The 13th-ranked Cyclones shrugged off a two-game losing streak after back-to-back poor performances on the road to obliterate No. 8 Kansas, 68-53, on Saturday afternoon in their home gym.
Iowa State (16-6, 7-3 Big 12) stayed within a game of league-leading Texas with the victory and calmed any concerns about a second-half slide after they were blown out by Missouri and blew a 23-point lead to Texas Tech in the last week.
"From a mental focus standpoint, this is as strong as we’ve been," said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger.
MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Bramlage magic finally wore out for Kansas State, and Texas took full advantage.
The No. 9-ranked Longhorns rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit and held off a late charge by K-State to escape Bramlage Coliseum with a 69-66 victory Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 11,000. It was the first home loss for the No. 6 Wildcats, who fell to 18-5 overall, 6-4 in the Big 12.
Texas (19-4, 8-2) remained in the conference lead by one game over Iowa State, which knocked off Kansas at home earlier in the day.
Texas got a big lift from its bench with Sir'Jabari Rice and Christian Bishop each scoring 14 points to lead the way. Keyontae Johnson had 16 points, Desi Sills 11 and Markquis Nowell 10 for K-State.
K-State had a chance to tie the game, trailing by three points with nine seconds left, but Ismael Massoud's 3-point attempt fell short.
— Arne Green, Topeka Capital-Journal
CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson basketball lost its second straight but still leads the ACC.
The Tigers dropped a Top 25 matchup to Miami, 78-74, Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Littlejohn Coliseum. But they’re still all alone at the top of the standings because Virginia lost at Virginia Tech, 74-68.
Clemson (18-6, 10-3) leads fourth-ranked Virginia (17-4, 9-3) and Pitt (16-3, 9-3) by a half-game. Miami improved to 18-5, 9-4.
Miami led from the opening minute of the second half. The Hurricanes went up 54-44 and the Tigers could get only as close as three at 61-58, 68-65 and 70-67 until Alex Hemenway made a 3-pointer with one second remaining to make it 76-74.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 19 points and Brevin Galloway added 15. Hunter Tyson had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Clemson is off until Feb. 11 in a 2 p.m. ET game at North Carolina. The Tigers have two remaining home games, Feb. 15 against Florida State and Feb. 22 against Syracuse.
— Todd Shanesy, Greenville News
No. 18 Saint Mary's 78, No. 14 Gonzaga 70 (OT)
MORAGA, Calif. – Aidan Mahaney scored 18 points and took the game over in crunch time, leading No. 18 Saint Mary’s to a 78-70 overtime win over No. 14 Gonzaga on Saturday night for the Gaels’ 12th straight victory.
Mahaney scored or assisted on 19 of 21 points in a stretch that started with the Gaels (21-4, 10-0 West Coast Conference) trailing by four points with five minutes to play in regulation.
The freshman put Saint Mary’s in control in overtime when he banked in a 3-pointer and then found Mitchell Saxen with a no-look pass for a layup that made it 70-64.
The Bulldogs (19-5, 8-2), who didn’t trail for the final 37 minutes of regulation, couldn’t catch up and fell two games behind in the conference race.
Drew Timme scored 23 points to lead Gonzaga, but got little help offensively from the rest of his team.
— Associated Press
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's basketball and coach Jon Scheyer drew first blood against North Carolina as the storied rivalry began its next chapter without Mike Krzyzewski.
Saturday's 63-57 win gave Scheyer his first career win over the Tar Heels and offered a slight reprieve from the angst of last year's losses in the national semifinal and Coach K's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Jeremy Roach, the lone starter returning from last year's Duke team, dealt the final blow, scoring the final four points in the win.
It was the first time since 1957 that neither Dean Smith nor Mike Krzyzewski roamed the sidelines of this rivalry. But this game always seems to deliver.
— David Thompson, The Fayetteville Observer
