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Graham’s career high 35 helps No. 2 Kansas rout Toledo

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devonte Graham’s shot hadn’t been falling lately, so the Kansas point guard had been content to dish out nearly 10 assists per game, a number that ranked second in the nation.

Well, his shot finally fell Tuesday night.

Graham hit five 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 35 points — and still racked up five assists without a turnover — to lead the second-ranked Jayhawks to a 96-58 rout of Toledo and extend the Jayhawks’ best start in seven years.

“I’ve been putting up some shots at night,” said Graham, explaining that assistant coach Kurtis Townsend had been telling him to hold his follow-through. “Just listening to him and getting in the gym.”

Graham wasn’t the only hot hand against the Rockets.

Malik Newman added 17 points, often cruising in for easy layups. Svi Mykhailiuk hit five 3-pointers and had 15 points. And big man Udoka Azubuike dunked his way to 12 points.

The Jayhawks (6-0) finished 12 of 20 from beyond the arc and shot 59 percent from the field, though emptying their bench early kept them from hitting the 100-point mark for the third still game. They also forced 20 turnovers by a Toledo team that had committed 25 total over its last three games.

“That’s a very, very good basketball team,” Rockets coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “I’m not a Kansas basketball historian by any stretch, but in 30 years of coaching, that’s as good a team as I’ve seen.

“They are on ice skates,” he said, “and everyone else is in sneakers. They’re that fast.”

Tre’Shaun Fletcher and Nate Navigato scored 12 points apiece to lead the Rockets (3-3), who have lost three straight overall and 12 straight against ranked teams.

“I thought we did some really nice things,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I thought our shot selection was really good. I think you could count on one hand the number of marginal shots we took.”

If you take away a 7-minute stretch of the first half, the Rockets actually hung with Kansas.

Hard to take away a 30-2 run, though.

The Jayhawks led 18-15 when Mykhailiuk knocked down a 3-pointer to get the streak going. Graham scored the next three baskets to make it a 10-0 spurt. Then, after Fletcher scored the only basket for the Rockets, Azubuike flushed back-to-back alley-oop passes for dunks to begin another 20-0 charge.

Mykhailiuk hit a pair of 3s. So did Graham. And by the time Newman drained a 3 with 3:55 left in the half, the Jayhawks had hit 8 of 9 from beyond the arc and built a 48-17 lead.

“We were doing an OK job guarding,” Fletcher said, “and it just went south really quick.”

The second half wasn’t a whole lot better for Toledo.

Graham scored the first five points, the Jayhawks scored the first 13 and their lead had swelled to 72-30 before Navigato hit a 3-pointer for the Rockets’ first points of the half.

Graham finally substituted out for the first time in the game.

“He shot it, he handled it, he did what he wanted off the ball screen and he defended well too,” Self said. “He hasn’t seen the ball go in the hole, so it was good to see that happening.”

Graham didn’t get much of a break, though, considering the Jayhawks are still using a seven-man rotation with freshman Billy Preston sidelined indefinitely over an off-the-court matter. Neither did the rest of the Kansas starters as they tuned up for a game against Syracuse on Saturday night.

“We have a big one coming up,” Graham said. “That’s where our focus is now.”

BIG PICTURE

Toledo abandoned the inside entirely, lofting up 29 shots from beyond the arc. They were just 8 of 21 everywhere else. One of those 2-point baskets in the closing minutes came from Justin Roberts, the son of Kansas assistant Norm Roberts, who got the start in front of his dad. “To be perfectly honest, that was an easy decision,” Kowalczyk said. “I made that decision in the summer.”

Kansas was scorching beyond the arc, but the Jayhawks also had a 35-23 rebounding advantage and outscored the Rockets 38-12 in the paint. That inside-outside balance is what makes Kansas so dangerous.

UP NEXT

Toledo gets an easier task with Texas Southern visiting Friday night.

Kansas heads to Florida to face the Orange in the Hoophall Miami Invitational.

— Associated Press —

Kreklow sparks Missouri State past Colorado State 77-67

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Ryan Kreklow fired off the Missouri State bench to score 20 points and spark the Bears to a 77-67 win over Colorado State in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge on Tuesday night.

