No. 3 Kansas routs Iowa State ahead of rematch with No. 1 Baylor

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Devon Dotson hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points, five Kansas players hit double-figures scoring, and the third-ranked Jayhawks rolled to a 91-71 victory over Iowa State on Monday night.

Ochai Agbaji added 14 points, Udoka Azubuike and Christian Braun scored 13 apiece, and David McCormack scored 10 for the Jayhawks (23-3, 12-1 Big 12) ahead of their monumental rematch with No. 1 Baylor. Kansas has not lost since the Bears beat them at Allen Fieldhouse in mid-January.

Baylor (23-1, 12-0) visits Oklahoma on Tuesday night before getting the Jayhawks at the Ferrell Center on Saturday.

Prentiss Nixon scored 20 points, Matt Jacobson had 13 and Rasir Bolton 12 for the slumping Cyclones (11-15, 4-9), who have lost 14 of their last 15 games at the Phog and still have not won a road game this season.

Their frustrating season was summed up by the first half, when they did just about everything right and still trailed 50-40.

Iowa State was 9 of 12 from beyond the arc in a torrid display of shooting, and at one point connected on 3-pointers on three consecutive trips down floor. The Cyclones committed nine turnovers but generally held onto the ball well, and they also hung tough on the glass against a team with a massive advantage in both size and depth.

Maybe a little better defense would have helped.

As good as the Cyclones were on offense, the Jayhawks were even better. They kept pounding the ball inside to the 7-foot Azubuike, who dunked his way toward 10 first-half points, and that opened things up outside. Dotson had 15 points by the break, and Braun came off the bench to hit a trio of 3-pointers and score 13 points in just 12 minutes.

Iowa State tried to mount a comeback in the second half by getting the ball to Solomon Young, who spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls. But the big forward was hounded every time he touched the ball and never seemed to get an open look, and that forced the Cyclones into launching up another barrage of 3-pointers.

They also slapped on a full-court press, but crisp passing and Dotson’s smooth ball-handling easily broke it down.

The league’s leading scorer snuffed out any chance of a comeback midway through the second half. Dotson knocked down a bucket, stripped Nixon near mid-court and took it to the rim for a three-point play, then curled in a 3-pointer from right in front of the Kansas bench to make it 78-55 with just over nine minutes to go.