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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." Air Max Destined China .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. Air Max II China . Spieth again showed game well beyond his 20 years with a 9-under 63 on the North Course, giving him a one-shot lead over Stewart Cink going into the weekend at the Farmers Insurance Open. http://www.cheapairmaxfromchina.com/air ... i-china/.J. -- The Houston Astros had the No. Air Max Trainer 1 China . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Air Max 98 China . Louis Cardinals a hard-fought victory. The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma.TORONTO – Nazem Kadri isnt the superstitious type, but one could understand if he was tempted to change his luck. More than a quarter of the way into just his third full NHL season it appeared as if the 24-year-old was stuck in a rut – totaling just 10 points in 22 games. But while the points are down this year, the other numbers look about as good as last season, if not slightly better. Kadri is producing more offence at even-strength, winning more faceoffs, directing more shots on goal, drawing more penalties and boasting one of the best possession marks on the Leafs. Working against him, however, has been an underperforming power-play, some unfortunate luck and an ongoing battle with consistency. Teaming with Joffrey Lupul and the since-departed Mason Raymond on Torontos second power-play unit a year ago, Kadri tied for second on the team with 18 such points, including seven goals – a mark that trailed only Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. But with Lupul banged up and Raymond off to Calgary, that same second unit has produced little to nothing so far this season. Kadri has yet to even register a single point with the man advantage and was removed from such duties entirely against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. It was a loud message to the brash centre and one that provoked the desired response. Nazzie hadnt had a point on the power-play in 21 games, said Carlyle after the 4-3 overtime loss. What would you do? Performing at last years pace on the power-play would net him an additional five points at this point in the year and would likely quiet some of the questions about his sagging production. From the sounds of it, hell be back on that power-play again soon. Hes a little bit snake-bit on the power-play, but we know thats going to come, said Leafs assistant Steve Spott, who directs Torontos man advantage. Some of that lacking production is also surely tied to luck. Unlike his 44-point breakout during the lockout season when luck was working hard in his favour, Kadri hasnt benefited much from the hockey gods this year. Despite being on pace for nearly 50 more shots than last season, hes scored on just 9.6 per cent of his opportunities, far below the 16 per cent mark he averaged in the past three seasons. Kadri has all five of his goals at even-strength – trailing only Kessel and van Riemsdyk in Toronto – and 10 even-strength points, behind only Kessel and Leo Komarov and equal to van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. He owns the second-best possession mark on the Leafs and draws penalties at one of the highest rates in the league, including one on Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. Carlyle also recently praised his improved efforts in the defensive zone. All of that, however, doesnt change the inconsistency thats there night to night and even shift to shift with Kadri. There are efforts like that in Pittsburgh when hes noticeably engaged in the game, throwing his 188-pound fframe around with feisty abandon.dddddddddddd. He bowled over Christian Ehrhoff with a thunderous hit in the third frame, doing the same to Wings defender Niklas Kronwall just a few nights earlier in a win over Detroit. When hes playing with that edge, when hes playing with a little bit of emotion, said Spott, who coached Kadri when he first landed in junior with Kitchener, thats when he becomes a real weapon for us. So its combining his skill with that tenacity. When he does that hes a very valuable player. Its when that tenacity dips that Kadri is hardly noticeable at all. And then there are moments when his decision-making veers into questionable territory. With the score tied early in the third frame opposite the Penguins Kadri attempted a back-hand pass just a few paces in front of Jonathan Bernier. Malkin picked the puck off with ease and nearly scored to put the Penguins ahead. Generally though it was one of those efforts the Leafs would like to see more of. They doled out a team-high of nearly 19 even-strength minutes to Kadri, even double-shifting him from time to time in the final two periods. I thought Nazzie had one of his stronger games, Carlyle said afterward. He needs to play with that level of grit, Spott added, with that level of anger and when he does that he seems to take his game to the next level. Its doing it consistently every night. Part of what makes Kadri, the seventh overall pick in 2009, such a polarizing figure and the source of so much intrigue is the outsized expectations of him. The Leafs have lacked a superstar first line centre since Mats Sundin exited the organization and because of his obvious skill there are hopes inside Toronto, unfair as they may be, that Kadri can be that guy. He very well may be down the line, but thats not where he is at this point. Kadri may just be a dangerous offensive centre a grade below star status and theres really nothing wrong with that. Its about managing expectations and at times the organization has done a poor job of that. Former Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson once claimed that Kadri would be a superstar in the league one day. As confident as they come, Kadri surely believes hell cross that threshold at some point and that will make negotiations this summer quite interesting. Kadri will be a restricted free agent for the second time in three years, concluding a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.9 million. Those are questions for many months down the line though. For now the Leafs will take more nights like Wednesday from their often-puzzling, but equally talented centre. Im just trying to be as productive as I can with the ice-time Im given, Kadri said Wednesday night. Im going to go out there and give it a 100 per cent every shift I got and just leave it all out there. Whether thats scoring a goal, drawing a penalty, making a big hit, Im just trying to do whatever [I can]. Cheap Jerseys China