College – Page 453 – St. Joseph Post Archive

Nebraska, USC to meet in National University Holiday Bowl

Posted on December 8, 2014

Nebraska has been selected to take on USC in the National University Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Saturday, Dec. 27. The matchup will take place at Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. CT with ESPN providing television coverage of the matchup.

The Huskers will head to the West Coast with a 9-3 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Nebraska capped the regular season with a 37-34 overtime victory at Iowa on the day after Thanksgiving. Nebraska is ranked 22nd in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the Associated Press Poll heading to San Diego.

Mike Riley was named Nebraska’s head coach on Dec. 4, but will not coach the Huskers in the bowl game, with Interim Coach Barney Cotton leading the Huskers in San Diego.

“We look forward to the opportunity to take on USC in the Holiday Bowl, and the opportunity to finish our season with a trip to San Diego,” Cotton said. “Our goal as a coaching staff is to provide a great bowl experience and put this team in position for success in the Holiday Bowl. This team has outstanding character and leadership, and we would like nothing more than to send our seniors out with a second straight bowl victory and a 10-win season.”

Nebraska’s appearance in the Holiday Bowl will mark its fourth trip to the San Diego game, including three in the past six years. Nebraska is 1-2 in the Holiday Bowl, defeating Arizona in the 2009 game, while losing to Arizona in the 1998 Holiday Bowl and to Washington in 2010.

The trip to the Holiday Bowl is Nebraska’s 51st all-time bowl appearance, the third-most bowl appearances of any school in the country. The 2014 season marks the seventh straight season with a bowl trip for Nebraska.

“We are excited to celebrate our 51st bowl appearance with a trip to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl,” University of Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst said. “The Holiday Bowl is a wonderful new partner for the Big Ten Conference, and our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans are excited to travel to the West Coast. I know they will have a wonderful experience in San Diego. The University of Southern California is an outstanding institution, has an excellent football program and will be a great matchup for our team.”

The matchup with USC marks the fifth all-time meeting between two of college football’s most storied programs, and the first ever in a bowl game. USC holds a 3-0-1 all-time edge in the series, most recently defeating Nebraska in 2006 and 2007 in a home-and-home series. USC also defeated Nebraska in 1969, and the schools played to a tie in the 1970 season.

USC will enter the Holiday Bowl with an 8-4 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in Pac-12 Conference play. The Trojans are ranked 24th in the Associated Press Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings, and are just outside of the top 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Three of USC’s four losses were by six or fewer points, and the Trojans are coming off a 49-14 win over Notre Dame in their regular-season finale.

Coach Steve Sarkisian is in his first season at the helm of the USC program, after running the Washington program prior to moving to Los Angeles. The 2014 Trojans feature an explosive passing offense, averaging nearly 300 yards per game to rank 15th in the nation. USC also ranks in the top 30 in total offense and scoring offense. Defensively, the Trojans are tough against the run, and also rank among the nation’s leaders in turnover margin.

— NU Sports Information —

Griffons drop MIAA opener at Fort Hays State 90-78

Posted on December 7, 2014

The Missouri Western men’s basketball team fought from tip to final buzzer but fell in the team’s MIAA opener, 90-78 at Fort Hays State on Saturday.

The Griffons fall to 3-4 on the year and have yet to win a road game. Fort Hays moves to 5-3 and 1-1 in the MIAA.

Missouri Western jumped out to an early lead but Fort Hays was able to climb ahead and take an 81-57 lead into halftime. The Griffons shot 46 percent from the filed and 52.6 percent from three-point range.

Ryan Devers continued his upward swing, leading the team with 21 points and seven assists. Cortrez Colbert added 12 points and Kevin Thomas chipped in 11.

The Griffons return to the MWSU Fieldhouse to take on Bible Baptist College on Sunday, December 14.

— MWSU Sports Information —

Bearcats’ six-game win streak snapped with loss at Pitt State

Posted on December 7, 2014

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Through most of the second half, the shots were not falling for Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team. The scoring drought caused the Bearcats to fall behind 10 points with 5:41 left against Pittsburg State.

