Sports

Graham leads No. 11 Kansas past Texas 92-86

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Devonte’ Graham had 23 points and eight assists, converting six 3-point baskets, and No. 11 Kansas defeated Texas 92-86 on Friday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Kansas (11-2), which converted 17 of 35 3-point attempts, including 11 in the second half, won a conference opener for the 27th consecutive season.

Lagerald Vick scored 21 points, making a career-best five 3s. Svi Myhailiuk added 20 points, hitting five 3-pointers.

Sophomore center Udoka Azubuike had 13 points and a career-best 13 rebounds for Kansas.

Kansas has won 13 of its last 14 games against Texas, including eight in a row.

Freshman Mohamed Bamba led Texas (9-4) with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, all season bests.

Dylan Osetkowski scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half for Texas. Matt Coleman scored 17 for Texas.

Kansas could not pull away despite making seven 3-point baskets in the first 9 minutes of the second half and leading by 13. They had another three-point play – a dunk and free throw – by Azubuike during that stretch.

Osetkwoski, after missing six of seven shots from the field in the first half, scored 10 points during the first 9 minutes of the second half to help Texas stay within reach. Coleman and Eric Davis Jr. also helped with 12 points apiece in the second half.

Graham made four-3-pointers in the first half, including one with a minute remaining to give Kansas a 37-34 lead.

The Jayhawks finished the half with six 3s, four more than Texas. But the Longhorns had a 22-14 edge in points in the paint courtesy of Bamba.

The 6-foot-11 Bamba was assertive around the basket from the start, scoring 11 of the Longhorns’ first 13 points.

Kansas kept pace by scoring its first 12 points on four 3-point baskets.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Coach Bill Self’s thin seven-man rotation could expand if freshman Silvio De Sousa has his eligibility approved by the NCAA. De Sousa, a 6-9 forward, arrived in Lawrence this week and practiced with the team after recently graduating from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Self told reporters the NCAA must vet “amateurism stuff,” as it routinely does with incoming athletes. Self hopes to have De Sousa available soon. Kansas is still awaiting resolution in the case of freshman forward Billy Preston, a five-star recruit who has yet to appear in a game while the school and the NCAA investigate the financial situation with a car he drove during the fall semester.

Texas: Guard Andrew Jones, the Longhorns’ leading scorer and by far their most accurate 3-point shooter, returned after missing four games with a hairline fracture of the right wrist. Jones, who started the first eight games before his injury, served as a reserve scored five points in 9 minutes.

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts No. 22 Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The Jayhawks have won 16 straight against Tech, the last one by a single point in Lubbock.

Texas is at Iowa State on Monday night. The Longhorns have lost six straight in Ames, last winning in 2010.

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