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KU vs. Syracuse

FINAL: Syracuse takes down KU, 89-81, in OT

Flynn hits two free throws, and Collins finally gets a fadeaway three to go down with 18 seconds left.

Flynn misses a pair of free throws, but Taylor gets up in the air without knowing what he’s doing with it, throwing it straight to an SU defender to kill any hope of a comeback.

Devendorf gets two more freebies, and Collins misses a three at the buzzer. KU is handed its first loss of the year.

SU 85/KU 78 — 31.8 seconds left in overtime

Rautins hits an open three from the wing, and KU’s defense has fallen apart late.

Reed’s three rims out on the other end, and Aldrich and Marcus Morris fight over the offensive rebound before bouncing it out of bounds.

Devendorf hits a layup in the lane, and this one’s as good as over.

Airball Teahan and rebound SU. Harris makes a free throws, and the Orange is up nine.

Aldrich gets a stickback on a miss from Reed, but KU needs a miracle down seven with 31.8 seconds left.

SU 79/KU 76 — 1:43 left in overtime

Aldrich rattles in the second free throw, and KU is up 76-75.

Rautins misses an open three, but Harris gets the weak-side rebound and puts it in for two.

Marcus Morris throws the ball away on the ensuing possession, and Onuaku hits a hook in the lane to push the lead to three.

Collins airballs a stepback jumper, and KU needs a defensive stop in the worst way. Timeout SU.

KU 72/SU 72 — End of regulation

Collins almost gets tied up off an inbounds pass, but he quickly calls timeout to keep possession. Syracuse has the possession arrow.

Aldrich is fouled with 19.2 seconds left. Swishes the first one, leaves the second one short.

Flynn hits a tough three with 6 seconds left to tie it, and Collins’ wild 18-footer from the buzzer bounces off the top of the backboard. We’re headed to overtime.

KU 71/SU 69 — 30.7 seconds left in game

Two big blocks inside from Syracuse, and Flynn draws contact from Reed, getting a foul and tying the game with two free throws.

Marcus Morris feeds Aldich inside for a short jumper to put KU up 71-69 with 50 seconds left.

Aldrich comes through with a steal, but Collins is rejected by Harris on a layup attempt.

KU 69/SU 67 — 1:36 left in game

Collins misses the front end. Will missing free throws against Syracuse cost Kansas again?

Reed forces a jump-ball, and the arrow gives it back to KU. Reed follows with a couple quick dribbles into the lane, dishing off to Aldrich for a stuff.

Devendorf takes it to the basket on the other end, making both free throws and drawing the fourth foul on Aldrich.

After a wild shot from Collins, Taylor fouls Flynn on a drive (Taylor’s fourth foul), and the two freebies cut KU’s lead to 69-67 with 1:52 left.

KU 67/SU 63 — 3:18 left in game

Devendorf misses a pair of crucial free throws for Syracuse, and the Jayhawks’ lead stays at four.

Markieff and Marcus Morris both force up a pair of bad misses, but Marcus comes back with a big play on defense, rejecting a Flynn shot in the lane.

Taylor raced to the other end, putting in a layup with a whistle. He missed the free throw, though, unable to complete the three-point play.

Devendorf forces up a three after an SU timeout, and it falls in to make it a one-possession game.

Markieff Morris misses the front end of a one-and-one, but Marcus comes up with a steal on the other end. Taylor hits another layup in transition to push KU’s lead to five.

Marcus comes up big again inside, grabbing a Collins miss and putting it off the glass for two.

Flynn has an answer, though, dribbling all the way under the basket and swishing a three from the corner to make it 67-63.

KU 61/SU 57 — 7:11 left in game

After a Collins free throw, Onuaku battles for a two inside.

Harris makes one of two free throws after getting hacked inside, and the score is tied at 54 with 10:08 left.

A key switch for Syracuse has been the adjustment back to a man defense. The Orange have forced numerous turnovers, and the Jayhawks look timid on offense.

After a missed SU three, Collins confidently hits a pull-up jumper, pounding his fist into his hand and bringing the crowd to its feet.

Andy Rautins silences the fans, hitting a three from the corner to puts SU up one at 57-56.

Aldrich follows with a tough, guarded jumper in the lane, and Reed hits a three from the corner to push KU’s lead to four.

The pro-KU crowd stands once again, and right now is the loudest it’s been in the Sprint Center in the last two days.

KU 53/SU 51 — 11:16 left in game

Reed drains a three from the corner, and quickly KU has rebuilt a 51-38 lead.

Onuaku gets an easy two inside, and Aldrich draws some ‘oohs’ on the other end, using an impressive up-and-under move to school his defender. Unfortunately for KU, Aldrich misses the bunny, then he fouls a Syracuse player on the other end.