It was at that moment the Bearcats showed their character. They battled back in a tough road environment and even went ahead by two points with just under 2 minutes left.

Northwest, though, could not close out a road win Saturday afternoon at Lance Arena. Josiah Gustafson hit a 10-foot, baseline jumper with 7 seconds left to lift Pittsburg State to a 69-67 victory.

“It is definitely a really tough loss,” said Northwest junior Conner Crooker, who finished with a game-high 25 points. “We fought to get back in the second half. We thought we had it at the end and they made a jump shot.”

For Northwest, the loss snapped a six-game winning streak. The Bearcats dropped to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

It was a good effort by the Bearcats.

“We don’t want to just play well,” Northwest coach Ben McCollum said. “We get fairly complacent playing good. If you want to win the league, you have to play great. Right now, we are just a good basketball team and that is not good enough for anyone on the team. We want to be great. It is time to step up.”

The Bearcats were 6-for-12 from three-point range in the first half and went ice cold behind the arc in the second half, going 2-for-11.

Northwest looked like it was headed for a sure loss when it fell behind 62-52 and key players like point guard Justin Pitts and center Grant Cozad each had four fouls.

But the Bearcats scored five quick points, three coming on a three-pointer by Pitts followed by a basket by Crooker.

With 3:18 left, Northwest closed to 64-62 on two free throws by Pitts. Less than a minute later, the Bearcats tied the game at 65-65 on a three-pointer by Crooker.

Northwest went ahead 67-65 on a basket by Pitts with 1:50 left.

“I was proud the way we stayed with it and competed,” McCollum said. “We fought a little bit. I would like to see that sooner and play with some emotion and enthusiasm.”

A turnover by Northwest with 1:07 left and the game tied hurt the Bearcats. After Gustafson’s basket, Northwest had 7 seconds to tie the game, but had one attempt blocked and the last attempt was rushed with 1 second left.

Northwest also didn’t do itself any favors at the free throw line. Pittsburg State went 19-for-22 from the line while Northwest finished 11-for-19.

“We will definitely work on our free throws,” Crooker said. “We have to work on getting open and competing.”

Northwest came out on fire from the behind the arc. The game started with Justin Pitts hitting a three-pointer. The next basket the Bearcats made was also a three-pointer by Conner Crooker, giving Northwest a 6-2 lead.

The advantage ballooned to 15-7 when Pittsburg State went on a 7-0 run, closing to one.

Thanks to the hot shooting of Crooker, the Bearcats managed to maintain the lead. Crooker was 4-for-6 on three-pointers in the first half.

Every time Northwest built a small cushion, Pittsburg State made a couple of stops and scored. The Gorillas tied the game at 29-29 and even took their first lead 31-29 with 15 seconds left.

Northwest calmly came down and sent the game into halftime tied 31-31 on a basket by Matt Wallace.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

Missouri gets blown out by Alabama in SEC Championship game

Posted on December 7, 2014

ATLANTA (AP) — Blake Sims went out for one more snap, then trotted off the field to a standing ovation from the Alabama fans.

When he got to the sideline, there was a long embrace with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.

The wait was sure worth it.

Sims, the fifth-year senior who finally got a chance to start this season, threw a pair of touchdown passes in an MVP performance that carried top-ranked Alabama to a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide routed Missouri 42-13 to win its 24th Southeastern Conference championship Saturday.

“You love to see a guy who’s gone through what he’s gone through, who’s worked so hard and always persevered, then have success,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “It’s a credit to his character and work ethic.”

In a sense, it’s like Sims is trying to make up for lost time, running Kiffin’s fast-paced offense to perfection.

They turned out to be the perfect match, Sims’ versatility allowing the Tide to speed up things.

“I’ve never seen a guy work so hard,” Saban said.

This has also been a season of redemption for Kiffin, the guy who rubbed so many people the wrong way during stints as a head coach. His record never matched his bravado, but Saban picked him to run the Alabama offense.

