Rodrick Stewart, who played one season at USC before leaving his brother Lodrick and transferring to KU, was jeered during the game.

“Lodrick’s better,” the student section chanted repeatedly.

“They did the same thing to my brother last year. We were just joking about that,” said Rodrick, standing next to Lodrick, who heard chants, ‘Rodrick’s better,’ last season in a USC loss at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It was cool. I thought it’d be worse,” Stewart said of the reception he received. “They (USC students) wished I never left. It’s just part of the game.”

Stewart finished with four points off 2-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds, one assist and five turnovers in 29 minutes.

“I was anxious. I was nervous before the game,” said Stewart, whose dad, Bull, made the trip from Seattle.

KU coach Bill Self thought Stewart played “well. We don’t win the game without Rod cause we’re so beat up (with Sherron Collins and Tyrel Reed out and Brandon Rush not 100 percent). He gave us great minutes, competed hard.”

¢ Three of four: Sasha Kaun, who entered the game a 37 percent free thrower, made three of four free throws, all in the second half.

“It was a close game at the time. It was good to make them and help the team,” Kaun said.

His two free throws gave KU a 45-42 lead with 9:28 left. He hit one of two at 3:05, giving KU a 54-45 advantage.

“I’ve been trying to work on them. Most of it is mental,” Kaun said. “You go to the free-throw line, you have to be relaxed.”

¢ Board work impressive: Darnell Jackson grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. KU outboarded USC, 42-30.

“We tried to crash the glass, even the guards,” Jackson said. “Our mind-set was to come out and fight, keep going after the ball.”

¢ Milestone: Mario Chalmers had three steals to become just the fifth player in KU history to have 200 career steals.

¢ Injury update: Self said Reed (sprained ankle) is close to 100 percent and could have played if needed. He said Collins, who is out following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot, “hopefully is days, not weeks” removed from returning to practice.

¢ Stats, facts: KU has defeated four of its last five ranked opponents. USC entered No. 22. … KU suffered its first halftime deficit of the season at 27-25. … KU forced 18 turnovers. The Jayhawks have forced 18 or more in every game this season. … KU held USC to 38.5 percent shooting and has now held six of seven opponents to under 50 percent and held foes under 50 percent 78 times in the last 81 games. … USC was the first team to outshoot KU this season (38.5 to 37.9).

¢ Who’d figure? Rush grabbed a lob pass and missed a layup; Russell Robinson fell down at midcourt and suffered a turnover. After those miscues, USC assistant coach Rudy Hackett received a technical foul, and KU went on a 9-0 run to turn a 45-45 tie into a 54-45 lead.

¢ I love L.A.: Rodrick Stewart is a walking advertisement for the city of Los Angeles.

“It was great, man,” Stewart said of his year and a half at USC. “There’s just something about L.A. It’s a great place. There’s so much to get into. The people are nice … the ones I met. I don’t hang around negative people. It was a great place to be.”

¢ Good in football, too: USC defeated UCLA, 24-7, in football on Saturday, wrapping up a bid to the Rose Bowl just a day before the KU-USC hoops game. Which sport is more important to the West Coasters?

“They just care about winning,” Stewart said of USC sports fans. “It’s the same as KU. It’s all about winning, bringing home titles and trophies in all sports.”

¢ Twin update: Stewart’s twin brother, Lodrick, who played four years of basketball at USC, now plays for the Anaheim, Calif., entry in the NBA Developmental League.

“I think he’ll make the NBA, without a doubt,” Rodrick said. Lodrick averaged 4.0 points a game through three games.

¢ D-League news: Ex-Jayhawk Keith Langford scored 22 points in Austin, Texas’ 119-95 victory over Colorado on Friday night. Former KU guard Billy Thomas had 14 points for Colorado. Langford is averaging a robust 25.7 points a game this season, while Thomas is averaging 13.2 points. Langford has hit 56.7 percent of his shots. He also averages 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.