No. 9 Kansas charges forward late to defeat No. 5 Texas in final Big 12 battle

Despite losing four of their last six games, Kansas has proven they can still run away with the Big 12 this season. (AP/Charlie Riedel)

Despite a pretty tough basketball season lately, Kansas is still one of the best basketball teams in the country. Monday night was more than enough proof of that.

No. 9 Kansas rushed forward late to beat No. 5 Texas 88-80 at Allen Fieldhouse in what was a perfect way to bounce back from Saturday’s loss to No. 11 Iowa State. The win saved Kansas from a fifth loss in seven games and instead gave the Jayhawks a solid statement win to open the final leg of the Big 12 season.

Kansas had little trouble right off the bat, taking a 14-point lead at one point in the first half — largely thanks to 10 turnovers from Texas that converted the Jayhawks to 12 points. However, the Longhorns cut the deficit to just seven points after a 5-0 run that stretched for more than two minutes to end the first 20 minutes.

This run continued into the second half. Texas leveled the game 8-1 not even three minutes into the second half.

However, that was as close as Texas managed to take its first lead of the game. Kansas slowly regained control of the game in the second half. Up until the last media timeout, Kansas was up double digits. That run was capped by a huge dunk from Joseph Yesufu, only made possible after a wild pass from Dajuan Harris that went through two Texan defenders at the break.

From there, the Jayhawks just held on, repelling a final push from Texas to earn the eight-point win.

Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 29 points after shooting 10 of 21 from the field, and Timmy Allen added 18 points. The only other Longhorns player to be in doubles was Sir’Jabari Rice, who dropped 12 from the bench.

Texas is completing a very challenging schedule. The Longhorns, after falling to No. 6 Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, went on to win back-to-back wins against No. 14 Baylor and No. 12 Kansas State before arriving in Lawrence. The Longhorns have now won 2-2 in their last four games and will host West Virginia next Saturday.

Gradey Dick dropped 21 points and led Kansas, 11 of which came in the first half after opening the game and shooting 5 of 7 from the field. Dajuan Harris added 17 points with six rebounds and five assists. After Saturday’s loss, which saw just one player hit double digits, five of the eight Jayhawks on Monday’s game reached that mark. The Jayhawks now have an incredible 304-17 and a perfect 36-0 on ESPN’s “Big Monday,” also at home under coach Bill Self.

Kansas, now just a game behind first place in the Big 12 standings, will travel to Oklahoma next Saturday. The Conference has six teams in this week’s AP poll and six in first place in just two games, and there’s still plenty to gain. Monday’s win, however, undoubtedly gives Kansas hope for another Big 12 title as the season has just a month to go.

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