By: GRIFFIN DELLA PENNA
NO. 9 KANSAS (10-4) 69
NO. 2 BAYLOR (13-0) 77
Baylor guard Jared Butler posted a 30-point, eight-assist performance shooting 7-of-9 from beyond the arc and 10-of-14 from the field. Butler had 17 points in the first half, and the Bears led 41-28 after the first 20 minutes of play.
As a team, Baylor shot 55 percent (16-29) and 56 percent from three.
Ochai Agbaji helped spark an 8-0 run during the second half making it a five-point deficit, but Baylor exchanged a 9-0 run of their own to regain a 14-point lead. Kansas then answered with a 9-0 run, but it was halted by a deep three from Butler and a Macio Teague converted an and-1 layup.
Baylor shot 92 percent from the free-throw line and maintained a slim lead in points in the paint, points off turnovers, and fastbreak points. Kansas shot a 53 percent clip from three (10-19) and scored 41 points in the second half.
Christian Braun connected on five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Jayhawks. Agbaji had 16 points, with 13 of them in the second half.
Davion Mitchell (10) and Teague (13) ended up with double-figure nights for Baylor.
ST. JOHN’S (8-7) 74
NO. 23 UCONN (7-2) 70
St. John’s overcame a 14-point deficit to win on the road at Gampel Pavilion against their Big East rival for the first time since January 16th, 2000. Red Storm guard Julian Champagnie, who leads the Big East in scoring with 20.7 points per game, had nine points down the stretch while Posh Alexander added 18 points on 6-11 shooting, four rebounds, and six assists.
In their third game without 20-point scorer James Bouknight, UConn had a 35-32 point advantage coming out of halftime and went on a 6-0 run to gain an eight-point lead with 12:46 in the second half. RJ Cole stepped into Bouknight’s role and had 18 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
St. Johns got their first lead of the afternoon after a Marcellus Earlington corner three with 4:18 left in the second half to go up 64-63. Earlington (15 points) and Dylan Addae-Wusu (10 points) contributed to the Red Storm winning the bench points battle 27-10.
Tyrese Martin contributed with 14 points and his three-pointer with 54 seconds remaining cut the deficit one. After a Huskie defensive stop, Martin had the opportunity to regain the lead but missed his first shot at the line in the one-and-one. A Tyler Polley missed go-ahead three-pointer pushed St. John’s lead to four after two made free-throws for Champagnie to seal the victory.
OTHER SCORES:
SAINT JOESPH’S 83
LA SALLE 90
FLORIDA STATE 78
LOUISVILLE 65
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