“He wants me to shoot it, he wants me to score, and if he believes in me, I need to believe in myself too.” – Devonte’ Graham on Coach telling him not to pass up open shot opportunities #KUbball pic.twitter.com/bgpscDLThM

— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) December 30, 2017

The 11th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks buried 17 three-point shots and then held off Texas in the final minutes Friday night, beating the Longhorns 92-86 in Austin.

In the Big 12 opener for both teams, Kansas came out firing from long distance, making six threes in the first half and 11 after intermission.

Guard Devonte’ Graham scored 23 points for the Jayhawks, who are trying to win their 14th straight conference title.

He hit 6 three-pointers (in 12 attempts). Meanwhile, Lagerald Vick scored 21 points and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added 20.

Both Vick and Mykhailiuk knocked downn 5 three-pointers.

Texas freshman forward Mo Bamba enjoyed the best game of his career as he finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Longhorns guard Andrew Jones scored five points off the bench in his return after sitting out four games with a hairline wrist fracture.

? Hook 'em @TexasMBB picks up the win on the road over Alabama. pic.twitter.com/rWTPUZRsYy

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) December 23, 2017

Texas center Mohamed Bamba finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots Friday night, leading the Longhorns’ 66-50 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In the game played at Birmingham, Texas point guard Matt Coleman also played well.

Coleman scored 13 and helped limit Alabama freshman Collin Sexton to eight points, 13 below his Southeastern Conference-leading average.

The Crimson Tide (8-4) are coached by former Spurs point guard Avery Johnson, who watched from the side as the Longhorns (9-3) put on a defensive clinic.

With the 6-foot-11 Bamba protecting the basket, Texas held Alabama to a season-low in points on 34 percent shooting from the field.

Coleman and Kerwin Roach II guarded the perimeter and aided in limiting the Tide to 3 of 15 shooting from 3-point distance.

Sexton was hobbling at the end of the game, favoring his left leg.

Bamba struggled on the offensive end in Texas’ last game, a 47-46 victory at home on Monday against Tennessee State.

Against Tennessee State, he finished 1-for-8 from the field and scored four points.

Asked by ESPN’s Seth Greenberg the difference between his performance Monday and what he did against Alabama, he said, “Just an aggressive mindset.

“My teammates didn’t really get too down on me,” he said. “They just told me they wanted more out of me. That’s what I decided to give ’em.”

Bamba blocked a shot at the outset of the second half, ran the floor and dunked on the other end.

Later, he defended a shot on the 3-point line, and took off again. Bamba received a behind-the-back pass and dunked two-handed.

“I thought our guys did a great job on the defensive end,” Texas coach Shaka Smart told ESPN. “They’ve got some terrific offensive players. Our guys really honored the scouting report, did their best.

“They made some tough shots, but we never dropped our head and kept battling.”

Alabama falls to the Texas Longhorns, 66-50, in Birmingham

John Petty led the team with 1⃣4⃣ points while Daniel Giddens reached double figures for the second time this season with ? points#RollTide#BuckleUp pic.twitter.com/Dk4BsN96H5

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) December 23, 2017

The Florida Gators forced 23 turnovers Friday night in a 75-60 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word.

UIW played hard and kept the game close for most of the night.

Buoyed by the shooting of Charles Brown III and Simi Socks, the Cardinals tied it on the first possession of the second half and pulled within 51-46 on a Cody Graham drive with 12:50 remaining.

But the Gators (8-4) surged behind point guard Chris Chiozza and forward Egor Koulechov on a 20-4 run over the next six minutes to take control.

The Cardinals (5-5) will return to San Antonio for a two-day break before returning to practice on Monday.

UIW opens Southland Conference play with two games in Louisiana next week, starting Thursday night at McNeese State.

The Florida game marked the debut of UIW’s 7-foot center, Konstantin Kulikov. The native of Russia, a transfer from San Jacinto College, scored four points on 2 of 7 shooting.

Brown led UIW by hitting 5 of 10 from the field for 13 points. Socks scored 11 on 4 of 6 afield.

Chiozza contributed 16 points, 4 assists and 4 steals for Florida. The Gators completely disrupted the Cardinals with 14 steals as a team.

Jalen Hudson scored 13 points and Koulechov, a transfer from Rice, added 12.

