LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Just minutes after Andrew Wiggins put No. 6 Kansas on his back, scoring six of his career-high 29 points in the defining moment of the game, Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg offered a glowing assessment of the star freshman. "You can tell hes oozing with confidence," Hoiberg said Wednesday night after his 16th-ranked Cyclones lost 92-81, "and thats scary." The nations No. 1 recruit, Wiggins has finally started to live up to his hype. He matched his 27-point performance in a win over TCU last weekend with a dunk that gave Kansas an 81-72 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining, and then added a couple free throws for his career high. The freshman hit four 3-pointers and finished 10 of 16 from the field. "Im just starting to feel more comfortable," Wiggins said. It helped that he didnt have to carry the load himself. Perry Ellis added 20 points, Joel Embiid had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Naadir Tharpe finished with 12 points and 12 assists for the Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12), who won their seventh straight game. Wayne Selden had 11 points and five assists. "Im not surprised at all because we got prepared to play these games," Tharpe said. "It was a matter of time until everyone just went out there and started to play." Georges Niang led the Cyclones (15-4, 3-4) with 24 points. DeAndre Kane added 22 points and Melvin Ejim, battling foul trouble much of the game, finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Iowa State started the season with 14 straight wins, but has now dropped four of its last five. That includes a 77-70 loss to the Jayhawks earlier this month in Ames. "If theyre hitting shots like that," Hoiberg said of the Jayhawks, "thats going to be a tough, tough team to beat." The Jayhawks held on despite a shortened bench. Forward Tarik Black missed his second game with an ankle injury while guard Conner Frankamp did not suit up because of a knee injury. It didnt seem to matter early in the game. The Jayhawks roared to a 30-14 lead in the opening minutes, dominating on the offensive glass and taking advantage of rapidly retreating Cyclones on the defensive boards. Just as quickly, though, Iowa State whittled into the lead. The comeback began with a jam off an alley-oop pass by Ejim, and picked up momentum when the Cyclones hit 3-pointers on four straight trips down court. By the time Monte Morris finished off the run, done mostly while Wiggins sat on the bench, the lead had been trimmed to 37-34. "Ive been in this building enough as a player, as a coach, a scout, and it happens pretty much every game, they come out and hit shots early and you have to withstand it, you have to withstand the runs," Hoiberg said. "I give our guys credit for clawing back in the game." The Cyclones pulled even for the first time when Kane buried a 3-pointer out of halftime, but the Jayhawks responded with 11 straight points to regain control. Wiggins did most of the work, hitting a long jumper and a scooping layup while also getting to the free throw line. By that point, a packed crowd that included Kansas City Royals Billy Butler and Jeremy Guthrie and Grammy nominated musician Trey Songz was on its feet. Iowa State made one more charge. Ejim scored to draw within 73-69 and force Kansas coach Bill Self to call a timeout, and Niang drained a 3-pointer moments later to make it a one-point game. Embiid responded with a thunderous dunk, and after Kane turned it over at the other end, the Cyclones intentionally fouled Wiggins on a fast break. He made both free throws, and then added a putback off Embiids miss to make it a four-point trip. "That was a pretty big call," Niang said of the intentional foul. "Not saying it was a bad call or anything, but thats where they took off." Wiggins added a run-out dunk after another turnover to give the Jayhawks an 81-72 lead, and the defending Big 12 champions coasted the rest of the way to its 18th win in 19 meetings with Iowa State. "We gave ourselves a chance," Hoiberg said, "and at the end of the day, we gave ourselves an opportunity in as tough an environment as were going to play in." Hakeem Nicks Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Erik Walden Elite Jersey . The Lakers will also visit Cleveland and Philadelphia, have lost four in a row on the road and are 8-18 as the guest this season. They are 3-12 on the road against Western Conference opponents. http://www.shoptheofficialcolts.com/Elite-Andrew-Luck-Colts-Jersey/ . The Kings have gone 6-0-3 over their last nine games despite having been held to three goals or fewer in eight of 10 contests this month. Los Angeles has failed to score more than two goals six times in that span. Trent Richardson Elite Jersey . The 114th-ranked Lorenzi broke Monacos serve to go up 4-3 in the decisive set and held on to close the match in 2 hours, 34 minutes at the Ibirapuera Arena. The 32-year-old Italian squandered a match point before losing the second set, but was in control in the third to pick up the win in