Courtesy of Kansas Athletics
LUBBOCK, Texas – The sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena, falling to No. 25 Texas Tech 75-67.
The Jayhawks fell to 12-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Red Raiders improved to 11-3 and 2-0 in the league.
The game got off to a tight start with neither team leading by more than five in the first 10 minutes. Texas Tech took a 19-14 lead midway through the first half, but the lead was quickly erased. Senior Ochai Agbaji, who finished with a game-high 24 points, scored five straight for the Jayhawks, courtesy of a 3-pointer and a jumper to make it 19-19.
The Jayhawks then took the lead when redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson, who had a season-high 20 points, capped a 7-0 run with a layup to make it 21-19. The two teams traded small leads when Wilson hit two free throws to bring Kansas within one at 26-25 with 4:21 to play in the first.
Kansas didn’t score for the remainder of the half, however, and the Red Raiders finished on a 7-0 run to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams finished the run with a bucket with 29 seconds left on the clock.
In the second half, Texas Tech led throughout, pushing its lead to 14 with 11:51 left on a three-point play from Marus Santos-Silva. The Jayhawks got the deficit to five with 8:18 left when Agbaji hit a 3-pointer to make it 53-48 in favor of the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech kept the lead in that range for the rest of the way. Agbaji hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 left to cut it to four at 71-67. But Williams hit two free throws with 41 seconds left to push it back to six and secure the win for the home team.
Agbaji established a new career-high in the game with six made 3-pointers, going 6-of-9 from deep. His 24 points were the most since he poured in 25 against Stony Brook in the third game of the season. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Wilson scored his 20 points on just eight field goal attempts, going 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. The redshirt sophomore hadn’t scored more than 10 points in a game this season, before his 20-point performance Saturday. Junior Christian Braun also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.
Kansas will return to action Tuesday at home against Iowa State at 7 p.m., on Big 12 Now on ESPN Plus.
