By Paulina Pengelley
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The No. 1 seed Jayhawks open up their post-season play in the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Sprint Center with a 91-63 win over the Texas Tech Raiders.
Texas Tech could not contain the three point shooting effort by Kansas, in a game where the Jayhawks shot 50 percent from beyond the arc.
“When they get rolling, it’s really hard to stop them,” said Texas Tech forward Dejan Kravic. “They’re a top five team in the nation for a reason.”
After taking a 15-2 lead in the first half, the Jayhawks’ defense stalled as the Red Raiders went on a 8-0 run to bring the lead down to five points. KU led by only nine points at halftime. But the Jayhawks came out in the second half shooting almost 70 percent from the field. Their biggest lead of 35 points coming with 2:16 left in the game.
“We were playing as a team, moving the ball around, making extra passes to each other and just create for each other,” said Kansas guard Ben McLemore. The 6-5 freshman led the way for the Jayhawks with 24 points.
Seniors Kevin Young and Jeff Withey both dropped nine points in the win for Kansas. Kravic and freshman Dusty Hannahs combined for 35 points for Texas Tech.
With the win, the Jayhawks will look to beat the No. 5 seeded Iowa State Cyclones for a third time this season on Friday in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m.
