The Associated Press

Lawrence, Kan.

Friday, December 17, 1999

Lawrence, Kan. – All those Ohio State fans who were unhappy with Kenny Gregory for turning his back on the Buckeyes must really feel sad now.

The Columbus, Ohio, native scored 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead No. 8 Kansas to an 80-67 victory over No. 12 Ohio State on Thursday night in a game he figured gave him bragging rights, but only ”partial redemption.”

Full redemption will come when the Jayhawks match what the Buckeyes and his old high school buddy, Michael Redd, did last year.

”If we got to the Final Four, it would be complete redemption,” Gregory said. ”I might even have the upper hand on them because I won tonight.”

Nevertheless, Gregory will be happy when he heads home on Thursday.

”This takes care of me as far as bragging rights, discussing who won and who played well,” said the 6-foot-5 junior, who got a standing ovation from the sellout crowd at Allen Fieldhouse when he left the game with 54 seconds remaining.

In the game within the game, Redd had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes (4-2), who were playing away from home for the first time this season.

”It was just like the old days when we were playing high school ball, and played pickup ball in the summertime, just me and him trying to guard each other,” Gregory said. ”We have a great friendship.”

In other games involving ranked teams Thursday, it was No. 1 Cincinnati 79, Saint Louis 64; No. 2 Stanford 68, Nevada 39; and No. 6 Auburn 78, Bradley 64.

Kansas led by six points at halftime and never let the Buckeyes get even.

”It’s no secret Kenny Gregory’s a great player. But he’s been playing well all year,” Redd said. ”It’s tough to dig yourself out of a hole when you play on the road. They pressured us so hard it was kind of hard to get in a rhythm.”

Eric Chenowith had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas (8-1), which lost 66-54 last week to then-No. 4 Michigan State, one of four Big 10 teams the Jayhawks will play this season.

Kansas coach Roy Williams made sure Gregory’s teammates understood how important the game would be for him.

”Living there and making the decision to leave home and come to Kansas, Kenny took a lot of junk last year when they went to the Final Four and he was sitting home watching,” Williams said. ”I don’t think there’s any doubt this game meant a lot to Kenny.”

Gregory brought a roar from the crowd with 3:13 left in the half with a dunk for a 31-22 lead. Gregory, often matched up against Redd, had 10 points in the first half.

Kansas guard Jeff Boschee had 15 points in the matchup between Big 10 and Big 12 powers who have combined for 19 Final Four appearances.

Scoonie Penn had 19 points for Ohio State.

No. 1 Cincinnati 79, Saint Louis 64

Freshman guard DerMarr Johnson scored 23 points and Kenyon Martin had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the visiting Bearcats (8-0) in the Conference USA opener for both schools.

Pete Mickeal had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cincinnati, which has won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Billikens (5-3).

Justin Tatum had 18 points for Saint Louis, while leading scorer Justin Love was held to nine points, 11 below his average, by Mickeal.

No. 2 Stanford 68, Nevada 39

Freshman Casey Jacobsen had 16 points to lead the Cardinal (7-0), who opened the second half with an 11-0 run for a 23-point lead. Ryan Mendez and Jason Collins each had 10 points for Stanford.

Joao Santos had 12 points and Adrian McCullough had 10 points and seven assists for visiting Nevada (1-6), which has lost six straight since a season-opening 25-point victory over Washington State.

No. 6 Auburn 78, Bradley 64

Daymeon Fishback scored 18 points and fellow reserve Reggie Sharp added 15 as the Tigers (7-1) won their fifth straight and finally found their shooting touch in the second half. Mamadou N’diaye had 14 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots, while Chris Porter added 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Auburn, which entered the game shooting 39 percent and boosted that by going 15-for-28 (54 percent) in the second half.

Rob Dye had 16 points for the Braves (4-3), who had won three straight.

The game was played as part of a doubleheader in Mobile, Ala.