Flory Bidunga scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas handed top-ranked Arizona its first loss of the season, 82-78 on Monday at Lawrence, Kan.
The Wildcats (23-1, 10-1 Big 12) achieved the best start in Big 12 history at 23-0 overall before the defeat. Kansas (19-5, 9-2) beat the No. 1 team at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time ever after losing five such games, including to Arizona the last time in 2003.
The Jayhawks won their eighth straight game overall despite playing without freshman star Darryn Peterson, who had flu-like symptoms. It was the 11th game Kansas played without Peterson, who has dealt with an ankle sprain, hamstring strain and chronic cramping.
Arizona led by 11 with 17:02 to go before Kansas rallied, scoring seven straight points in little more than a minute, then keeping the score within six until a Bidunga field goal gave the Jayhawks the lead with 9:32 to go. Kansas never trailed again. Miami (Ohio) is the nation’s lone remaining unbeaten at 24-0.
No. 17 St. John’s 87, Xavier 82 (OT)
Zuby Ejiofor scored six points in overtime for the Red Storm, who fended off an upset bid by the Musketeers to win in New York, giving coach Rick Pitino another milestone win against his son Richard.
The win was the 904th on-court victory for the elder Pitino, who snapped a tie with Roy Williams for third-place all-time. On Jan. 24, the Red Storm beat the Musketeers for Rick Pitino’s 900th win. The NCAA recognizes Rick Pitino with 781 wins after he was stripped of 123 victories due to violations at Louisville.
Ejiofor finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. John’s (19-5, 12-1 Big East), which has won 10 straight — the third 10-game winning streak in the last two seasons under Rick Pitino. Tre Carroll had 21 points and eight rebounds but missed a potential game-winning shot at the regulation buzzer for Xavier (12-12, 4-9).
No. 24 Louisville 118, North Carolina State 77
Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr. tied the Louisville single-game scoring mark with 45 points and matched another single-game record with 10 3-pointers to lead the Cardinals past the visiting Wolfpack.
Brown matched Wes Unseld’s single-game school record set against Georgetown (Ky.) College on Dec. 1, 1967. Brown’s point total set the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record, and his 10 3-pointers tied the school record established by Reyne Smith last season against SMU.
Ryan Conwell added 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cardinals (18-6, 8-4 ACC), who have won four in a row. North Carolina State (18-7, 9-3) got 20 points from Ven-Allen Lubin but had a six-game winning streak end.
