LAWRENCE, Kan. — The Big 12 surged to a 3-1 lead in the Big 12/Big East Battle following No. 5-ranked Kansas' thrilling 73-72 victory over No. 8 Creighton on Tuesday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
Jalen Wilson scored 23 points (with 10 rebounds) and hit a huge three from the corner to bust a tie with 42 seconds left, Christian Braun added 14 points and six assists and David McCormack 13 points as KU improved to 22-4 in its last 26 regular-season games versus Top 10 teams.
Marcus Garrett contributed nine points and Bryce Thompson eight as the Jayhawks evened their record at 1-1 in the challenge series between the two leagues. KU lost to Villanova last season in Philadelphia.
Denzel Mahoney scored 19 points and former Eudora High standout Mitch Ballock contributed six points as Creighton fell to 1-1 in the series between the two leagues. Creighton beat Oklahoma a year ago in the Big 12/Big East battle.
In other games in the series this season, Oklahoma State tripped Marquette, West Virginia topped Georgetown and Villanova upended Texas. Games canceled so far because of COVID-19: Baylor at Seton Hall, St. John's at Texas Tech and DePaul at Iowa State. Still to be played: Oklahoma at Xavier and Providence at TCU on Wednesday and Kansas State at Butler on Friday.
All-America candidate Marcus Zegarowski, who had 16 points, was fouled by KU's Wilson with 1.1 seconds left and a chance to force overtime following the three by Wilson. Zegarowski made the first two free throws but missed the third and the clock ran out.
This one was close throughout. Thompson hit two free throws and a 10-footer in the lane to bust a 59-59 tie and after a McCormack free throw KU led, 64-59, at 4:45.
However, Christian Bishop made it 64-61 on an inside shot at 3:40.
Braun hit a huge three to make it 67-61 KU at 3:37. However, after a miss, Damien Jefferson grabbed a rebound, scored and was fouled by McCormack to make it 67-63.
Wilson made one free throw to make it a five-point KU lead at 2:53. Mahoney scored to cut the gap to 68-65 at 1:54.
Wilson scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed four rebounds, while McCormack, who had been off to a slow start this season, scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting the first half as KU led, 39-35, at the break. Braun had five assists and five points in the half.
Ballock hit two early threes and had six points and four assists at halftime. Christian Bishop had nine points and four boards.
KU used an 11-0 run to turn a 16-10 deficit into a 21-16 lead with 12:17 left in the half. The Jayhawks' biggest lead in the half was six points. Creighton led by as many as six as well.
Braun hit two threes and Mitch Lightfoot two free throws in an 8-0 run that gave KU a 58-50 lead at 11:01. However, Creighton sliced the gap to 58-54 and 59-56 at 7:38.
Creighton's loss means the Bluejays still haven't won a regular-season game on ESPN since Feb. 18, 2006, when they knocked off Fresno State, 67-62.
KU will next meet Omaha at 6 p.m. Friday in Allen Fieldhouse. In all, 2,500 fans will be allowed admittance for the game. Fans were allowed in the fieldhouse for the first time this season for Tuesday's game.