Some scoffed at the choice.

As usual, Saban had the last laugh.

Wearing a white windbreaker, a play card in hand, Kiffin made the calls that helped Alabama pile up a commanding 504-313 edge in total yards.

Sims was brilliant, completing 23 of 27 for 262 yards as Alabama pulled away with a 21-point fourth quarter. T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry each had a couple of touchdown runs. Amari Cooper did nothing to hurt his Heisman chances, setting an SEC championship record with 12 receptions.

Missouri (No. 16 CFP, No. 14 AP) made it a one-score contest in the third quarter, closing to 21-13, but Alabama (12-1) put up three touchdowns over the final 15 minutes to lock up its spot in the CFP. And if the committee was impressed by second-ranked Oregon’s 51-13 rout of Arizona in the Pac-12 title game Friday night, they got another equally dominating performance from the team on top of its latest rankings.

For Saban and the Tide, this one was especially sweet.

A year ago, Alabama was poised to make a run at its third straight national title when Auburn won the Iron Bowl on the final play — a 109-yard return of a missed field goal.

Alabama was ranked No. 1 by the playoff committee after winning the brutal SEC West. By knocking off the East champion, the Tide made it three SEC titles in Saban’s dominating eight years as coach, a run that increasingly looks like the second coming of Bear Bryant in a much more competitive era.

If Saban can win two more games, it would be his fourth national title in Tuscaloosa, another step closer to Bryant’s five AP titles.

At the start, Alabama tried to run Missouri right out of the building.

Kiffin called for a bunch of short passes and runs to deal with Missouri’s pass rush, which led the SEC in sacks. The Tide went 68 yards in 10 plays — never even going to third down — to seize a 7-0 lead less than 4 minutes into the game.

Plucky Missouri, which reached the title game for the second year in a row despite ugly losses to Indiana and Georgia, managed to stay in this one much of the way thanks to Maty Mauk’s deep passing. He completed throws of 63, 47, 32 and 26 yards, one of them on a Johnny Manziel-like scramble in which he threw back across his body running to his left.

The Tigers’ lone touchdown was a 1-yard pass to Bud Sasser on fourth-and-goal.

But that wasn’t nearly enough against the Crimson Tide juggernaut.

After dinking the Tigers with short throws, Sims suddenly went deep on a 58-yard touchdown pass to DeAndrew White that made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Sims hung in the pocket despite a brutal hit that got Missouri’s star defensive end, Shane Ray, ejected from the game for targeting.

Sims wasn’t done.

On the first snap of the fourth quarter, the fifth-year senior hooked up with Christion Jones on a 6-yard TD toss that stretched the lead to 28-13.

For good measure, Henry tacked on a couple of touchdown runs to make it a blowout. He finished with 141 yards on 20 carries.

Missouri struggled to run against the Tide defense, limited to 41 yards on 23 carries. Mauk was 16 of 34 for 272 yards.

“Once we got the game pretty close,” Missouri receiver Jimmie Hunt said, “they did what they needed to do to finish it.”

— Associated Press —

Western women struggle in first league game at Fort Hays State

Posted on December 7, 2014December 7, 2014

The Missouri Western women’s basketball team struggled Saturday at Fort Hays State as the Tigers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on their way to an 81-57 victory.

The Griffons are now 4-17 all-time in Hays and have not, officially, won a game there since the 1983-84 season.

The Tigers forced 19 Missouri Western turnovers, scoring 28 points off the Griffon giveaways. The Griffons managed just seven points off 10 Tiger turnovers and were outscored 26-10 off the bench. Fort Hays scored 18 of its points at the free-throw line, shooting 72 percent from the line after starting the game 15-16 at the charity stripe.

Missouri Western was paced by LaQunita Jefferson’s 17 points and six rebounds. Sarafina Handy scored 11 and added four boards, while Mhykea Baez scored a career-high 10 points. The Griffons shot 40 percent from the field, 21 percent from three-point range and 50 percent at thre free throw line.

