Lincoln, Neb. – Nebraska fans were urged to show up early and make Monday night’s game against sixth-ranked Kansas a “red out.”
It turned out to be a blowout.
The Jayhawks held Nebraska scoreless for almost 14 minutes in the first half, using a 27-0 run to lead a 76-56 victory.
Kansas owns the record for most lopsided win by a Nebraska opponent – 102-46 in 1958 – and it looked as if the Jayhawks would threaten that 56-point margin after going up 39-6.
As the game got further out of hand, fans began to sarcastically cheer Kansas’ missed shots and Nebraska’s rebounds. When Jay-R Strowbridge’s layup ended a scoring drought that lasted nearly 14 minutes, much of the crowd rose to cheer.
“We didn’t plan to come and blow them out,” said Brandon Rush, who led the Jayhawks with 20 points. “They weren’t making no shots, and our shots were falling. The first 17 minutes the crowd was quiet. They were happy when they made a shot at the end. It was kind of funny.”
The Jayhawks (19-3) won for the 16th time in 17 meetings with the Cornhuskers (12-8).
NO. 7 PITTSBURGH 65, VILLANOVA 59
at Philadelphia: Antonio Graves had 13 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the closing minutes, to help the Panthers (20-3) win for the 10th time in 11 games. Levance Fields’ layup broke a 47-all tie with 6:03 left and Pitt led the rest of the way.
NO. 13 BUTLER 71, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 45
at Indianapolis: The Bulldogs (20-2) hit their first five field goals, all 3-pointers, took a 39-16 lead at halftime, built it to as many as 33 points in the second half and coasted the rest of the way to avenge one of their two losses this season.
Women
Abby Waner scored 18 points to lead No. 1 Duke to its 22nd straight victory, 75-65 over Virginia Tech in Durham, N.C.
The Hokies (14-9) gave Duke (22-0) a scare for about a half before falling to 0-9 against top- ranked teams. Britney Anderson’s three-point play about eight minutes before halftime gave Virginia Tech a 26-15 lead. Duke responded with a Waner-led 20-3 run to take the lead for good. Waner, a graduate of ThunderRidge High School, started the run with a 15-footer and scored nine points during the spurt, which she capped with a layup for a 35-29 lead.
NO. 5 OHIO STATE 64, PURDUE 55
at West Lafayette, Ind.: Star Allen had career highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds and Jessica Davenport added 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots as the Buckeyes (19-1) beat the Boilermakers (19-4) in the only meeting scheduled between the Big Ten rivals this season.
