Kansas holds off Kansas State, 68-57

It looked like it could be another typical beatdown of K-State in Allen Fieldhouse early, as Kansas jumped out to a 20-5 lead. The Kansas State offense was stagnant and ineffective, but they were able to steady themselves somewhat, and keep things fairly even for the rest of the half. After a huge first half performance by Perry Ellis, Kansas found themselves going to the locker room with a healthy 33-17 lead.

Unlike previous games against Utah and Oklahoma, Kansas never let their opponent back in this one. Still, they also never fully recaptured the fire from their hot start, and K-State was able to come up with a big shot every time Kansas threatened to run away it. As it became clear no comeback was imminent, a couple of heat check threes fell for Marcus Foster, and big man Stephen Hurt was able to rattle in a couple ugly ones from beyond the arc as well. This resulted in a final score that wasn't entirely indicative of the gap between the two teams.

Kansas State big man Thomas Gipson ended up with a very nice game, totaling 19 points and seven rebounds. Marcus Foster would end up with an impressive 19 points, but needed 18 shots and a little good fortune to get there. Aside from that, the Wildcats were shut down on the offensive end, shooting just 20-60 from the floor, and 15-56 (27%) from two point range.

For the Jayhawks, two late free throws allowed Frank Mason to extend his streak of double-digit scoring performances to 18 games, despite an overall quiet afternoon. Perry Ellis led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Wayne Selden found his way to an inefficient 14 points (on 13 shots) and a surprising four blocks.

Kansas State falls to 5-4 in the league, good for a 4th place tie after finding themselves atop the Big 12 just two weeks ago. They play in Lubbock Wednesday. Meanwhile, the 1st place Jayhawks move to 7-1, and host Iowa State in a huge Big Monday game.