The No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks clinched their 10th Big 12 regular-season championship in a row Monday with an 83-75 win over the Oklahoma Sooners that didn't seem certain at all until the last few minutes when Kansas' superior talent finally caved in Oklahoma's charge.
College basketball scores: Kansas clinches 10th straight Big 12 title
Kansas is your back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back Big 12 champion.
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Bill Self’s first Kansas team tied for second in the Big 12 standings in 2003-04 (before advancing to the Elite Eight), and the Jayhawks have won at least a share of the regular-season title each season since. Iowa State or Texas could still win a share of the title if either wins its final four games and Kansas loses out in its final three.
Oklahoma scored the first bucket of the game before the Jayhawks quickly answered with a 15-2 run. But the Sooners didn’t wilt under the pressure of the Phog Allen Fieldhouse and relied on its sharp mid-range game to recover and eventually take a four-point lead with five minutes to go in the half.
The Sooners again found themselves up four with 10 minutes to play, and that's when Kansas' star power took over. Andrew Wiggins gave the Jayhawks a 60-59 lead when he followed a shot with a missed put-back before putting back the put-back. Oklahoma never had the lead again.
Joel Embiid finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, three blocks and three assists. He was particularly impressive down the stretch on defense, grabbing four defensive rebounds in the final 10 minutes. With three minutes to play, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger called a 30-second timeout with the Sooners down 71-66. Out of the timeout, 6'0 guard Jordan Woodard got a one-on-one matchup with Embiid at about 12 feet. He jabbed one foot in before pulling up for a jumper. Embiid blocked the shot, collected the rebound, and ran about 60 feet in transition to the left elbow before passing out of a double team to Wayne Selden at the top of the key.
Selden skipped the ball across to Wiggins, who was standing wide open in the corner. Wiggins took his time before sinking a three to give the Jayhawks an eight-point lead with under three minutes to play.
Oklahoma is now alone in fourth place in the Big 12, half a game behind Texas and Iowa State, and half a game better than the Kansas State Jayhawks.
No. 4 Syracuse Orange 57, Maryland Terrapins 55
Welcome to the last three weeks of Syracuse embodied perfectly in one animated GIF:
She has a point. Syracuse led 51-39 with 5:43 to go Monday against Maryland, holding its biggest lead of the game heading into the final five minutes. But the Terrapins scored eight straight in less than two minutes, and the run eventually led to Maryland having a chance to tie the game. Jake Layman went to the free-throw line with 47 seconds left for two shots, down 56-54. He missed the first and made the second.
Trevor Cooney made 1 of 2 free throws with four seconds left, and Syracuse led by two. Maryland hadn't led since the score was 5-3, but it had a chance to tie or win on the last shot of regulation.
Tyler Ennis played all 40 minutes and finished with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three turnovers. The Orange moved back to within a half-game of the ACC-leading Virginia Cavaliers. If the Cavaliers top the Miami Hurricanes at home Wednesday, they could clinch the ACC championship with a win over the Orange in Charlottesville on Saturday.
Oklahoma State Cowboys 76, TCU Horned Frogs 54
Oklahoma State won its second game in a row since Marcus Smart’s return from suspension, earning back-to-back 22-point wins in the process. Monday’s final was an easy 76-54 road win over TCU.
The Cowboys held a 15-point halftime lead, and TCU cut the lead down to 47-41 with 9:16 to play before Smart took over. Smart hit five threes in the game’s final nine minutes, propelling Oklahoma State nearly single-handedly to the victory.
Phil Forte III led Oklahoma State with 23 points. He was 8 of 13 from the floor.
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