AMES, Iowa -- Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins grabbed every rebound in sight. Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. The young Jayhawks are growing up-- and theyre putting it together in time for another run through the Big 12. Tharpe scored a career-high 23 points on just nine shots, Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., had 17 points and a season-high 19 rebounds and No. 15 Kansas beat No. 8 Iowa State 77-70 on Monday night for its third straight win to open conference play. "The thing about it is, if you have followed our team closely, you could make the case that this team probably enjoyed playing less than other teams weve had," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But since we started conference play, theyre having as much fun as any team weve ever had." The Jayhawks had plenty of reasons to smile in perhaps their most impressive win of the season. Embiid had 12 of his 16 points in the second half to go with five blocks for the Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0), who outrebounded Iowa State 53-36. Kansas opened the second half with a 16-5 run and led the rest of the way, handing the Cyclones (14-2, 2-2) their second consecutive loss after a 14-0 start. Iowa State doesnt start anyone taller than 6-foot-7, and its lack of size is threatening to become an issue. "This is a couple of games in a row now where, probably the difference has been on the glass," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We were pretty good in the non-conference portion of the schedule. You dont want this to be a trend moving forward." It wasnt all good news for Kansas either. The Jayhawks committed 24 turnovers but they survived by shooting 49 per cent from the field and dominating the glass. "We handled the ball miserably. Looked like a third grade team out there offensively sometimes taking care of the ball. But we made up for it by being pretty good on the glass. It was a great win," Self said. DeAndre Kane, who sprained an ankle in the loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, had 21 points for Iowa State, which lost to Kansas for the 17th time in 18 games. The Cyclones, the Big 12s top 3-point shooting team, were a dreadful 4 of 25 from beyond the arc. Kane, who led the Big 12 with 22.7 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 steals through three league games, responded well enough to around the clock treatment on his left ankle that he has able to start. It didnt provide the early boost the Cyclones were looking for. Kansas jumped all over Iowa State, rolling to a quick 15-4 lead less than 5 minutes in. But the Cyclones fought their way back to tie the game at 36-all on Kanes 3 at the halftime buzzer. The Jayhawks started the second half the way they did the first. Perry Ellis extended their lead to 52-41 with a slam with 13:32 left, and Embiid wrapped two baskets around a blocked shot as Kansas went ahead 64-53. Kane could have made it a one-possession game with under a minute left, but he missed a layup and Tharpe answered with two free throws. Kane said his ankle was an issue -- and he was also kneed in the thigh with about 4 minutes left. "I really couldnt cut and go change of pace. But thats no excuse. I played 37 minutes. I was out there enough. I just didnt do enough to help my team win," Kane said. Melvin Ejim had 15 points for Iowa State, but forward Georges Niang had 11 points on 4-of-20 shooting from the field. Iowa State was just 9 of 37 from the field in the second half. "We came out hard. We came out hungry," Wiggins said of his teams second-half surge. Iowa State had longed for another crack at Kansas at home after the Jayhawks rallied for a contentious overtime win here last season. But Iowa States inability to knock down 3s theyd normally make was too much to overcome -- and Embiid and the Jayhawks confounded the Cyclones with their size and length. 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We have some calls that are a little bit wordy, and we just put about five or six runs on there and a couple of play-action plays and a couple of dropbacks, and maybe speed up the process. Maybe for third down where you say, No. 5, he can look at it and read it.Griffin wore the plays on his left wrist — it wasnt easy to spot, given how it meshed with his white long-sleeve undershirt — during Saturdays 27-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.In-game communication hasnt been ideal all season under the first-year coach, no matter which quarterback has been playing. The Redskins lead the NFL with eight offensive delay-of-game penalties. The New England Patriots, incidentally, have zero.On Saturday, the Redskins were flagged for running out the play clock just once, although that one was particularly stupefying because it came after the game had been stopped for an injury.Still, overall, Griffin and the offence appeared to have their act together better than in previous games. The wristband can be credited with playing a minor supporting role.Everybody wears a wristband around the league, mostly, said Griffin, who said he also wore one in high school. But it can help speed up the communication process between the coaches and quarterback, and get you in a better tempo as an offence. Its something they wanted to experiment with, and we used it a couple of times, and there was no problems.Gruden said hell probably expand the number of plays on the list for Sundays season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.ddddddddddddOf course, the wristband only helps if the coach actually uses it. As he learned during the Eagles game, its an adjustment calling out numbers instead of plays.I think towards the middle of the game we ended up just calling (the plays) anyway, Gruden said. It was kind of hard to find the numbers and all that. But there is some merit to it, no question.The win has calmed the Gruden-Griffin waters, at least for a week. Gruden said hes still getting a feel for his quarterback, in part because Griffin missed six games with a dislocated ankle. Griffin said Saturdays game was another chance to sharpen up his technique and other fundamentals that Gruden has continually preached.To be honest with you, were still getting to know one another, what hes good at, what he likes, what hes comfortable with, Gruden said. He did a good job in training camp. He does a good job as far as knowing the football plays, (but) you really dont get a chance to see what hes comfortable with until you call them on game day.After the game, Gruden said: Winning football games is the only thing that matters to me for a quarterback. Asked if that was fair, Griffin didnt want to get into such analysis.Jay is the head coach, hes going to make decisions and do things a certain way, Griffin said. My job is not to try to play that mental mind game. Its to go out and try to lead this team to victory.NOTES: LB Trent Murphy was placed on injured reserve with a broken bone in his right hand, the 12th Redskins player to go on season-ending IR. OL Rishaw Johnson was signed from the New York Giants practice squad. ... The Redskins rearranged their schedule and practiced Tuesday so that they could be off on Christmas Day.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys From China China Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '