Update #13: FINAL, KU wins 68-64
Rush forced Taylor into another bad three look, but Hubalek scurried for the offensive board, resetting the shot clock and bringing the game unde rthe one-minute mark.
Rush forced a steal, though, and threw down a two-handed slam in transition, continuing his stellar finish to the game. ISU’s Corey McIntosh was then called for a travel, giving KU the ball back with :34.5 left.
Dodie Dunson was then called for a foul away from the ball which put put Mario Chalmers on the line for two. In ice-cold fashion, Chalmers hit the first, forcing ISU into a timeout. Out of the quick break, he hit the second, putting KU up 67-63 with :21.9 left.
Taylor drove to the hoop and earned a trip to the line with just under 10 seconds to go. Taylor hit one of two, and ISU couldn’t foul Julian Wright until there were :5.9 seconds left.
Wright, who had struggled all afternoon, made one of two to again make it a four-point game. Taylor missed a three with time expiring, giving KU the 68-64 win.
KU had four players in double figures, led by Sasha Kaun with 13. Brandon Rush had 12, Mario Chalmers 11 and Sherron Collins 10. ISU’s Mike Taylor led all scorers with 21, but was shut down late with Brandon Rush guarding him.
KU, now 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12, return home to face Missouri Monday night at 8 p.m.
Update #12: 1:28, overtime, game tied 63-63
Just like with the game’s opening tip, Russell Robinson took control of it. Julian Wright, though, took a questionable shot which resulted in ISU pulling down the board and drawing a foul. Wesley Johnson, though, missed the free throw, giving KU the ball again with the game still tied.
Johnson, though, swatted Brandon Rush, and Chalmers was called on the other end for his fourth foul of the game. Mike Taylor hit one of two free throws, and Julian Wright responded with a baseline jumper on the other end to put KU up 60-59.
Hubalek again hit a big bucket in the lane to put ISU up, and again Sasha Kaun tried to respond. This time he couldn’t hit a hoop, but got himself to the free throw line.
Kaun hit his first free throw, after three straight misses, but missed the second, leaving the game tied, 61-61, and giving the ball to ISU on a loose ball which went out of bounds.
Wesley Johnson missed a baseline jumper for seemingly the first time in the game, but KU gave it back on a tie-up under the ISU hoop. Johnson then took an entry pass and laid it in off the glass to put ISU back up two.
Brandon Rush then took a lob inside from Chalmers, tying it up in highlight-reel fashion. That tied it, 63-63, with 1:28 to go.
Update #11: END OF REGULATION, game tied 58-58
Right out of the break, Dodie Dunson stroked his third three of the game to back KU into a corner and put ISU up 58-55 with 1:08 left to play.
Brandon Rush hit his second three of the game, though, after KU as a team had struggled all day from long range, to tie it with exactly a minute left.
KU then forced ISU into another empty-handed possession, and got the ball back, calling a timeout with :19.6 seconds to go and the shot clock turned off.
Chalmers, though, missed a three as time expired, sending the game into a five-minute overtime period.
Update #10: 1:34 , second half, game tied 55-55
Julian Wright’s inside jumper out of the timeout was tipped away, giving the ball to ISU, but Jessen Gray’s three missed off the back iron.
Russell Robinson took KU’s first open look on the other end from three, but his missed as well.
Taylor continued to struggle for ISU, clanking a jumper in the lane to give KU another shot at taking the led back. This time, not only did a shot in the lane miss, but Sasha Kaun’s fourth foul under the basket was KU’s seventh team foul, putting ISU’s Jessen Gray at the line for a one-and-one.
Gray missed the first one, and Clark was called for a loose ball foul for ISU, sending Julian Wright to the line in the double bonus. Wright made one ot two to tie that game, 53-53, with 2:17 to play.
Hubalek came back down and curled around Kaun to hit another jumper in the lane. But Kaun came back on the other end for his third and-one of the game off of a Brandon Rush miss. Kaun missed his third free throw, though, keeping it tied at 55-55.
