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sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, FEB. 29, 2016
Caroline Fiss/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Devonte' Graham celebrates with the Big 12 Championship trophy after Kansas beat Texas Tech in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Kansas tops Texas Tech 67-58 to clinch at least a share of 12 straight Big 12 regular season titles
Caroline Piss/KANSAN Senior forward Jamari Traylor holds up his piece of the net and looks at the crowd after Kansas won its 12th consecutive Big 12 title on Saturday.
twelve straight
▶ SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
twelve straight. For Kansas, the journey may have technically started on Oct. 9, 2015, but this game was a date more than a decade in the making.
A few great consecutive seasons in Lawrence quickly became five Big 12 titles in a row. The streak grew to six then to seven. What Kansas was doing became a national story. Through changes to the conference, no one could dethrone the champions.
From there, it was a decade of dominance. Now, it's an even dozen.
UCLA and Kansas: No other teams have won at least 12 conference championships in a row — a dream realized as the Jayhawks topped the Red Raiders in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday, 67-58.
"Certainly it's a pretty big accomplishment for any team to win it this year," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We emphasized it, but we didn't emphasize it to win 12; we emphasized it to win one."
In a year that was supposed to provide one of the biggest tests for the Jayhawks in continuing their reign, the team clinched the league with two games left to go. It was far earlier than was expected considering at one point they had dropped three games out of five and sat behind several others in the conference.
Through the lull and early adversity, the team learned how to win. Just as so many teams in the past had, Kansas hit its stride as the year went on. By Saturday, it was like clockwork.
And it was clear that 12 straight was on the the Jayhawks' minds. The players had an extra pep in their step going through warmups. Even the gameday operations crew got in on the fun playing the song "Big Rings" by Drake as the team walked out of the tunnel.
Right away, the boost showed on the court; Kansas jumped ahead 5-0 and then 8-2. However, winners of five-in-a-row in their 'own right, the Red Raiders
stiffened defensively. They forced the Jayhawks into several turnovers and ill-advised shots, which kept the game close.
"I thought defensively we were okay; we just couldn't score," Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said. "I thought our kids represented themselves well. It's always a tough place to play [here]."
Early on, Self mixed and matched his lineups, as freshmen forwards Cheick Diallo and Carlton Bragg Jr. each played for extended stretches on the court. However, as Kansas made its run to pull away, it wasn't a freshman, but a sophomore — albeit the youngest player on the team — who keyed the spurt.
Sophomore guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk knocked down three three-point shots in the first 17 minutes of the game, as the Jayhawks pulled ahead by double-figures.
"We always believe in Svi," junior guard Frank Mason III said. "We know that he's a huge part of our team."
With nine different players scoring in the first half, the Jayhawks were poised to take a modest lead into halftime. The lead grew by three as Mason barreled down the lane, hanging in the air as the final seconds ticked down before the half.
Mason tossed the ball to his right; it floated just over the outstretched arms of the Texas Tech defender into the hands of Mykhaliuk. He gathered the ball on the wing, draining his fourth three-pointer of the period as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Mykhailiuk was greeted by sophomore guard Devonte' Graham at center court for a shoulder bump as the Jayhawks took the 37-29 lead into the half.
"That was a big three by them," Texas Tech guard Toddrick Gotcher said. "We thought were coming into the half time only down five. They hit that big three at the buzzer."
The Jayhawks made quick work of their adversary in the second half, After a three and a steal by
Mason, junior guard Wayne Selden Jr. converted on a wild windmill layup in transition to push the Kansas lead to 13.
Even with 16:42 still to play, 12 straight felt within reach.
Three minutes later it was 18. Graham knocked down another three, gesturing as if to fire an arrow at the Kansas bench as he ran back down the court.
The lead slowly increased to 20 and then 22, and, really, it could've been even more, but Self continued to cycle through his bench.
Really, the only constant in the period was the play of Mason, who posted eight points and two steals in the first 10 minutes of the half. Two days after Self challenged his point guard to attack more, Mason responded with another strong performance, finishing with 16 points and three assists in the win.
"Frank is the leader of this team," senior forward Perry Ellis said. "We follow him."
Finally, after what felt like 25 minutes of basketball and another 15 of running out the clock, the Jayhawks emerged victorious. As Mykhalliuk hit his fifth three of the game, with 4:02 left to play to put Kansas up 11, the game was essentially over.
Moments later, the buzzer sounded and it was official. Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 title for the 12th consecutive year in a row, as the fans celebrated all around. The Jayhawks seemed a long way removed from a stretch where they had gone 2-3 and fell behind several others in the Big 12. Still, according to Mason, the team never wavered in confidence.
"I just kept telling the guys, 'We're going to be alright,'" Mason said. "We're still going to finish first. We will be there. That's the tradition."
Next up for the Jayhawks is a showdown against the Texas Longhorns, who defeated Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners later on Saturday. Tip from Frank Erwin Special Events Center in Austin, Texas is slated for 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 29.
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