LAWRENCE, Kan.—Thomas Robinson posted career-bests with 30 points and 21 rebounds, helping NO. 17 Kansas overcome a sluggish start and beat North Dakota 84-58 on Saturday in its final nonconference game.

North Dakota (5-8) simply had no answer for the muscular 6-foo-10 Robinson. With 12 points and 10 rebounds, the junior had socked away his Big 12-leading ninth double-double by halftime. His monster game included two steals and four assists as the Jayhawks (10-3) won their 55th straight nonconference home game.

An 11-4 run ending the first half gave the Jayhawks a 37-21 halftime lead. Robinson got the second half started by stealing a pass and feeding Travis Releford on a fast break three-point play. Robinson capped a 14-6 run with a hook shot and a one-handed dunk off a fastbreak pass from Releford for a 51-30 lead.

Troy Huff had 16 points for the Fighting Sioux, who fell to 0-7 away from home.

– Associated Press –

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rodney McGruder scored 14 points and Kansas State emptied its bench in an 82-46 victory over Howard on Saturday, wrapping up its non-conference schedule with an easy tuneup before facing rival Kansas in its Big 12 opener next week.

Will Spradling added 13 points, Angel Rodriguez had 11 and Jamar Samuels and Jeremy Jones scored 10 each for the Wildcats (11-1), who took advantage of a nearly 10-minute stretch in the first half in which Howard (4-11) managed only one field goal.

That allowed Kansas State to build a 50-18 lead by halftime.

Glen Andrews scored 25 points to lead the Bison, though he needed 25 shots to get there. Howard shot 29 percent (14 of 48) as a team, including 6 of 22 from 3-point range.

– Associated Press –

Lawrence, KS- Tyshawn Taylor and Conner Teahan scored 13 points apiece to lead No. 17 Kansas to an 89-34 victory over Howard at Allen Fieldhouse.

Jeff Withey added 10 points, while Elijah Johnson, Merv Lindsay and Thomas Robinson each scored nine for the Jayhawks (9-3), winners in six of their last seven.

Prince Okoroh scored seven and Dadrian Collins and Anton Dickerson each scored five for the Bison (4-10), who shot just 22.2 percent from the field.

Kansas quickly went ahead 23-6 over the first ten minutes of the first half as the Bison went just 3-for-16 from the field. The Jayhawks added 19 more by the end of the half to enter the break up, 42-13.

A 29-8 run to open the second half put Kansas up 71-22 with 8:37 left to play. The highlight of the half came when Taylor found a cutting Johnson, who slammed the ball home as the home crowd erupted.

Howard finished the game just 3-for-18 from behind the arc and turned the ball over 24 times.

The 34 points scored by the Bison (4-10) were the fewest allowed byKansas since a 98-31 win over Alcorn State in early December of 2009, and the second-fewest since Self took over before the 2003 season.

The Jayhawks will play host to North Dakotaon Saturday before opening up Big 12 action January 4, when it faces Kansas State at home.

– Sports Network –

PEORIA,Ill. (AP) – Garrett Stutz had 14 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night andWichitaState routed Bradley 90-51 in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both schools.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Shockers (10-2), who have won eight in a row.

Joe Ragland and Toure Murry had 12 points, David Kyles scored 11 and Carl Hall had 10 points for Wichita State, which made 52 percent of its shots from the field. The Shockers had a 50-32 rebounding advantage.

Stutz had eight points and eight rebounds in the first half asWichitaState built a 39-24 lead.

Taylor Brown led all scorers with 19 points for Bradley (5-8), which has dropped four in a row. Jordan Prosser had nine points and nine rebounds.

The Braves were a dismal 14 of 55, or 25 percent, from the field in the game.

–  The Associated Press –

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior Rodney McGruder followed up his most valuable player performance at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with his first Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week award on Monday.

McGruder helped the Wildcats (10-1) capture their first regular-season tournament since 2006 with wins over Southern Illinois (83-58), Texas-El Paso (78-70) and Long Beach State (77-60) and their first ranking of the season.  He averaged 15.0 points on 64 percent shooting (16-of-25), including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point range, in the tournament with 6.0 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game.  He scored in double figures in two of the three contests, including a career-best 28 points in the championship game with the 49ers on Sunday.

