Friars’ bid for upset fouled up

Reynolds made three of them for a 67-60 lead. With Curry (19 points) out of the game, the Friars had no serious runs left.

“The explanation I got for the technical foul was, he said, ‘Where’s the foul?’ ’’ Friars coach Keno Davis said. “He put his arms somewhat up. It’s about as demonstrative as Curry has ever been and that’s not very demonstrative.’’

That momentum swing shifted another victory to the Wildcats.

“I just made a cut to the basket and we got tangled up,’’ Reynolds said. “Away from the play, we’re still tangled. We got untangled and he did what he did.’’

Antonio Pena had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who started flat against a Providence team in the lower half of the Big East standings. The Wildcats committed six turnovers only eight minutes into the game.

Temple 78, Rhode Island 56 - Micheal Eric scored a career-high 19 points and the No. 21 Owls set a school record for shooting in a rout of the visiting Rams.

Temple (20-5, 8-2 Atlantic 10) shot 68.6 percent from the field, including making its first eight shots of the second half, and had its highest scoring game of the season.

Delroy James and Akeem Richmond each had 11 points for Rhode Island (19-5, 7-4).

“I was just very disappointed with our performance today,’’ Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said. “Temple did a great job of attacking the bucket, getting open shots, and they did a great job shooting the basketball. It was just very disappointing on our part as far as our defense.’’

The Owls, who are 53-15 all time against the Rams, swept the season series.

Kansas 73, Iowa St. 59 - Xavier Henry and Tyshawn Taylor fueled a 14-0 run that turned a tight game into the laugher that everyone expected, as the top-ranked Jayhawks romped past the visiting Cyclones for coach Bill Self’s 400th career victory.

Marcus Morris and Cole Aldrich each had double-doubles for Kansas (24-1, 10-0), which holds a commanding three-game lead with six games to go and seems virtually assured of its seventh consecutive Big 12 championship.

Craig Brackins, who once scored 42 against Kansas and has always been tough for the Jayhawks to handle, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa State (13-12, 2-9).