Missouri State built a 16-point lead by intermission and cruised behind a strong showing by its bench, which outscored the Rams 46-6.

Missouri State now is 2-4 all-time in the Challenge.

Kreklow hit 6 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 6 from behind the three-point arc. His 5 of 6 night at the free-throw line featured his first miss of the season. He had made 12 of 12 from the line coming into the game.

Prentiss Nixon finished with 20 points to lead Colorado State, with Deion James and Che Bob adding 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Rams shot 23 of 64 from the field (35.9 percent), including 4 of 23 from long range.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou’s Lock named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football junior QB Drew Lock (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) is the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, announced Monday (Nov. 27) by the league office. Monday marks Lock’s second SEC Player of the Week award after earning the distinction on Sept. 3 following Mizzou’s season-opening win over Missouri State. Lock threw for five touchdowns and 448 yards while resetting the school and SEC single-season passing touchdown record in a 45-42 win at Arkansas last Friday (Nov. 24).

Lock went 25-for-42 and helped the Tigers erase a 14-point deficit twice in the win over the Razorbacks. His third TD pass of the game went to freshman TE Albert Okwuegbunam, giving him 41 passing TDs on the year. That passed Kentucky’s Andre Woodson (40 in 2007) for the most ever TD passes by an SEC quarterback. He also passed Chase Daniel (39 in 2008) for the Mizzou single season record. His 43 passing TDs lead the nation and he is the first SEC quarterback this century to pass for at least three TDs in eight straight games.

Lock’s five-touchdown performance Friday gives him six such games in his career and a national-best four this season. He has more five-touchdown games than any SEC quarterback in the last 20 seasons (Tim Couch is second with five from 1996-98). Only four Power 5 QBs have ever thrown for more TD passes in a single season (BJ Symons, Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell (twice), Kliff Kingsbury) than Lock’s 43. All five did so in 13 or more games. His 43 TDs this season rank 23rd in NCAA history. Lock’s 448 yards at Arkansas also give him five career 400-yard games, also a school record.

Against Arkansas, Lock Engineered two fourth-quarter TD drives that erased Arkansas leads, and then capped the day by driving the Tigers 75 yards in the final five minutes that ended with a game-winning 19-yard field goal with just :06 seconds left in the game to account for the final score as MU won its sixth-straight game. In the fourth quarter, Lock was a sterling 7-of-9 passing for 127 yards and two TDs that led to the win. He was 3-for-3 in the final period on third down for 43 yards and one touchdown.

On the year, Lock leads the SEC in nine major categories while leading the nation in passing TDs (43), points responsible for (264) and passing yards per completion (16.5).

— Mizzou Athletics —

MIAA hands out weekly men’s basketball awards

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Kansas City, Mo. (November 27, 2017) – Nebraska Kearney’s Yashua Trent and Central Missouri’s Spencer Reaves have been named the MIAA Men’s Basketball Co-Athletes of the Week.

MIAA Men’s Basketball Co-Athlete of the Week
Yashua Trent, G, University of Nebraska Kearney

Trent, a 6’1” senior from Chicago, Ill., averaged 21.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game last week as UNK went 1-2 in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Trent shot 67 percent from the field as he had back-to-back 25-point games against nationally ranked Arkansas-Ft. Smith and SE Oklahoma State. The efforts were one off his career-high point total.

MIAA Men’s Basketball Co-Athlete of the Week
Spencer Reaves, G, University of Central Missouri

Reaves, a 6’3” senior from Newark, Ark., led the Mules to three wins last week. Reaves averaged 20.7 points per game along with 5.3 rebounds. He scored 30 points in a win against East Central before scoring 22 against Rockhurst. Reaves scored 10+ points in all three games and was incredibly efficient, shooting 59.5% from the floor (22-37) and 42.9% from three (6-14). In two of the Mules wins, Reaves shot better than 60% from the floor, going 11-17 against East Central and 9-13 against Rockhurst. He also added six assists and five steals on the week and 12 free throws on 14 attempts.

