Kansas
Houston at Kansas: Storylines, odds, watch info for elite defenses in national spot
Two of the Big 12’s best get down to it at The Phog on Saturday evening. Houston may have the best defense in the sport. Kansas is stout, experienced and always tough at home. This should be a very cool and entertaining game.
No. 7 Houston at No. 12 Kansas
No one plays defense quite like the Kelvin Sampson-led Cougars. The swarming chaos has returned to last season’s form, with Houston leading the nation in defensive rating while leading their conference in steals, blocks and rebounds. Kansas fashions itself as a rock fighter, too, with Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams largely clamping opponents this year — though Adams is out with a separated shoulder. Saturday’s Big 12 headliner should be a physical, tense and narrow affair.
Few collegiate athletes live up to their name like Emanuel Sharp, who’s been precise on his treys at a 46 percent clip. He’s expected to suit up on Saturday despite a foot injury. Running mate L.J. Cryer is at 42 percent on almost seven takes a game. Houston can shoot the lights out and hit deep, dispiriting tries at any juncture:
CRY3R
📺 CBSSN | @LjCryer pic.twitter.com/KNHagrUJYH
— Houston Men’s Hoops 🏀 🐾 (@UHCougarMBK) January 18, 2025
What makes this a particularly cool matchup is the way these Jayhawks work to take away the 3-pointer. Opponents are below 29 percent on the season. It gets down to an even uglier 25.8 percent in Big 12 games.
Zeke Mayo has been heating up, hovering around 19 points per game across his last nine. He’s a full 20 percentage points better behind the arc at home than on the road. Dickinson looked particularly locked in and fired up against TCU, and his performance in the prior game against Kansas State was sheerly dominant.
Kansas leads the head-to-head, 6-3. Bill Self’s side had won four straight before last year’s 30-point blowout loss in Houston. Cryer had 11 points in that game, while Dickinson left with a shoulder injury midway through the second half.
All-time NBA starting lineup: Houston
- G — Don Chaney
- G — Otis Birdsong
- F — Clyde Drexler
- F — Elvin Hayes
- C — Hakeem Olajuwon
All-time NBA starting lineup: Kansas
- G — Jo Jo White
- G — Andrew Wiggins
- F — Paul Pierce
- F — Joel Embiid
- C — Wilt Chamberlain
Houston vs. Kansas odds
Odds to come.
(Photo of L.J. Cryer: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
MANHATTAN — Kansas State will have a new kick returner come fall after Bryce Noernberg departed the team, and his dad used some colorful language in a Facebook post to announce it.
A K-State spokesperson confirmed that Noernberg left the team after the spring season. He returned 20 kicks over the last two seasons for an average of 27.8 yards per return. He scored one touchdown and also coughed up the ball multiple times.
In a Facebook post, Noernberg’s father, Scott, wrote that it had been an amazing few years in Manhattan, but then “Division I college football does what it does.”
“New head coach Colin (sic) Klein brought in all new coaches and players… paid them accordingly and (Noernberg) found himself at the bottom of the depth chart,” Scott Noernberg wrote. “Not wanting to start over again as a true walk-on freshman, he basically told them to kiss his ass!!
“Well done Bryce! I’m so proud that you stood up to the system! D1 athletics is in a very sad state, and it’s times like this that make you grow as a man!”
Also a wide receiver, Noernberg saw one offensive snap over his two seasons with the program. He was unlikely to find an offensive role for the Wildcats this year, considering the return of Jaron Tibbs and the additions of Josh Manning, Izaiah Williams, and Derrick Salley Jr. Other returning players, like Adonis Moise and Larry Porter IV, were also considered ahead of him.
His departure does leave a void at kick returner, which Noernberg wasn’t guaranteed to keep heading into the year.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — An interchange in Wichita is the most stressful off-ramp in Kansas, according to the results of a new poll.
The poll, by personal injury law firm Regan Zambri Long, asked 3,011 drivers across the United States what off-ramps are the most stressful.
Based on their results, Interstate 135 Exit 5B to Kellogg Avenue took the top spot in Kansas.
The poll said traffic often slows down at this interchange because it is where two major routes meet. Exiting vehicles have to merge and prepare for nearby exits on Kellogg, making speeds fluctuate.
Second place was Interstate 70 Exit 356 to Wanamaker Road in Topeka, and the third-most stressful off-ramp is Interstate 35 Exit 220 to 119th Street in Overland Park.
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Jalisco Restaurant has been a staple in the Kansas City, Kansas, community since 1965. But after 61 years, the restaurant is closing its doors.
A sign posted on the restaurant at North 50th Street and State Avenue on Monday said:
Jalisco Restaurant will permanently close at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, May 30, 2026. Thank you for your patronage. Remember us, we will never forget you. The Hernandez Family.
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Jalisco Restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, is closing its doors on May 30, 2026, after 61 years. (FOX4 Photo/Brian Dulle) -
Jalisco Restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, is closing its doors on May 30, 2026, after 61 years. (FOX4 Photo/Brian Dulle)
Erika Dominguez, an employee at Jalisco’s, told FOX4 that one of their cooks, who has been there for more than 40 years, is retiring. One of the other cooks is 90, and has been with the family since the beginning.
“The family is getting older, and it is time,” she added.
“Our wall tells the story of generations of families and Jalisco’s little angels, babies who grew up coming through our doors,” Dominguez said in a social media post earlier this year.
The Hernandez family also owned another Jalisco’s Restaurant location in KCK’s Argentine neighborhood for 48 years. That location closed in 2012. They also owned a location in Mission, Kansas, years ago.
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Jalisco Restaurant location in Kansas City, Kansas’ Argentine neighborhood. This location closed in 2012. (FOX4 Photo/Brian Dulle)
Dominguez said the building at North 50th Street and State Avenue is for sale, and there’s also been talk about the family leasing it – but nothing is in the works at this time.
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