Missouri Western is off until Thursday, December 18th as they host Northeastern State.

— MWSU Sports Information —

No. 9 Wildcats can’t pull off upset at 6th-ranked Baylor

Posted on December 7, 2014

WACO, Texas — No. 6 Baylor did what it had to do to keep alive its chance for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Bryce Petty and company grabbed a share of a second consecutive Big 12 title.

Up next for the Bears is wait and see.

Petty threw for 412 yards, Johnny Jefferson had two touchdown runs and Baylor beat No. 9 Kansas State 38-27 on Saturday night.

Baylor (11-1, 8-1, No. 5 AP) and TCU (11-1, 8-1, No. 3 CFP) tied for the top spot in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs were ranked higher in the most recent committee poll, but they lost to the Bears 61-58 on Oct. 11.

“There’s one true champion and it’s the Baylor Bears,” coach Art Briles screamed to the celebratory crowd after the victory over the Wildcats.

The Bears became the only team with consecutive Big 12 titles other than Oklahoma from 2006-08. They are a sure thing for one of the top six New Year’s bowls, but the new four-team playoff appears to be a long shot.

“We’re going to play in January regardless,” Petty said. “Obviously we want to be contending for a national championship.”

TCU has won seven in a row since its loss at Baylor. The Frogs, who beat Kansas State (9-3, 7-2) by 21 points last month, earned their share of the Big 12 title with a 55-3 win over Iowa State on Saturday.

Petty completed 34 of 40 passes with a touchdown and an interception a week after getting knocked out of the Bears’ last game with a concussion.

Not medically cleared to play until Friday, Petty showed no ill effects of the concussion. He put his head down and plunged in for a 1-yard TD run only 1:35 in, capping an opening 81-yard drive that put Baylor ahead to stay.

While Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby presented Baylor its championship trophy — after giving one to TCU about 90 miles away more than seven hours earlier — Florida State was wrapping up its win in the ACC championship game. A few minutes after that, Ohio State wrapped up the Big 12 title. Those are the two teams between TCU and Baylor in the playoff rankings.

Baylor fans booed the commissioner, voicing their displeasure of having to share a title even with the head-to-head victory in a league whose slogan is “One True Champion.”

The Big 12 is the only of the Power 5 conferences without a championship game, but the 10-team league has a round-robin schedule and is the only one in which everybody plays each other during the regular season.

For the fourth year in a row since the Big 12 went to 10 teams, the title wasn’t decided until finishing the regular season on the first weekend in December when other leagues play championship games.

And for the second year in a row, the Bears won at home in a finale, this time in their new campus stadium on the banks of the Brazos River after beating Texas 30-7 last year at Floyd Casey Stadium to earn a spot in the Fiesta Bowl.

Jake Waters was 22-of-27 for 300 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas State, which was trying for its second Big 12 title in three years. Tyler Lockett, already the Wildcats career leader for receptions and yards, had 14 catches for 158 yards with an 8-yard TD that was the 27th of his career — breaking a tie with his father, Kevin, for the most in school history.

The Wildcats had to share their 2012 championship because of a miserable night their last visit to Waco two years ago. They were 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the BCS standings before a 52-24 loss.

Antwan Goodley had nine catches for 116 yards as Baylor won its 16th consecutive home game, matching Alabama for the longest current streak. The Bears are 6-0 in their new stadium even after scoring few than 45 points there for the first time.

— Associated Press —

Northwest Missouri State women lose big at Pittsburg State

Posted on December 7, 2014

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Midway through the first half, Northwest Missouri State sophomore forward Shelby Mustain rewarded her teammates for getting her the ball.

Mustain made basket after basket against a very good Pittsburg State team. Unfortunately, the Bearcats faced a double-digit deficit 5 minutes into the game.

Despite several nice offensive stretches in the first half, the Bearcats were unable to slow down Pittsburg State.

