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K-State women edged at home by No. 24 TCU

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Amy Okonkwo scored 22 points, including the clinching layup with eight seconds left, and No. 24 TCU celebrated its first appearance in the Top 25 in seven years with a 68-63 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night.

Kianna Ray had a chance to put the Horned Frogs (14-5, 5-3 Big 12) up by two possessions with 11 seconds left but only made the first of two free throws. She atoned for the miss with a steal and then Okonkwo secured their fifth straight win by getting inside on the inbounds play.

Okonkwo had eight points in the third quarter as TCU broke away from a 34-34 halftime tie to lead 58-47 entering the fourth quarter. The Horned Frogs led by 13 with just under nine minutes to play but Ray’s 3-pointer with four minutes to go was their only basket in a 14-3 K-State run. TCU went 1 for 5 with five turnovers before the clinching plays by Ray and Okonkwo.

Kayla Goth had 17 points and 11 assists for the Wildcats (11-9, 3-6).

— Associated Press —

Kansas women lose big at Oklahoma 97-64

NORMAN, Okla. – Kansas women’s basketball couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s hot-shooting night as the Jayhawks fell to the Sooners, 97-64, on Wednesday night inside Lloyd Noble Center.

Although Kansas (11-9, 2-7 Big 12) put together a strong offensive effort in the third period, Oklahoma’s (10-10, 5-4 Big 12) lead from the first half was too great for the Jayhawks to overcome in the final 20 minutes of the ballgame.

For the seventh time in the last nine games, junior guard Brianna Osorio notched a double-digit effort. The Las Vegas, Nevada led KU with 17 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Austin Richardson added 13 points to join Osorio in double figures.

All five of the Sooners’ starters notched double-digit scoring efforts on Wednesday night. Freshman guard Ana Llanusa led the way for OU with 18 points, while freshman guard Shaina Pellington and senior guard Gabbi Ortiz followed closely behind with 17 points apiece. Senior center Vionise Pierre-Louis added 13 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Maddie Manning rounded out the starting five with 11 points. Senior guard LaNesia Williams added 10 points off the bench for OU.

The Jayhawks matched the first two shots the Sooners put up to even the score at four early on in the first quarter. Oklahoma then went on a 12-0 sparked by five-straight points from Llanusa to give OU a 16-4 lead. Redshirt sophomore center Tyler Johnson split up OU’s two runs with a layup, but Manning knocked in five of Oklahoma’s next six points to keep the Sooners on top by 16.

Richardson and junior guard Kylee Kopatich each netted a 3-pointer in hopes of diminishing OU’s lead, but the Sooners finished the period on a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from redshirt junior guard Gileysa Penzo at the buzzer, as OU took a 31-12 lead after the first quarter.

The Sooners opened the second quarter with seven-straight points, including back-to-back buckets from Penzo to extend their lead to 26 with just under eight minutes to go in the second period. Kansas continued to battle back, outscoring the Sooners 11-7 in a three-and-a-half-minute span, but the Jayhawks couldn’t dip out of the 20-point deficit and went into the locker room trailing, 52-26, at the half.

After a slow start to the second half, the Jayhawks settled into a groove midway through the third quarter, going on a 13-1 run completed by a Kopatich layup. KU’s run cut the Oklahoma lead by 10, however, the Sooners held on to a 74-48 lead going into the final period.

The Jayhawks couldn’t slow the Sooners’ offensive pace in the final 10 minutes and fell in the first meeting of the season against Oklahoma, 97-64.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks return home to face in-state rival Kansas State in the Lawrence edition of the Sunflower Showdown on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m., inside Allen Fieldhouse.

— KU Athletics —

Kansas State names Coleman Offensive Coordinator, Dickey and Klein Co-Coordinators

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder announced Wednesday that wide receivers coach Andre Coleman has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator, while offensive line coach Charlie Dickey and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein have been named co-coordinators. Dickey will coordinate the running game, while Klein will coordinate the passing game.

Coleman, a former K-State wide receiver, has tutored the Wildcat wideouts since 2013 and was elevated to Pass Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 season. Dickey was an original staff member of Snyder’s second tenure in 2009, coaching the offensive line, and he was promoted to Run Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 campaign. Klein will begin his second season tutoring the quarterbacks in 2018.

“We are fortunate to have three coaches who have had so much experience in our offense – a total of about 30 years – both past and present,” Snyder said. “We’ve been blessed to have so many loyal, caring and effective coaches over the years, and these three exemplify those values. I have been pleased with how well these three have worked together.”