— MIAA Press Release —

Missouri blows 16-point second half lead, loses to No. 23 West Virginia

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jevon Carter scored 29 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, and No. 23 West Virginia overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to beat Missouri 83-79 on Sunday night in the Advocare Invitational championship game.

Daxter Miles Jr. added 26 points, including four late free throws, for West Virginia (6-1).

West Virginia was involved in three distinctly different games at the tourney. After surviving an upset challenge against winless Marist 84-78 on Thursday, the Mountaineers routed Central Florida 83-45 on Friday.

Missouri (5-2) got 21 points from Jordan Barnett. Kassius Robertson and Kevin Puryear had 13 each.

Barnett hit a jumper and added 3 as Missouri went up 55-41 5 minutes into the second half.

West Virginia, keyed by a number of forced turnovers, put together a late 12-0 run that was concluded by Miles steal and layup to get within 73-72 with 3 minutes left.

Robertson had 10 points to help Missouri take a 41-36 halftime advantage.

POLL IMPLICATION

West Virginia could move up slightly in the AP poll. The Mountaineers have been ranked 38 consecutive weeks, and 55 of the last 58.

BIG PICTURE

Missouri: The Tigers seem to making progress in making adjustments with standout freshman Michael Porter out for season after back surgery.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers have won six in a row since a season-opening 88-65 loss to Texas A&M in Germany.

FOUL PLAY

West Virginia was called for 74 fouls over the three-game invitational, including 21 Sunday.

2018

Villanova highlights the 2018 field at the Advocare Invitational. Joining the Wildcats are Charleston, Florida State, LSU, Memphis, Oklahoma State and UAB. An eighth team will be announced at a later date.

UP NEXT

Missouri: At Central Florida on Thursday night.

West Virginia: Hosts NJIT on Thursday night.

— Associated Press —

Chiefs fall to Bills 16-10 for fifth loss in six games

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tyrod Taylor did exactly what he spent the first half of the season doing, back when the Buffalo Bills were off to a hot start and his job was never in question.

He threw for 183 yards and a touchdown. He kept plays alive with his feet. He made sure to avoid interceptions.

Taylor’s steady performance against Kansas City on Sunday dovetailed nicely with a stellar game by the Buffalo defense, capped off by Tre’Davious White’s interception with about a minute remaining that clinched a much-needed 16-10 victory over Alex Smith and the Chiefs.

“I just thought overall today we played good team offense,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “We ran the ball well at times. Tyrod used his feet well at times. We had some critical third-down conversions on drives, so there were some good things going on there. It wasn’t just one guy.”

Zay Jones had the touchdown reception and Stephen Hauschka kicked three field goals for the Bills (6-5), whose defense held Kansas City (6-5) to 236 yards of total offense.

“I think the three-game losing streak that we had has brought us closer and closer together than we already were,” White said, “the character of the guys we have in the locker room.”

Smith threw for 199 yards and a touchdown, but even the Chiefs’ lone score came on a catch-and-run by Albert Wilson. They were unable to complete much downfield, and with a ground game going nowhere, were ushered along to their fifth loss in six games.

The boos rang out when White stepped in front of Smith’s pass with 1:11 left and the Chiefs at the Buffalo 35. White nearly returned it for a touchdown before Smith finally tracked him down.

“A little shock there, no doubt,” Smith said. “Felt like we were going to bounce back, come back and get back into rhythm on offense. From the get-go, we didn’t do that.”

It was an especially gratifying win for McDermott, who spent 10-plus seasons working for Chiefs counterpart Andy Reid in Philadelphia. And it was even more so considering the heat McDermott had been under after his questionable quarterback change last week.

Taylor wasn’t spectacular against Kansas City. But he was better than Nathan Peterman was against the Chargers, when he threw five picks in his first 14 attempts.

“This just shows the resiliency that this team has, and the type of character we have,” Jones said. “All of our goals are still insight. We see the big picture. Sometimes you lose games but that doesn’t define you. I’m really proud of this team for getting a win on the road.”

The Chiefs’ offense was dismal in the first half against a defense that had surrendered more than 210 yards rushing per game the past three outings. Kansas City went three-and-out on its first five possessions and, taking away 14 yards of quarterback scrambling, gained 43 yards by the break.

