Morris twins lead No. 2 Kansas past Iowa State
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Twin brothers Marcus and Markieff Morris each had a double-double and keyed a 23-4 first-half run that carried No. 2 Kansas past Iowa State 89-66 on Saturday.
The victory, coupled with No. 1 Ohio State's 71-67 loss to No. 13 Wisconsin, could boost the Jayhawks (24-1, 9-1 Big 12) to the top of the AP poll for the first time this season.
The Jayhawks' lone loss was a 74-63 setback to then-No. 10 Texas on Jan. 22 that ended their school-record home court winning streak at 69.
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Marcus had 16 points and 11 rebounds while Markieff had 14 and 11 for his conference-leading ninth double-double.
The Cyclones (14-11, 1-9), the Big 12's leading 3-point shooters, hit 14 of 32 from beyond the arc, including six straight at one point, but couldn't recover from a 45-26 halftime deficit.
Scott Christopherson had 16 points for Iowa State and Melvin Ejim had 13.
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The game was decided with Kansas' big run in the first half. After Jamie Vanderbeken canned a 3-pointer for Iowa State, Tyshawn Taylor hit a 3 for Kansas and ignited the 23-4 run that assured the Jayhawks of a 12th straight win over the outmanned Cyclones, who have lost nine of 10 after starting 14-2 in coach Fred Hoiberg's first season.
After Taylor's 3-pointer, the third straight for the Jayhawks, Mario Little stole a pass and Markieff Morris converted for two points on the other end. A moment later, Markieff hit a 3-pointer, then Little scored to make it 20-10.
Brady Morningstar stole a pass and drove in for a Kansas basket, then on Iowa State's next possession, Tyrel Reed stole the ball and fed Marcus Morris, who was fouled and hit one free throw.
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Marcus' soft jumper put Kansas on top 25-12, then Markieff blocked an Iowa State shot and Elijah Johnson drove in for a bucket, got fouled and made the free throw for a 30-12 lead.
Marcus' free throw gave Kansas a 33-12 lead before Jordan Railey finally halted the Kansas momentum with a basket for the Cyclones at the 6:07 mark.
But Marcus Morris hit a jumper and Little canned two more free throws for a 37-14 lead.
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Christopherson's first 3-pointer gave him at least one in 27 straight games, tying the Iowa State record set by Mike Taylor from 2006-07.
Taylor had 14 points for Kansas, while Brady Morningstar, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, had 13 points.
Jake Anderson and Diante Garrett each had 12 points for Iowa State.
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Kansas, which came in leading the nation in shooting at 52.4 percent, shot 52 percent against the Cyclones. The taller Jayhawks outrebounced Iowa State 43-31.