IOWA CITY, Iowa - Frank Kaminsky had 21 points and a crucial late steal as No. 16 Wisconsin beat No. 15 Iowa 79-74 on Saturday for its fifth consecutive victory.
Sam Dekker added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Badgers (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten), who swept the season series and moved a half-game ahead of the Hawkeyes (19-7, 8-5) in the Big Ten standings.
Josh Oglesby’s jumper with 1:01 left put Iowa up 72-71, but Kaminsky answered with a bank shot that gave Wisconsin a one-point lead. Kaminsky then stripped Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble under the basket and hit two free throws as the Badgers went up 75-72 with 24.5 seconds left.
Marble had 21 points and 11 assists to lead the Hawkeyes, who lost their third home game in four tries.
This was just the second game in two weeks for Iowa. The Hawkeyes were off ahead of last Saturday’s 82-70 victory at Penn State, and Tuesday’s postponement at Indiana gave the Hawkeyes an extra week off.
After a rather rusty start, Iowa asserted itself in the second half.
Marble hit a 3 and Aaron White followed with a strong drive to the hoop that put the Hawkeyes ahead 62-58 with 6:27 left. The Badgers seemed flummoxed at times by Iowa’s zone defense, scoring just 20 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half.
Still, Wisconsin tied it at 66-66 with 3:18 left on a threepoint play by Nigel Hayes, and Bronson Koenig’s jumper put the Badgers ahead 71-70 with 1:21 left.
Koenig had a career-high 12 points.
In another Big Ten game Saturday, Sam Thompson scored 16 of his 19points in the second half, leading No. 24 Ohio State back from a 12-point deficit to a 64-46 victory over visiting Minnesota.
BIG 12
Kansas takes control
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Andrew Wiggins scored 21 points, Joel Embiid briefly flirted with a triple-double and No. 8 Kansas trounced No. 19 Texas to seize control of the Big 12.
Embiid finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six blocks for the Jayhawks (21-6, 12-2), who lead the league race by three games with four to play. Kansas can wrap up at least a share of its 10th consecutive title when Oklahoma visits Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night.
Kansas also exacted a little revenge for a lopsided loss to the Longhorns (20-7, 9-5) in Austin, using a 32-5 run over a long stretch of the first half to put the game away early.
It was the Jayhawks’ fifth victory in the last six meetings and easily the most impressive.
In other Big 12 games Saturday, De-Andre Kane scored 20 points, Georges Niang had 19 points and eight rebounds and No. 17 Iowa State kept TCU winless in the Big 12 with a 71-60 victory. … Marcus Smart had 16 points, 10 assists and 6 steals in his return from a three game suspension for shoving a fan, and Oklahoma State defeated Texas Tech 84-62 to snap a seven-game losing streak. … Royce O’Neale scored 22 points and Baylor topped West Virginia 88-75. … Buddy Hield scored 18 points and Isaiah Cousins added 17 to help Oklahoma beat Kansas State 86-73.
PACIFIC-12
Stanford upsets UCLA
STANFORD, Calif. - Chasson Randle made a career-high seven three-pointers and scored 26 points to help Stanford boost their case for an at-large NCAA tournament berth with an 83-74 victory over No. 23 UCLA on Saturday.
Josh Huestis tied a career high with 22 points and Anthony Brown had 18 for the Cardinal (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12), who have won five of six.
This might have been the most impressive of the bunch, coming against a ranked team playing its best basketball of the season. Stanford made 62 percent of its shots, topping 60 percent in a conference game for the first time since exactly 11 years ago against UCLA.
Stanford scored 12 consecutive points midway through the first half to break open a tie game. Huestis started the spurt with a dunk and finished with a put back. Randle and Robbie Lemons made three-pointers and Marcus Allen scored on an acrobatic scoop shot just before the shot-clock buzzer to help give Stanford the cushion.
Zach LaVine and Norman Powell scored 14 points each and Tony Parker added 13 for the Bruins (21-6, 10-4), who entered the day one game behind No. 4 Arizona for the conference lead. Having lost the only scheduled meeting against the Wildcats, UCLA has little margin for error in its quest for the regular-season title.
This marked the third time this season the Bruins won the opener of a weekend road trip and failed to get the sweep.
In another Pacific-12 game Saturday, C.J. Wilcox had 23 points and Washington snapped a seven-game losing streak on the road with an 86-62 victory over Oregon State.
Sports, Pages 31 on 02/23/2014