The Bills fared marginally better.

Taylor threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jones late in the first quarter. But that was the only offense the Bills could muster as the Chiefs began to bottle up LeSean McCoy and put pressure on their elusive quarterback.

Kansas City finally snapped a streak of eight-plus quarters without a touchdown when Wilson hauled in a swing pass and went 19 yards midway through the third quarter. But the Bills answered quickly with a 49-yard field goal by Hauschka, giving them a 16-10 lead entering the fourth.

That was enough for the Bills’ defense.

“They did a little different thing with us, but it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen or been successful against,” Reid said. “It was just rough. We have to get through this and change it around.”

RECORD KICKER

Hauschka missed a 52-yard field-goal try late in the first half, ending his NFL-record streak of 13 straight from at least 50 yards. The streak dated to 2014 when he was with Seattle. He bounced back to hit from 56 yards, giving him a Bills-record seven 50-plus makes this season.

RECORD KICKER, PART 2

Harrison Butker connected from 45 yards late in the first half, giving him a franchise-record 23 straight field-goal conversions. Butker hasn’t missed since his first attempt with Kansas City.

INJURY REPORT

Bills WR Kelvin Benjamin did not make the trip after hurting his knee in last week’s loss to the Chargers. They were also missing LT Cordy Glenn (ankle) and RB Mike Tolbert (hamstring).

REVIS RESTS

Seven-time Pro Bowl CB Darrelle Revis was inactive four days after signing with Kansas City. The Chiefs hope he’ll be ready to start opposite Marcus Peters next week against the Jets.

UP NEXT

Bills: At home vs. Patriots next Sunday to start a three-game homestand.

Chiefs: A visit to the Jets next Sunday starts a stretch of three games in 13 days.

— Associated Press —

Nebraska selected as No. 5 overall seed in NCAA volleyball tournament

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LINCOLN, Neb. – The Nebraska volleyball team was selected as the No. 5 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night and will host the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at the Bob Devaney Sports Center this weekend.

The Big Ten champion Huskers, making their 36th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will open the tournament on Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. against the Stony Brook Seawolves (18-12), champions of the America East. The 4:30 p.m. match will feature the Florida State Seminoles (18-10) of the ACC and the Washington State Cougars (17-15) of the Pac-12. Friday’s winners will meet on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.

The Huskers missed out on a top-four national seed as Penn State, Florida, Stanford and Kentucky received the top four spots from the NCAA Tournament committee. Should those teams all advance past the first weekend, they would host an NCAA regional the following weekend. Nebraska is in Kentucky’s region along with No. 12 national seed Baylor and No. 13 national seed BYU. The Huskers would only have an opportunity to host an NCAA regional if they advance past the opening two rounds and Kentucky gets upset. The Huskers are familiar with Lexington, Kentucky as they won a regional there in 2015 to advance to the NCAA Semifinals before eventually winning the NCAA Championship in Omaha.

As of earlier this week, standing-room only all-session tickets remain for the NCAA first and second rounds in Lincoln. Those can be purchased through Huskers.com/tickets, through Nebraska Athletics Developing & Ticketing, or by calling 800-8-BIGRED.

The Huskers finished the regular season 26-4 overall and 19-1 in the Big Ten Conference to earn their second straight Big Ten Championship, which they shared with Penn State. Nebraska will face a Stony Brook squad that is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Stony Brook knocked off top-seeded Albany to advance to the America East title game, and the Seawolves swept Binghamton for the conference crown.

The 2017 season marks the 33rd time that Lincoln has hosted NCAA first and second round competition. Nebraska is 102-31 (.767) in 35 previous NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2017 Husker squad is looking to become the first Nebraska volleyball team to reach three straight final fours. This year’s NCAA Championship is set for December 14-16 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

NCAA First and Second Round Schedule
First Round – Friday, Dec. 1
4:30 p.m. – Florida State vs. Washington State
7 p.m.* – Nebraska vs. Stony Brook
*or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:30 p.m. match, but no sooner than 7 p.m.

