Jayhawks On Top Of Big 12 – NCAA Top 25 News And Notes For January 23rd

UNDATED (AP) — Travis Releford scored 12 points and No. 3 Kansas held off No. 11 Kansas State down the stretch for a 59-55 victory Tuesday night that gave the Jayhawks sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey added 11 points each for the 17-1 Jayhawks, who pushed their nation-leading winning streak to 16 games

In other AP Top-25- hoops:

— Achraf Yacoubou (YAH'-koh-boo) hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer late in the second half to help Villanova upset No. 5 Louisville 73-65. That's the Cardinals' second straight loss. Louisville had an 11-game winning streak end in a 70-68 loss to Syracuse on Saturday.

— Keith Appling scored 19 points and Branden Dawson added 18 to lead No. 13 Michigan State to a 49-47 victory over Wisconsin.

__ Deshaun Thomas, who missed part of the second half with a cut above his eye, scored 16 points and No. 14 Ohio State built a big lead and then held off Iowa 72-63. Thomas, the Big Ten's leading scorer at 21 points per game, sat out about 3 minutes while an open cut over his right eye was bandaged.

__ Freshman Devin Thomas had a season-high 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks to help Wake Forest upset No. 18 North Carolina State 86-84.

— Earnest Ross and Jabari Brown hit key 3-pointers in the final 1:11 and No. 22 Missouri rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat South Carolina 71-65.