NORMAN, Okla. — Without Blake Griffin, No. 3 Oklahoma is suddenly beatable — and out of first place in the Big 12.

Tyshawn Taylor scored a career-high 26 points and Sherron Collins added 22 of his 26 points in the second half as No. 15 Kansas surged to the top of the conference standings with an 87-78 victory last night against third-ranked Oklahoma.

"We control our own destiny. We feel pretty good about it, but we know it's not a given yet," Collins said. "We've still got to go out and make it happen."

Cole Aldrich was able to dominate inside with the Sooners (25-3, 11-2 Big 12) missing Griffin, a preseason All-American, because of a concussion. He had 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as the Jayhawks (23-5, 12-1) took control in the race for their fifth straight conference title.

"With or without Blake, they're a great team," Aldrich said. "They showed it tonight. Blake would have definitely helped a lot if they would have had him, but that's kind of how the ball bounces. You just get an unfortunate injury like that, and you've just got to go with it."No. 6 Louisville 76, Georgetown 58: Earl Clark scored 22 points, and the Cardinals (22-5, 13-2 Big East) overcame 16 turnovers with solid 3-point shooting to top the host Hoyas (14-12, 5-10). The Cardinals started 9 for 9 from the field — their first miss coming nearly 11 minutes in — and were 7 for 7 from 3-point range well into the second half.

TOP 25 WOMEN

No. 12 Texas A&M 57, No. 2 Oklahoma 56: Takia Starks hit a layup with six seconds remaining to lead the host Aggies (21-5, 9-4 Big 12) over the Sooners (24-3, 12-1), ending Oklahoma's 20-game winning streak.

No. 9 UNC 74, N.C. State 57: Italee Lucas scored 16 points to help the visiting Tar Heels (24-4, 9-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Wolfpack (12-15, 4-8). Cetera DeGraffenreid and Jessica Breland each added 14 for the Tar Heels, who won their third straight.