Brandon Young had 16 points, and Cleveland Melvin and Worrel Clahar added 14 apiece for DePaul (10-6, 1-3). Associated Press ADVERTISING MANHATTAN, Kan. — Baylor coach Scott Drew isn’t oblivious to criticism — no matter how spotless the record or
Associated Press
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Baylor coach Scott Drew isn’t oblivious to criticism — no matter how spotless the record or high the ranking.
After some had questioned his team’s toughness, Drew was thrilled with the way the fourth-ranked Bears responded against no. 18 Kansas State on Tuesday night.
Perry Jones scored 17 points and Baylor held the Wildcats to one basket over the final 5 minutes for a 75-73 win.
“That’s the biggest thing, that sometimes people question our team’s toughness,” Drew said. “Tonight, I think we showed, mentally, how tough we’ve been.”
Quincy Acy and Brady Heslip added 13 points apiece for the Bears (16-0, 3-0 Big 12). Jones and Acy combined to go 14 of 18 from the floor. Pierre Jackson chipped in with 10 points for Baylor, which surged ahead with a 20-4 run over a 51/2-minute stretch midway through the second half.
Rodney McGruder scored 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead Kansas State (12-3, 1-2). Jordan Henriquez added 10 points for the Wildcats.
“Their frontline kicked our tails,” Wildcats coach Frank Martin said. “When your frontline has more turnovers than defensive rebounds, it’s hard to believe.”
Kansas State got off to a good start in trying to hand an undefeated team its first loss for the second time in four days.
The Wildcats, who beat No. 9 Missouri 75-59 on Saturday, went on an early 13-2 run to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 15-7 lead. Through the game’s first 9 minutes, Baylor had eight turnovers and the Wildcats none.
But Jones hit two baskets at the rim to kick off a 9-0 Bears run that cut the deficit to 21-20. Quincy Miller and Jackson each had a dunk as part of another 9-0 run to put Baylor up 29-25 with 2:02 remaining in the half.
Jones said he took that stretch as a good sign.
“It showed we’re able to stay together as a team when times are tough,” he said. “Guys don’t get mad at each other and guys still play basketball the way we play, so just staying poised.”
K-State finished the half by scoring eight of the final 10 points, including a runner by McGruder as the clock expired for a 33-31 halftime lead.
The Wildcats came out hot at the start of the second half and needed just over 3 minutes to push their lead to 44-37.
Baylor answered with a 20-4 run over the next 51/2 minutes. At one point, the Bears scored eight points in 84 seconds, forcing two K-State timeouts. A.J. Walton keyed the run with six straight points, and Jackson sank a 3-pointer for a 58-50 Baylor lead with 10:36 remaining.
“The guys wearing our uniforms threw it to the guys wearing their uniforms so they could run down for dunks,” said Martin.
But McGruder kept K-State in it with nine points during an 11-4 run, including a driving layup that pulled the Wildcats to 62-60 with 7:36 remaining.
“We knew coming in how good he was,” Acy said, “but he was spectacular tonight.”
Henriquez hit two free throws to give K-State a 71-69 lead with 4:13 to play, but Acy scored five straight points to put Baylor up 74-71 with 2:22 remaining.
McGruder converted a baseline drive 17 seconds later, cutting Baylor’s lead to 74-73.
Heslip missed from 3-point range with 25 seconds remaining, but Jones got the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made one free throw with 20.9 seconds to go.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 95
IOWA 61
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Draymond Green had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help Michigan State beat Iowa for its 15th straight win.
The victory gives the Spartans (15-2, 4-0 Big Ten) their longest win streak since the 1998-99 season, when they won 22 in a row before losing to Duke in the national championship game.
The Hawkeyes (10-8, 2-3) have been routed in two straight games — they also lost to Ohio State, by 29 points — after beating Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road.
Reserve Aaron White scored 15 points and Devyn Marble had 12 for Iowa.
Michigan State went on a 16-0 run late in the first half and a 14-0 spurt in the second.
PROVIDENCE 90
NO. 14 LOUISVILLE 59
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Bryce Cotton and Kadeem Batts each scored 27 points and Providence gave Louisville coach Rick Pitino a tough loss on a day the school honored his 1987 squad.
Vincent Council added 15 points and LaDontae Henton 14 for the Friars (12-6, 1-4 Big East), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Chris Smith led the Cardinals with 16 points. Louisville (13-4, 1-3) has lost four of its last five, including a 67-65 setback in double-overtime at home against Notre Dame on Saturday.
At halftime, Providence held a ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of its Pitino-coached team that made a run to the Final Four.
NO. 19 FLORIDA 70
GEORGIA 48
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Bradley Beal broke out of his shooting slump with 17 points to lead Florida over Georgia for its 15th straight home win.
Beal was 4 of 6 from 3-poing range, making more shots from behind the arc than he did in the last four games combined, and added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Kenny Boynton also scored 17 points for the Gators (13-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference).
Georgia (9-7, 0-2) lost to Florida for the 15th time in the last 17 meetings. The Bulldogs have dropped 10 in a row in Gainesville. Nemanja Djurisic led Georgia with 14 points. Gerald Robinson Jr. added eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
NO. 24 SETON HALL 94
DEPAUL 73
NEWARK, N.J. — Fuquan Edwin scored 24 of his career-high 28 points in the first half and No. 24 Seton Hall rolled over DePaul in its first game as a ranked team since 2001.
Jordan Theodore matched his career bests with 26 points and 11 assists as the Pirates (15-2, 4-1 Big East) won their fourth straight game — all in league play.
Herb Pope had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Aaron Cosby added a career-high 15 points for Seton Hall, which shot 58.7 percent from the field.
Brandon Young had 16 points, and Cleveland Melvin and Worrel Clahar added 14 apiece for DePaul (10-6, 1-3).
