š Azubuike Shines on Senior Night, KU Tops TCU to Clinch Big 12 Title
LAWRENCE, Kan. ā A career-high 31 points from senior Udoka Azubuike in his final game at Allen Fieldhouse propelled the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks to a 75-66 win over the TCU Horned Frogs and at least a share of the 2020 Big 12 regular-season championship. Azubuike notched his 11th double-double of the season and was joined in double-figures by sophomore Devon Dotson, who added 18 points, as KU clinched at least a share of the programās 62nd conference championship.
The win, which marked KUās 15th-straight, improved the Jayhawks to 27-3 on the year and 16-1 in the Big 12. TCU dropped to 16-14 in its 2019-20 season and to 7-10 in league play.
MOMENT OF THE GAME
While Azubuikeās performance was the highlight of the night, it was a Jayhawk junior who turned the gameās momentum in favor of KU in the early minutes of the second half. With the Jayhawks trailing by a point, 47-46, to a hot-shooting TCU team just under six minutes after the intermission, Marcus Garrett collected one of his three steals on the night and sprinted to the other end for two points. The play gave his team a lead it would not relinquish and was part of a 15-1 run that saw KU build its lead to double-digits and give the Jayhawks enough space to put away the Horned Frogs.Ā
STAT OF THE GAME
31 ā Udoka Azubuikeās senior night was one for the record books, as his 31 points marked the most by a KU senior on his senior night in over 30 years. Danny Manning also tallied 31 in his final outing at Allen Fieldhouse in a win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys on March 5, 1988. Azubuike also became the first Jayhawks to post a game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the Big 12 era (since 1996-97).
NOTES (Full Notes)
- Kansas claimed its 62nd conference championship and 19th Big 12 title.
- It marked KUās 15th regular-season title in the last 16 seasons.
- The win extended KUās winning streak to 15 games and gave it 27 wins for the fifth time in the last six seasons and the 12th time in Bill Selfās 17 seasons at KU.
- Kansas also won its 37th-consecutive win on its final home game of the season, a streak which began in 1983-84.
- Kansas edged TCU 40-29 in the second half marking the 13th time this season that KU has outscored its opponent by 10 or more in the final frame.
- Azubuike became the first Jayhawk in the Big 12 era (1996-97) to post 30 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in any game.
- Azubuikeās 13-of-14 shooting performance marked the best shooting percentage at 92.9 by a Jayhawk since the 1988-89 season. Azubuikeās field goal percentage (92.9%) was the highest by any Division I player in a 30/10/5 game since 1996-97. It also marked the best percentage by a Jayhawk with 10 or more attempts since Danny Manning went 10-of-10 against Oklahoma State on Jan. 18, 1986. It was the best field goal percentage by a Jayhawk with at least 14 attempts since Danny Manning went 15-of-16 against Oklahoma State on Mar. 2, 1985.
QUOTE OF THE GAME (Full Quotes)
"Itās a good day to be a Jayhawk. We are the Big 12 Champions and it was my last home game at the Fieldhouse. It was good, but a little emotional, being my last game here."
Udoka Azubuike
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will close out the 2019-20 regular season when they journey to Lubbock, Texas to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday, March 7. Tipoff from United Supermarkets Arena is slated for 1 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.
KU leads the all-time series with Texas Tech 36-6, which includes a 78-75 victory in Lawrence in this seasonās first meeting. The Jayhawks are 14-5 against the Red Raiders in Lubbock.
