01-03-2020, 07:54 AM
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Marcus Smart scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half to help Oklahoma State defeat No. 5 Kansas 72-65 on Saturday night and give a major boost to the Cowboys once-fading NCAA tournament hopes. Oklahoma State (19-10, 7-9 Big 12) overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half. The Cowboys improved to 3-0 since Smart returned from a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan. Andrew Wiggins scored 15 points for Kansas (22-7, 13-3), which already had clinched the Big 12 title outright before tipoff because Texas and Iowa State lost earlier. The student section was filled nearly an hour before the opening tip. The crowd included Oklahoma City Thunder players Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and their coach, Scott Brooks. Wiggins three-point play tied the game at 64 with just over 2 minutes to play. Kamari Murphys layup gave Oklahoma State a 66-64 lead with 1:37 remaining. Kansas Naadir Tharpe missed a jumper, and Murphy pulled in the rebound. Smart made a layup with 46.1 seconds left to push Oklahoma States lead to four, then he broke the press and hit another layup with 23.8 seconds to go to put the game out of reach. The Jayhawks led 26-25 at halftime despite 35 per cent shooting. Oklahoma State shot just 24 per cent in the first half but forced 11 turnovers. LeBryan Nash and Markel Brown scored nine points each to keep the Cowboys in the game. Smart had one point on 0-for-7 shooting. Wiggins scored five points in the half but committed two fouls. Brown hit a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half to give Oklahoma State a 28-26 lead, but Kansas answered with a 3-pointer by Wayne Selden. Smart made his first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 17:46 to play. He drew the third foul on Joel Embiid with 14:19 to go and the Jayhawks up 38-36. Wiggins picked up his third foul 11 seconds later. Kansas responded with a run. With both freshman stars on the bench, Tharpe and Selden drained 3-pointers that put the Jayhawks up 46-38. A three-point play by Perry Ellis pushed Kansas lead to nine, and a pair of free throws by Wiggins extended the margin to 10 for the first time. Oklahoma State muscled its way back into the game with a three-point play by Nash and a long lob by Smart to Brown that cut Kansas lead to five and got the crowd back into the game. The Cowboys moved into the double bonus with 5:50 remaining, and Brown made two free throws to give Oklahoma State a 60-59 lead. Nash picked up his fourth foul with 4:35 remaining, but Smart calmed him down after Nash disagreed with the call. Wiggins picked up his fourth foul with 4:09 to play. Smarts 3-pointer with 3:44 left put Oklahoma State up 63-61. Kevin Faulk Jersey . Specifically, thumbs up to the Canadian-based teams in the NHL, or at least most of them. Kevan Barlow Jersey . Wheeler scored at 4:58 of overtime, with Scheifele getting an assist, and the Jets beat the slumping Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Sunday night. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/cust...-741f.html . Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season. Tai Streets Jersey . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. Junior Seau Jersey . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result.Next up for Michael Phelps comeback: Two events that produced Olympic gold. Phelps has entered the 100-meter butterfly and the 200 freestyle at the Charlotte Grand Prix meet in North Carolina next week, his coach, Bob Bowman, told The Associated Press on Monday night. With both events on May 16, Bowman can stick to the plan of building up Phelps endurance while staying away, at least for now, from the grueling, multi-day programs that were once the norm for Phelps. There will be morning preliminaries and evening finals, though the coach said hes not yet certain Phelps will actually compete in both races. Phelps returned to competitive swimming at a meet in Arizona less than two weeks ago, his first since retiring after the 2012 London Games as the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. He is the three-time defending Olympic champion in the 100 fly, so its obvious that race would be part of any plans to compete at the Rio Games. He won the 200 free at the 2008 Beijing Games -- during his record eight-gold performance -- but dropped the event in London. Phelps also competed in two events at the Mesa Grand Prix, finishing second to longtime rival Ryan Lochte in the 100 fly and matching the fourth-fastest time in the world this year. The other event, the 50 freestyle, wassnt nearly as serious.dddddddddddd That race has never been part of Phelps program at a major meet, and he even used his preliminary heat to work on his butterfly stroke. Not surprisingly, he finished 42nd overall against swimmers who were using the much faster freestyle. Still, it was a good starting point for what the Phelps camp is describing as a low-key comeback. "We were encouraged by his performances in Mesa and look forward to trying a 200 in Charlotte," Bowman said in a text message. Phelps has also put his name in for the final Grand Prix meet of the season in Santa Clara, California, next month, though he is taking the comeback one step at a time and not committing to any long-term goals. Still, its clear he wouldnt be putting in the work if the 2016 Olympics were not his primary focus. Phelps has already competed in four Summer Games, winning 18 golds and 22 medals overall. The Grand Prix schedule provides tuneups for the U.S. national championships in August, where spots will be earned for the Pan Pacific Championships later that month and next years world championships in Kazan, Russia -- an important steppingstone for the Olympics. After the Charlotte meet, Phelps will head to Colorado for high-altitude training beginning May 27. ' ' '