Dedric Lawson had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Lagerald Vick added 12 points and four assists and No. 7 Kansas defeated No. 25 TCU 77-68

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Dedric Lawson had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Lagerald Vick added 12 points and four assists and No. 7 Kansas defeated No. 25 TCU 77-68 on Wednesday night.

Kansas City native Ochai Agbaji also added seven points four rebounds for Kansas (12-2, 2-1 Big 12) after relinquishing his redshirt eligibility on Tuesday following the season-ending injury to Udoka Azubuike. Agbaji made an immediate impact for the Jayhawks, scoring off an alley-oop in Kansas’ first possession with him on the court.

TCU (12-2, 1-1) continued to have troubles in Allen Fieldhouse, falling to 0-7 all-time there.

The Horned Frogs trailed 40-31 at halftime, but managed to stay in the game throughout. They got within two points of the Jayhawks with 10:33 remaining, but nine consecutive points from Lawson made it an 11-point deficit, which the Horned Frogs would ultimately fail to close.

RJ Nembhard scored a season-high 14 points for TCU while shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc. He helped offset the absence of Jaylen Fisher, who led the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (44.1) before a right knee injury ahead of TCU’s conference opener sidelined him.

The first half saw seven lead changes before Kansas finally opened the gap to four points following a 3-pointer from Lagerald Vick. Three turnovers by the Horned Frogs and a missed 3-pointer from JD Miller on TCU’s last possession of the half allowed Kansas to extend the lead to 40-31 at halftime.

TCU cut the deficit to two points following Kouat Noi’s third steal of the game followed by a layup.

Kansas extended the lead back to as many as nine points, but TCU cut the lead to three with under two minutes remaining. But Marcus Garrett’s offensive rebound and layup and subsequent turnover on the inbounds allowed Kansas to gain control of the game.

The Jayhawks made all four of their final free throws to finish the game.

BIG PICTURE

Bill Self improved his record at Kansas to 87-11 following a loss, after the Jayhawks fell to Iowa State on the road last Saturday. The win also moved Self’s record in Allen Fieldhouse to 48-3 following a loss.

The Horned Frogs’ shooting let them down. They shot 46.3 percent from the field, despite coming into the game leading the Big 12 in field goal percentage (49.9). The Horned Frogs missed six of their last seven field-goal attempts.

UP NEXT

Kansas: travels to Waco, Texas, to take on Baylor on Saturday.

TCU: will stay on the road to play Oklahoma on Saturday.

Barry Brown scored 29 points, including the go-ahead layup with 28.9 seconds to go, and Kansas State rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to beat West Virginia 71-69

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Barry Brown scored 29 points, including the go-ahead layup with 28.9 seconds to go, and Kansas State rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to beat West Virginia 71-69 on Wednesday night.

Mike McGuirl added 18 points and Kamau Stokes, dealing with a lingering foot injury, added 12 as the Wildcats (11-4, 1-2 Big 12) used the largest comeback in school history to beat the Mountaineers for only the second time in their last 11 meetings.

West Virginia (8-7, 0-3) led 42-21 early in the second half before Kansas State used a 17-0 run to get back in the game. Still, the Mountaineers had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but Derek Culver’s off-balance shot in the lane missed wide and the Wildcats secured the rebound.

Xavier Sneed added a foul shot and West Virginia couldn’t get off a half-court heave.

Lamont West scored 21 points and Culver finished with 17 for the Mountaineers, who have never lost their first three conference games. In fact, they’ve won at least 11 each of the past four seasons.

Many fans showed up to Bramlage Coliseum to see the Big 12’s two worst offenses wondering whether the first team to 50 would win, and for a while it looked as if 40 might do it.

Kansas State’s only field goal over the first 11-plus minutes came on a goaltending call, and at one point the Wildcats went more than seven minutes without a point. It wasn’t until Stokes hit a jumper just before the final media timeout that they scored from more than 3 feet out.

Not that West Virginia was lighting things up.

The Mountaineers were 6 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, and a series of turnovers and sloppy execution allowed the Wildcats – down 20-3 at one point – to stay within 36-21 at halftime.

Kansas State’s comeback bid appeared to be in jeopardy when big man Makol Mawien picked up two fouls in the first minute of the second half, sending him to the bench with four. The Mountaineers were able to push their lead to 42-21 with 18:45 to go, but they couldn’t bury the Wildcats.

