LAWRENCE, Kan., 1 December 2004 — Wayne Simien scored 14 points with 10 rebounds to lead No. 2 Kansas over Nevada, 85-52, at Allen Fieldhouse.
Russell Robinson and J.R. Giddens added 13 points apiece for the Jayhawks (3-0), who shot 47 percent from the field.
Nick Fazekas scored 17 points to lead the Wolf Pack (3-1), who were searching for their first 4-0 start since the 2000-01 season. Ramon Sessions chipped in 12 points in the loss.
The Jayhawks were coming off a 91-51 pounding of Saint Joseph’s last Tuesday, a dominating performance that followed their unspectacular seven-point win over Vermont to open the season. They came out equally strong in this one, hitting nine of their first 14 shots on a game-opening 21-4 run that set the tone. Giddens made a pair of three-pointers during the surge, and Robinson capped it with consecutive buckets inside the 13:00 mark.
The lead continued to grow throughout the half until Kansas carried a 43-21 lead into the locker room. Giddens led all players with 11 points at the break for the Jayhawks, who shot 52 percent in the half. Nevada shot just 29 percent before halftime, and was never closer than 21 points in the second half. The Kansas lead reached as high as 39. The Jayhawks avenged a 75-61 loss to Nevada last season.
In Dallas, John Lucas poured in a game-high 24 points to lead No. 6 Oklahoma State over SMU, 76-57, at Moody Coliseum. Joey Graham added 14 points for the Cowboys (4-0), who improved to 18-6 all-time versus SMU. Ivan McFarlin collected 13 points and Daniel Bobik finished with 11 to round out the offense. Patrick Simpson led the Mustangs (2-1) with 20 points while Justin Isham was the only other SMU player in double figures with 10.
At Raleigh, N.C., Julius Hodge scored 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead 16th-ranked North Carolina State to a 60-53 victory over Purdue in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge at the RBC Center.
Ilian Evtimov chipped in 12 points and Cameron Bennerman added 11 for the Wolfpack (5-0). Carl Landry paced the Boilermakers with 18 points to go along with seven boards. Brandon McKnight had 14 points and Matt Kiefer contributed 11 points and nine rebounds for Purdue (1-3).
At Austin, Texas, Daniel Gibson scored 17 points and Kenny Taylor netted all of his 14 points in the first half as No. 18 Texas built a big lead early and cruised to an 86-50 victory over Coppin State at the Erwin Center.
Jason Klotz contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns (4-1), who have won two straight since losing their only game of the season to Iowa at the Maui Invitational. Kenton Paulino added 13 points in the win.
Darryl Proctor scored 11 points to lead Coppin State (0-3), which continued its treacherous four-game stretch to open the 2004-05 season. Nicholas King had 10 points in the loss.
