Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Kansas close to title after Tech victory
NO. 8 KANSAS 74, NO. 6 TEXAS TECH 72
LUBBOCK, Texas — Devonte Graham barged through a door with a big smile, wearing a hat tilted slightly forward over his eyes that read “14 straight.”
Kansas finally has its NCAA record.
Graham scored 26 points and the No. 8 Jayhawks wrapped up their 14th consecutive regular-season conference championship, clinching at least a tie for the Big 12 title with a 74-72 victory against No. 6 Texas Tech on Saturday.
“It’s just being a part of history and me and my boy are part of it,” Graham said as he turned toward fellow senior Svi Mykhailiuk, who scored 21.
Graham hit a tiebreaking jumper with 1:30 remaining to help Kansas (23-6, 12-4) to its fourth consecutive victory and a two-game lead over the Red Raiders, who have lost three in a row for the first time this season. The Jayhawks never trailed.
All 14 of the titles have come under Coach Bill Self, who finished second in his first season at KU. Four of the previous 13 championships were shared. UCLA won 13 consecutive Pac-10 titles from 1967-79.
“We picked the best time to be our best the last couple of weeks,” Self said. “To play with little depth and to play so small and to not be a physical team at all, to see how these guys hung in there and competed, I’m amazed.”
The current skid for the Red Raiders ( 22-7, 10- 6) started when leading scorer Keenan Evans injured a toe in the first half of a loss to Baylor that pulled Kansas even in the Big 12 race. The senior guard scored six points in his third consecutive game in single digits since the injury.
Zhaire Smith scored 20 points and fellow freshman Jarrett Culver had 18 for Texas Tech, which dropped its second consecutive game since reaching the highest ranking in school history. The Red Raiders surpassed last week’s No. 7 ranking that matched the 1995-96 team.
The Jayhawks scored the first eight points and led by eight with less than 5 minutes remaining after Graham hit a long three with the shot clock about to expire. But just like the rest of the season in the rugged Big 12, it wasn’t easy.
Smith had a putback dunk to pull Texas Tech even at 68-68 before Graham hit the go-ahead jumper and got an off-balance shot to fall while the Red Raiders committed turnovers on consecutive possessions.
After a throw-in to run off the final two seconds, the Jayhawks stormed the court to the cheers of scattered fans in blue in what had been a raucous arena.
In other Top 25 men’s games Saturday, No. 1 Virginia (26-2, 15-1) allowed just seven points in the first half and secured the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title outright with a 66-37 victory over Pittsburgh (8-22, 0-17). … Marcus Foster scored 28 points, Davion Mintz gave Creighton (20-9, 9-7 Big East) the lead for good early in overtime, and the Bluejays defeated the highest-ranked opponent in program history with an 89-83 upset of No. 3 Villanova (25-4, 12-4). … Marvin Bagley III had 19 points in his return from a sprained knee, and No. 5 Duke (24-5, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Syracuse (18-11, 7-9) 60-44 for its fifth consecutive victory. … Markis McDuffie scored a season-high 26 points off the bench, including nine during the first four minutes of the second half, to lead No. 13 Wichita State (23-5, 13-3 American Athletic Conference) to an 8478 victory over SMU (16-13, 6-10). … Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points and Shelton Mitchell added 14 as he returned from two games missed with a concussion, leading No. 15 Clemson (21-7, 10-6 Atlantic Coast) to a 75-67 victory over Georgia Tech (11-18, 4-12). … Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 22 of his career-high 28 points in the decisive first half, and No. 17 Michigan (24-7, 13-5 Big Ten) easily defeated Maryland (1912, 8-10) 85-61 for its fifth consecutive victory. … Jevon Carter scored 24 points and made some history as No. 21 West Virginia (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) pulled away for an 85-70 victory over Iowa State (1315, 4-12). … Jock Landale had 19 points and eight rebounds in his final home game, and No. 22 Saint Mary’s (27-4, 16-2 West Coast Conference) beat Santa Clara (11-19, 8-10) 67-40. … Nick King scored 22 points, Giddy Potts had 17 and No. 24 Middle Tennessee (23-5, 15-1 Conference USA) celebrated its first game as a ranked team with a 79-54 victory over Alabama-Birmingham (17-12, 8-8).