David McCormack recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds as No. 10 Kansas overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to defeat No. 20 Iowa State 70-61 on Tuesday in Ames, Iowa.
Playing without the league’s top scorer, Ochai Agbaji, who is in COVID-19 protocol, the Jayhawks (18-3, 7-1 Big 12) used 56 percent shooting to take a half-game lead on second-place Baylor in the conference standings.
McCormack hit all seven of his field-goal attempts while leading a 37-26 advantage for Kansas on the glass. Dajuan Harris added 14 points, eight assists and four steals while shooting 6-for-8.
Kansas, which rebounded from an 18-point home loss on Saturday against No. 12 Kentucky, will host No. 8 Baylor this Saturday.
Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson added 13 points each for the Jayhawks, who also claiming a 62-61 nailbiter over Iowa State on Jan. 11 in Lawrence, Kan.
The Cyclones (16-6, 3-6) never matched the Jayhawks’ shooting touch, managing just a 41.3 percent clip. Izaiah Brockington scored a game-high 24 points on 11-for-28 shooting. Tre Jackson added 12 points, and Gabe Kalscheur had 11.
Kansas made 7 of 9 attempts to expand its six-point halftime lead into double digits, 44-33. Iowa State went on a 6-0 run that Kalscheur capped with a 3-pointer at the 13:19 mark to crawl within five, but the Cyclones could not get any closer while taking just their third home loss of the season.
Without Agbaji, the Jayhawks used different combinations and got a seven-point effort from a seldom-used sub, Joseph Yesefu, who added five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Kansas committed 16 first-half turnovers, including strings of five and four straight, yet led Iowa State 30-24 at halftime behind 4-for-4 shooting from both McCormack and Harris.
The Cyclones went through a 2-for-14 drought at one point, then ended the half with just a bucket by Hunter in the final three minutes. Brockington had eight first-half points but shot just 4-for-12.
McCormack also grabbed eight first-half rebounds while Harris added three steals.
In addition to Agbaji, Kansas also played without Remy Martin, who sat out due to a nagging knee injury.
–Field Level Media