the ATP 250 tournament in South Americas biggest city. Ahmad Bradshaw Jersey . -- Brian Dawkins biggest contribution Sunday in the AFC wild card playoffs will be with his talking and not his tackling.Ricky Foley cant wait for the start of the CFL playoffs to begin but not at the expense of looking past the Edmonton Eskimos. Foley and the Saskatchewan Roughriders conclude their regular season Saturday hosting Edmonton. Win or lose, the Riders (11-6) have already clinched second in the West Division -- and will host B.C. in the conference semifinal Nov. 17 -- while the Eskimos (3-14) are destined to finish last. But the contest has meaning for both teams. Saskatchewan is coming off a bitter 29-25 road loss to Calgary (14-3), which cemented first in the West for the Stampeders. Heading into the post-season having dropped two straight games would be hardly ideal for the Riders. While theres no playoff date for Edmonton, for many of its players this will be the final opportunity to make a favourable impression, either with the Eskimos or other CFL teams, for next year. "We cant look past Edmonton," Foley said. "If you look past Edmonton and start gameplanning for and worrying about B.C. youre going to get your head kicked in by Edmonton. "Those guys are playing for jobs and those coaches are gameplanning for jobs. Theyre going to come in here hungry. We also dont want to be on a two-game losing streak going into the playoffs, that wouldnt be very good." Despite its struggles, Edmonton boasts some solid offensive threats. Quarterback Mike Reilly, in his first season as a CFL starter, has throw for 4,157 yards and 24 TDs while running for 649 yards -- tops among quarterbacks -- and is averaging 8.4 yards per rush. The Eskimos also boast the CFLs top receiver in slotback Fred Stamps, who has 68 catches for a league-best 1,259 yards and 11 TDs. "Offensively theyve got some playmakers," Foley said. "Obviously Fred Stamps is special but the quarterback, man, hes just a football player. "Ive got so much respect for Mike Reilly. Hes a guy Ive hit a lot this year but he gets up, he doesnt complain to his O-line and being a vet Ive got a lot of respect for that kind of player. Hes going to be a good player in this league." The six-foot-two, 258-pound Foley joined the Riders as a free agent last off-season after helping the Toronto Argonauts win the 100th Grey Cup game in November at Rogers Centre. With this years CFL title game being played at Mosaic Stadium, Saskatchewan is attempting to become the third straight team to win the Grey Cup on home soil -- B.C. also did it in 2011. Foley, 31, of Courtice, Ont., has flourished in Regina with eiight sacks after registered nine over three seasons in Toronto.dddddddddddd The eight-year veteran is enjoying his best CFL campaign since a career-best 12 sacks in 09 with B.C. that earned him the leagues top Canadian award that year. But its been a season of streaks for Saskatchewan, which opened the 2013 campaign with five straight wins before a 42-27 road loss to Calgary on Aug. 9. After reeling off three consecutive victories the Riders lost 25-13 to Winnipeg. That was the start of four straight losses before a 31-17 road victory in Vancouver that began a three-game losing streak. Then came last weekends heart-breaking loss to the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. "I thought we had a pretty good effort in Calgary," Foley said. "Theyre the best team in the league record-wise but I think we had the opportunity to beat them and shouldve beat them and you can take a little bit of positive from that. "Obviously guys are disappointed about not being able to win first place but we have to get this one this week and when B.C. comes in here be on a roll." The Riders-Stampeders rivalry this season has been intense, on and off the field. Saskatchewans Kory Sheets helped pour gasoline on the fire recently by publicly stating he was a better running back than Calgarys Jon Cornish, the CFL rushing leader. Sheets topped the rushing race midway through the season before suffering a knee injury that forced him to miss three games. Cornish, who was second overall behind Sheets at the time, stormed into the lead and hasnt looked back since. But Foley said in an eight-team league where clubs play one another often, animosity is bound to build up. "When you play a team that much and its the two top dogs in the division its going to be intense," he said. "Its like a playoff series in hockey when you see a team that much and that frequently in such a short period of time theres going to be a lot of built-up anger towards those guys. "But that makes it fun. Its good for the league, its good for the fans and its fun for us players." Once the playoffs begin, Foley said discipline will be key for the Riders. "I think thats going to be the biggest thing," he said. "There also has to be good leadership going into the playoffs. "Without question, weve got the talent to do what we want to do but the leadership has to be there, the discipline has to be there and we cant beat ourselves. We do that I think well be fine." ' ' '
