Big 12 elite: Kansas beats Sooners as Blake Griffin sits

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/24/2009 - Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor recorded a career-high 26 points and Sherron Collins scored 22 of his 26 in the second half, as 15th-ranked Kansas took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with an 87-78 victory over the Blake Griffin-less No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners.

With National Player of the Year front-runner Griffin on the bench in street clothes due to a concussion suffered in Saturday's setback at Texas, the Sooners hung tough with an 11-for-24 effort from three-point land.

But the Jayhawks made 28-of-41 from the foul line and forced 16 Oklahoma turnovers to control their own destiny in conference play.

Cole Aldrich benefited from Griffin's absence with 15 points and a whopping career-best 20 rebounds for Kansas (23-5, 12-1 Big 12), which has won 12 of its last 13 games and seem poised for its fifth straight Big 12 regular season crown .

Willie Warren paced the Sooners with 23 points, while Juan Pattillo and Cade Davis contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively for Oklahoma (25-3, 11-2 Big 12), which dropped its first home game in 16 tries this season.

Trailing by 20 in the second half, Oklahoma woke up with seven straight points to get within 58-45 with about 8 1/2 minutes to play. Three-pointers by Omar Leary and a pair by Davis made it a 62-56 affair a little later.

Holding just a four-point lead with five minutes on the clock, Collins squared up behind the arc line and drilled a crucial basket.

The teams went unconscious from downtown for the next few minutes, hitting five total with Collins' trey giving Kansas a 77-71 lead with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Warren was whistled for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, and Taylor sank a free throw and a layup after Pattillo's missed bucket for an 80-71 lead with 1:15 to play.

The Jayhawks made just 4-of-8 free throws from that point on but Oklahoma couldn't muster enough offense for a comeback.

The Sooners built a 22-8 lead midway through the opening half on the strength of four three-pointers, a pair coming from Warren.

The hosts went cold for a five-minute stretch, however, as Taylor's 11 points during a 16-0 run gave the defending national champions a 24-22 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the half.

Three Taylor free throws and a Tyrel Reed trifecta pushed Kansas' lead to 36-29 at the half.

A 15-2 spurt by the visitors made it a 58-38 game midway through the second half.

Game Notes

Kansas holds a 134-64 edge in the all-time series and has claimed victory in five straight meetings...Griffin has averaged a Big 12-best 22.0 points and a nation-best 13.8 rebounds in 27 games this season. His 22 double-doubles lead the country...The Sooners made 19-of-30 from the free throw line...Kansas won the rebounding battle, 38-33.

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The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

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