Cyclones thrash No. 5 Kansas
AMES, Iowa -- Royce White has been so bad from the free-throw line lately that his struggles have literally turned into nightmares.
A few hours after waking up from a dream in which he couldn't hit anything from the line, the sophomore forward sank the two biggest free throws of his career to give Iowa State a landmark win for coach Fred Hoiberg.
White had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cyclones upset fifth-ranked Kansas 72-64 on Saturday, snapping the Jayhawks' winning streak at 10 games.
White, who entered shooting an abysmal 39 percent from the foul line in Big 12 games, made a pair that rattled in to put Iowa State up 64-59 with 1:47 left.
Kansas then threw the ball away and Chris Babb hit a backbreaking 3-pointer to give the Cyclones an eight-point lead with 55.6 seconds left.
"I woke up this morning dreaming about missing free throws. So I was in the gym this morning and shot free throws trying to get it right," White said. "Teammates keep encouraging me and telling me, 'You can make free throws.' "
Tyshawn Taylor led five scorers in double figures with 16 points and 10 assists for Kansas (17-4, 7-1 Big 12), which hadn't lost since Dec. 19 against Davidson.
Big 12 player of the year favorite Thomas Robinson had 13 points, but he committed five turnovers and the Jayhawks were outrebounded 36-23.
"How many times did they miss a shot and the ball go off of us and us not secure or whatever?" Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Obviously, we didn't do a good last 3 minutes defensively at all."
Elijah Johnson (Cheyenne High), Jeff Withey and Travis Releford each scored 10 points for Kansas.
Melvin Ejim had 15 points and Scott Christopherson supplied 14 for the Cyclones (15-6, 5-3), who had lost 13 straight to Kansas since 2005. Iowa State students celebrated the program's biggest win in years -- and first over Kansas at home since 2004 -- by storming the floor.
"It was a great win for our program. But like I told our guys, you know, you've got to expect to win your home games," Hoiberg said. "I told the guys to enjoy it and get refocused."
Tyrus McGee's three-point play gave Iowa State a 56-53 lead with just over 6 minutes left. Robinson then blew an open dunk and White hit two layups to make it 60-55 Iowa State with 3:42 left.
AROUND THE NATION
KRUGER VICTORIOUS IN RETURN -- At Manhattan, Kan., Steven Pledger scored 30 points and Oklahoma (13-7, 3-5 Big 12) withstood a rally by No. 22 Kansas State (15-5, 4-4) to give coach Lon Kruger a 63-60 victory over his alma mater. The game was his first at Bramlage Coliseum as an opposing coach. Kruger, who spent the last seven seasons at UNLV, starred for K-State, then went on to coach the Wildcats to four NCAA Tournament berths.
JONES, NO. 1 KENTUCKY ROMPS -- At Baton Rouge, La., Terrence Jones had 27 points, including his own 13-0 run, and top-ranked Kentucky (21-1, 7-0 Southeastern) pulled away for a 74-50 victory over Louisiana State (12-9, 2-5).
NO. 3 ORANGE NARROWLY WIN -- At Syracuse, N.Y., Brandon Triche scored 18 points and No. 3 Syracuse (22-1, 9-1 Big East) escaped with a 63-61 win over West Virginia (15-7, 5-4).
JONES, JACKSON LIFT NO. 6 BEARS -- At Waco, Texas, Perry Jones III had 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and Pierre Jackson (Desert Pines) made the go-ahead 3-pointer as sixth-ranked Baylor (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) fought off Texas (13-8, 3-5).
ROBINSON, PITT TOP NO. 9 HOYAS -- At Pittsburgh, Nasir Robinson made all nine of his field-goal attempts and scored 23 points to propel Pittsburgh (13-9, 2-7 Big East) to a 72-60 victory over No. 9 Georgetown (16-4, 6-3).
NO. 11 RACERS STILL PERFECT -- At Murray, Ky., Murray State (21-0, 9-0 Ohio Valley) remained the only unbeaten team in Division I with a 73-58 win over Eastern Illinois (9-11, 2-6).
NATIONAL
TOWSON BREAKS 41-GAME SKID -- At Towson, Md., Towson ended its NCAA-record 41-game losing streak, beating North Carolina Wilmington, 66-61. The Tigers (1-22, 1-10 Colonial) hadn't won since Dec. 29, 2010.
