Feb 23, 2016; Waco, TX, USA; Baylor Bears forward Terry Maston (31) dribbles as Kansas Jayhawks forward Perry Ellis (34) defends during the second half at Ferrell Center. Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
WACO, Texas — Kansas scraped together the kind of road win the No. 2 Jayhawks have been using to sustain their reign as Big 12 champions for more than a decade as they defeated No. 19 Baylor 66-60 on Tuesday at the Ferrell Center.
Kansas’ Frank Mason led Kansas with 19 points and Perry Ellis added 15.
The Jayhawks (24-4, 12-3 Big Ten) went almost four minutes without scoring and twice let the shot clock run out late in the second half, but Kansas’ defense kept the Bears from using the opportunity for a would-be run on the other end.
The Jayhawks’ Landen Lucas got a rebound and put back a layup that gave Kansas the lead for good at 57-55 with 3:03 left.
The Jayhawks’ Devonte’ Graham followed with an alley-oop to Wayne Selden for a five-point lead with 28 seconds left that all but sealed it.
Al Freeman scored 17 points and Taurean Prince pitched in 12 for Baylor (20-8, 9-6).
No. 6 Michigan State 81, Ohio State 62
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bryn Forbes put on a shooting display and scored 27 points to propel the Spartans past the Buckeyes at Value City Arena.
Forbes nailed 7 of 9 shots from 3-point range and 9 of 14 from the field. Michigan State (23-5, 10-5 Big Ten) hit 63.6 percent from beyond the arc and 54.4 percent from the floor.
The Spartans’ Denzel Valentine, a Big Ten and national player of the year candidate, had 17 points and eight assists. Matt Costello finished with 16 points, making 8 of 11 shots from the floor to help Michigan State win for the seventh time in its last eight games.
Ohio State (18-11, 10-6), dealt a blow before the game when leading scorer and rebounder Jae’Sean Tate was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that will require surgery, was led by Marc Loving’s 19 points.
No. 16 Kentucky 78, Alabama 53
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jamal Murray celebrated his 19th birthday by scoring 23 points to lead the Wildcats to a dominating victory over the Crimson Tide before 24,262 at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky (21-7, 11-4 SEC) remained in sole possession of first place in the conference while Alabama (16-11, 7-8) missed a huge opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume.
Tyler Ulis recorded 19 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while Alex Poythress scored 14 points and Isaiah Briscoe had 10 for the Wildcats. Marcus Lee topped Kentucky with 12 rebounds.
Retin Obasohan scored 29 points and was 9 for 13 from the field and 10 for 12 from the free-throw line for the Crimson Tide, who made only 35.4 percent of their field goals
