The Aggies drew to within a point twice in the second half, but the Jayhawks went on a 7-0 run in the final four minutes and held on for the victory. Utah State missed two three-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
“Needless to say, we feel very, very fortunate,” KU head coach Roy Williams said. “We just didn’t get Nick Collison enough shots. I feel very lucky.”
Nick Collison became the all-time leading scorer in the Big 12 with 18 points, reaching 2,003 points for his career. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
Desmond Penigar almost single-handedly won the game for Utah State (25-8) with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Keith Langford led Kansas (26-7) with 22 points and added three rebounds. Kirk Hinrich had eight points, Jeff Graves had seven points and four rebounds, and Bryant Nash added six points. Aaron Miles added three points.
Spencer Nelson added 10 points and eight boards for the Aggies, and Cardell Butler scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds. Ronnie Ross and Mark Brown had five points each.
KU shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51) from the field, 33.3 percent (2-of-6) from three-point range and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from the foul line. Utah State shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor, 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the three-point arc and 90 percent (9-of-10) from the charity stripe. The Aggies outrebounded the Jayhawks, 32-27.
HALFTIME REPORT
The Jayhawks led by as many as 13 points, 32-19, but the Aggies finished the half on an 11-2 run and trail by just four points at halftime.
Keith Langford leads KU with 10 points, and Nick Collison has eight points and five rebounds.
Kirk Hinrich has six points on two three-pointers, Jeff Graves has five points, two rebounds and two fouls, Bryant Nash has four points, and Aaron Miles has a free throw and two fouls.
Desmond Penigar has 10 points and four boards for Utah State. Cardell Butler has seven points, Spencer Nelson has six points, Ronnie Ross has a three-pointer and Mike Puzey and Chad Evans each have hit a basket.
The Jayhawks are 14-of-27 from the field with two turnovers, and the Aggies are 12-of-32 from the floor and have turned the ball over six times. Utah State has outrebounded KU, 19-17.