Update #9: 3:46, second half, ISU leads 53-52
Mario Chalmers, fresh into the game with three fouls, missed a fading layup, but Taylor pulled up for a rushed three-pointer in transition which clanked, but went off of Julian Wright to stay in ISU’s possession.
Taylor took two more ugly three-point attempts, and neither had much of a shot with Rush now guarding him. They turned into two points in transition for Kaun. Hubalek scored inside for ISU, though, to keep it a three-point game.
Kaun came back strong with another two inside, this time drawing a foul with it. He missed the free throw, though, keeping ISU with a one-point advantage.
Taylor aired another three-point attempt, with Rush obviously distracting him, sending the game into its final television timeout at the 3:46 mark.
Update #8: 6:00, second half, ISU leads 51-48
Iowa State reclaimed the lead after Rush missed a three out of the timeout when Jessen Gray came back down and hit one for the Cyclones. Sasha Kaun tied it back up, though, with a twisting inside layup, earning a free throw on top of it. He missed from the line, leaving the game tied, 46-46.
Gray then hit another baseline basket with the shot clock expiring, but it sent Self flying down the sideline to find the ref to contest whether it was released before the 24-second clock expired. The hoop was waved off, keeping the game tied.
KU blew a golden scoring opportunity when Russell Robinson found Darnell Jackson wide open under the basket, but instead of throwing down the ball, he tried to bank it home and missed, earning him a seat on the bench in place of Darrell Arhur.
It resulted in no points for ISU, and KU got itself into the bonus when Sherron Collins drew a Cyclone foul. He missed the front end, though, and KU went back on defense with nothing to show for the previous possession.
Mike Taylor responded with another Cyclone three, and Sherron Collins trying to answer back was wiped clean under the basket by a swarm of ISU bigs.
ISU misfired on offense, and Collins came back in transition for his fifth field goal of the game to again make it a one-point contest with KU trailing, 49-48.
After KU again failed to score, Mike Taylor hopped his way down the floor for another hoop, again awakening Hilton Coliseum. Kaun missed a baby hook and Taylor took down the rebound in traffic. ISU’s Rashon Clark missed a layup, and as soon as KU got the ball past half court, Self whistled for a timeout.
Update #7: 11:32, second half, KU leads 44-43
Darrell Arthur blocked a shot inside out of the timeout, but missed a mid-range baseline jumper on the other end which would have expanded KU’s lead to eight.
Mike Taylor responded by hitting a three, putting himself in double figures. Taylor then recorded a steal past halfcourt, and got into the lane to draw a timeout on the fastbreak.
Taylor hit one of two free throws, but Julian Wright lost the handle on the defensive rebound out of bounds, giving the ball back to ISU. Taylor quickly drew Russell Robinson’s first foul of the game, and KU’s fifth of the half. ISU, though, came up empty-handed.
Darrell Arthur on the other end went hard to the hoop against Cory Johnson, putting home a layup nad drawing a foul. His free throw put KU back up by five, at 42-37.
Wesley Johnson banked home a straightaway three, and Julian Wright was called for a travel to again take away KU’s momentum. Johnson missed a baseline jumper, and the board was taken down by Rush. After one KU miss, Collins again muscled into low-post position and hit another improbably layup, giving him eight points on the day.
Mike Taylor countered it with a three, but was quickly called for a foul against Chalmers, leaving KU up 44-43 heading into a timeout at 11:32.
Update #6: 15:16, second half, KU leads 39-33
Hubalek missed a baseline jumper right out of halftime, and Mario Chalmers was right under the hoop to rip down the board. He went coast-to-coast in fiery fashion and drew a foul to get to the line.
Chalmers hit both attempts, and got to within one, but Chalmers was then called for his second foul after the ball crossed the timeline.