A four-year letterwinner at wide receiver under Snyder from 1990-93, Coleman coached a position group that recorded the most receptions and yards ever by a Snyder-led team in 2013 before shattering both those marks in 2014 with 230 receptions for 3,097 yards. That group was headlined by Tyler Lockett, an All-American in 2014 who left K-State as the all-time leader in career receptions (249), yards (3,710) and touchdowns (29), just three of the 17 school records he set in his four-year career thanks in part to Coleman’s teachings.

More recently, Byron Pringle finished his two-year career in 2017 under Coleman after becoming the 30th Wildcat and the seventh former community-college player to top 1,000 career receiving yards. The Tampa, Florida, native set the school record for single-season yards per catch (24.13) in 2017 – a mark that ranked third nationally – while his career mark of 19.64 yards per catch ranks second in K-State history.

Dickey, a 30-year coaching veteran, is regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country having tutored K-State offensive linemen to 22 All-Big 12 honors since his arrival. He has also coached a pair of All-Americans in B.J. Finney, who earned second-team honors in 2014, and Dalton Risner, a first-team honoree this past year.

Under the direction of Dickey, the 2016 line helped K-State set the school record for rushing yards per carry (5.27), rank third in K-State history in total rushing yards (3,013) and rushing yards per game (231.8), and seventh in rushing touchdowns (39). They followed that up in 2017 by tying for third in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98) and finishing seventh with 2,584 total rushing yards.

A 2012 runner up for the Heisman Trophy after quarterbacking the Wildcats to a Big 12 Championship, Klein just completed his first season as an assistant coach at K-State. Klein joined the staff in 2014 as a quality control coach and assistant director of recruiting before becoming an offensive graduate assistant in 2015. He spent the 2016 season as the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa.

Upon his return to K-State in 2017, Klein helped the Wildcats earn their eighth-straight bowl berth despite being forced the start three different quarterbacks due to injury. K-State finished the year ranked 13th in the nation in passing yards per completion (14.48), while the Wildcats’ 141.7 passing efficiency mark ranked eighth in school history.

Under Klein’s tutelage, Jesse Ertz put together the fifth-best pass efficiency mark in a season (150.22) while his 129.5 mark ranked ninth in a career. He also set the school record for lowest interception percentage (1.92) and became the 21st passer in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in a career. Klein also helped develop redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson, who started the final four games of the season and passed for 689 yards, the fourth most by a freshman in school history. Thompson’s season was highlighted by a Wildcat victory at 10th-ranked Oklahoma State in which he threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-13 aim, good for a 274.89 pass efficiency rating to rank fifth in school history.

Additionally, Alex Delton helped lead the Wildcats to victories against Kansas and Texas Tech, while he came off the bench against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl to rush for 158 yards and three touchdowns to earn Offensive MVP honors.

K-State’s offensive staff, led by Coleman and co-coordinators Dickey and Klein, also includes recently-announced former Wildcats that joined the staff in Zach Hanson (tight ends) and Eric Hickson (running backs).

— K-State Athletics —

No. 5 KU blows 10-point second half lead, falls at No. 12 Oklahoma 85-80

NORMAN, Okla. — Trae Young vowed to make changes after his spectacular, yet inefficient game against Oklahoma State.

He wasn’t kidding.

Oklahoma’s fabulous freshman point guard had 26 points on just nine field goal attempts, and the 12th-ranked Sooners rallied to beat the fifth-ranked Jayhawks 85-80 on Tuesday night.

Young scored 48 points against Oklahoma State, but he took 39 shots and missed potential game-winning 3-pointers at the end of regulation and overtime in a loss . Before that, he turned the ball over 12 times in a loss to Kansas State.

“The way I played at OSU — I was overly aggressive at OSU,” Young said. “I think tonight, I managed the game a lot better. I got back to the way I was playing before last week and even before K-State. I managed the game a lot better and teammates did a great job of making plays, too.”

Kansas coach Bill Self was impressed with the way Young adjusted.

“Kid played great,” Self said. “I mean he got 26 points on nine shots. That’s very impressive for a guard, and he was very under control and seemed to make the vast majority of the right plays for his team.”

Christian James scored 15 points and Brady Manek added 14 for the Sooners (15-4, 5-3 Big 12), who won their 13th straight at home.

