Texas Tech stuns No. 9 Kansas 84-65

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)—The Texas Tech coaches noticed a bounce in Alan Voskuil’s step as the senior warmed up before Wednesday night’s game against No. 9 Kansas.

Voskuil, playing in his final home game, was 9-of-14 from 3-point range and scored a career-high 35 points to lead the Red Raiders to an 84-65 upset of the Jayhawks to end a six-game losing streak.

“It’s something I’m never going to forget,” said Voskuil, who was 10-of-17 overall. “I mean (a) new career-high, most 3s I’ve hit in a game.”

He hit the last two shots of the game, both 3s from well beyond the arc and near the Tech bench, as fans cheered him and chanted his name.

“I wasn’t missing,” he said. “Might as well throw them up there. Guess they went in.”

Pat Knight, who sat beside his famously temperamental father as an associate head coach the last two times Tech beat Kansas in Lubbock, said Voskuil was hot in warmups. One of his assistants remarked to him that Voskuil could have a great last home game.

“The kid just shot lights out,” Pat Knight said. “He felt it.”

Texas Tech (13-17, 3-12 Big 12) never trailed and fended off several comebacks by the Jayhawks, who got as close as 43-41 in the second half.

Despite the loss, Kansas (24-6, 13-2) clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title, its fifth straight and ninth in the conference’s 13 seasons.

“I said, ‘Hey congratulations, we won the league and got beat by 19 or whatever we got beat tonight,”’ coach Bill Self said. “It’s pretty remarkable that a team that could perform as poorly as we did tonight was able to be 13-2, I guess, and clinch a tie with a chance to win it outright on Saturday.”

The Jayhawks close the regular season at home against Texas. Oklahoma and Missouri are tied for second at 12-3.

Self said Kansas just didn’t play with an edge against Texas Tech.

“Even if we played with an edge, we probably still would’ve been unsuccessful because Tech was that much better than us,” he said. “We did try. There was just nothing in the tank.”

Self said it could have been his team’s lack of maturity.

“I don’t mean that in any negative way at all,” he said. “We’ve gone from being under the radar and then all of a sudden people are saying good things about us. Guys were hearing what they’re saying.”

Self said Tech’s 3s and Voskuil kept the pressure on.

“He was by far the best player in the gym,” Self said. “He moves very well without the ball. Always has. Things just kind of fell together for (the Red Raiders) and they had a great game.”

Sherron Collins, Marcus Morris and Tyshawn Taylor all scored 11 points for the Jayhawks, who moved into the top 10 for the first time this season on Monday.

It was the first time in six games Collins did not get at least 20 points.

The Jayhawks, who had won five straight coming into the game, appeared listless on defense and failed to pull down key rebounds late in the game. Tech outrebounded Kansas 39-38, quite a switch from the past four games when the Jayhawks outrebounded their opponents by an average of 12.8 rebounds.

It was the third time in four years Tech has beaten Kansas at home when the Jayhawks were ranked in the top 10.

“It’s a beautiful building but there’s obviously something wrong with it,” Self said, jokingly.

Kansas finished 21-of-63 from the field.

After pulling within 43-41, the Jayhawks couldn’t gain any momentum. They got within 64-58 on two free throws by Tyshawn Taylor but couldn’t pull any closer down the stretch.

The Red Raiders’ success from 3-point range (55.6 percent) was better than their overall field goal percentage (45.1). And they missed only three of 26 free throws.

In one stretch of the first half, Voskuil hit three straight 3s and Mike Singletary connected on two in a row. Kansas finished 4-of-24 on 3s.

Knight, who pulled Voskuil out before the end of the game so fans could give him a rousing sendoff, said it was tough on him.

“I just hugged him,” Knight said. “I couldn’t even talk. The kid has had an unbelievable career. We’ll always talk about (this win).”