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No. 10 seed Stanford shocks No. 2 seed Kansas

Stanford v Kansas

Getty Images

Andy Lyons

Stanford v Kansas

Getty Images

Andy Lyons

ST. LOUIS -- After an ugly first half that saw both teams combine to shoot 32 percent from the field to go with 16 turnovers, No. 10 seed Stanford settled down and pulled away from No. 2 seed Kansas to earn a 60-57 upset win on Sunday, in a Round of 32 game in the South Regional.

Stanford advances to the Sweet 16, where they’ll face No. 11 seed Dayton in Memphis on Thursday.

Kansas senior forward Tarik Black led Kansas with a game-high 18 points, but fouled out with five minutes remaining. That changed the game for the Jayhawks, as Black was the only offensive option for the Jayhawks in the second half. Black and freshman guard Connor Frankamp combined for 30 points on 10-for-16 shooting. The rest of the Kansas roster managed 27 points on 9-for-42 shooting from the floor.
MORE: Kansas has lost to a No. 9 seed or lower five times under Bill Self

The fault will likely end up falling on the shoulders of Kansas freshman forward Andrew Wiggins. A projected top three pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and the most hyped player in a loaded 2013 recruiting class, Wiggins had as many points as turnovers -- four -- on 1-for-6 shooting from the field. He was a no-show, and it cost Kansas.

The Jayhawks fell behind early, trailing the Cardinal, 18-11, with 9:31 remaining in the first half, but the Kansas defense held Stanford to one field goal for the remainder of the half as the Jayhawks closed the frame on a 13-4 run.

Frankamp came off the bench and sparked the Kansas offense by knocking down the first Jayhawk three-pointer of the 2014 NCAA Tournament with 3:34 left in the first half to cut Stanford’s lead to 21-19 and ignite the dormant, pro-Jayhawk crowd. Frankamp’s pull-up three-pointer with one second left -- after an Anthony Brown turnover -- gave Kansas a 24-22 halftime lead.

But Stanford rallied in the second half as the Cardinal went on a 25-14 run to open the second half as Stanford led Kansas, 47-40, with 6:54 remaining. Using multiple zone looks -- including an occasional 1-3-1 zone, which Kansas saw against Eastern Kentucky on Friday -- Stanford’s defense confused the Kansas offense as the Jayhawks struggled to consistently reverse the ball and attack the Cardinal defense. Kansas shot 32 percent from the field (19-for-58) and 31 percent from three-point range (5-for-16) on the afternoon.

Kansas rallied, however, using a full-court trap to speed up the game and force turnovers. The Jayhawks went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 49-all with 5:12 remaining, but Stanford responded with buckets from senior center Dwight Powell (15 points) and senior center Josh Huestis (six points) to take a 53-49 lead with 3:11 left.

After two free throws from Kansas sophomore forward Perry Ellis, the teams traded stops and Powell knocked down two free throws with 56 seconds remaining to give Stanford a 55-51 lead.

Junior guard Anthony Brown (10 points) also made 6-of-9 free throws down the stretch for Stanford, but Frankamp kept Kansas within striking distance as the freshman’s three-pointers on back-to-back possessions cut Stanford’s lead down to 59-57 with 14.9 seconds remaining. Brown split a pair of free throws that would have iced the game with 12 seconds left and Frankamp’s ensuing tying three-point attempt wasn’t very close as Stanford recovered the ball and ran out the clock.

Junior guard Chasson Randle also chipped in 13 points for Stanford.

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