The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - Brandon Mouton scored 23 points, his fourth straight game with at least 20 points, and No. 10 Texas stayed within a half-game of the Big 12 lead with an 82-67 win over No. 20 Kansas on Monday night.

P.J. Tucker added 11 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns (20-4, 11-2), who secured their school-record fifth straight 20-win season.

James Thomas scored eight of his nine points in a key 90-second span of the second half that helped the Longhorns protect the lead.

The win kept Texas within sight of its second Big 12 regular season title. The Longhorns have three games left on the schedule, including a matchup next Monday with conference leader Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Keith Langford led Kansas (17-7, 9-4) with 17 points. The Jayhawks have lost four straight road games and are 6-5 in their last 10 games under first-year coach Bill Self.

Texas led 26-24 in the first half before a 13-2 run made it 39-26. Jason Klotz and Tucker each had a three-point play during the run.

Klotz was fouled hard on the shoulder by Jeff Graves but still managed to finish the shot with a bank off the glass. Tucker's layup and free throw gave Texas its biggest lead of the half.

Kansas got the deficit under 10 by halftime, 41-32, and outrebounded the Longhorns 22-16 but gave up 10 points in the half with eight turnovers.

The Jayhawks threatened to take the lead when they started the second half with a 12-6 run and, after a 3-pointer by Aaron Miles, cut it to 47-43. Texas got a break when Brian Boddicker's 3-pointer bounced high off the rim before falling in. Mouton followed a miss for an easy layup to make it 52-43 with 15:33 to play.

Kansas squandered a chance to seize momentum three minutes later when Graves drew a foul on Boddicker and had an opportunity to get the Jayhawks within six with a pair of free throws.

But Graves was called for a technical foul after the play and Texas' Kenny Taylor made two free throws while Graves missed one of his.

Thomas, who last week broke Texas' career rebounds record, then hit consecutive layups, and a free throw by Tucker made it 65-51. Thomas scored eight of Texas' 11 points in the run that all but clinched the game.

Texas 70-52 with 7:54 to play but the Jayhawks wouldn't let Texas get comfortable with the big cushion. Langford hit a 3-pointer, Wayne Simien made two free throws and Texas got a scare when Mouton hobbled off the court after turning his ankle trying to block Langford's shot.

He shook it off and was back on the court 30 seconds later and hit a 3-pointer that made it 73-57 with 6:42 to play.

The top-scoring team in the Big 12, Texas went 20-of-24 from the foul line. The Longhorns got 28 points from players off the bench compared to two for Kansas.

Syracuse 64, Villanova 59

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara combined for 36 points, 21 of them on free throws, to lead Syracuse to a 64-59 victory over Villanova on Monday night.

Syracuse's Louie McCroskey celebrates after sinking a late three-point shot against Villanova. (AP photo)

It was the third win in four games for the Orangemen (18-6, 8-5 Big East) and the fourth loss in five games for Villanova (14-12, 6-7 Big East). And it was a struggle all the way on both sides of the ball - there were 39 turnovers and 45 personal fouls.

Warrick was 4-for-10 from the floor and McNamara was 3-for-10, but they were 21-for-24 from the foul line, and that helped seal the Wildcats' fate. Josh Pace had 14 points and Louie McCroskey finished with 10.

Curtis Sumpter had 12 points and Jason Fraser and Allan Ray each scored 10 for Villanova, which went 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) on 3-pointers.

Syracuse, which was 24-for-32 on free throws, went on a 13-3 run early in the second half and seemed to take charge after McNamara hit four straight free throws, the last two after the Villanova bench was called for a technical.

That gave the Orangemen a 43-33 lead with 9:50 to go, but the Wildcats wouldn't quit.

Randy Foye, who finished with eight points, hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, Fraser converted a fast-break dunk and Ray hit a 3 after stealing an inbounds pass as Villanova rallied to take a 49-48 lead with 4:50 to go.

Pace then drove the lane and hit a shot off the glass to give Syracuse the lead, and the Orangemen never trailed again.

San Diego St. 74, Wyoming 66

SAN DIEGO - Aerick Sanders scored 22 points and hauled in 16 rebounds in leading San Diego State to a 74-66 victory over Wyoming Saturday night.

With the win, the Aztecs (13-12, 4-6 Mountain West Conference) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Wyoming (10-14, 3-8) has lost nine of its last 11. The Cowboys are 0-10 on the road this season, including five conference losses.

Sanders, who set a school record with his 16 rebounds, had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half which ended with San Diego State ahead, 35-26. Sanders went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.

With the Aztecs trailing 6-2, Sanders helped key a 22-5 first-half run that put them in control at 24-11.

Sanders hit a pair of free-throws with 1:50 left that eased the Aztecs back to a six point 66-60 lead, halting an 11-0 Wyoming run that had taken the Cowboys within four points at 64-60.

Wyoming had trailed by 17 points before Jay Straight keyed the run with a pair of 3-pointers. Straight finished with 17 points.

Wesley Stokes connected on nine of 12 free throws for San Diego State, including seven in the final minute of play.

Chris Walton added 12 points. and seven rebounds for San Diego State.

Wyoming's Alex Dunn had 13 points and 14 rebounds while Mikel Watson had 10 points.