No. 3 Kansas tops No. 1 Baylor; No. 23 BYU stuns No. 2 Gonzaga

Udoka Azubuike "was great" in Saturday's win, said Kansas coach Bill Self, who added “that's as about as well overall I've seen him play."

Feb. 22, 2020 9:25 PM PT

Udoka Azubuike had 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, and No. 3 Kansas held on to beat No. 1 Baylor 64-61 on Saturday in Waco, Texas, snapping the Bears’ 23-game winning streak and likely ending their five-week hold on the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll.

The Jayhawks (24-3, 13-1 Big 12 Conference) have won 12 in a row since their first-ever home loss to Baylor on Jan. 11. They had a 10-point lead with 6½ minutes left but had to hold off Baylor’s late charge.

Isaiah Moss, who scored 11 points, made two free throws for Kansas with 7.9 seconds left before a timeout. The Bears (24-2, 13-1) had one more shot, but Jared Butler’s three-pointer from beyond the top of the key ricocheted off the front of the iron as time expired.

Butler and MaCio Teague had hit consecutive three-pointers in the final half-minute to get Baylor within 62-61.

Devon Dotson added 13 points for the Jayhawks, who shot 51% (27 for 53) against a tenacious Baylor defense that held them to 55 points in a 12-point loss last month.

“You could just feel the buzz. It was an exciting time and a huge win,” Dotson said. “We’re a solid team that can make a run in late, late March. We’re going to enjoy this win but build off it for sure.”

Butler had 19 points to lead the Bears, while Freddie Gillespie and Matthew Mayer each had 10.

“I liked the first game against Kansas better than this one,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “For us, the goal at the beginning of the year wasn’t to sweep Kansas. The goal was to win a Big 12 championship. Their goal is to win a Big 12 championship.”

Baylor has never won a Big 12 title. There are four games left in the regular season.

Six weeks earlier against the Bears, Azubuike had six points with 11 rebounds.

“He was great. They did such a great job winning the first time because we had nothing from a scheme standpoint to help him, and today we we were able to fill the ball over the top quite a bit,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “That’s as about as well overall I’ve seen him play. He was terrific.”

No. 23 Brigham Young 91, at No. 2 Gonzaga 78: In Provo, Utah, Yoeli Childs scored 28 points to help the Cougars (23-7, 12-3 West Coast Conference) upset the Bulldogs (27-2, 13-1) and end their 19-game winning streak.

Jake Toolson added 17 points and T.J. Haws had 16 points for BYU, which never trailed after halftime en route to winning its eighth straight game.

Killian Tillie scored 18 points and Corey Kispert added 16 to lead Gonzaga. Filip Petrusev added 14 points and Admon Gilder chipped in 13. The Bulldogs won the previous five meetings in Provo before Saturday.

Gonzaga trailed by 14 points early in the second half before mounting a comeback. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 70-68 on a jumper from Drew Timme with 7:52 remaining. BYU did not let Gonzaga erase the lead entirely.

Zac Seljaas made back-to-back baskets to give the Cougars a little breathing room again. Then Childs bookended a string of four straight BYU baskets with a layup and a jumper to put the Cougars up 87-76 with 3:15 left.

at No. 5 Dayton 80, Duquesne 70: Obi Toppin scored 28 points as the Flyers (25-2, 14-0 Atlantic 10) won their 16th game in a row, beating the Dukes (18-8, 8-6) in Dayton, Ohio.

Jalen Crutcher added 17 points and five assists for Dayton, which has yet to lose in regulation this season.

Toppin, a redshirt sophomore and potential first-round NBA draft choice, was 11 for 16 from the field, including three for five from beyond the three-point arc. He topped 1,000 points for his career with an emphatic dunk in the second half.

Sincere Carry had 21 points and six assists for Duquesne.

at No. 6 Duke 88, Virginia Tech 64: Cassius Stanley scored 21 points and made a season-high five three-pointers to help the Blue Devils (23-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Hokies (15-12, 6-10) in Durham, N.C.

Matthew Hurt added 16 points and a season-high 10 rebounds for Duke, which never trailed. The Blue Devils improved to 21-1 all time at home against the Hokies.

Vernon Carey Jr. scored 16 points and Tre Jones had 14 for Duke.

Tyrece Radford scored 16 points to lead Virginia Tech, which shot 37% from the field. Isaiah Wilkins added 11 points and Hunter Cattoor had all 10 of his points in the second half for the Hokies.

No. 8 Florida State 67, at North Carolina State 61: M.J. Walker scored all 12 of his points after halftime to help the Seminoles (23-4, 13-3 ACC) take control in the second half and beat the Wolfpack (17-10, 8-8) in Raleigh, N.C.

