No. 11 Kansas Storms Back to Beat No. 13 Texas Tech Behind Darryn Peterson’s Heroics
In a Monday night thriller in Lubbock between two Big 12 powerhouse programs, the 11th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks capped off a late rally by narrowly defeating No. 13 Texas Tech to move to win their sixth straight game.
Kansas Rides Darry Peterson’s Clutch Play and Stifling Defense to Victory
After surviving a tough test at home against No. 16 BYU on Saturday, the Jayhawks were in another dog fight before their superstar freshman, Darryn Peterson, came alive in the closing minutes to pull out the win. Peterson finished the game with 19 points, while scoring the Jayhawks final 6 points on back-to-back triples in the final minute. This was also the first game since early January that Peterson was not on a minute restriction due to injury.
The defense by Kansas was also a major factor in the win, as the Jayhawks held the Red Raiders to just 32% shooting from the floor. The Jayhawks also shrank the floor for Texas Tech’s offense, holding them to just 18 points in the paint and 30% from the three-point line. That stifling defensive effort was led in part by Jayhawks forward, Flory Bidunga, who swatted away multiple shots at the rim over the final 5 minutes to help the comeback victory.
While Peterson was knocking down clutch shots and Bidunga was locking up the paint, it was the Jayhawks senior leader, Melvin Council Jr., who was helping to pace Kansas’ offense. The St. Bonaventure transfer dropped 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in another great performance for the Jayhawks.
Texas Tech Receives Minimal Production from Bench in Loss
In what’s become a worrying trend for the Red Raiders over the past month of conference play, the second unit was missing in action. The Red Raiders bench only managed to score 3 points in the loss. While the Red Raiders got some nice performances from their starting five, it was ultimately the poor play of their star forward, JT Toppin, that led to their collapse in the waning minutes of the second half.
It was a rough night overall for last season’s Big 12 Player of the Year, as Toppin scored 10 points on an inefficient 5-of-18 shooting from the floor. The struggles on offense from Toppin forced the Red Raiders to look for other players to pick up the slack on offense, and Toppin’s frontcourt teammate, LeJuan Watts, was the driving force. Watts finished with a solid double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while also adding 5 assists in a strong all-around effort in the loss.
Kansas Stays Within Striking Distance of Big 12 Regular Season Title
After beginning Big 12 play at 1-2, the Jayhawks have clawed their way back into contention for the regular season crown. This win officially moved Kansas into a tie for the third-place spot with No. 7 Iowa State. Of course, the Jayhawks will have a chance to further shake up the Big 12 hierarchy in the coming weeks, as they’ll face off against the undefeated and undisputed No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Feb. 9, and the previously mentioned 7th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones on Feb. 14.
Meanwhile, for Texas Tech, this second straight loss puts a damper on their Big 12 title hopes, as they now sit at 6-3 and in 6th place in the conference at the midway point of Big 12 play. The one silver lining for the Red Raiders that could get them back in contention is the relatively soft schedule they have for the remainder of their conference season. Texas Tech will only have to face off against three ranked opponents over their final nine games.
