AP PHOTO – Kansas forward David McCormack (33) dunks over Iowa State’s Robert Jones (12) during the second half of a Big 12 Conference basketball game Tuesday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
AMES — David McCormack and Dajuan Harris each scored 14 points, and No. 10 Kansas defeated No. 20 Iowa State 70-61 on Tuesday night.
McCormick made all seven of his shots and had 14 rebounds for the Jayhawks (18-3, 7-1 Big 12), who were without Ochai Agbaji. The Big 12’s leading scorer at 20.9 points per game, Agbaji didn’t play due to COVID-19 protocols.
Jalen Wilson scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Christian Braun also finished with 13.
“We learned a lot about our team today,” Braun said. “We learned a lot of guys can step up. Obviously, we lost a big scorer and a great player, but we knew we could get the win.”
Izaiah Brockington led Iowa State (16-6, 3-6) with 24 points.
Kansas again struggled with turnovers against the Cyclones. The Jayhawks committed 16 in a 62-61 win over the Cyclones on Jan. 11. They had 16 in the first 20 minutes on Tuesday.
Despite those struggles, Kansas built a 19-10 lead when Braun made a layup midway through the first half. Iowa State used an 8-0 run to trim the margin to 24-22 but trailed the Jayhawks 30-24 at the break.
“David shot the ball great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “And Dajuan made some ridiculously hard layups. It was a good team win.”
A Wilson layup pushed the margin to 40-28 early in the second half. A McCormick jumper kept Kansas in control 56-44, with 6:34 remaining.
“I just kind of went into a free mentality, knowing coach put a lot of faith in me and my teammates put a lot of faith in me,” McCormick said. “I just made it an emphasis to dominate the game.”
Kansas shot 56 percent for the game, while holding Iowa State to 41 percent.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas remains the only team with one loss in the Big 12 standings. The Jayhawks were hoping to bounce back from Saturday’s 80-62 trouncing by Kentucky. Iowa State was seeking a third straight win after losing four out of five during a midseason slump.
UP NEXT
Kansas: Hosts defending Big 12 and national champion No. 8 Baylor in a key conference showdown Saturday.
Iowa State: At No. 23 Texas on Saturday, hoping to complete a season sweep of the Longhorns.
No. 10 Kansas 70, No. 20 Iowa St. 61
KANSAS (18-3) — McCormack 7-7 0-0 14, Wilson 5-8 2-3 13, Braun 5-13 2-3 13, Coleman-Lands 2-5 0-0 6, Harris 6-8 2-3 14, Yesufu 2-7 2-2 7, Lightfoot 1-2 0-0 2, Adams 0-0 1-2 1, Pettiford 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-50 9-13 70.
IOWA ST. (16-6) — Jones 1-4 0-0 2, Brockington 11-28 2-2 24, Hunter 3-8 2-4 8, Kalscheur 5-9 0-0 11, Enaruna 1-2 0-0 2, Grill 1-3 0-0 2, Jackson 4-6 0-0 12, Conditt 0-1 0-0 0, Kunc 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 4-6 61.
Halftime–Kansas 30-24. 3-Point Goals–Kansas 5-13 (Coleman-Lands 2-3, Wilson 1-2, Braun 1-3, Yesufu 1-4, Harris 0-1), Iowa St. 5-22 (Jackson 4-6, Kalscheur 1-5, Grill 0-2, Kunc 0-2, Hunter 0-3, Brockington 0-4). Rebounds–Kansas 35 (McCormack 14), Iowa St. 23 (Brockington 8). Assists–Kansas 19 (Harris 8), Iowa St. 16 (Grill 5). Total Fouls–Kansas 11, Iowa St. 17.