Second Round – Saturday, Dec. 2
7 p.m. – First Round Winners

— NU Athletics —

Mizzou volleyball makes NCAA Tournament; opens with Kansas

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Following another 20-win campaign, Mizzou Volleyball gathered Sunday (Nov. 26) evening to learn its 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament destination.

The Tigers will make the trek west to Wichita, Kan., for their first and second round matchups this year. Mizzou opens its 2017 NCAA Tournament with a matchup against Kansas on Friday (Dec. 1). First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. With a victory, the Tigers would meet the winner between No. 16 national seed Wichita State and Radford.

The Tigers lead the all-time series over Kansas, 51-34. The two programs last met in the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Lawrence, Kan., as the Jayhawks produced a 3-0 victory in the second round of postseason play. Under Wayne Kreklow and Susan Kreklow’s tenure in Mid-Missouri (2000-present), Mizzou owns a 19-6 advantage over its former Big 12 Conference counterpart.

Mizzou’s 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance marks its 14th trip to postseason play since 2000. The Tigers have made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three years and six bids over their past eight seasons.

The 2017 Tigers finished 20-11 overall and 13-5 in Southeastern Conference matchups. Mizzou’s strong season in conference play solidified a third place finish, marking its third consecutive Top-3 ranking in the SEC standings.

Mizzou has tallied 11 20-plus win seasons under the Kreklow’s tutelage in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers have produced three consecutive 20-win campaigns and four in their past five years.

First and second rounds across 16 campus sits will take place from Nov. 30 – Dec. 2. Regionals are set from Dec. 8-9, while the National Championship rounds will take place on Dec. 14 and Dec. 16 in Kansas City, Mo.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Watson scores 26 as Nebraska beats Long Beach State 85-80

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Nebraska had big leads slip away in both halves but still wound up victorious.

Glynn Watson Jr. scored 26 points and Nebraska hung on after nearly blowing a 22-point lead to beat Long Beach State 85-80 Sunday in the fifth-place game at the Advocare Invitational.

“He’s a disruptive force,” Long Beach head coach Dan Monson said of Watson. “It’s almost like Richard Sherman on defense. You don’t want to challenge him.”

Isaac Copeland and Evan Taylor had 3-point plays during a second-half opening run that put Nebraska ahead 62-40.

Long Beach State responded with a run of its own and got with 76-59 with five minutes to play. The 49ers made it 83-80 on Jordan Griffin’s 3 with three seconds remaining.

“Somehow we have to be able to self-correct and change our trajectory when things start going bad,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said.

Anton Gill added 16 points for Nebraska (5-2) and Copeland finished with 13 points. Watson had 16 points in the first half as the Cornhuskers led by nine.

“I wasn’t really looking at the score,” Watson said. “Just out there playing hard and trying to build the lead.”

Long Beach State (3-4) got 22 points from Gabe Levin and Deishuan Booker added 15.

“I think they showed that they’re good enough to compete in our league, but they’re not consistent enough,” Monson said of his team. “The biggest thing is we got to get more consistent in what we do. You can’t start both halves the way we did and expect to take a Big Ten team and beat them.”

BIG PICTURE

Long Beach State: Levin has scored in double-digits in six of seven games. He averaged 16 points over the three games at the invitational.

Nebraska: Sophomore forward Isaiah Roby, who entered averaging 7.8 points and 19.8 minutes off the bench, landed awkwardly on his left leg and sprained his ankle midway through the first half. He watched the final 18 minutes of the game from the end of the bench with the ankle area taped.

COSTLY MISCUES

Nebraska converted 21 Long Beach State turnovers into 31 points. The Cornhuskers had 13 turnovers that resulted in 15 points by the 49ers.

FROM THE FLOOR

Nebraska was coming a season-best shooting of 56.7 percent in Friday’s 84-59 win over Marist. After a 58.3 percent performance Sunday in the first half, the Cornhuskers finished at 47.8 percent after making just 35.5 percent of their attempts over the final 20 minutes.

UP NEXT

Long Beach State: Plays Wednesday night at Arizona.

Nebraska: Hosts Boston College Wednesday night as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

— Associated Press —

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