Norman, OK  – Travis Releford scored a career-high 28 points as No. 14 Kansas used a dominating second half to pull away for a 72-61 victory over Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center.

Releford connected on 9-of-13 shots, including a 3-for-5 mark from three-point range on the way to his career-best performance for the Jayhawks (12-3, 2-0 Big 12). Thomas Robinson added 18 points and nine rebounds in Kansas’ fifth straight win.

Steven Pledger paced Oklahoma (10-4, 0-2) with 14 points, while Andrew Fitzgerald and Carl Blair each netted 11 for the Sooners, losers in three of their last four.

Oklahoma held a 34-33 lead after the first 20 minutes while making 47.8 percent of its shots and holding Kansas to 42.4 percent shooting from the floor.

But the second half was a completely different story, with the Sooners connecting on just 29.6 percent of their shots and scoring six points through the first 11 minutes of the half.

Kansas dropped in 29 in that span to jump out to a 62-40 lead with under nine minutes to play and the Jayhawks cruised to the victory from there, leading by double digits for the remainder of the game.

“I thought that the 10 minutes, or whatever it was, to start the second half was probably the best run we’ve had all year,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “That 10 minutes was enough to put us over the top.”

After Kansas took an early 2-1 lead on Elijah Johnson’s layup, Oklahoma reeled off a 9-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 10-5.

The Jayhawks, though, quickly answered with a 13-3 spurt that included nine points by Releford to equal Oklahoma’s five-point lead at 18-13.

However, a Fitzgerald jumper followed by a Pledger three-pointer on back-to- back possessions by the Sooners knotted that game at 18 and it remained a one- possession game for the rest of the first half, with Oklahoma recording four of the final six points to take a 34-33 lead into the break.

“I think we came out in the first half and were really strong on both ends of the court. We seemed very active and that’s a fun way to play,” said Oklahoma forward Romero Osby. “The second half we kind of got staggered and we started standing around too much on both ends of the court, and we let things slip away from us.”

– Sports Network –

Explosive returner Joe Adams had one last big highlight to help No. 7 Arkansas end a record-tying season in tall Cotton.

All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson was well short of the record passing performance he had earlier this season at Cowboys Stadium, but did throw two touchdown passes after Adams’ fourth punt return for a TD and the Razorbacks beat No. 11 Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

The Razorbacks (11-2) matched a school record with their 11th victory. Their only losses were to No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama, their SEC West rivals who will play for the BCS national championship Monday night.

“Joe Adams has made big plays for us all year long,” Wilson said. “We were struggling offensively until he sparked us. Great players make big plays, and he definitely got his.”

Adams’ 51-yard return early in the second quarter gave the Razorbacks a 10-0 lead before they even gained a first down. It was the first punt return for a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl in 51 years.

“It was another one of those where you just go, Wow!” coach Bobby Petrino said. “You could see when he made the catch he had in mind what he was going to do. We got some good blocks. … Joe showed great acceleration, made another spectacular play for us.”

Adams matched the SEC single-season record with his four punt return TDs. The senior receiver, who had five catches for only 22 yards Friday, was the only FBS player this season with multiple punt returns for TDs, along with rushing and receiving scores.

After fielding the ball near midfield, Adams took a few steps back before squirting through a gap past several defenders. He got all the way to the opposite sideline and got his path cleared by one last block from Javontee Herndon downfield.

“It obviously made a major difference,” Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. “We knew he’s a talented player.  We knew that he could make you miss him.  …. The players were probably tired of me talking about being able to contain Joe Adams and not let him bounce the ball outside.  Sure enough he bounced it outside.”

The last punt return for a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl also was by a Razorback, when Lance Alworth had a 49-yard return in a 7-6 loss to Duke in the 1961 game.

The only other 11-win seasons for the Razorbacks were by the Lou Holtz-coached team in 1977 and coach Frank Broyles’ only undefeated season at Arkansas in 1964. They won 10 games last season with a Sugar Bowl appearance.

“To get this program consistently in the top 10, in BCS bowl games, great bowl games like the Cotton Bowl, hopefully in the top five in the country with 11 wins, it means so much to me personally, and to this group of seniors,” defensive end Jake Bequette said. “It’s just been such a fun ride.”

A member of that 1964 team that won the Cotton Bowl over Nebraska was Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner who attended the game in his $1.2 billion stadium that opened in 2009. He was part of a loud crowd of 80,956.

Kansas State also was trying to match its school record with 11 victories, but still finished a surprising season in Snyder’s second Wildcats turnaround. K-State won 11 games six times during a seven-year span in Snyder’s first tenure before his three-year retirement, and almost reached that mark again in his third season back.

– Associated Press –

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Thomas Robinson had 15 points and 14 rebounds and helped thwart Kansas State’s second-half rally Wednesday night, leading No. 14 Kansas past the 23rd-ranked Wildcats 67-49.

Trailing by as many as 18 points early, the Wildcats (11-2, 0-1 Big 12) got 3-pointers from Jamar Samuels and Rodney McGruder in a 10-0 run and closed to 39-36. But Conner Teahan’s two 3-pointers triggered a rally by Kansas (11-3, 1-0) that included dunks by Robinson on consecutive possessions.

The Jayhawks went on to their 43rd victory over their state rivals in the last 46 meetings of the 272-game series.

Travis Releford had 16 points and Tyshawn Taylor had 13 as Kansas launched its campaign for an eighth straight Big 12 championship with its 21st straight conference-opening victory.

McGruder had 15 points and Samuels had 12 for Kansas State, which was only 5 for 20 from 3-point range.

The Jayhawks dominated the boards 50-26.

Kansas called time out after the Wildcats closed to 39-36 and 3-point specialist Teahan immediately connected from beyond the arc to make it 42-36, prompting a timeout by Kansas State coach Frank Martin. After McGruder’s basket, Teahen connected for a second 3-pointer.

Martavious Irving went to the line with a chance to slice the lead to five points but missed two free throws. Seven-footer Jeff Withey rebounded for the Jayhawks and slammed home a dunk on the other end.

After Will Spradling’s 3-pointer cut the lead to 47-41, Releford’s 3-pointer and Robinson’s dunk off a pass from Teahan triggered a window-rattling roar from the crowd and put the Jayhawks on top 52-41 with 7:53 to go.

Following a timeout, Robinson dunked again and then soared to the basket for a dunk off Taylor’s missed jumper.

Taylor’s uncontested layup capped the run and gave the Jayhawks a 56-41 lead.

The Jayhawks, fueled by Robinson’s six points off a putback and two medium-range jumpers, went on an 18-4 run in the opening minutes and took a 23-5 lead.

By the time Irving finally scored at the 8:12 mark of the half, the Wildcats had hit only three of 17 shots while Kansas was 10 for 19 and held an 18-6 rebounding edge en route to a 35-20 halftime lead.Robinson, with 10 rebounds and nine points, fell barely short of posting a double-double at halftime in two straight games. His 10 double-doubles lead the Big 12.

The Wildcats’ only nonconference loss was a double-overtime setback to West Virginia on a neutral court.

The Wildcats came in second in the nation averaging 28.8 free throw but were only eight of 16 from the line on Wednesday.

– Associated Press –