Northwest trailed by 22 in the first half and then gave up the first five points to start the second half. It was too much for the Bearcats to overcome, falling 85-59 Saturday afternoon at Lance Arena.

The Gorillas bolted to a 13-2 lead before the first media timeout. They were scoring in the paint and beyond the three-point arc. Mustain’s burst kept Northwest somewhat close through the middle part of the first half.

During that stretch, Pittsburg State had no answer for her. Pittsburg State Lane Lord even called a timeout to get his team to play tougher defense.

Lord didn’t need to offer any advice on offense. The Gorillas were operating at a championship level, moving the ball around and getting wide-open buckets.

Once the Gorillas slowed down Mustain, they extended their lead from 28-21 to 45-23. The 17-2 run by Pittsburg State put the game away.

Still, Mustain continued to battle. She went 6-for-7 from the field in the first half. Her 12 points were just two off her career high. Mustain added four more points in the second half and finished with 16, a new career high.

As a team, Northwest shot the ball well in the first half, making 13-of-24 shots from the field for 54 percent. Pittsburg State, though, was better. The Gorillas were 17-for-30 for 57 percent. Six of those field goals came from behind the three-point arc.

Pittsburg State went into halftime with a 53-31 lead and continued to play at a high level in the first 8 minutes of the second half. The Gorillas increased their lead to 73-36 with 11:42 left in the game.

Northwest, though, played hard until the very end. The Bearcats trailed 80-40 and then outscored Pittsburg State 19-5 the rest of the game.

— David Boyce, Northwest Athletics —

Kansas State’s rally comes up short at Tennessee

Posted on December 7, 2014

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee played good enough defense at the start of Saturday’s game to withstand Kansas State’s frantic finish.

Josh Richardson scored 17 points Saturday as Tennessee withstood a late 3-point onslaught from Marcus Foster in a 65-64 victory over Kansas State.

Tennessee (3-3) had a 10-point lead before Kansas State made five 3-pointers in the last 1 minute, 35 seconds. Foster sank four 3-pointers in the final 57 seconds and finished with 23 points. After Foster’s final 3-pointer made it a one-point game with two-tenths of a second left, Tennessee made a successful inbounds pass to clinch the victory.

“(It was) scary,” Richardson said. “I was screaming, `Everybody, know where Foster’s at,’ but I guess we just didn’t.”

Foster went 7 of 14 from 3-point range. Jevon Thomas had 13 points and Nino Williams added 10 for Kansas State (4-4).

“If we have a few extra seconds, we probably could win that game,” Foster said. “But it started in the first half really. That’s where we should have gotten it done.”

Tennessee’s matchup zone held Kansas State without a basket for a stretch of nearly 11 1/2 minutes during the first half and forced 22 turnovers. The Volunteers also had nine blocks — five from Armani Moore — and produced 12 steals.

“I felt their zone was something I’d never seen before,” Foster said. “It was a really good zone. It felt like it spaced us out. It felt like I was shooting 30-footers out there. … It was a very good zone. In the second half, we figured out how to attack it.”

Kansas State had 13 turnovers with just five baskets and one assist in the first half. Tennessee’s dominant defensive performance gave the Vols a 25-17 advantage at the intermission, their first halftime lead of the season.

The Wildcats clawed back into the game by heating up from 3-point range. After missing all seven of its first-half attempts from beyond the arc, Kansas State went 8 of 14 on 3-pointers in the second half

“We’re still trying to figure out how to win,” Tennessee coach Donnie Tyndall said. “We get the lead and you could almost tell we start playing not to win. There’s a difference. There’s a distinct difference.”

Tennessee was playing without sophomore forward Dominic Woodson. Tennessee issued a statement before the game saying that Woodson had been excused from team-related activities this week to take care of academic obligations. Tyndall said after the game that “we’ll have more of an update on him as we get into final exams.”

TIP-INS

Kansas State: Wildcats athletic director John Currie spent 13 years at Tennessee before Kansas State hired him in May 2009. Currie earned his master’s degree from Tennessee in 2003.

