Braun leads No. 8 Kansas past St. John's 95-75 at new arena

Fri, Dec 3, 2021
NHL News (AP)

NEW YORK (AP) - Christian Braun had a career-high 31 points, Ochai Agbaji scored 23 and No. 8 Kansas emphatically turned back a second-half charge to beat St. John's 95-75 on Friday night in the first basketball game at new UBS Arena.

Senior forward David McCormack, off to a slow start this season, was a force inside with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks (6-1), who have bounced back from a one-point loss to Dayton last week with consecutive double-digit wins.

Remy Martin added 12 points and five assists, and Kansas clamped down on defense late in a game that was part of the annual Big East-Big 12 Battle.

Julian Champagnie scored all but four of his 24 points after halftime for the Red Storm (5-2), who were facing their first ranked opponent of the season in a matchup of programs rich in history that met for the 1952 NCAA title.

Posh Alexander, hobbling at times with a lower right leg injury, and Dylan Addae-Wusu each scored 16 points for St. John's, which was playing playing less than 8 miles from campus.

Kansas, which traveled about 1,270 miles, has more wins in the glimmering new building than the NHL team it houses.

Depleted by COVID-19 absences, the New York Islanders are 0-4-1 in their $1.1 billion home that opened two weeks ago at Belmont Park.

Champagnie hit his first five 3-point attempts in the second half as St. John's whittled a 13-point halftime deficit to three on two occasions.

But then Agbaji responded with a 3 and a putback, and Kansas went on an 11-0 spurt to take command. St. John's went almost five minutes without a point and nearly eight minutes without a basket as the Jayhawks pulled away.

It was their second victory in New York this season after opening with an 87-74 win over Michigan State on Nov. 9 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The loss to Dayton on a buzzer-beater in Florida last week dropped the Jayhawks four spots in the AP poll, but they rebounded with a 96-83 win over Iona on Sunday in Orlando. Hall of Fame coach Bill Self is still toying with a deep rotation and demanding much better defense. Kansas has used at least 11 players in all seven games.

St. John's: With a deep roster featuring two stars back from last season's surprising 16-11 squad in Champagnie and Alexander, the Red Storm have legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations after getting picked fourth in the Big East coaches' poll. But they're still melding five accomplished Division I transfers and a couple of touted freshmen with three returnees, and have barely squeezed by at home lately against some of the weak competition that makes up a soft nonconference schedule. St. John's lost by two at Indiana last month and this was probably its only other opportunity for a significant resume boost outside the Big East.

TIES THAT BIND

Kansas assistant Norm Roberts was the head coach at St. John's from 2004-10, going 81-101 in six seasons without an NCAA Tournament berth. ... The only appearance for St. John's in the national championship game was an 80-63 loss to Clyde Lovellette and Kansas in 1952 as Phog Allen coached the Jayhawks to their first of three NCAA titles. ... Kansas redshirt Kyle Cuffe Jr., a freshman guard from Harlem in New York City, is the son of the former St. John's power forward. Kyle Cuffe Sr. played for the Johnnies from 2000-04 and averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds as a senior. "Definitely supporting my son and Kansas but I bleed red storm," he posted Thursday on Twitter. ... St. John's freshman forward O'Mar Stanley is from Overland Park, Kansas. ... It was the 14th meeting between the schools and first since November 2000 at Madison Square Garden. Kansas has the second-most wins among major college basketball programs, while St. John's ranks ninth.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Will host UTEP on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri, before renewing an old border rivalry with Missouri on Dec. 11 at Allen Fieldhouse.

St. John's: Back on campus Sunday night to face New York City foe Fordham in the 89th meeting of a series that dates to 1909. St. John's is 18-0 against the Rams at Carnesecca Arena/Alumni Hall.

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