Kansas St. Upsets Rival Jayhawks

Jan 31, 08:54 AM

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Michael Beasley scored 25 points and Bill Walker had 19 and No. 22 Kansas State ended a 24-year, home-court losing streak against archrival Kansas with an 81-73 victory Wednesday night against the previously unbeaten No. 2 Jayhawks.

Always double- and sometimes triple-teamed when touched the ball inside, the 6-foot-10 Beasley was held to only eight points in the first half but scored six in a row in the first few minutes after intermission and Kansas never caught up.

Beasley, the nation's leading rebounder and No. 4 scorer, was 4- for-4 from behind the 3-point arc as the Wildcats (15-4, 5-0 Big 12) took over first place in a Big 12 conference they've never even competed in, let alone won.

Kansas (20-1, 5-1), two victories short of matching the best start in its storied basketball history, lost on its state rival's home court for the first time since 1983. The 24-game streak in an opponent's home gym came within one of tying the NCAA Division I record which UCLA set against California from 1961-68.

NO. 1 MEMPHIS 89, HOUSTON 77: At Houston, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 22 rebounds, matching a career high, as top-ranked Memphis equaled the best start in school history with a win over Houston.

Robert Dozier 17 of his 21 points in the second half and the Tigers (20-0, 6-0 Conference USA) overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to extend their regular-season winning streak to 39 games. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game.

Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Houston coach Tom Penders was also denied his 600th career victory.

NO. 6 GEORGETOWN 74, ST. JOHN'S 42: At New York, sophomore reserve Vernon Macklin scored a career-high 18 points and No. 6 Georgetown handed St. John's its worst Big East loss ever.

The Hoyas (17-2, 7-1) entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.8) and they were fifth in points allowed (57.5), but their defensive effort wasn't the reason for this blowout.

St. John's (7-12, 1-7) had its worst shooting game in a season where it ranks next-to-last in the 16-team Big East at 42.2 percent. The Red Storm finished 10-for-47 from the field (21.3 percent) in losing their sixth straight overall and eighth in their last nine games.

NO. 8 MICHIGAN STATE 51, IILLINOIS 41: At East Lansing, Mich., Drew Neitzel scored nine of his 15 points during a key stretch in the second half and Michigan State improved to 19-2 for the first time in school history.

Illinois (10-12, 2-7) went on a 17-2 run after a rough start, led at halftime and responded to Neitzel's scoring flurry by taking a 32- 31 lead.

Illinois' Mike Tisdale and Calvin Brock each scored seven points.

Raymar Morgan and Goran Suton scored 10 points apiece before fouling out for the Spartans (7-1), who have won all 13 games at home this season and 17 straight dating to last year.

NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 80, No. 10 TEXAS 63: At College Station, Texas, Josh Carter scored 19 points and Texas A&M cruised to an easy win.

Carter has scored at least 10 points in 15 straight games and helped A&M break a three-game winning streak for rival Texas (16-4, 3-2 Big 12), continuing a four-year tradition of the home team winning each game in this series.

The Longhorns played the Aggies even in the second half but it wasn't enough to overcome a poor first half when they made just 9- of-30 shots. Texas A&M (17-4, 3-3) shot 64 percent in the first half to make the Longhorns' lackluster offensive start even more difficult to overcome.

NO. 16 DRAKE 75, CREIGHTON 65: At Des Moines, Iowa, Josh Young tied a career-high with 24 points and 16th-ranked Drake (19-1, 10-0 Missouri Valley Conference) beat Creighton to push its school- record winning streak to 18 games.

Jonathan Cox added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who finished the game on a 10-0 run.

NO. 18 PITTSBURGH 69, VILLANOVA 57: At Pittsburgh, Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs led a game-changing rally in which Pittsburgh turned a one-point deficit in the second half into an 18-point lead and the Panthers bounced back from a rare home loss.

Young scored 15 points, and Biggs came off the bench for 14 points. Freshman DeJuan Blair had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Scottie Reynolds scored 26 points for Villanova (13-6, 3-5 Big East), which lost its third in a row.

NO. 24 MISSISSIPPI 74, NO. 19 VANDERBILT 58: At Oxford, Miss., Chris Warren scored 20 points, Eniel Polynice added 18 and Mississippi's freshmen had one of their best games of the season in the 24th-ranked Rebels' victory against No. 19 Vanderbilt.

Led by Warren, freshmen scored 18 of Ole Miss' first 26 points in the pivotal opening minutes of the second half as the Rebels (16-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak and sent the Commodores (17-4, 2-4) to their fourth loss in five games.

(c) 2008 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Kansas St. Upsets Rival Jayhawks
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