Marcus Morris delivers a nice feed to brother Markieff for a two, but things get ugly for KU after that. The Orange get a dunk off KU’s made basket, and Collins twice dribbles the ball right into SU’s defense for turnovers. The Orange get two easy buckets in the lane from Flynn, who screams out his excitement.

KU takes another timeout, but Flynn gets another steal after the break and Harris gets two in transition. KU’s now only up 53-49, and Flynn is pumped up, screaming towards every KU player he can find.

Harris hits another baseline jumper, and KU’s lead is down to two.

KU 47/SU 38 — 15:53 left in game

Morningstar hits a wide-open three from the right side. It’s the kind of shot he has to hit when he’s in to keep defenses honest.

Syracuse is whistled for offensive goaltending on the other end, and a good pass inside from Morningstar will get Marcus Morris two shots, as he’s fouled on a layup attempt.

KU 44/SU 38 — 16:51 left in game

Paul Harris gets the first bucket of the second half, but Taylor responded by floating in a shot off the glass.

A great pass inside by Flynn gets Onuaku an easy two inside.

Taylor follows with his charge for the game before walking over to have a meeting with Self.

Collins is phantom-fouled on a drive in the lane, and he makes one of two free throws to push KU’s lead to 44-34.

Syracuse is starting to have success on the offensive boards, and Harris gets fouled on a stickback before hitting two free throws.

Marcus Morris isn’t ready for a pass from Collins inside, and Flynn makes it hurt worse, turning the mistake into a dunk on the other end. Self calls a quick timeout with KU’s lead down to 44-38.

Kansas scoring

Sherron Collins 14, Tyshawn Taylor 11, Marcus Morris 6, Cole Aldrich 4, Brady Morningstar 3, Markieff Morris 3.

Some Notes

• KU was 16-for-35 from the floor (46 percent). SU was 9-for-26 (35 percent).

• KU is out-rebounding SU, 20-15.

• Tyrel Reed has four assists in 10 minutes.

• KU made four of 11 three-point attempts (36 percent).

The Jayhawks will need to continue to pass the ball well to get open shots against the 2-3 zone. KU attacked it pretty well in the first half, but it also helped that Collins hit a couple threes over the top of the set. If KU can continue to execute offensively, it should be able to hold on to the 11-point advantage.

KU 41/SU 30 — Halftime

Reed gets a cheap foul while guarding Devendorf, and that’s his third whistle. Morningstar comes in to replace him.

KU picks up another touch foul, and Self is tearing into an official on the sideline. That’s 11 fouls on KU, compared to five for Syracuse.

Marcus Morris finds an open spot in the 2-3 zone, putting in an 11-foot jumper on the baseline.

After a Syracuse basket inside, Collins hits another three from the top. He’s been playing well with two fouls.

Morningstar gets fouled on a three from the corner, and his three free throws push the lead back up to 39-30.

Travis Releford and Tyrone Appleton check in for the last minute, most likely for defensive purposes.

Morningstar gets a steal, and on the offensive end, Appleton delivers a nice no-look pass to Marcus Morris for an easy two. KU’s defense holds, and the Jayhawks take a double-digit lead into the break.

KU 31/SU 25 — 3:48 left in 1st half

Collins tries to make a tough pass in transition, and Tyrel Reed is called for a charge. After getting eye contact with Collins, KU coach Bill Self told him, ‘Conner was wide open.’ And the coach was right. An easy feed out to the corner would have gotten the Jayhawks a wide-open three from one of their best perimeter shooters. Sometimes, the simple play is the best play.

Marcus Morris hits a 13-footer in the lane, and KU’s lead is up to 26-16.

It’s a track meet now, with both teams racing from end to end. The biggest force inside is Aldrich, though, who changes one Syracuse shot on a break, then blocks another try on the next Orange possession.

Devendorf hits another three from the side, and Self calls timeout with the Jayhawks’ lead down to 26-21.

A sign shown on the video board during the break: “Mizzou fans love the Orange.” Guess the MU fans didn’t have anything better to do on a Tuesday night.

Flynn gets a steal and dunk, and the Orange is on a 7-0 run.

Collins hits a three from the top over the zone, and KU needs more of those shots to go down.

Collins once again beats the zone on a cut to the lane, receiving a pass from Aldrich before getting a goaltending call on Syracuse.

KU 24/SU 15 — 7:39 left in 1st half

Taylor elevates in the lane on the secondary break for a two. Seconds later, Onuaku gets his second foul on a bad over-the-back call.

