Terrible week for Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The week could hardly have been worse for Missouri. <br><br>It was so bad, Saturday night's 72-61 loss to archrival No. 9 Illinois seemed almost a pleasant diversion. Between

Monday, December 24th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The week could hardly have been worse for Missouri.

It was so bad, Saturday night's 72-61 loss to archrival No. 9 Illinois seemed almost a pleasant diversion. Between the loss to the Illini and controversy over the apparent $25 million sale of former coach Norm Stewart's legacy, Tiger fans are wincing.

Elsewhere in the Big 12 on Saturday, Kansas beat North Dakota 108-77; Oklahoma State defeated Arkansas 84-76; Texas beat UNLV 87-78; Louisiana Monroe beat Texas A&M 76-61; Texas Tech routed the Stetson Hatters 101-47; Minnesota beat Nebraska 81-72; Texas-Pan American downed Baylor 72-66; and Iowa beat Kansas State 89-70.

And on Sunday, Iowa State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-54 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Missouri (9-2) expects to drop out of the Top 10 this week. No doubt, there will be further debate over the condition Bill Laurie has put in his $25 million gift that would make sure Stewart's name did not appear in the proposed new arena.

The No. 8 Tigers, who were ranked as high as No. 2 just a couple weeks ago, were unable to handle Illinois guard Frank Williams, who scored 22 points. When Missouri closed to 49-47 with eight minutes left, Williams hit three straight buckets, while all the Tigers could manage was a free throw. Kareem Rush led Missouri with 16 points.

``Frank just took over at the end,'' said Missouri guard Clarence Gilbert, who scored nine.

Meanwhile, No. 3 Kansas took Jeff Boschee back home Saturday. The senior guard got a three-minute standing ovation in Grand Forks, N.D., as the Jayhawks beat Division II North Dakota.

``I really don't like having that much attention,'' Boschee said. ``I figured I'd better do something to make them stop clapping, so I waved.''

He scored 23 points before a crowd of 13,280, the biggest to ever see a basketball game in North Dakota.

A smart coaching decision by Eddie Sutton led to Oklahoma State's victory over Arkansas. The Cowboys overcame a 22-point deficit to remain unbeaten.

Victor Williams, with four fouls, went back into the game with 12:15 to play and made the difference. Two free throws by Williams with 2:19 left gave the Cowboys their first lead. Then he scored six points in the final minute.

``I think I played terrible. To win with so many turnovers, it was a huge blessing,'' Williams said.

Chris Owens got 18 points and 16 rebounds as Texas won at UNLV. Brandon Mouton and T.J. Ford added 15 points apiece. It was Texas' sixth win in a row.

Bob Knight has been with Texas Tech less than half a season, but already, the Red Raiders have enjoyed their third-largest point differential in school history. Saturday's game against the Hatters was the first time this season Texas Tech had scored more than 100 points.

Andy Ellis scored 23 points for the Red Raiders and Andre Emmett added 18.

The matchup was a contrast of coaching experience: Hatter coach Derek Waugh, 30, was coaching his 29th game; compared to Bob Knight with his 1,063rd.

Dusty Rychart scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and Michael Bauer had 15 points to lead Minnesota past the Huskers.

It was Nebraska's third-straight loss. The Huskers have won just two road games in the last two seasons.

Texas-Pan American overcame a 17-point deficit in 17 minutes to beat Baylor in the championship game of the Carolina Shootout.

Mire Chatman scored 20 points for Texas-Pan American, including two 3-pointers to seal the win.

Texas A&M lost its third game in the Las Vegas Classic when Louisiana-Monroe bounced the Aggies. Brian Lubeck scored 28 points and collected 12 rebounds to lead Louisiana-Monroe.

Kansas State put up a fight while losing to 12th-ranked Iowa. The Wildcats trailed by 16 points just before halftime but closed the gap to 56-55 with 14:24 left.

The 3-point shooting of Chauncey Leslie and Ryan Hogan helped give Iowa the momentum to win.

On Sunday, Tyray Pearson scored 23 points and Jake Sullivan added 20 in Iowa State's home win.

Pearson, who grabbed nine rebounds, hit two inside shots in a 9-0 run late in the first half for the Cyclones (6-6).

Maryland-Eastern Shore's leading scorer, Tee Trotter, left the game with an eye injury with 1:48 remaining in the first half. Trotter, who averages 15.5 points per game, scored 13 points for the Hawks (5-6) before being taken out.