Nick Collison left midway through the second half after picking up his fourth foul but KU took the lead for good with a 14-2 run and extended their lead with a 15-0 run late in the half. The Jayhawks (17-5 overall, 7-1 Big 12) have won 20 straight games in Manhattan and 25 straight overall.
Kirk Hinrich took over after Collison went to the bench, scoring 28 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished five assists.
“Kirk Hinrich was absolutely sensational,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “It’s amazing that one guy can give so much strength to everyone else.”
Keith Langford and Aaron Miles both had big second halves. Langford finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Miles had 13 points, six assists and three rebounds. Jeff Graves finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, and was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Tim Ellis led the Wildcats (11-10, 2-6) with 14 points, Marques Hayden had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Gilson DeJesus had 11 points. Matt Siebrandt added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Jayhawks shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field, 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from behind the three-point line and 70 percent (14-of-20) from the free-throw line.
Kansas State shot 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the floor, 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three-point range, and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the free-throw line. The Wildcats made just 1-of-9 three-pointers after halftime.
HALFTIME REPORT
A jumper by Marques Hayden just before the buzzer has given the Wildcats a one-point halftime lead over the Jayhawks. There were six lead changes and four ties in the first half.
Kansas State led 8-7 three minutes into the game, but KU took the lead on a basket by Jeff Graves and didn’t trail again until the final minute of the first half.
Kirk Hinrich leads KU with 14 points, and Jeff Graves has eight points, is 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, and has four rebounds. Keith Langford has seven points and three rebounds, and Nick Collison has six points and five rebounds.
K-State has shot just 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from the field, but is 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from behind the three-point line. Kansas has hit 50 percent of its shots (12-of-24), and outrebounded the Wildcats, 18-14. The Wildcats are 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, and the Jayhawks are 8-of-12 from the charity stripe.