I keep hearing how Brady Morningstar is unathletic, and yet, he keeps making athletic plays. He elevates way up to reject a Devendorf layup, and Taylor took advantage on the other end, pulling up for a 15-footer to give KU a 15-10 lead.

Taylor his a three from the left wing, and seconds later, he steals the ball then does a spin move in transition for a layup. The freshman is taking this game over with Collins on the bench, scoring nine straight points for the Jayhawks.

Devendorf has started to heat up, hitting a mid-range jumper and also a three from the top of the circle.

Aldrich gets a screen inside and takes advantage, making a 7-footer on the baseline.

Conner Teahan also has checked in for KU.

KU 11/SU 8 — 11:59 left in 1st half

Taylor slaps the ball away from a Syracuse player, then gets a two to go down on the other end. Afterwards, he looked at the official, asking for a foul he didn’t get.

Syracuse has gone into its patented 2-3 zone, and KU attacks it well on one possession, getting it to Cole Aldrich inside, who passed it to a cutting Collins for a layup.

Collins gets a cheap foul at the 13:24 mark, and he has to sit with two personals.

Markieff Morris hits a three from the top of the key, shooting it even though the Jayhawk fans gasped when he started to hoist the shot. He has that kind of range, and KU fans should get more used to seeing him put up that shot as the year goes on.

SU 5/KU 4 — 15:40 left in 1st half

Good start for KU’s defense, as it forces a shot-clock violation on Syracuse’s first possession. Tyshawn Taylor is indeed guarding Jonny Flynn.

Kristof Ongenaet hits the first bucket for Syracuse — a reverse lay-in — before Sherron Collins answers with a pull-up 18-footer.

KU’s struggling with chip shots, as Brady Morningstar missed an open layup, and a few seconds later, Taylor bricked a gimmie in transition.

Collins gets a stickback off an offensive board, giving him the Jayhawks’ first four points.

Markieff Morris misses another layup inside, and KU can’t seem to get an easy shot to go down.

9:23 p.m.

The Sprint Center turned off the lights for the player introductions. Interesting choice. They did show off their NBA-like atmosphere with plenty of crazy spotlights shining on the players.

By the way, KU’s starters are the same as Monday: Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich, Brady Morningstar, Tyshawn Taylor and Marcus Morris.

9:20 p.m.

The Sprint Center is much more full tonight. Looks like the only empty seats are up in the rafters. Guess word spreads quickly that the Jayhawks are playing pretty well right now.

8:55 p.m.

Florida hangs on to take an 86-84 victory over Washington in the first game. The Huskies actually executed well on the final possession to give themselves a chance down by three. After getting fouled with 2.5 seconds left, UW’s Isaiah Thomas made the first free throw, then purposely missed the second. Washington’s Jon Brockman grabbed the rebound, but his fadeaway at the buzzer from 16 feet came up short.

The Huskies looked much better on offense tonight, which shows just how well KU played defensively Monday.

8:30 p.m.

Tonight’s game will most likely be decided on the defensive end for the Jayhawks.

The Orange comes in averaging 84 points per game. It has also made 51 percent of its shots in four games.

KU’s defense, meanwhile, has been its strength in the early season. The Jayhawks have held opponents to a 27.5-percent shooting percentage (an amazing number if you think about it) and only 51.7 points per game.

Syracuse also has an advantage from the outside, making 31.8 percent of its threes (KU has made 25 percent of its three-point shots this year).

The aforementioned Flynn, Devendorf and Onuaku haven’t seen a defense like KU’s this season, but if they can still get their team somewhere into the mid-70s scoring-wise, the Orange have a great chance of winning this game.

8:06 p.m.

Welcome to the Newell Post Live, coming to you live from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., where Kansas is getting set to take on Syracuse in the championship game of the CBE Classic.

Some quick notes from Syracuse, which comes into the game at 4-0 with victories over Le Moyne, Richmond, Oakland and No. 18 Florida.

• The Orange is led by 6-foot point guard Jonny Flynn, who has led his team in scoring in all four games. From seeing him Monday, he was quick and shifty and was able to get to the basket off the dribble often against Florida. I would guess that defensive assignment would go to Tyshawn Taylor, so expect a lot of minutes from him tonight.

• Eric Devendorf, a McDonald’s All-American in 2005, has averaged 13.8 points per game. He averaged 17 points per game last year before going down in the 10th game of the season with an ACL tear. Somewhat scary for KU is that Devendorf shot a horrible percentage against Florida on Monday, making just three of 12 shots and only one of his six three-point attempts.

• Arinze Onuaku, a 6-foot-9, 275-pound center, has made 24 of his 32 shots this year. That’s good for 75 percent. He went 5-for-8 Monday, so it will be interesting to see how he does inside against Cole Aldrich.