COLLEGE BASKETBALL : It’s Cold Outside, but Kansas Is Hot Inside

On a night expected to be the coldest in history in Lawrence, Kan., a sellout crowd packed Allen Fieldhouse to watch the second-ranked Kansas Jayhawks defeat Arizona State, 90-67, Friday night.

“There aren’t many places in America, if any, when it’s 8 million degrees below zero and with the students out of school that you’re going to have a crowd like we had tonight,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said.

As temperatures dropped to near 20 below, the Jayhawks (11-0) started the game with a 15-0 run, ended it with a 14-1 run and were never threatened. The standing-room-only crowd of 15,800 didn’t begin leaving until the final seconds.

The Jayhawks’ 11-0 start is the seventh since the school began playing basketball in 1898. Kansas was picked as low as sixth in the Big Eight.

Kevin Pritchard, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, ignited the fast start, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the first half.

Arizona State (4-4) never got closer than 23 points in the second half and had its four-game winning streak snapped.

No. 21 Oregon State 76, Boise State--The Beavers bounced back from Tuesday night’s 117-113 loss to Loyola Marymount by routing the injury-riddled Broncos at Corvallis, Ore.

Oregon State (6-2) used full-court pressure defense to force Boise State into 15 first-half turnovers. The Beavers capitalized on the mistakes and built a 40-17 lead with 1:52 remaining. They began the second half with a 14-2 run and took a 54-22 lead on Earl Martin’s basket with 12:40 left.

The Beavers shot 77% in the second half and 58% for the game. Boise State (4-5) shot only 37%. Rafeal Peterson, the Broncos’ second leading scorer, missed the plane and three other players are out with injuries.

Gary Payton led the Beavers with 15 points and also had 10 assists and six steals.

Alabama Birmingham 91, San Diego State 46--The Blazers won their own tournament with their second rout in as many nights at Birmingham, as Andy Kennedy led the way with 27 points.

The Blazers (6-3), who advanced to the title game with an 80-57 victory over Penn State Thursday night, outscored the Aztecs, 21-5, in the first eight minutes and never were threatened.

Alabama Birmingham’s biggest lead of the first half came with 1:19 remaining when William DeVaughn’s hook shot increased the margin to 47-21. The Aztecs never got closer in the second half.

Florida State 92, Stetson 83--Tharon Mayes scored 31 points and freshman Chuck Graham had 20 ass the Seminoles rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit at Tallahassee, Fla.

The Seminoles, who have won five straight games to improve to 6-3, fell behind, 12-1, in the opening 80 seconds. Stetson built its lead to 38-19 midway through the half before Mayes and Lorenzo Hands sparked a 22-4 run, including 14 straight points, that pulled Florida State within 49-47 at the half.

The Hatters (6-7) took their last lead of the game at 57-56 with 15:33 left on Frank Ireland’s three-point shot. A basket by Graham gave the Seminoles the lead for good at 58-57 with 15:03 left. Their biggest lead was 82-71 with 6:09 left on a Mayes tip-in.

Notre Dame 86, Lafayette 71--Joe Fredrick scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to help the Irish at South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame (4-3) opened a 25-13 lead on a seven-point run with four points from Monty Williams and three from Kevin Ellery. Lafayette (5-2) cut Notre Dame’s lead to 54-49 on a layup by Greg Bishop. But Fredrick scored six points during an 8-0 run that put the Irish back in command.

Tulane 85, Texas Pan American 77--Michael Christian, playing in his first game since injuring his hip two weeks ago, came off the bench to score 26 points, including four free throws in the final 10 seconds to lead the Green Wave at New Orleans.

Tulane (2-5) tied the game at 57 with 13 minutes left, and went ahead to stay on Carter Nichols’ three-point shot with 2:29 left, giving the Green Wave a 79-77 lead.

Kentucky 88, Portland 71--The Wildcats took control early in the first round of their tournament at Lexington, using a pressing defense to score 15 points off 10 turnovers in running to a 32-15 lead.

Leading, 45-33, at the half, Kentucky (5-2) increased its advantage to 55-37 with 14:46 left. The Pilots rallied, cutting the lead to 61-52 on Josh Lowery’s three-pointer at 7:34.

John Pelphrey then made two baskets and a free throw during a 7-2 run that stretched the lead to 70-56 with 4:17 left. Portland (2-9) could get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Stanford 77, Colgate 66--Forward Adam Keefe scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Cardinal to the victory over the winless Red Raiders at Stanford.

Stanford (7-0) came back from a one-point halftime deficit to take control in the second half. The Red Raiders (0-7) closed to within 64-62 on three straight three-point shots by Sean Johnson. But Keefe made a jump shot and guard Kenny Hicks made a three-point basket to give Stanford a 69-62 lead.