The Jayhawks (26-2, 11-2 Big 12) hit eight of their first 10
shots and pulled away from the outmanned Cowboys with an 18-2 spree that led to
a 52-28 halftime bulge.
Marshall Moses had 27 points for Oklahoma State (16-11,
4-9), 13 above his season average. He scored 16 in the first half, but the
Cowboys never got closer than 19 after halftime.
Taylor, a 6-foot-3 junior who has struggled at times to
replace Sherron Collins at the point, was suspended indefinitely earlier Monday
for violating unspecified team rules.
Sophomore Elijah Johnson, who started in Taylor’s place, had
15 points and was 4 for 4 from behind the 3-point arc. He also had three
assists while alternating with other guards bringing the ball up the floor as
the Jayhawks shot 54 percent.
Markieff Morris added 15 points and seven rebounds for the
Jayhawks.
No. 17 Syracuse 69No. 15 Villanova 64: In Philadelphia,
Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson — a couple of Philly kids — combined for 38
points and Syracuse, the worst free throw shooting team in the Big East, sealed
a victory over Villanova at the line.
Jardine had 20 points and six assists for the Orange (23-6,
10-6), while Jackson had 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
The win was the sixth this season over a ranked team for
Syracuse, tying it with No. 5 Texas for the most in the nation.
The teams swapped road wins, with Villanova winning 83-72 at
Syracuse on Jan. 22.
Corey Stokes returned from missing three games because of a
turf toe injury to lead the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6) with 24 points, including
matching his season high with five 3-pointers.
Duke back on top of AP poll
Meantime, Duke is back on top of The Associated Press’
college basketball poll for the first time in just over a month. St. John’s is
back in the Top 25 for the first time in over a decade.
The Blue Devils (25-2) jumped from fifth to No. 1 on Monday
after a week that saw the top four teams in the poll all lose. The move to the
top is the biggest since Kansas went from sixth to No. 1 in November 2003, the
last time the top four all lost in the same week.
Duke, which was No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the
first eight weeks of the regular season, received 35 first-place votes from the
65-member national media panel.
Five other teams received first-place votes this week,
another indication of the parity this season.
The only change near the bottom of the rankings was that St.
John’s (17-9), which beat a top 10 team for the fourth time this season with a
win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, moved in at No. 23. The Red Storm were last
ranked in November 2000.
Ohio State stayed No. 2 with 10 first-place votes, while
Kansas dropped from No. 1 to third with five first-place votes.
Pittsburgh, No. 1 on 12 ballots, stayed fourth and Texas,
which got one first-place vote, fell two spots to fifth.
San Diego State, BYU, which had two first-place votes,
Purdue, Notre Dame and Arizona rounded out the top 10.
Ohio State followed Duke to No. 1 holding the top spot for
four weeks before Kansas took over for one week.
Besides St. John’s win over Pittsburgh, Kansas lost to
Kansas State, Ohio State lost to Purdue and Texas lost to Nebraska in the week
it wasn’t safe to be at the top of the rankings.
In November 2003, No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 Duke, No. 3
Michigan State and No. 4 Arizona all lost, setting the stage for Kansas’ big
jump.
St. John’s replaced Utah State, which dropped out despite
winning two games last week.
Steve Lavin left the broadcast booth in April to take over
the St. John’s program and he inherited a team with 10 seniors, all of whom had
never been in the NCAA tournament or the Top 25.
After the Pittsburgh win, Justin Burrell, one of the
seniors, was confident the Red Storm would move into the poll.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “It’s been a long four years
without that number. We deserve to see that number.” Lavin was happy for his
veteran team.
“I think it’s a benchmark of achievement for the senior
class and naturally it will be helpful in recruiting with the national
exposure,” the former UCLA coach said. “It is empirical evidence that their
hard work is paying off.” Lavin said you try not to have “emotional peaks and
valleys and you are always concerned and mindful of complacency. But with this
group, with an outstanding work ethic, focus and resolve to finish their
careers on a high note.” The Red Storm’s strength of schedule is another sign
of what this team has been able to achieve with five wins over ranked teams,
four in the Big East and another over Duke.
“I think it’s an interesting thing that they forged through
such a challenging schedule,” Lavin said. “We played eight consecutive games
against ranked teams, made three trips to the West Coast. It’s takes pressure,
heat and time to make a diamond. It shows how together this group is.”
Georgetown was 11th followed by Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut, Villanova,
Louisville, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Missouri.
The last five ranked teams were Texas A&M, Kentucky, St.
John’s, Temple and Xavier.
St. John’s gives the Big East eight ranked teams, four more
than Big 12 and five more than the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference.
