Kansas handles Iowa State 76-72

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self had a hunch that two of his players would bust out of prolonged slumps Monday night.

“I told ’em before the game … I said, ‘You guys are going to win the game for us,’ ” Self said of Carlton Bragg and Lagerald Vick, who combined for 18 points and 11 rebounds in the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks’ 76-72 victory over Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum.

“I’m not sure it played out that way, but I thought they played well. As seven goes,” Self added of KU’s seven-man rotation, which has featured Bragg and Vick as the only contributors off the bench since Udoka Azubuike went down because of injury, “we’ve kind of labored here lately.

“If the starting five didn’t have a great night, it would be hard for us to win. Tonight we had a couple of guys not have their best night. Those guys totally made up for it.”

Sophomore forward Bragg, who had one point and one rebound combined in the last two games, scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting for just his third double-figure scoring output of the season. His six rebounds in 15 minutes were most since his six-board game against Texas Tech on Jan. 7.

“Carlton was great at shootaround today. You could just tell his head was right,” Self said of the 6-10 Cleveland native, who helped the Jayhawks to a 41-24 advantage on the boards.

“It feels great,” Bragg said, responding well after Self informed him he was going to have a big game. “I was just stepping up to the challenge, getting his trust back, getting my rhythm back as well. I’ve just got to build on it, go to practice and do the same thing.”

Bragg, who spoke to the media Monday for the first time since serving a one-game suspension on Dec. 10 against Nebraska, said this performance is the start of something big.

“For sure. I know for a fact,” Bragg said. “Coming here, getting offensive rebounds (five), running the floor, being active, letting the game come to me, not forcing anything,” he added of his strong points versus the Cyclones.

Sophomore guard Vick, who entered with 16 points in the last four games, scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three turnovers in 27 minutes.

He had a big dunk with 20 seconds left, upping a 73-70 lead to 75-70. That helped KU (17-1, 6-0) hold off a Cyclones team (11-6, 3-3) that had cut a 10-point deficit with 1:55 left to just three points with 26.6 and 14.6 seconds left.

“Coach told us (Vick and Bragg) going into the game, so I felt more confident, especially in a big road game,” Vick said. “I’ve been working in practice, guys have been talking to me, keeping me confident.”

Their production was needed on a day Frank Mason, who could be seen rubbing his right knee at various junctures after getting it bumped in the second half, settled for 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting (including 2-3 from three) with six boards, one assist and three turnovers in 33 minutes.

Self said Mason’s knee injury was not serious and KU’s trainer had no concerns about it.

“He got it bumped pretty good,” Self said.

Mason’s final bucket came with 1:55 left and KU holding a comfy 73-63 lead. His Iowa State counterpart, Monte Morris, had 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

KU guard Devonté Graham scored nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, with eight assists and two turnovers. Graham hit one of two free throws with 12.8 seconds left — the one make upping a 75-72 lead to four points.

For the game, KU attempted just five free throws, hitting two. ISU attempted 10, hitting seven.

“It’s always tough to play here. It seems no matter what they’ll go on runs and make it a close game and you’ll have to fight to get a win,” KU senior forward Landen Lucas said. He scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Iowa State forward Devonte Burton had 21 points and five boards.

“We should be proud getting a win. It’s a big road win for us in the Big 12.”

Of the performance of KU’s two bench players, Vick and Bragg, Lucas said: “It’s huge. It’s crazy because Coach called it before the game. He said we’d get big games from both of ’em. Both were due to have a good game. I’m proud of my fellow big man, Carlton. I’m happy he had such a big game in such an important game.”

The Jayhawks were not overly concerned about almost blowing a 10-point lead in the final 2 minutes.

“We could have closed the game better,” Lucas said. “We’ve got to be better. A couple of minutes left we had a comfortable lead, next thing you know it’s a one-possession game.”

Of junior guard Graham at least hitting one free throw to finally ice the game, Lucas said: “He is clutch. All our guards are clutch.”

And of what turned out to be a narrow victory, Self said: “We knew this was going to be one of the harder games we play all year.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Kansas handles Iowa State 76-72."