After ISU was called for a loose ball foul, Chalmers’ first three-point attempt of the day caught nothing but air, keeping the Cyclones up by one. Kaun then was whistled for his third foul of the game, but Hubalek made just one of two free throws, putting ISU up 31-29.
Russell Robinson made his offensive presense felt for the first time on KU’s next trip up floor by getting into the lane and hitting an and-one layup. The free throw put KU up 32-31 – its first lead of the second half.
Mike Taylor had a wild layup rejected on the other end by the KU bigs, and Chalmers then took the ball the length of the floor to give KU some breathing room at 34-31. Hubalek and Kaun exchanged baskets, keeping KU up by three.
KU then turned up the intensity on the offensive glass, with Brandon Rush taking a third-chance jumper. It missed, but he was fouled on the way up. He hit the first free throw, giving KU a 37-33 edge. Wright then forced a turnover on the other end, and passed up a lob to Russell Robinson to give Chalmers a shot at a three. When it missed, he tipped in the garbage, but Chalmers picked up his third foul at the 15:16 mark, with the game heading for a full timeout.
Update #5: HALFTIME, ISU leads 30-27
Rush missed a three out of the timeout and Johnson pulled down the rebound, but possession went almost immediately back to KU on a charge call against Dodie Dunson.
KU was able to pry the ball back with solid post defense, but Darnell Jackson missed a close-range look after a nifty dish from Julian Wright, ahdning the ball back again. This time, Hubalek got to the line for the Cyclones. Hubalek missed both and Wright took down the rebound with roughly 80 seconds left until halftime.
Collins again tried to go to the hoop and was swatted emphatically by Hubalek. Taylor then pulled a playground move, twisting to the basket for an improbably deuce. Another Kansas turnover resulted in a three-pointer for Dunson and an explosion in Hilton Coliseum with ISU leading 30-25 and :48.2 to go until the half.
Bill Self called a timeout,a nd out of it, Mario Chalmers drove around the defense and down the left alley of the lane for a layup, leading to an ISU timeout.
ISU’s possession resulted in nothing, as the Cyclones lead 30-27 heading into the locker room. Sherron Collins leads KU with six points, while Mario Chalmers has five. Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur each have four. Wesley Johnson leads all scorers with nine, while Dodie Dunson has chipped in eight. KU had 11 turnovers to just four assists.
Update #4: 3:21, first half, game tied 25-25
Cory Johnson tied the game up out of the timeout with an awkward, fading baby hook in the lane, and then the Cyclones forced a turnover on the defensive end, but the possession resulted in a turnover with the game tied, 20-20.
Brandon Rush misfied for the third time on the ensuing trip, and Wesley Johnson came back by hitting another baseline jumper, putting ISU up 22-20 and forcing Bill Self to call a timeout with 5:53 to go in the half.
Rush finally hit at the 4:41 mark for KU from three-point range, giving KU back the lead at 23-22 and somewhat silencing the resurgent crowd. Though the three was quickly negated with one from Mike Taylor on the other end and then a KU turnover.
ISU tried a lob from Taylor to Johnson, and the result was Sherron Collins going back the other way for his third field goal of the game on a layup on the right side of the lane, putting the game at a 25-25 deadlock with 3:21 to go until halftime.
Update #3: 7:20, first half, KU leads 20-18
On ISU’s first possession after the break, Wesley Johnson crossed up Darrell Arthur on the wing and hit a three to pull the ‘Clones within two, but Arthur came right back with two inside to put KU’s lead at 16-12.
Jiri Hubalek got himself to the free throw line and hit both shots to again get ISU within two at 16-14, and awakening the Hilton crowd. Darnell Jackson, though answered with a second-chance tip-in.
Hubalek cut the lead to two for the third time in the last several trips, but again KU was able to take back some momentum by drawing a foul on freshman forward Cory Johnson inside. Arthur then hit a spinning two from close range on the left baseline to again put KU up four.
