ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Jayhawks struggled against Stanford’s size and zone defense from the opening tip. KU grabbed its first lead in the final seconds of the first half.
Conner Frankamp came away with a steal and dribbled up the floor. The freshman pulled up at the circle and made a three as the buzzer hit zero, giving KU a 24-22 lead. It was the first three-pointer of the tournament for Kansas.
KU led by five in the second half, but a pair of KU turnovers fueled a 13-two Stanford run. And within a couple of minutes Stanford had a 40-33 lead. The Jayhawks tied it at 49-49 on a follow slam by Perry Ellis. But Stanford answered with a bucket by Dwight Powell, and the Cardinal never trailed again.
Stanford led by seven with under a minute to play. Frankamp nailed a three-pointer to make it 58-54 with 23 seconds remaining. He made another one with 14 seconds left to pull KU within two at 59-57. But Stanford sealed the victory at the free throw line, making nine out of 12 free throws in the final two minutes.
A miss by Anthony Brown with 12 seconds remaining gave KU hope. Down by three and the clock ticking, KU got the ball to Frankamp. But his off-balance three wasn’t close, and Stanford won 60-57.
Tarik Black fouled out with 18 points in his final college game. Frankamp had 12 points. Andrew Wiggins was a non-factor, going one-for-six shooting and scoring only four points. KU finishes the season 25-10. It’s the first ten loss season in Bill Self’s eleven years at Kansas.
