K-State Suffers First Big 12 Home Loss

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - D.J. Augustin had 24 points and A.J. Abrams scored all of his 13 in the second half, helping No. 5 Texas beat Kansas State 74-65 on Monday night, the Longhorns' eighth straight win.

Texas (24-4, 11-2 Big 12) didn't get much production outside of its two speedy guards, but the Longhorns put the squeeze on Kansas State with their stingy defense and improved to 8-0 in February to match a school record set in 1962-63.

The Longhorns need one win in their final three games to match the school record of 25 regular-season wins, set two seasons ago.

Kansas State (18-9, 8-5) got another big night from freshman Michael Beasley - 30 points and 15 rebounds - but had trouble solving Texas' aggressive zone and lost its third straight. The Wildcats shot 32 percent and got almost nothing from second-leading scorer Bill Walker to see their 10-game home winning streak end.

Augustin gave Kansas State all kinds of problems at the other end.

The 6-foot sophomore seemed to get where he wanted whenever he wanted, dribbling around the perimeter, poking and prodding Kansas State's defense to open up 3-pointers and drives to the basket.

Augustin had 12 points by halftime and helped Texas to a 57-50 lead midway through the second half, scoring on a floater then a three-point play after snatching the ball from the hands of Kansas State guard Fred Brown.

Abrams, coming off a season-low five points against Oklahoma on Saturday, wasn't much of a factor early, taking just two shots in the first half, missing both.

He didn't score until hitting a 3-pointer from the corner 5 minutes into the second half, but that shot seemed to boost his confidence. Abrams suddenly became more aggressive, hitting two more 3-pointers in the next 2 minutes, then another that put the Longhorns up 62-54 with just under 5 minutes left.

Abrams finished 4-of-9 from the field after going 4-for-20 with 14 points the previous two games combined.

Kansas State missed 12 of its first 16 shots overall and its first eight 3-point attempts. Somehow, the Wildcats scratched out a 30-all tie at halftime - thanks to Beasley.

Aggressive from the start, the 6-10 freshman made quick moves instead of waiting for the defense to collapse around him. He had Texas big men Connor Atchley and Gary Johnson in foul trouble in the first 10 minutes, and had a double-double by halftime with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Beasley finished 10-for-21 from the field after scoring a Big-12 record 44 points in a 92-86 loss to Baylor on Saturday.

While Beasley followed one big game with another, Walker didn't.

The freshman forward scored 31 points against Baylor, but was clearly frustrated by the physical play inside, complaining to the officials repeatedly in the second half. He finished with one point, missing all of his 14 field goal attempts.