Svi Mykhailiuk scored 24 points and Malik Newman added 20 for Kansas (16-4, 6-2), which had won five straight.

Devonte’ Graham, Kansas’ leading scorer, finished with 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting.

“I just missed shots,” Graham said. “I told the guys in the locker room that you could put this one on me because I felt like I let the team down today. I had good open shots, but I was just missing them.”

Kansas led for most of the second half before Young made two critical, unselfish plays. James’ 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining on an assist from Young put the Sooners up 82-80. Manek later drained a 3-pointer, also on an assist from Young, to make it 85-80 with 25 seconds to play.

“It’s in Trae’s hands to make a read and decision and create,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “We did that all night, really. He made a good play to find Christian and Christian jumped in there and knocked it down. Brady did the same thing on the next possession. Two big shots.”

Oklahoma effectively limited Kansas center Udoka Azubuike. The 7-footer scored nine points, all in the second half. He played with foul trouble and made just 1 of 7 free throws.

Oklahoma drew the second foul on Azubuike with 10:14 left in the first half and Kansas leading 19-13. The Sooners went on a 13-4 run in the next three minutes to take the lead.

The Sooners led 43-41 at halftime. Young took just four shots and had six assists before the break, and he didn’t attempt a 3-pointer. Newman led Kansas with 15 points in the half and Mykhailiuk added 11. Graham was held to 7 points on 2 for 9 shooting before the break.

Azubuike made three consecutive buckets during a stretch early in the second half to give Kansas a 55-47 lead.

Oklahoma chipped away and got within striking range. The Sooners intentionally fouled Azubuike, a 41-percent free-throw shooter coming in, several times. He missed all five of his free throws in the final 3:37 to help the Sooners get back into the game.

“It was definitely frustrating because we didn’t really get a chance to run anything,” Graham said. “But I guess it was pretty smart on them doing that.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks were two games ahead of the rest of the Big 12 in the loss column and missed a chance to take control of the conference race.

Oklahoma: The Sooners needed a win after the two road losses to unranked opponents. They also helped the rest of the league stay within range of the Jayhawks.

STAT LINES

Young’s nine field-goal attempts were his fewest of the season. He had attempted at least 20 shots in each of his previous five games. He had five turnovers against the Jayhawks, down from 12 against Kansas State and seven against Oklahoma State last week. He also attempted just three 3-pointers after taking 20 against Oklahoma State and at least 10 in each of his previous five games.

COACHES VS. CANCER

Oklahoma’s coaches and staff wore Nike Metcon 3 sneakers to support Suits and Sneakers Week, a Coaches vs. Cancer initiative that benefits the American Cancer Society. The National Association of Basketball Coaches is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Coaches vs. Cancer.

ROAD RUN SNAPPED

Kansas had won 10 straight true road games dating to last season.

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts Texas A&M on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Oklahoma travels to Alabama on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

— Associated Press —

Missouri State loses on the road at Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Darrell Brown scored 20 points with eight assists, Elijah Childs added 12 points with 12 rebounds and Bradley pulled away in the second half to defeat Missouri State 72-52 Tuesday night, maintaining a perfect record on its home court this season.

Jayden Hodgson made a 3-pointer to start a 16-2 breakaway run that turned a one-point lead into 17, 47-30, midway through the second half, and Bradley (15-7, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference) wasn’t challenged again.

Ronnie Rousseau III and Jarrid Rhodes each scored 10 points to lead Missouri State (15-7, 5-4), which made just eight field goals — at one point it was 1-for-12 — in the decisive second half, finishing 18 of 57 for 32 percent. The Bears, preseason favorites, haven’t won a conference road game in five tries this season.

Bradley pushed its home-court record to 11-0 this season.

— Associated Press —

Brown & Wade lead Kansas State to 90-83 win at Baylor

WACO, Texas (AP) — Last week it was Kansas State’s Dean Wade pulling down Big 12 and national accolades.

If Barry Brown has another game like he did against Baylor on Monday night, he might grab some of his own.

Brown scored 34 points, Wade added 24 and Kansas State beat Baylor 90-83 for its third straight victory.

“He was great tonight. Whenever he needed a big play he was there,” Wade said of Brown. “Even on defense, he made some great plays. When they had their little runs, he was the one that shut the runs off defensively and then came out on offense and started our runs. He was the best player on the court tonight. He played amazing.”

Kansas State (15-5, 5-3 Big 12) tied its highest point total of the season.