Tennessee: Tyndall used his fifth different starting lineup in six games. Freshman forward Tariq Owens, who hadn’t played at all in two of Tennessee’s last three games, made his first career start Saturday. He had no points, one rebound, one assist, one block and one steal in 11 minutes.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Hosts Bradley on Tuesday.

Tennessee: Hosts Butler on Dec. 14.

STAT LINE

Kansas State’s 22 turnovers were the most Tennessee had forced since producing 34 in a 99-78 victory over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 23, 2009.

CHALLENGE FINALE

This represented the first meeting between these two programs and the final game of this year’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Big 12 won six of its 10 meetings with the Southeastern Conference this week.

— Associated Press —

Missouri gets routed at No. 22 Oklahoma

Posted on December 5, 2014December 6, 2014

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s still scoring.

Now, the Sooners are playing defense, too.

Ryan Spangler scored a season-high 18 points to help No. 22 Oklahoma defeat Missouri 82-63 Friday night in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. Buddy Hield had 17 points and three steals and Isaiah Cousins added 16 points for the Sooners, who shot 57 percent from the field and made 10 of 20 3-pointers.

But what changed the game was the way Oklahoma defended after halftime. The Sooners opened the second half on a 15-0 run. Missouri (4-4) didn’t score for the first 5:16 of the second half and missed its first seven shots after the break. It’s a big step for a team that wasn’t always focused on getting stops a year ago.

“Defensively, we’ve been making progress and we’ve been getting better,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid all night.”

Oklahoma (5-2) was coming off a runner-up finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Johnathan Williams III led Missouri with 16 points and eight rebounds. Montaque Gill-Caesar, Missouri’s top scorer entering the game, finished with 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting.

Namon Wright added 12 points for the Tigers, who had won two straight.

The Sooners held Missouri to 42 percent shooting.

“We have a lot of quick guys,” Hield said. “We do a good job pressuring the ball. It was a team effort.”

It was the third blowout loss for the Tigers this season under first-year coach Kim Anderson. They lost to Arizona by 19 and Purdue by 21 last month.

Missouri led Oklahoma early, but a 3-pointer by Cousins put the Sooners up 19-17. Cousins scored 11 points in the first 9:29.

Hield, Oklahoma’s top scorer for the season, didn’t score until 5:39 remained in the first half, but his layup pushed the Sooners’ lead to 27-20 and caused Missouri to call timeout.

A 3-pointer by Hield pushed the lead to 10, and a dunk by TaShawn Thomas bumped the lead to 12. Spangler’s 3-pointer right before the half gave Oklahoma a 37-25 lead at the break.

The Sooners rolled in the second half against a Missouri team that is loaded with freshmen and sophomores.

“This is big boy basketball, and you have to be ready for anything they throw at you,” Anderson said. “I thought we panicked more than anything, and they put pressure on us.”

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

“I think all around, we just kind of succumbed to what they were doing.” — Gill-Caesar.

ON THE RISE

Spangler, who made 3 of 11 3-pointers last season, made 2 of 2 on Friday night and has made 6 of 9 for the season.

TIP-INS

Oklahoma: The teams met regularly when Missouri was a member of the Big Eight, then the Big 12 before moving to the SEC. Oklahoma now has a 113-97 lead in the series. … Oklahoma beat then-No. 22 UCLA and Butler to reach the Battle 4 Atlantis final before losing to then-No. 2 Wisconsin.

Missouri: The Tigers, who had been holding opponents to 36 percent shooting in the second half of games, allowed the Sooners to shoot 68 percent in the second half. … Missouri started off well, but made just 11 of 27 shots in the first half.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma plays at Tulsa on Dec. 13.

Missouri plays host to Elon on Dec. 11.

— Associated Press —

Selden helps No. 11 KU rally from 18 down to beat Florida

Posted on December 5, 2014December 6, 2014

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Last year, Wayne Selden Jr. might have let a lousy shooting performance in Kansas’s previous game affect his confidence in a high-profile matchup with Florida on Friday night.