McGruder opened the tournament with 13 points in a victory over the Salukis on Dec. 22, as he connected on 4-of-7 field goals to go with six rebounds, one block and one steal in 28 minutes of action.  He also went 3-of-4 from the free throw line.  He struggled from the field against the Miners in game two on Dec. 23 with just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, but did grab six rebounds in the eight-point victory.

With the tournament title on the line, McGruder came through with his best effort as a Wildcat, as he paced all players with a career-high 28 points against Long Beach State on Christmas Day.  He went a near perfect 10-of-11 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, to go with a 6-of-7 effort from the free throw line.  He also added six rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes.  The 28 points surpassed his previous high of 24 against UMKC on Dec. 23, 2010, while it was his 20th career 20-point game and his third this season.

Remarkably, by making 10-of-11 field goals, he posted one of the best shooting nights by an individual in school history.  Only Joe Wright (11-of-11 vs. Oklahoma State on Jan. 23, 1985) and Eddie Elder (11-of-11 vs. Colorado on Feb. 23, 1985) had a better field goal percentage in a game in school history when attempting more than 10 shots.  A perfect shooting effort (with a minimum of five attempts) has been done eight other times at K-State.

McGruder paces four Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 12.4 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting to go with 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game.  He is the third Wildcat to receive a weekly award this season.  Senior Jamar Samuels was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 5, while freshman Thomas Gipson was the league’s Rookie of the Week on Dec. 12.

– KSU Sports Information –

Rodney McGruder scored a career-best 28 points and Kansas State went on a big first-half run to beat Long Beach State 77-60 on Sunday and win the Diamond Head Classic.

McGruder finished 10 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. He also went 6 of 7 from the line.

Will Spradling added 17 points for the Wildcats (10-1), and Jamar Samuels had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Larry Anderson and Casper Ware each scored 17 points for the 49ers (7-6).

Kansas State finished 26 of 52 from the field, while Long Beach State went 21 of 57. From the line, the Wildcats were 20 of 26 and the 49ers just 12 of 21.

The Wildcats went on a 29-13 run for a 38-22 lead with 2:27 left in the first half. McGruder had eight points, including two 3-pointers, during the surge.

In the first half, the Wildcats shot 17 of 33, forced 10 turnovers and outscored the 49ers 22-10 in the paint. McGruder finished the half with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting. He missed nearly 5 minutes after being injured while taking a charge.

Spradling’s 3-pointer gave Kansas State its biggest lead at 49-31 with 15:43 remaining. Long Beach State got as close as 62-52 with 6:41 to play.

McGruder was averaging 10.8 points entering the game, just fourth best on the team. His previous career high of 24 points had come against UMKC on Dec. 23, 2010.

The Wildcats also beat Southern Illinois and UTEP in the tournament. Their only loss this season came Dec. 8 against West Virginia.

– Associated Press –

Honolulu, HI – Angel Rodriguez posted a game-high 16 points, leading the Kansas State Wildcats to a 78-70 victory over the Texas-El Paso Miners in the Diamond Head Classic semifinals at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Will Spradling and Jamar Samuels joined Rodriguez in double figures for Kansas State (9-1) with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Samuels completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who have won four straight games since their lone loss to West Virginia on December 8th.

UTEP (5-6) got a balanced scoring effort, with five players notching double digits, led by Jacques Streeter’s 15 points. Julian Washburn finished with 13 points, Cedrick Land added 12 and Michael Perez and John Bohannon chipped in with 10 points apiece.

The Miners shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the first half but took just 14 shots from the field and trailed 45-32 at the break. Kansas State converted 15-of-32 field-goal attempts in the first half. Both teams were active from the free-throw line over the first 20 minutes, as UTEP went 14-of-20 from the charity stripe, while KSU was 12-of-14. The Wildcats were able to hold the Miners at bay by shooting 44.4 percent in the second half, compared to UTEP’s 41.4 percent.

KSU dominated play on the boards, outrebounding UTEP, 39-21, including grabbing 18 offensive rebounds. The KSU bench was also instrumental in the win, outscoring UTEP’s reserves 42-13.

The Wildcats will take on either Long Beach State or Auburn for the tournament title on Sunday.

– Sports Network –