Kansas Routs Cross-State Rival

College basketball

Jarod Haase scored 19 points as second-ranked Kansas (23-4) rolled over Kansas State (12-15) 90-45 in the first round of the Big Eight men’s basketball tournament Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

“They’re a better team than we played three weeks ago,” Wildcats coach Tom Asbury said. “They can win the national championship. We got hammered. Pure and simple, they absolutely drilled us.”

Kansas will meet Iowa State in one tournament semifinal today, while Oklahoma will play Oklahoma State.

Iowa St. 68, (17) Missouri 50

Loren Meyer scored 25 points and the Cyclones (21-9) bounced back from a dismal start to upset the Tigers (19-8).

Iowa State made one of its first 19 shots. Missouri failed to capitalize, though, hitting four of its first 18.

(16) Oklahoma 71, Colorado 53

Ryan Minor, the Big Eight player of the year, scored 21 points as the Sooners (23-7) overcame a Buffaloes (15-12) team inspired by the loss of its best player.

Donnie Boyce, Colorado’s all-time leading scorer, hushed Kemper Arena’s sellout crowd as he lay on the floor screaming in pain late in the first half with an apparent broken leg after colliding with a teammate.

(19) Oklahoma St. 68, Nebraska 48

Randy Rutherford scored 12 straight points during a 22-0 run as the Cowboys overcame a slow start to stop the Cornhuskers (17-13).

ACC Tournament

(4) North Carolina 78, Clemson 62

The Tarheels (23-4) beat the Tigers (15-12) for the 11th straight time in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, in a game marred by three skirmishes in the final minutes at Greensboro, N.C.

North Carolina will face Maryland in a semifinal game today, and Wake Forest will play Virginia.

(10) Maryland 71, Florida St. 64

Joe Smith, held without a basket for almost 30 minutes, helped spark the Terrapins (24-6) down the stretch in a victory over the Seminoles (12-15).

(11) Virginia 77, Georgia Tech 67

Junior Burrough scored a career-high 36 points and the Cavaliers shut down yet another team with their defense in a victory over the Yellow Jackets (18-22).

(7) Wake Forest 87, Duke 70

Randolph Childress took command of the Demon Deacon offense with a career-high 40 points, leading Wake Forest to a win over the Blue Devils (13-18).

SEC Tournament

(3) Kentucky 93, Auburn 81

Walter McCarty had 22 points and Mark Pope added 19 as the Wildcats (23-4) beat the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Atlanta.

Kentucky took control with a 17-7 run in the final 4 minutes of the first half to build a 12-point lead, then withstood a late rash of turnovers and an 11-0 run that drew the Tigers within 85-78 with 1:49 left.

Kentucky will play Florida today in one SEC semifinal game, while Arkansas will meet Alabama.

Florida 80, (15) Miss. State 64

Andrew DeClercq and Greg Williams hit consecutive 3-point baskets to stop a Bulldogs comeback as the Gators (17-11) beat Mississippi State (20-7).

The Bulldogs had won 10 of their previous 12 games before catching a Florida team that remembered blowing a 16-point second-half lead at Mississippi State on Feb. 1 when the Bulldogs used a 48-9 run in the final 15:30 to rout the Gators 70-47.

(5) Arkansas 73, Vanderbilt 72

Corey Beck’s free throw with 4.2 seconds remaining gave the Razorbacks (26-5) a comeback victory over the Commodores (13-15).

(20) Alabama 68, Georgia 57 Antonio McDyess had 22 points and 14 rebounds and the Tide (22-8) scored its last 12 points at the free-throw line to down the Bulldogs (18-9).

Georgia fell behind 50-41 with a little more than 9 minutes remaining, made one brief run that chopped the deficit to 52-49 with 5:04 to play, but never challenged again after McDyess scored the next four points to build a seven-point lead with 3:33 to play.

Big East Tournament

(6) UConn 81, Pittsburgh 78

The top-seeded Huskies (24-2) didn’t take the lead for good until there were 5 minutes left, as Connecticut squeaked out a win against the Panthers (10-18) at Madison Square Garden.

Providence faces Villanova in one semifinal today with Connecticut meeting Georgetown in the other.

(13) Villanova 68, Boston College 64

Alvin Williams made five free throws in the final 1:35 and the Wildcats (23-7) barely escaped with a win over the Eagles (9-19).

Providence 71, (21) Syracuse 69 < Jason Murdock made two foul shots with one second left in overtime as the defending champion Friars (16-11) defeated the Orangemen.

(24) Georgetown 69, Miami 58

Freshman Allen Iverson tied his career-high with 31 points as the Hoyas (19-8) beat the Hurricanes (15-12).

WAC Tournament

(22) Utah 86, New Mexico 50

Brandon Jessie scored a career-high 28 points and the Utes (26-5) used a 22-1 first-half run to beat New Mexico (15-15).

Utah will play Hawaii - which defeated Colorado State 66-64 - in today’s WAC championship game.