What came next was as stunning as it was unexpected.

The Wildcats, so inept on offense, ripped off 17 points during a run that never slowed even when West Virginia coach Bob Huggins called timeout. Brown led the way with nine during the charge, but it was McGuirl – averaging just 2.4 points a game – that provided the emotional lift.

His 3-pointer got the Wildcats within 44-41 with 12:10 to go.

West Virginia stretched the lead back to 10, but the Wildcats kept answering every run, and Sneed finally gave them their first lead when he converted a four-point play with 2:30 remaining.

Their first but not their last.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia has struggled without Sagaba Konate, their best offensive and defensive player, who has been out with a knee injury. Brandon Knapper made the trip after serving a one-game suspension, but he only played three minutes off the bench.

Kansas State twice rallied from 17-point deficits during the 1995 season, but never had the school come back from 20-plus. The Wildcats did it without their own star, Dean Wade, who is still a couple of weeks away from returning from a foot injury.

UP NEXT

West Virginia returns home to face Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Kansas State starts a two-game trip at No. 20 Iowa State on Saturday.

By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver Broncos general manager John Elway has decided on Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio as his new head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the hiring.

Fangio is a first-time head coach at age 60.

He replaces Vance Joseph, who posted the franchise’s first back-to-back losing seasons since 1971-72 and was fired on New Year’s Eve with an 11-21 record.

Fangio has been an NFL assistant for 32 years and for 34 years overall, including two years in the old USFL.

Elway also interviewed former Colts coach Chuck Pagano, Steelers O-line coach Mike Munchak, Patriots defensive play-caller Brian Flores and Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor while searching for his fourth head coach in six seasons.

Elway said he also plans to take a self-assessment this month to review the moves he’s made that have led to Denver’s three-year playoff drought since Peyton Manning retired a month after the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 title.
The Broncos have had four starting quarterbacks over that span, including free agent Case Keenum, who was underwhelming in his first year in Denver in 2018.

Elway concurred with star cornerback Chris Harris Jr.’s assessment last week that the Broncos need to modernize their offensive and defensive schemes to keep up with teams such as the Rams and Chiefs, who have fully embraced the run-pass option craze and other college concepts.

Elway didn’t believe that innovation required a young up-and-comer, however. So, instead of going with a fresh-faced offensive-minded coach in the mold of the Rams’ Sean McVay, he zeroed in on the grizzled teacher who’s more like his first head coaching hire, John Fox, or the Chiefs’ Andy Reid.

Elway, who turns 59 this summer, and Fangio, who turns 61 in August, will make up one of the oldest coach-GM duos in the NFL in 2019.

Fangio has 19 years of coordinating experience for the Panthers, Colts, Texans, 49ers and Bears. He’s built dominant defenses in different eras, successfully adapting to changes in personnel, philosophies and style.

The 2018 season was his best as Fangio guided a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL, allowed a league-low 17.7 points per game and led the Bears into the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

Four Chicago defenders were selected to the Pro Bowl under his watch in 2018: pass rusher Khalil Mack, safety Eddie Jackson, lineman Akiem Hicks and cornerback Kyle Fuller.

Much as former Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips used to draw praise from players less than half his age, Fangio was greatly respected in the Bears’ locker room.

“He’s an evil genius,” Mack told NFL.com in November. “The guy knows the game in and out and he knows his players, and ultimately, he wants the best for us out there on the field, so he puts us in positions to make plays.”

The Bears’ playoff run came to a shocking end Sunday night when Cody Parkey’s last-second field-goal attempt was tipped and bounced off the left upright and the crossbar for his 11th miss of the season, sealing Philadelphia’s 16-15 escape in the wild-card round.

The Eagles had taken the lead when Nick Foles hit Golden Tate with a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 56 seconds remaining against the NFL’s stingiest defense.

Broncos star linebacker Von Miller suggested last month that the Bears’ defense could lead Chicago to the Super Bowl title much as Denver’s defense had three years ago — even in an age of potent offenses capitalizing on ever friendlier rules to run up scores.

“The Bears have been doing it right. They get takeaways, they play tight coverage and they got a great run defense,” Miller said. “I feel like the Bears definitely got a defense that can go all the way.”

Instead, the Bears’ season ended earlier than expected and now the man Mack dubbed an “evil genius” will join Miller in Denver.