AMES, Iowa>> Curtis Jones scored 25 points in his second start of the season to lead No. 2 Iowa State to a 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas on Wednesday night, the Cyclones’ 12th straight victory.

The Cyclones (15-1, 5-0 Big 12) entered with their highest ranking in program history but without one of their key starters in forward Milan Momcilovic, who’s out indefinitely with a left hand injury.

Jones, who scored a season-high 26 points off the bench against Texas Tech on Saturday, looked just as comfortable starting in Momcilovic’s place. He made his first six shots and finished 5 of 6 on 3-pointers.

Dishon Jackson tied his season high with 17 points in his first appearance off the bench this season. Joshua Jefferson posted his sixth double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger earned his 12th win against a top-10 opponent, tying Johnny Orr for the most in school history. Otzelberger is in his fourth season; Orr coached the Cyclones for 14.

Zeke Mayo led the Jayhawks (12-4, 3-2) with 17 points. The Jayhawks committed 17 turnovers while taking their first Big 12 road loss.

NO. 6 TENNESSEE 74, NO. 23 GEORGIA 56>> Reserve Jordan Gainey scored 19 points and No. 6 Tennessee overcame a sluggish start and beat No. 23 Georgia 74-56 in Knoxville, Tenn.

The Volunteers (16-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) broke the game open with a 26-4 run to start the second half. Zakai Zeigler had 16 points and seven assists. Jahmai Mashack scored 12 and Cade Phillips 10.

Asa Newell scored 13 points and Silas Demary 12 for the Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2).

NO. 10 HOUSTON 70, WEST VIRGINIA 54>> J’Wan Roberts scored a season-high 22 points, L.J. Cryer added 18 and No. 10 Houston beat West Virginia 70-54 for its ninth straight win.

Houston (13-3, 5-0 Big 12) shot 49% overall and was 11 of 26 on 3-pointers in winning its 32nd straight home game.

Amani Hansberry scored 16 points and Javon Small added 13 points and eight assists for West Virginia (12-4, 3-2).

NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 90, PENN STATE 85>> Frankie Fidler had a season-high 18 points and Jaden Akins scored 16, leading No. 12 Michigan State to a 90-85 victory over Penn State in East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) have won 10 straight for the first time since the 2018-19 season, the most recent of their eight teams to reach the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

The Nittany Lions (12-6, 2-5) have lost four in a row, including three straight to AP Top 25 teams.

OMAHA 80, DU 62>> Tony Osburn had 15 points in Omaha’s 80-62 win against Denver.

Osburn had five rebounds for the Mavericks (11-9, 5-0 Summit League). JJ White scored 15 points, shooting 6 for 11, including 3 for 7 from beyond the arc. Ja’Sean Glover shot 4 of 4 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Mavericks prolonged their winning streak to seven games.

The Pioneers (6-14, 0-5) were led by Josh Pickett, who recorded 16 points. Sebastian Akins added 16 points, four assists and two blocks for Denver. Adbulai Fanta Kabba also had 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks. The loss is the eighth in a row for the Pioneers.

LATE TUESDAY: SAN DIEGO STATE 75, COLORADO STATE 60>> Colorado State’s three-game Mountain West Conference winning streak came to an end late Tuesday night at San Diego State.

Despite the Rams playing a close game with the Aztecs for much of the first half, San Diego State began to pull away just before halftime and spent the second half extending its lead while forcing CSU (10-7, 4-2 in Mountain West) to turn the ball over 20 times. Jalen Lake led the Rams with 15 points.

— Reporter-Herald

UConn’s Bueckers back, scores 12 in win

NEW YORK>>Paige Bueckers scored 12 points after missing two games with a left knee sprain to help No. 6 UConn win its sixth straight, 71-45 over St. John’s on Wednesday night.

Bueckers, after sitting out wins over Xavier and Georgetown, made 4 of 7 shots in 23 minutes. The guard added five rebounds along with two steals and finished the game six shy of becoming UConn’s 12th 2,000-point scorer.

Azzi Fudd led the Huskies (16-2, 7-0 Big East) with 13 points and Ashlynn Shade finished with 10 as UConn never trailed.

NO. 22 MICHIGAN STATE 70, RUTGERS 60>> Julia Ayrault and Emma Shumate scored 12 points apiece and No. 22 Michigan State slipped past Rutgers 70-60.

Grace VanSlooten added 11 points for the Spartans (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten Conference), who outscored the Scarlet Knights 23-13 in the third quarter to gain control of the game.

Destiny Adams had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (8-10, 0-7), who lost their sixth straight. Kiyomi McMiller added 13 points.