Wesley Johnson continued to befuddle KU’s defense by hitting a fading baseline jumper, and a KU turnover put the game into a full timeout with possession going to the ‘Clones, trailing by just two.
Update #2: 11:36, first half, KU leads 14-9
Right out of the timeout, Kaun fouled ISU’s Dodie Dunson while he was stroking a three. Dunson hit two of three, with Kaun pulling down the board on the missed third attempt.
Sherron Collins, into the game along with fellow freshman Darrell Arthur, took care of an expiring shot clock by pulling back and hitting a long two atop the key. Kaun, though, was called for his second foul on the next defensive trip, putting him ont he bench in favor of Darnell Jackson.
Arthur blocked a shot after the quick stop in play, and after two Darnell Jackson offensive boards, Collins drove to the lane and put KU up 14-7 with a scooped layin.
Dodson answered back for ISU with a three off of a long offensive board, and Rush then missed one to give the ball back to the Cyclones, but not before another timeout at the 11:36 mark.
Update #1: 14:45, first half, KU leads 10-4
KU won the opening tip, and after letting the offense set, Russell Robinson attempted a lob to Brandon Rush. Rush was fouled on the way up by ISU junior big man Jiri Hubalek and hit the back end of two free throws.
On ISU’s first possession, Julian Wright forced Wesley Johnson into a turnover in the corner, and on the other end, Wright fed Sasha Kaun inside for an easy deuce, putting KU up 3-0. Iowa State’s Mike Taylor slashed to the basket and dropped in two inside for the Cyclones’ first points, and Russell Robinson came storming right back on the other end, earning a trip of his own to the line.
Robinson hit both free throws, giving KU back its three-point edge. The Jayhawks defensively early on applied some full-court pressure to try and keep ISU’s offense from finding quick flow. Taylor got inside again, and this time drew a foul on Russell Robinson, which came right after Rush picked up his first foul of the game. Taylor missed both free throws, but KU couldn’t control the board, and after Kaun partially blocked a Wesley Johnson shot, ISU got the ball back. KU finally got the ball back after Rush ripped down a board on a Taylor missed three. The result was a turnover when Wright tried another entry pass to Kaun from the high post.
KU opened up its lead some when Mario Chalmers drove the left side of the lane on KU’s next possession, hitting an awkward leaner and drawing a foul in the process. Chalmers hit his free throw to put KU up 8-2 nearly three minutes in.
Kaun, though, turned the ball over with travels on back-to-back trips up the floor after a couple of nice defensive stands.
Wesley Johnson pulled ISU within four on an impressive putback from Taylor’s second missed three of the game. KU came right back with Wright scoring inside on a feed from Robinson, going up 10-4.
A KU turnover send the game into its first full timeout at the 14:45 mark.
Pregame
AMES, Iowa – The Jayhawks’ 87-57 thrashing of No. 9 Oklahoma State in their conference opener Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse was KU’s best possible scenario to start Big 12 play with.
Along the natural scale of progression, the ideal next step would be winning a conference game on the road, and today the Jayhawks get a chance to do so in snowy, freezing Ames, Iowa. Iowa State enters the game at 11-5 and off to a 2-0 conference start, but no matter their record year-in and year-out, Hilton Coliseum has never been consistently freindly to Kansas. The Jayhawks are 18-16 all-time in the facility, but true to form will enter today’s 1 p.m. contest as favorites.
It’s a completely re-vamped ISU roster compared to the last time the Jayhawks and ‘Clones met – last year’s 88-75 KU win in Lawrence. The Cyclones are led by a pair of newcomers – Mike Taylor and Wesley Johnson – under first-year head coach Greg McDermott. Taylor, originally from Milwaukee, Wisc., transferred in from Chipola Junior College in Florida, and leads ISU in scoring at 16.4 points per game. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 freshman, scores 12.1 points per contest and pulls down 8.9 rebounds a game.
