Collins sharp as Kansas upends No. 14 Tennessee

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/03/2009 - Lawrence, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sherron Collins tallied 26 points, nine assists and five rebounds, leading the Kansas Jayhawks to a 92-85 victory over the 14th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at Allen Fieldhouse.

Collins went 7-of-14 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the free throw line to give the Jayhawks (10-3) their third win in four games. Cole Aldrich had 22 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-14 shooting, and Tyshawn Taylor posted 12 points in the win.

Brady Morningstar hit 3-of-5 from long distance for 12 points, and Kansas shot 43.8 percent from three-point range.

Tyler Smith had a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee (9-3), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Wayne Chism, who appeared to suffer a serious back injury earlier this week against Louisiana-Lafayette, recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and six blocks in the loss.

Bobby Maze had 14 points, as the Vols shot just 34.6 percent from three-point range and 39.4 percent overall.

Kansas raced out to a 14-7 lead thanks to 7-of-9 shooting in the first 4:18 of the game. The Jayhawks continued to dominate, using an 11-0 run to take a 25-9 edge on Morningstar's three.

Tennessee answered with the next seven points to cut their deficit to nine, but Collins put the Jayhawks up 35-20 on a driving layup with six minutes left.

Collins had 14 points to lead all scorers at the break, and Kansas held a 40- 31 halftime edge after Scottie Hopson hit a deuce for Tennessee.

The Jayhawks maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the early second half, and Taylor's layup with 11:42 left put the hosts up 59-44.

Down 73-59 with six minutes left, Tennessee made an attempt at a comeback. The Vols cut their deficit to 77-70 with an 11-4 burst ending on Cameron Tatum's three-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes to play, but Kansas increased its lead to 12 on Collins' two free throws with 1:53 left.

The Vols got to within six in the final minute as Chism drained a trey, but Kansas made its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

Game Notes

Tennessee's schedule does not get any easier, as it will face Gonzaga at home on January 7...Kansas will face Siena at home on January 6 and Michigan State on the road on January 10...Surprisingly, Saturday marked the first time these two schools have ever faced each other in basketball...Tatum had 10 points and seven rebounds for Tennessee.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.