The Wildcats made five of their first six 3-point attempts in running out to a 29-13 lead with eight minutes to go in the first half. The Bears got within five points twice late in the first half, but a 16-3 run midway through the second half gave the Wildcats enough of a cushion at 71-52.

“I thought the beginning was really impressive for us on both ends of the court,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “I thought we were really good defensively and disrupted them, took away their stuff. We only had a one-day prep, but we really talked about having to take away their quick-hitters and their sets, and we got some transition, great passing, great ball movement, made shots.”

Baylor (12-8, 2-6) had six players score in double figures, led by Manu Lecomte with 18. Jo Lual-Acuil added 15, and Tristan Clark had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bears.

“I think we were all embarrassed we didn’t have more fight to us tonight, the way we started the first and second half,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I don’t know if we were tired, the turnaround, whatever. The bottom line is it was unacceptable. You don’t get opportunities to go back and redo things. We just need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Kansas State’s win comes on the heels of a week in which it earned a pair of home victories against ranked teams against then-No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 24 TCU. The Wildcats’ win moves them into a tie for second in the Big 12 with No. 7 West Virginia, which lost to TCU on Monday. They are both a game and a half behind No. 5 Kansas.

“It’s not just my goal (to win the Big 12), it’s everybody on the team’s goal, the coaching staff and all of Kansas State nation,” Brown said. “We’re playing for everyone right now, and I think all the hard work we’re putting in is paying off with these games. We’ve just got to keep the streak rolling.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats average a Big 12-low 11.3 turnovers per game, and they improved upon that mark with 10 miscues. But more importantly, none of those came in live-ball situations until there were 12 seconds remaining. That helped the Wildcats hold Baylor without a fast-break point and made up for a 36-20 deficit on the boards.

Baylor: For the second straight game, the Bears trailed by double digits less than six minutes in and spent the rest of the night trying to get back in it. Unlike in Baylor’s road tilt against then-No. 10 Kansas on Saturday, the Bears never got back in this one.

UP NEXT

Kansas State returns home for its Big 12-SEC Challenge game against Georgia on Saturday.

Baylor travels to meet Florida in the Big 12-SEC Challenge on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Huskers’ upset bid comes up short at No. 13 Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Playing its fourth game in eight days, No. 13 Ohio State seemed vulnerable Monday night. Facing a surprising Nebraska team that upset Michigan last week, the Buckeyes were at risk of letting one slip away.

But that didn’t happen. Keita Bates-Diop, the Big Ten’s top scorer, had 14 of his 20 points in the second half and the surging Buckeyes ground out a 64-59 win over the Cornhuskers for their ninth straight conference victory.

Nebraska (14-8, 5-4 Big Ten), fresh off a 20-point win over then-No. 23 Michigan on Thursday, tied it at 46 with 7:56 left with a 3-pointer from James Palmer Jr., who finished with a career-high 34 points.

The lead changed six times in the next four minutes. A pair of foul shots by Palmer cut Ohio State’s lead to four with 2:19 remaining, but the Cornhuskers couldn’t pull any closer.

Jae’Sean Tate put the Buckeyes (18-4, 9-0 Big Ten) up by six with a layup with 1:02 left, and a pair of foul shots by Kaleb Wesson stretched it to eight. Palmer hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, but Nebraska ran out of time.

“I think mentally we just stayed together,” said Tate, who had 17 points. “There were times you could see we struggled. In the first half, we were getting a little frustrated, but I think we did a great job in the second half, especially later on, coming together and staying together.”

Neither team lit up the scoreboard. Ohio State shot 44 percent to Nebraska’s 39 percent.

SEEING DOUBLE

The secret is out about Bates-Diop, which means he is regularly double-teamed now. That was the case Monday, when the Cornhuskers did a good job of neutralizing him in the first half. Later in the game his teammates figured out how to get him the ball.

“They were doubling me pretty much everywhere,” he said. “Every time I drove someone was coming. Besides slipping screens and just moving around a little bit more with the ball, my teammates found me. It was mostly just layups to the basket.”

BIG PICTURE

Nebraska: The surprising Cornhuskers knocked off a ranked team last week and are a better squad than last season with Palmer carrying the load. But they couldn’t outlast the gritty Buckeyes, who are on a roll.

“I thought we did a lot of good things defensively,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said. “I was disappointed with our offense in the second half. A game like this you’re only going to get so many chances.”

Ohio State: The Buckeyes may have been fatigued after a rugged traveling schedule and three straight games on the road. But they found a rhythm in the second half and locked down another critical Big Ten win over a scrappy team.

