Thanks to an early onslaught from the perimeter, the Texas Tech basketball team knocked off a short-handed No. 7 Kansas 79-50 in United Supermarkets Arena on Monday night.
The Red Raiders came out swinging and never let up to pick up a marquee win on their home floor, giving Grant McCasland his first win over a Top-10 team in his Red Raider tenure.
Kansas coach Bill Self got himself ejected with 5:49 left in the game. Pop Isaacs hit the four technical free throws to put the game out of reach for good. The Jayhawks were without all-America candidate Kevin McCullar Jr. and dropped to 1-5 on the road this season.
Texas Tech starts with three-point barrage
The Red Raiders opened the game with a flurry of three-pointers to put the Jayhawks on their heels.
At one point in the first half, Texas Tech had hit eight threes while Kansas had just seven total makes (The Jayhawks finally got ahead in this regard at the break, having nine total makes to Tech’s eight triples).
The outside shooting helped the Red Raiders open up a 15-point lead, which was Tech’s biggest advantage in any game since going up 21 against Oklahoma State back on Jan. 9. This would be squashed in the second half, when Tech led 73-48
After a career-high 17 points against Baylor and a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double against Central Florida, Darrion Williams was at it again on Monday.
Williams hit all five of his shot attempts and led all scorers with 12 points at the break. He also had five rebounds.
This marks the first time all season Williams has had double-digit scoring efforts in three straight games. It’s also the first time he’s done that in his career, having not done it at Nevada previously.
With 3:07 left, Williams was 10-for-10 from the field with 26 points and 11 rebounds for another double-double.
Wire-to-wire win
The Jayhawks never seemed to get their footing without McCullar and their top three players of Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams, Jr. and Dajuan Harris Jr. struggled all night.
With about five minutes left, Kansas’ top three players were a combined 5-of-27 from the field for 16 points. At the same point, Darrion Williams had 22 points by himself.
What’s next?
The Red Raiders hit the road for their next contest, which includes the team’s second matchup with a Top 10 opponent in a six-day span. Texas Tech will visit No. 10 Iowa State in Ames on Saturday for an 11 a.m. tip.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech routs No. 6 Kansas as Bill Self is ejected
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
