No. 3 Kansas 78, Nebraska 65

Saturday, February 5th 2005, 2:17 pm

By: News On 6

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Keith Langford matched his career high with 27 points Saturday, and third-ranked Kansas held Nebraska without a field goal for more than six minutes late in the game in a 78-65 victory.

Wayne Simien had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Jayhawks (18-1, 8-0 Big 12), who have beaten their last four opponents by an average of 17.5 points since losing to Villanova on Jan. 22.

Kansas was pushed to the final buzzer in beating Nebraska 59-57 in Lawrence on Jan. 19. But the Jayhawks were in control by halftime this day on the same court where they had lost by 19 points a year ago.

Jason Dourisseau scored a career-high 24 points for Nebraska (10-9, 3-5), which has lost five of its last six conference games. Wes Wilkinson, who hit 3-of-5 3-pointers, added 13 points and John Turek 12.

Nebraska, whose last win over a top-five team was against then-No. 3 Kansas in 1993, stayed close through the first half and led by five points when Joe McCray made a 3-pointer with 12:05 left.

The Jayhawks switched to a zone and held the Huskers without a field goal on seven of their next eight possessions. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Aaron Miles and Langford and a pair of baseline jumpers by Simien gave the Jayhawks the lead for good.

Langford hit consecutive 3s to start the second half and highlight a 16-4 Kansas run over both halves, and Nebraska committed turnovers on five of eight possessions as the Jayhawks built a double-digit lead.

The Huskers drew to 64-58 on Wes Wilkinson's free throws with 4:32 left. But the Huskers went without a field goal from the 6:27 mark until Dourisseau's 3-pointer with four seconds left.

McCray, who came into the game averaging a team-leading 14.7 points, was held to seven in 19 minutes. He played only four minutes the second half.

The Jayhawks shot 53 percent from the field while holding Nebraska to 36 percent.