BUCKEYES RISING

Every week seems to bring another pleasant surprise for Ohio State.

By beating Nebraska, the Buckeyes surpassed their win total for all of last season. Earlier in the day, they moved from No. 22 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25, their highest position since 2014.

CARRYING THE LOAD

Palmer was 11 for 18, and 5 for 11 from beyond the 3-point arc. His 34 points led all scorers, and none of his teammates contributed more than five points.

“I’m no rocket scientist, but I’ll tell you what — when James is going like that we just keep getting him the ball and get out of his way,” Miles said. “James is a special player, and I’m glad he’s with us. He’s one of those guys who’s getting a little better every night out.”

NEXT UP

Nebraska: At Rutgers on Wednesday.

Ohio State: Hosts Penn State on Thursday.

— Associated Press —

KU’s Newman named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week

IRVING, Texas – Kansas redshirt sophomore Malik Newman has been named the co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, in a vote by a media panel which covers the league, the conference announced Monday.

Newman averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in KU’s wins at No. 6 West Virginia, 71-66, and versus Baylor, 70-67. The Jackson, Mississippi, guard scored 12 of Kansas’ final 14 points in the comeback win against Baylor. For the game he hit 63.6 percent from the field (7-for-11) and all seven of his free throw attempts in the three-point victory.

Newman is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds for Kansas this season. He’s scoring 12.9 points per game in Big 12 play and both his 20-point efforts this season have been against league foes. For the year, Newman has made 31 3-pointers this season.

Newman won the honor with Iowa State freshman forward Cameron Lard. This is the third Big 12 weekly honor for a Jayhawk this season. Freshman guard Marcus Garrett was named co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Nov. 13 and senior guard Devonte’ Graham was the conference player of the week on Dec. 4.

Kansas (16-3, 6-1) will look to extend its conference game road winning game streak to nine when it travels to Oklahoma (14-4, 4-3) on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m.

— KU Athletics —

Cunningham scores 22 as No. 11 Mizzou women cruise past Arkansas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Sophie Cunningham scored 22 points to lead five Missouri players in double figures and the No. 11 Tigers beat Arkansas 88-54 on Sunday.

Kayla Michael and Lauren Aldridge had 13 points apiece, while Jordan Chavis and Jordan Frericks each scored 12, for Missouri (17-2, 5-1 SEC).

Michael and Aldridge each hit 3-pointers as the Tigers took an 8-0 lead fewer than two minutes in and Amber Smith made a 3 and then a short jumper to cap a 9-0 run that made it 27-11 late in the first quarter. Kiara Williams made jumpers to close the first and open the second quarters that pulled Arkansas within 10 points, but Aldridge answered with a 3-pointer before Cunningham scored six points to make it 37-18 with seven minutes left in the half and Missouri led by at least 15 points the rest of the way.

Williams and Jailyn Mason led Arkansas (11-9, 2-5) with 14 points apiece. Malica Monk added 11 points.

Missouri outscored the Razorbacks 21-2 from the free-throw line and shot 52 percent from the field (27 of 52) and from 3-point range (13 of 25).

— Associated Press —

Griffons’ rally comes up short as they lose at Nebraska-Kearney 78-71

KEARNEY, Neb – Griffon men’s basketball (3-14) fell to Nebraska Kearney (8-10) 78-71. Missouri Western used a 16-5 run in the second half to cut the UNK lead to four points with 2:15 left in the game. However it would not be enough as the Lopers pulled away in the final two minutes.

MWSU looked poised to win on the road early in the game. The Griffons used a 14-2 run in after the first media timeout to take a nine point lead with 11:12 left in the first half. The nine point lead would be Missouri Western’s largest lead of the game.

Nebraska Kearney answered the Griffons with a 20-2 run over the next five minutes and built a 13-point halftime lead. MWSU wouldn’t go away quietly and outscored the Lopers 41-35 in the second half.

NOTABLES
– Missouri Western scored its most points since at Jan. 3 at Pittsburg State

– The Griffons won the turnover margin 13-11

– Lavon Hightower and TJ Evans each scored 20 points, it is the second time this season both have scored at least 20 points

– UNK’s Trey Lansman recorded a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds

UP NEXT
Missouri Western closes out its three-game road stretch on Saturday, Jan. 27 at No. 2 Northwest Missouri with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

— MWSU Athletics —

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