Kansas Basketball Records Win No. 2000 At Big 12 Tournament

March 11, 2010

Kansas notes for Texas A&M in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

Box Score | Notes |

Boxscore in PDF Format Get Acrobat Reader

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Win No. 2,000 in Kansas basketball history did not come easy as the Jayhawks defeated Texas Tech 80-68 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament in Kansas City on Thursday.

Leading 65-63 with 5:55 left in the game, Kansas went on a 12-0 run and did not allow the Red Raiders to make a field goal for five full minutes en route to the victory.

Five Jayhawks scored in double figures paced by Sherron Collins, who had 19. Xavier Henry scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, while Marcus Morris and Cole Aldrich each added 12 points and Markieff Morris chipped in 11.

Aldrich pulled down 10 of his season-high 18 rebounds in the first half. The junior moved into 11th place on the KU career rebounding list with 825, while becoming the fourth Jayhawk to grab 400 rebounds (405) in a season.

Texas Tech was led by John Roberson, who scored 17 and handed out a game-high eight assists.

Kansas, the nation’s top-ranked team, improved to 30-2 overall, while Texas Tech dropped to 17-15 on the season. The Jayhawks reached 30 wins in a season for the third time in the last four years, as well as the ninth time in school history.

Kansas joined Kentucky and North Carolina as the only three schools to post 2,000 wins in their histories.

After a ragged first half by both teams, Kansas came out firing to start the second period. The Jayhawks scored on each of their first six possessions to turn a 34-32 lead into a 47-37 advantage less than four minutes in.

Texas Tech trimmed the margin to five at 55-50, but Markieff Morris made a pair of free throws and Xavier Henry drained a three-pointer to give KU a 60-50 lead and it appeared as if the Jayhawks had the momentum to runaway from the Red Raiders.

That was not the case though as Tech went on a 9-4 run and was within five at 64-59 before KU coach Bill Self called a timeout to regroup at the 7:11 mark. However, Texas Tech was the team that responded after that, scoring four of the next five points to pull within 65-63 with six minutes left.

That is when Collins and Henry stepped up with consecutive three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put KU up 71-63 with 4:38 remaining, sending the Jayhawk faithful in the Sprint Center into a frenzy and the team on its way to the victory.

Kansas, which shot just 36 percent in the first half, hit 52 percent in the second half, while holding Texas Tech to 40 percent for the game. KU out-rebounded the Red Raiders 45-34 and made 13 more free throws in the game.

Aldrich scored on a traditional three-point play on the game’s first possession and Marcus Morris hit a three-pointer soon after to give KU a quick 6-0 lead. Neither team could get into a rhythm midway through the first half, missing close shots and turning the ball over.

Texas Tech stayed close though and used a 6-0 run halfway through the period to take a 15-14 lead.

From there it was the Jayhawks’ turn. Collins hit a pair of free throws and after a Marcus Morris basket, Collins made a layup and a three-pointer to put KU up 23-17 forcing Texas Tech coach Pat Knight to call timeout. During that break, Knight received a technical foul, which Collins turned into two free throws and a 25-17 Jayhawk advantage with eight minutes left in the half.

Tech was ignited by the technical going on an 11-3 run to tie the game at 28 with 3:36 left. The teams went into the locker room at halftime with KU leading 34-32.

Kansas will play the winner of the Texas A&M vs. Nebraska winner in a tournament semifinal on Friday at 6 p.m. If KU were to advance from that game, the Jayhawks would play in the championship game on Saturday at 3 p.m.