Morris twins lead No. 2 Kansas past Iowa State

LAWRENCE, Kan. – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.