AMES, Iowa — Despite committing 26 personal fouls and turning the ball over 24 times, the Kansas Jayhawks retained sole possession of first place in the Big 12 basketball race with a 77-70 win over Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum on Monday night.
The Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0) got out to quick starts in both halves, and never trailed in the second half after the contest was tied at 36 apiece at the intermission. Iowa State (14-2, 2-2) led on briefly near the end of the first half, getting a team-high 21 points from DeAndre Kane, who was a question mark to play with a sore ankle.
Kane led four different Cyclone starters that scored in double digits, including Melvin Ejim who scored 15. Kansas was led by junior guard Naadir Tharpe, who scored a career and game-high 23 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds.
Freshman forward Andrew Wiggins added 17 points and a career and game-high 19 rebounds, while fellow freshman Joel Embiid scored 16 points and pulled down nine boards.
Kansas won the overall rebounding battle 53 to 36. Iowa State shot just 16% from three-point range, hitting just 4 of 25 from beyond the arc. Kansas next plays on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse against Oklahoma State. Iowa State travels to Texas on Saturday.
