College Hoops Marathon Comes To Finish Line: Jayhawks, Spartans Survive Scares

Cole Aldrich had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and top-ranked Kansas dodged a bullet, beating Memphis, 57-55, in a rematch of the 2008 national championship game.The contest, which was the second part of a doubleheader at the Scottrade Center and part of the Hall of Fame Showcase, went right down to the wire with Memphis’ Elliot Williams missing a potential winning three-point shot in the waning seconds.

Sherron Collins, who departed the game on a couple of occasions with what looked to be a cramp in his right thigh, added 12 points for the Jayhawks (2-0). Xavier Henry had 11 points and Marcus Morris 10 for Kansas.

Willie Warren scored 24 points and dished out four assists, as 17th-ranked Oklahoma overcame a slow start to post a 72-61 win over UL-Monroe at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Tony Crocker chipped in 13 points, while Tommy Mason-Griffin and Cade Davis both finished with nine points for the Sooners (2-0), who notched the 1,500th victory in school history and the 150th for head coach Jeff Capel.

Brandon Paul had 20 points and Mike Davis scored 14 with 17 rebounds, as 23rd-ranked Illinois pulled away late to top Northern Illinois, 80-61, at Assembly Hall.

Najul Ervin and Tony Nixon paced the visitors with 10 points apiece as the Huskies (0-2) collectively shot 36.8 percent from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Northern Illinois lost to Northwestern, 77-55, in its opener last Friday.

Reginald Delk drained four three-pointers as part of his 20-point effort off the bench while Jared Swopshire posted 10 points and 11 rebounds, as the 20th-ranked Louisville Cardinals opened their 2009-10 season with a 96-66 victory over Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase at Scottrade Center.

Samardo Samuels scored 17 points and Jerry Smith added 14 for Louisville (1-0), which reached the Elite Eight last season. Head coach Rick Pitino had a somewhat tumultuous offseason personally, but the new campaign is now underway for his Cardinals, who went 16-2 in the Big East last season.

Durrell Summers scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and pulled down 11 rebounds, as second-ranked Michigan State edged Gonzaga, 75-71, at the Breslin Center.In a rematch of a classic triple-overtime Gonzaga win at the Maui Invitational in November 2005, the Bulldogs gave the Spartans all they could handle, but Tom Izzo’s team came away with the tight victory.

Kalin Lucas added 19 points and Raymar Morgan went 10-of-11 from the foul line and finished with 16 points despite playing with a hurt ankle for Michigan State (2-0), which was coming off a 97-58 rout of Florida Gulf Coast on Friday. The Spartans had to overcome a 13-point first-half deficit Tuesday and won their 41st straight game at home against a nonconference foe.