Patrick Williams also scored 12 points for Florida State, which has won six of seven to stay near the top of the ACC standings. The Seminoles spent much of the second half shooting better than 50% and repeatedly got into the interior of North Carolina State’s defense.

Devon Daniels scored 18 points to lead N.C. State, which was trying to follow its lopsided home win against No. 6 Duke on Wednesday with another big one.

at No. 10 Kentucky 65, Florida 59: Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 26 points, including 15 of his team’s 17 during a decisive second-half stretch, as the Wildcats (22-5, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) pushed past the Gators (17-10, 9-5) in Lexington, Ky., for their sixth consecutive victory.

Quickley made four of six from three-point range and eight of 17 shots overall to surpass his previous high of 23 points at Auburn on Feb. 1. He scored all but four of his points in the second half. Tyrese Maxey had 13 points for first-place Kentucky, which took a three-game lead over Florida.

Keyontae Johnson had 19 points and Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored 18 for the Gators, who had won their previous three games and five of six.

at No. 11 Louisville 72, North Carolina 55: Jordan Nwora scored 18 points to lead the Cardinals over the Tar Heels in Louisville, Ky.

The Cardinals (23-5, 14-3 ACC) won their second straight game and guaranteed they would stay in first place in the conference ahead of a Monday night matchup at No. 8 Florida State.

Nwora added 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Malik Williams had 17 points and nine rebounds.

North Carolina lost its seventh straight. Cole Anthony led the Tar Heels with 18 points.

No. 12 Villanova 64, at Xavier 55: Saddiq Bey scored 22 points, and the Wildcats (21-6, 10-4 Big East) extended their late-February surge by beating the Musketeers (17-10, 6-8) in Cincinnati for their fourth straight win.

Villanova has recovered from a three-game skid that knocked it out of the league lead. The Wildcats have won three road games during the streak, with victories at Temple, DePaul and Xavier.

The Musketeers were held to a season low in points while getting swept by Villanova. Tyrique Jones had his ninth straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Jermaine Samuels added 17 points for the Wildcats, who never trailed.

at No. 13 Auburn 73, Tennessee 66: Samir Doughty scored 22 points, and the Tigers (23-4, 10-4 SEC) rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat the Volunteers (15-12, 7-7) in Auburn, Ala., in a game marred by an ugly incident involving a fan.

A student was ejected from the game after directing a derogatory comment toward Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi and will face a disciplinary hearing, an Auburn official said. The fan was overheard on TV calling out: “Go back to Uruguay! This is America!”

The Tigers stopped a two-game skid. Led by Doughty’s hot streak, Auburn scored 18 consecutive points to spark the comeback against Tennessee.

Jordan Bowden scored a career-high 28 points and made three of four three-pointers for the Volunteers. Vescovi had 10 points.

at Texas Christian 67, No. 17 West Virginia 60 (OT): Kevin Samuel scored six of his 19 points in overtime in Fort Worth, and the Horned Frogs (15-12, 6-8) extended the Big 12 road woes of the Mountaineers (19-8, 7-7).

TCU thought it had won for just the second time in nine games in regulation when Desmond Bane sent the crowd into a frenzy on a driving layup with 0.9 seconds left. But the senior guard was called for pushing off as he went up for the shot.

Jaire Grayer broke the 55-all tie with his only three-pointer to start overtime, and Samuel hit two buckets and two free throws as the Mountaineers lost their fifth straight road conference game after beating the Horned Frogs by 32 at home.

Derek Culver had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Taz Sherman scored 16 points for West Virginia. Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins stayed tied with Dean Smith on the all-time coaching victories list with 879.

at Providence 84, No. 19 Marquette 72: Luwane Pipkins scored 24 points and David Duke had 15 to lead the Friars (16-12, 9-6 Big East) past the Golden Eagles (17-9, 7-7) in Providence, R.I., for their fourth straight victory over a ranked team.

Markus Howard scored 38 points for Marquette, which lost its third straight game. Howard shot 10 for 25 from the field and had just one assist while committing four of the Golden Eagles’ 18 turnovers.

at Memphis 60, No. 22 Houston 59: Precious Achiuwa scored 10 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 28.2 seconds left, and the Tigers (19-8, 8-6 American Athletic Conference) beat the Cougars (21-7, 11-4) in Memphis, Tenn.

Malcolm Dandridge scored 12 points as Memphis won its second straight.

Caleb Mills led Houston with 21 points, and Marcus Sasser added 18 points for the Cougars. Mills’ jumper with four seconds left was off the mark.