Rob doing Rob things. ???@rob_williamsIII starts the break, @SwaggyDu1 & TD finish it.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/Uz4kl4OTgB

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 22, 2017

Texas A&M forward Robert Williams blocks a shot that leads to basket on the other end for the Aggies.

Guard Duane Wilson scored 23 points Thursday night as eighth-ranked Texas A&M won its fourth game in a row, turning back the Buffalo Bulls, 89-73.

A&M (11-1) also got a strong effort from freshman forward Savion Flagg, who scored 21 as the Aggies closed out their non-conference schedule.

Buffalo (7-5) led by one point five minutes into the game and stayed with the Aggies most of the way.

The Bulls drew within two when C.J. Massinburg hit a 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining.

But A&M finished strong with Flagg scoring seven points in a 29-15 burst down the stretch to put the game away.

Three A&M players sat out on suspension and another, guard Admon Gilder, didn’t play because of an injured knee.

The team announced earlier in the afternoon that junior forward D.J. Hogg and freshmen guards T.J. Starks and J.J. Caldwell all would sit out.

Hogg, A&M’s leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, will be out for three games for a violation of university policy.

The Buffalo game is the last on the Aggies’ non-conference schedule before they open SEC play next Saturday at Alabama.

TEAM UPDATE: DJ Hogg, TJ Starks, & JJ Caldwell will miss tonight’s game due to suspension.

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 22, 2017

Nebraska won tonight…but it wasn't for lack of effort from @UTSAMBB's Jhivvan Jackson (@jhivvan). Dude can flat out ball. Scored 26 points tonight and made some tough, contested buckets pic.twitter.com/TqjLPkufQn

— TJ Eck (@TJEck_TV) December 21, 2017

The Nebraska Cornhuskers probably didn’t expect to sweat out a visit from the UTSA Roadrunners.

They probably didn’t anticipate that the game would be tied with a little more than four minutes remaining.

But that was exactly the scenario that played out Wednesday night in Lincoln, when the Cornhuskers had to dig deep for a late push to turn back the Roadrunners, 104-94.

“They’ve done that to a lot of people,” UTSA coach Steve Henson told the team’s radio broadcast. “Boston College was a close game going into the last few minutes and they just shut ’em out down the stretch.

“(Against) Kansas the other night, they shut ’em out until the very last shot, pretty much (in a one-point loss for the Cornhuskers). So we knew they had the capability of screeching us to a halt.

“They’re a good team. They’ve got good depth. Good size. Good players. I got a lot of respect for them.”

UTSA freshman Jhivvan Jackson led the Roadrunners with 26 points. Both Jackson and Deon Lyle gave Nebraska fits by hitting five three-pointers apiece.

In all, the Roadrunners tied a season high with 15 treys. They also did reasonably well on the boards, getting beat only 44-34 despite a huge size disadvantage.

But Henson was most proud of the way his players battled in the first half. Falling behind by 14 once, they rallied to within seven at intermission.

“It was ugly,” Henson said. “It was not our style of basketball. We couldn’t get a run going. You know, we’ve got that ability to go on a run and get things in a flow. But they didn’t let us do it, and we hung in there. And that was good to see.

“I know we’re a good team when it’s easy and we’re flowing. When both teams are getting up and down the floor. But I like the stretch there when it was hard and our guys hung in there and found a way to keep the game within reach.”

Guard James Palmer, Jr., led the Cornhuskers with 25 points. Guard Anton Gill came off the bench for 21, and Evan Taylor added 16.

After UTSA tied the game 86-86 on a Jackson three-pointer with 4:23 remaining Gill sparked decisive 15-2 run with six straight points. He hit a three and then made three straight free throws.

Pretty soon, the Cornhuskers had opened a 101-88 lead with 55 seconds remaining, and the fans of the home team could finally breathe easier.

Nebraska (8-5) didn’t need to worry about its RPI being in jeopardy any more.

Nevertheless, UTSA (7-6) can use the game to build, with the Conference USA portion of the schedule looming next week.

“I feel really good about (our progress),” Henson said. “We were disappointed with the outcome here tonight. We had a chance. Wish we could have done a couple of things better. But like I told the guys, I like the progress we’re making.

“Guys are figuring some things out. We’re healthy. We’ve got a lot of guys playing pretty good basketball. Nick Allen’s playing with the most confidence (he’s had) in his life. He’s feeling great. We got good depth.

“We got all the pieces to make some noise in conference play. That was our message to our guys just now.”