That’s the difference between being a freshman and a sophomore.

Selden poured in 21 points and keyed a massive second-half run, allowing the No. 11 Jayhawks to overcome an 18-point deficit and beat the Gators 71-65 inside boisterous Allen Fieldhouse.

“You’re not going to make them every night,” said Selden, who was 0-for-10 from the field last Sunday against Michigan State. “You just have to stay persistent.”

Cliff Alexander and Frank Mason III had 12 points apiece, and Perry Ellis finished with 10 for the Jayhawks (6-1), who trailed 39-24 at halftime before using a 17-0 surge to seize control.

Kansas wound up outscoring the Gators 47-26 in the second half.

“It was a terrible start and our best players were not very good at all in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “The roles reversed in the second half.”

Devin Robinson scored 13 points and Chris Walker had 12 for Florida, which is off to its worst start through seven games since it also started 3-4 during the 1990-91 season.

“You have to credit them. They had a lot of fight,” the Gators’ Jon Horford said. “I felt like we let them speed us up a little bit, take us out of the flow we had in the first half.”

The Gators once again played without the calming influence of guard Eli Carter, who has been hobbled by a sprained left foot. He hurt it during practice Nov. 20 and had struggled in two of the four games he had played, causing coach Billy Donovan to rest him Friday night.

“It’s been hard the last week just because we’ve had limited numbers in practice,” Donovan said. “It was good to see Devin Robinson respond like he did. I thought he was a bright spot.”

The Jayhawks led 14-10 as the game approached the midway point of the first half, but a slew of turnovers and some frigid shooting allowed Florida to pull into the lead.

Robinson scored four quick points, Dorian Finney-Smith contributed the next five and Michael Frazier popped a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer to cap a 19-3 assault. By the time Ellis scored in the paint, the Gators had successfully set the tempo of the game.

They continued to pull away, pushing their run to 25-4 on Robinson’s 3-pointer late in the first half, silencing what had been a roaring crowd inside Allen Fieldhouse.

Even the introduction of new football coach David Beaty, who had been hired away from Texas A&M earlier in the day, did little to energize the stunned fans at halftime.

The Gators kept everyone quiet early in the second half, too, extending their lead to 45-27 on back-to-back baskets by Frazier and Robinson for their biggest lead of the game.

It was at that point that Kansas began chipping away.

Turning up the pressure with some full-court defense, the Jayhawks began producing turnovers of their own, often turning them into easy layups at the other end. And when Alexander came in off the bench, the bruising freshman gave them the interior muscle they’d been lacking.

Kansas knotted the game 52-all on a free throw by Ellis with 6:18 left, part of their 17-0 second-half run. Selden had six points during the charge, including a pair of silky jumpers, and Ellis’s basket with 3:17 remaining gave the Jayhawks a 60-52 lead.

By that point, the Gators were in the bonus and Kansas began a parade to the free throw line, putting the game away by making 11 consecutive foul shots in the final couple minutes.

“There’s no six- or eight-point plays. Just try to win each 4 minutes,” Self said. “Once the crowd got into it, we played with so much more energy.”

TIP-INS

Florida: The Gators shot 53.6 percent in the first half. They shot 34.5 percent in the second half. … Florida was outrebounded 24-9 in the second half.

Kansas: The Jayhawks had more turnovers (9) than field goals (8) in the first half. They had only five turnovers in the second half. … Kansas shot 48 percent in the second half.

BEWARE THE PHOG

There’s a reason Self has only lost nine games at Allen Fieldhouse. When the crowd gets amped up like it was during the Jayhawks’ second-half run, it can be nearly impossible for opposing teams to communicate. “I think the crowd really helped them out,” Walker said.

QUOTABLE: “It was just like Jekyll-and-Hyde the first half and second,” Self said.

UP NEXT

Florida: Hosts Yale on Monday night.

Kansas: At Georgetown on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —