Times wires
Thursday, March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma State had a good game plan against No. 2-ranked Kansas. If not for all that foul trouble, it might have been good enough to pull off a major upset.
Mario Little's three-point play broke a tie with 71 seconds to go and the depleted Cowboys missed a desperation heave at the buzzer, allowing the Jayhawks to escape with a 63-62 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Oklahoma State, routed by Kansas last month, led by as many as eight and kept Marcus and Markieff Morris from operating down low, forcing Kansas (30-2) to shoot an uncharacteristic 25 3-pointers, making five.
"That's as tight as anybody has played us all year," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Marcus Morris, the Big 12 player of the year, had 16 points and 11 rebounds but was shut down for most of the second half until he hit a key 3-pointer.
Keiton Page had 23 points and Jean-Paul Olukemi scored 17 for Oklahoma State (19-13). Three Cowboys big men fouled out.
"Survive is not a word that we use around here," Little said, "but we survived today."
more big 12: Cory Higgins scored 28 and Colorado (21-12) beat No. 19 Kansas State (22-10) for the third time this season, 87-75. K-State players had openly requested to play Colorado for a shot at revenge. "I know we're better than them, but unfortunately the stats and the record don't show that," Wildcats forward Curtis Kelly said. … Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson each had a double double, helping No. 10 Texas (26-5) cruise past Oklahoma (14-18) 74-54, its third win over the Sooners this season. … David Loubeau scored Texas A&M's first eight points and got the Aggies (24-7) off to a quick start en route to an 86-71 victory over Missouri. The Tigers (23-10), who have lost eight in a row to A&M, are in a 1-3 skid.
No. 8 BYU edges TCU
LAS VEGAS — No. 8 BYU struggled to a 64-58 win over TCU in the Mountain West second round.
The top-seeded Cougars (29-3) face New Mexico, which has beaten them twice this season by an average of 13.5.
The Lobos (21-11) defeated Colorado State (19-12) 67-61.
Jimmer Fredette scored 24 for Brigham Young.
more mountain west: Kawhi Leonard and Malcolm Thomas each had a double double to help No. 7-ranked San Diego State beat Utah 64-50 in a quarterfinal, giving the Aztecs (30-2) the first 30-win season in their 90-year history. Their only losses this season are to BYU. The Utes (13-18) gave up a 16-3 run to trail 30-15 at halftime.
Big Ten: Jeff Brooks had 15 points and seven rebounds and Penn State (17-13) held off Indiana (12-20) 61-55 in the first round in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers closed on a nine-game losing streak and had a third straight losing season for the first time since 1967-70. … Michael Thompson scored a tournament-record 35, leading Northwestern (18-12) to a 75-65 win over Minnesota. Purdue's Brian Cardinal had held the tournament record of 33 points, achieved in 1999. Northwestern plays top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Ohio State today. "We know we can play with these guys," said Drew Crawford, who scored 15 against Minnesota. Golden Gophers (17-14) coach Tubby Smith said he's working on a long-term extension. … Draymond Green had 21 points and 14 rebounds as Michigan State (18-13) beat Iowa (11-20) 66-61.
pac-10: Maurice Jones scored 16 and Southern California (19-13) advanced to the semifinals in Los Angeles with a 70-56 victory over Cal (17-14). "We played with a sense of desperation," USC coach Kevin O'Neill said. "And nothing's more desperate than to be 8½ minutes into a game and only have three points (trailing 11-3)." The Trojans play top-seeded and No. 16 Arizona (26-6), which rode 3-point shooting to a 78-69 victory over Oregon State (11-20). … E.J. Singler scored a career-high 24 and Oregon (16-16) routed UCLA (22-10) 76-59.
c-usa: Darrius Morrow scored 22, including six in overtime, and No. 8 seed East Carolina (18-14) upset No. 1 Alabama-Birmingham (22-8) 75-70 in the second round in El Paso, Texas. Aaron Johnson had a career-high 39 points for UAB (22-8). … Joe Jackson scored 15 and hit two free throws for Memphis (23-9) that helped seal a 66-63 victory over Southern Mississippi (22-9). … UTEP (24-8) had six players score in double figures in a 77-65 win over Marshall (22-11).
smu sanctions: SMU announced that its basketball program committed major NCAA violations between 2007 and 2009, as the coaching staff impermissibly text messaged the parents of recruits after a former director of compliance erroneously said the texts were allowable. The NCAA has accepted the university's self-imposed sanctions, which include recruiting restrictions and two years of probation. None of the sanctions will prevent SMU from playing in postseason tournaments. None of the recruits ended up at SMU.
pepperdine: Coach Tom Asbury is retiring, with his top assistant Marty Wilson, 44, set to take over today.