No. 3 Kansas Takes It to Nebraska in Second Half

Nebraska knew the second-half run would come from No. 3 Kansas, but it didn’t matter.

The Jayhawks opened the half with a 21-6 run to blow open a close game and win easily, 88-73, in a Big Eight Conference game Sunday at Lincoln, Neb.

It was the 200th career victory for Kansas Coach Roy Williams and a big letdown for the Cornhuskers, who had won three consecutive games.

The Jayhawks have won nine consecutive games, but Sunday’s victory was only the second in six visits to Lincoln.

“We talked about just what happened, not to let them in the first five minutes get on a roll,” said Nebraska guard Erick Strickland, who scored 19 points. “Sure enough, that’s what happened.”

After outscoring Kansas from the field in the first half, Nebraska, 15-5 overall and 3-2 in the Big Eight, fell apart under withering defense and clutch three-point shooting from the Jayhawks. Freshman Paul Pierce scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the final half.

“Paul Pierce gives them another dimension from a year ago,” Nebraska Coach Danny Nee said. “I think they deserve their ranking. They don’t beat themselves.”

Kansas (16-1, 4-0) forced Nebraska into 22 turnovers and outrebounded the Cornhuskers, 42-33, including a 20-9 margin on the offensive boards. Jayhawk forward Raef LaFrentz had eight offensive rebounds to go with 17 points.

Strickland and Jaron Boone, Nebraska’s leading scorers, vanished for much of the second half. Strickland didn’t score for the first 10 minutes before adding nine points; Boone made only a late three-point basket in the half and finished with eight points--half his average. He scored less than 10 points for the third time in four games.

“I don’t know if we really dug down and got after it like we did in the first half,” Strickland said. “We gave them a couple of open jumpers and they knocked them down. And we didn’t get back in transition defense.”

And when they did, Kansas shot anyway. The Jayhawks shot 30% from the field in the first half, but improved it to 48% in the final 20 minutes.

“I could feel it coming out after the first half,” Pierce said. “I could feel my shot and knew I could maintain it for the rest of the game.”

Pierce’s clutch shots repeatedly ended Nebraska runs. After the Cornhuskers closed to within 66-54, his three-point basket with nine minutes remaining deflated Nebraska. Nebraska closed to within 70-64, but Pierce answered with two free throws and another basket to give Kansas a 74-65 lead.

No. 4 Connecticut 76, Virginia 46--Ray Allen scored 24 points and keyed a 17-0 run in the first half as the Huskies (19-1) extended their winning streak to a school-record 18 games at Hartford, Conn.

Courtney Alexander finished with 10 points for the Cavaliers (7-9), who lost their fourth consecutive game.

No. 22 Iowa 70, No. 16 Michigan 61--Andre Woolridge scored 28 points to lead the Hawkeyes (15-4, 4-3) in a Big Ten game at Iowa City.

Maurice Taylor scored 17 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked five shots for Michigan (14-6, 4-3).

No. 22 Texas Tech 79, Texas 78--Cory Carr scored 18 points, including a key free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining, as the Red Raiders (16-1, 6-0) held off the Longhorns in a Southwest Conference game at Lubbock, Texas.

Reggie Freeman scored a game-high 27 points for the Longhorns (11-5, 4-2), who outrebounded Tech, 49-40, but made only 31 of 76 shots from the field.

OTHER GAMES

Steve Wojciechowski made a clutch three-point basket and seven free throws in the last four minutes to help Duke (12-7, 3-4) defeat Maryland (9-7, 2-4), 83-73, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C. Johnny Rhodes scored 22 points to lead Maryland. . . . Rayshard Allen scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Tulane (11-5, 3-2) defeated DePaul (7-11, 0-7), 84-74, in a Conference USA game at Tulane.

Derrick Brown and Jamel Thomas each scored 18 points to lead Providence (10-7, 3-6) past Pittsburgh (8-8, 3-6), 85-70, in a Big East game at Pittsburgh. . . . In another Big East game at East Rutherford, N.J., Adrian Griffin scored 24 points and ignited a late 17-6 spurt that led Seton Hall (10-7, 6-4) to an 81-78 victory over Rutgers (5-11, 2-6). . . . Mindaugas Timinskas scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, as Iona (13-2) defeated Colgate (7-12), 97-74, at New Rochelle, N.Y. It was the Gaels’ seventh consecutive victory.