No. 10 Kansas beats No. 20 Iowa State 70-61 without Agbaji

Updated: Feb 1, 2022, 09:35 pm

AMES, Iowa -- — 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% for the game, while holding Iowa State to 41%.

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.

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