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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHICAGO (AP) -- Kenny Gregory and Luke Axtell were out with
injuries and Kansas (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) was coming off one of its worst losses,
so Nick Collison responded with the best game of his college
career.
"I was hoping I could step up. The team needed me to do that
and I felt comfortable," Collison said Tuesday night when he
scored a career-high 23 points as the Jayhawks rallied in the
second half and beat DePaul 75-69.
|  | | DePaul's Jon Oden (31) and Kansas' Drew Gooden come up empty with this loose ball in the Jayhawks' come-from-behind win. |
"We had lost Kenny and then Luke got hurt and everybody was a
little down," Collison said. "It was tough at first and then we
just knew we had to regroup."
Gregory, the Jayhawks' leading scorer, sat out a second straight
game with a stress fracture in his right foot, and then Axtell
sprained his ankle in practice.
The Jayhawks, blown out by 31 points at Wake Forest last week --
tying for the fourth-worst loss in school history -- rallied from a
nine-point halftime deficit Tuesday night because DePaul (4-4)
collapsed in the second half after leading scorer Bobby Simmons got
in foul trouble.
"We were just really good in the second half," Kansas coach
Roy Williams said. "We got them to turn it over. Bobby Simmons
almost shot us out of it. Obviously, the key point was getting him
in foul trouble."
Drew Gooden added 15 points for the Jayhawks (8-1). Kirk Hinrich
had 14 and Eric Chenowith 13 points and seven rebounds before
fouling out with 2:13 left.
Simmons scored 17, but only three in the second half. Imari
Sawyer added 14 for DePaul, which shot just 31 percent in the
second half when it had 11 turnovers.
"I knew the guys were looking over at me. It wasn't a fun
feeling, but there was nothing I could do," Simmons said. "I
wanted them to finish the game for me. They have to take it upon
themselves to do it."
Simmons had 14 first-half points, including three 3-pointers, as
the Blue Demons built a 42-33 halftime lead.
But after Simmons got his fourth foul with 14:30 left, Kansas
went on a game-turning 10-0 run.
DePaul committed three straight turnovers with Kansas scoring
after each one to take a 50-49 lead on Hinrich's driving layup.
Collison tipped in a shot and Jeff Boschee hit a pair of free
throws to cap a run that put the Jayhawks ahead 54-49.
DePaul coach Pat Kennedy was forced to put Simmons back in, and
he quickly picked up his fifth foul a minute later, with 9:19
remaining.
"It was our best 25 minutes of basketball. But once Bobby got
in foul trouble, we lost all our continuity," Kennedy said.
"With Axtell and Gregory, this is one of the best teams Roy has
had. They have a chance to win a national championship."
DePaul had six turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half and
went more than nine minutes between baskets.
Kansas is 7-0 against DePaul all-time, including an overtime
victory last March in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Kansas Clubhouse
DePaul Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kirk Hinrich steals the inbounds pass then takes it in.
avi: 1171 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Andre Brown gets fouled on the break and gets the bucket to drop.
avi: 763 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Eric Chenowith goes to work in the key for Kansas.
avi: 569 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jon Oden sends Drew Gooden's shot into the crowd.
avi: 538 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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