Red Raider Recap: No. 3 Kansas 85, Tech 68

Saturday, January 7

Lawrence, KS

6:15 PM

Texas Tech Athletics

12-3 (1-2B12)

No. 3 Kansas

14-1 (3-0B12)

Texas Tech

#3 Kansas

Red Raider Recap: No. 3 Kansas 85, Tech 68

January 08, 2017 | Men's Basketball

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The Red Raiders will look to even up their Big 12 record Tuesday versus Kansas State.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The trio of Keenan Evans, Aaron Ross and Zach Smith combined for 31 of their 50 points during the second half, but it wasn't enough for the Texas Tech men's basketball team who dropped an 85-68 decision to 12-time defending Big 12 regular season champion and No. 3 Kansas Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Red Raiders (12-3, 1-2 Big 12) sliced a 10-point intermission deficit in half with 8:22 remaining before Kansas (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) reeled off 12 straight points to ignite a 16-2 spurt over the next 3:28 off the clock to regain the momentum.

The 68 points for Texas Tech are the program's most in Allen Fieldhouse dating back to the 2001-02 season, a span of nine meetings. The Jayhawks have won 15 straight matchups versus Texas Tech since 2008-09 and extend the nation's second-longest winning streak to 14 games.

"I knew we were going to play against an inspired Kansas team," Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. "I knew what we were getting into. I know Coach Self and I know (assistant coach) Norm (Roberts). I can only imagine what their practices have been like the past couple of days. We did everything we could with our players to explain that you're about to play not only against a great team but against a team that is motivated to play great defense. I thought they just took us out of a lot of our stuff. The first pass of our offense was difficult tonight. They changed up their ball screen coverage on our shooters. So, give them a lot of credit for how they played defense tonight."

Ross equaled his season-high with 17 points aided by a 5-of-8 shooting effort and three treys. He also tucked away five rebounds and two assists. For Ross, it was his first performance in double figures since the Auburn game on Nov. 22 at the Cancun Challenge.

Smith secured 17 points and knocked down seven of his 11 shot attempts fueled by a career-best three triples. He also filled the box score with seven rebounds, three blocks and three assists. Smith has collected 10-plus points in nine of his last 11 appearances.

Evans picked up 16 points, five assists and two steals. The junior guard has pumped in double figures in four straight games and nine of Tech's last 10 outings.

Anthony Livingston came away with six points and three rebounds. Outside of Ross, the Texas Tech bench was limited to seven points and misfired on 11 of its 13 field goals.

Texas Tech dialed up a 24-for-59 shooting clip and buried a season's best 11-for-28 from triple territory. The Red Raiders converted on 9-for-13 at the free throw line, all during the second 20 minutes.

"Ross, on the offensive side of the floor, played great tonight," Beard said. "He made shots and stayed poised for the most part. I think he and I agree that defensively he had some real lapses, but we have shot makers. It is going to be difficult for us to beat a team like Kansas. With Livingston not making shots, I feel like Ross did his part offensively. He still has a way to go on the defensive end to help us."

Kansas hit on 29-of-56 from the field, 9-of-18 on three-pointers and 18-of-22 on free throws. The Jayhawks possessed a 38-29 rebounding advantage coupled with a 30-18 edge in paint points and tallied 23 of the game's 36 points on second-chance opportunities.

Kansas was sparked by Frank Mason III, Devonte' Graham and Josh Jackson who amassed 63 points. They accounted for 21 of 29 field goals, eight of nine three-balls and 13 of the 18 free throws for the Jayhawks.

Mason III led all scorers with 26 points followed by Graham with a season-high 20 points which game KU a pair of 20-point scorers for the third time on the season. Jackson secured his third double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Trailing 53-41 at the 12:47 mark, the Red Raiders made their move behind 14 of the next 21 points over the next four-plus minutes.

Ross kickstarted the flurry with a pair of free throws. Texas Tech rattled home a quartet of three's courtesy of Evans, Smith, Matthew Temple and Devon Thomas. The last by Thomas at the top of the key made it 60-55 with 8:22 remaining.

The five-point spread was the closest that the Red Raiders would get. Kansas got its transition game going and responded with a 16-2 run of its own to surge ahead 76-57 with 4:56 left.

Mason III bookended the spurt with two free throws. He also hit a three-pointer, a midrange jumper and had an assist that led to another trey.

It was another run late in the opening half which enabled the Jayhawks to take a 37-27 lead into the locker room.

The Red Raiders worked their way back from an early 11-point deficit and a 28-20 hole with 4:48 to go. Smith canned a three-pointer off the dribble at the top of the key, fought through contact to get a contested putback layup and slammed home a two-handed dunk with authority off an inbounds play from Evans to bring the tally to 30-27 with 1:24 remaining.

Kansas turned the tide with a steal and a dunk from Jackson. Then, the Jayhawks benefited from a technical foul whistled on Livingston after KU's Landen Lucas made the initial contact. Mason III also was fouled on the sequence and sank three free throws. Lucas delivered a layup to put the Jayhawks ahead by 10 points.

"Kansas plays streaks and runs," Beard said. "A lot of teams come here and you play with them for 32 minutes, but they run you out the floor for eight minutes. You get on the bus and get a sandwich. Today, the things that stick out to me is that we cut it to three points with about two minutes left in the first half. It's a real objective to me to win those last couple of minutes. We called the timeout, which we normally use for the last-second shot. Then, we unraveled. I give Kansas a lot of credit. Our best two ball handlers had turnovers. Then, (Anthony) Livingston got the technical foul. I didn't see what happened there, but I also need to watch the film. That's not like us. We are not a team that gets technicals. But Kansas had a great start to the game. Then, give us some credit because we got back in the game. We cut it to five or six, we had our best free throw shooter, Aaron Ross, on the free throw line for a one and one. We missed that, and it unravels again. Again, it is not necessarily what we did bad. Give a good team with a great coach the credit."

Texas Tech opens a stretch of three of its next four games at home beginning with Kansas State on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with the Watch ESPN app.

Fans can purchase tickets to Tuesday's game for as low as $12 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Ticket Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TexasTechMBB along with @TexasTechMBB on Twitter and Instagram.