Associated Press, while taking home second-team honors at running back.

Williams rushed for a total of 1,125 yards on 161 carries, good for 102.3 yards per game, 7.0 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns. He added 289 yards and two scores on 33 receptions and 246 yards on 11 kick returns to lead the Big 12 and rank sixth in the FBS in all-purpose yards at 150.9 per game. Williams also threw for a touchdown-a nine-yard pass against Oklahoma.

Hull also mentored running back Khalil Herbert as he exploded for a 291-yard rushing game against West Virginia in 2017–the third-best single-game rushing performance in KU history and third-best in the NCAA that season.

— KU Athletics —

IRVING, Texas – Kansas redshirt junior Dedric Lawson posted his Big 12-leading sixth double-double in the Jayhawks’ 74-71 win versus No. 17/16 Villanova and has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers the league, the conference announced Monday.

Lawson scored a season-high 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds against Villanova. He shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field, 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the free throw line and was clutch down the stretch making three free throws in the waning moments to seal the victory.

This is the second time this season Lawson has earned the newcomer honor and his fourth conference weekly award this season. The Memphis, Tennessee, forward was Big 12 Player of the Week Nov. 12 and 26 and also Newcomer of the Week on Dec. 2.

In addition to the leading the Big 12 in double-doubles, Lawson also leads the conference in scoring at 20.1 points per game and rebounding at 10.8 boards per contest. He is the only player in the Big 12 currently averaging a double-double and one of four players in NCAA Division I averaging 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.

No. 1 Kansas (9-0) hosts South Dakota (6-5) in Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lagerald Vick had never watched last season’s Final Four loss to Villanova before this week, when top-ranked Kansas had to endure every minute of it while prepping for Saturday’s game against the Wildcats.

“We watched it for like, a week straight,” Vick said. “It was definitely hard.”

He’ll have better memories of the rematch.

Vick poured in 29 points Saturday, Dedric Lawson added 28 points and 12 rebounds, and both helped the Jayhawks make just enough free throws in the closing minutes to hold off the No. 17 Wildcats 74-71 in a game that was nip-and-tuck almost the entire way.

Devon Dotson added 11 points for the Jayhawks, including four effortless free throws in the final 1:10 to help Kansas (9-0) end a three-game losing streak to Villanova — the last two in the NCAA Tournament.

“This atmosphere was just awesome,” Wildcats coach Jay Wright. “We played a great program, just a great atmosphere — tough game — and they just did a great job getting Lagerald Vick in spots where he wanted it, and Dedric Lawson, you know you’re not going to shut them out.”

Still, the Wildcats (8-4) had chances in the final couple minutes.

Collin Gillespie’s three-point play drew them within 69-65 with 31 seconds left, and Vick gave them an opening when he threw the ball away on the ensuing inbounds play. But Vick atoned for the mistake by pulling down a defensive rebound, and then calmly made a pair of free throws at the other end.

Phil Booth’s deep, line-drive 3 got Villanova within 71-68, and after Lawson made the second of two foul shots for a 72-68 lead, Booth added another driving layup to trim the deficit to two.

Lawson added two more free throws to restore a 72-68 lead with 7.5 seconds left, and Gillespie was fouled at the other end. He made the first but was forced to miss the second on purpose, and the ball squirted toward the Wildcats’ bench, where a scrum ultimately gave Kansas the ball with 0.4 seconds left.

Once the Jayhawks inbounded the ball, they finally had a long-awaited win over the Wildcats.

Even if it came with far less on the line.

“We’re still 1-2 against Villanova,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “We beat them in the Sweet 16. They beat us in the Elite Eight. They beat us in the Final Four. The game today was nice, but it wasn’t a real game like the others were real games.”

Booth finished with 29 points for the Wildcats. Eric Paschall scored 17 but was rendered ineffective down the stretch because of foul trouble, and Gillespie finished with 15 but was just 1 for 7 from 3-point range.

Kansas has now won 39 straight in Allen Fieldhouse as the nation’s top-ranked team.

“They’re a very good defensive team,” Booth said. “We missed some shots at the end, but they did some great things defensively with their length. They just did a great job.”

The Jayhawks led 33-31 at halftime, despite playing most of the way without Dotson and fellow starter Quentin Grimes. Grimes picked up three early fouls and Dotson had two, relegating them to the bench.

Their teammates picked them up with the kind of defensive effort Kansas sorely needed in their lopsided Final Four loss, when Paschall and Co. made just about shot they took. The Jayhawks harried the senior forward into a couple of crucial turnovers while largely shutting down the paint.

Villanova found its offensive stride in the second half.

Then again, so did Kansas.

And what most had envisioned as an up-and-down, back-and-forth showdown between national powers turned into precisely that. There were eight ties and eight lead changes, the majority of them in the opening minutes of the second half, as two of college basketball’s blue-bloods went toe-to-toe in the Phog.

“This was a good game that allows you to have a quality win,” Self said, “and you play through the experiences that make you better. But Jay would tell you, we’re both going to play in bigger games than this.”

NO QUINERLY

Villanova freshman Jahvon Quinerly watched from the bench after an Instagram post earlier in the week criticizing his own program. Wright said Quinerly had apologized and it would be used as a “teaching moment.” The five-star recruit has played in only eight games this season.

CELEB SIGHTINGS

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Hall of Fame Royals third baseman George Brett were in the crowd. So was a handful of former Kansas players, including Nick Collison, who is No. 2 on the school’s career scoring list.

BIG PICTURE

Villanova played much better than it did in a loss to Penn earlier in the week, putting a scare into the No. 1 team in the country. But the Wildcats were just 3 of 15 from beyond the arc in the second half, and they were dominated on the glass for the second consecutive game.

Kansas has certainly earned its ranking, beating a trio of ranked teams already this season. The one thing the Jayhawks haven’t done is win a true road game, and they’ll get that opportunity when they head to No. 20 Arizona State next weekend.

UP NEXT

Villanova plays UConn next Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Kansas hosts South Dakota on Tuesday night.

— Associated Press —