LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson scored 23 points, including 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, to help No. 13 Kansas beat Baylor 78-70 Saturday and stay undefeated at home.

The performance came hours after Lawson was announced on the ballot for the Wooden Award.

Yet on senior night in Allen Fieldhouse, a trio of Kansas freshmen impressed. Devon Dotson, David McCormack and Quentin Grimes had 15, 12 and nine points, respectively. Kansas (23-8, 12-6 Big 12) fielded no seniors for the first time since 2007. The Jayhawks lone senior Lagerald Vick left the team earlier this season for personal reasons.

Jared Butler led the way for Baylor (19-12, 10-8 Big 12), scoring a career-high 31 points in 36 minutes. It was a big game for the freshman, who was averaging 9.6 points.

Kansas took advantage of Baylor’s zone defense throughout the game, scoring 36 points in the paint. That included 18 of Kansas’ 32 points in the first half. Baylor’s strong rebounding presence was heavily tested, and both teams finished with 43.

Kansas led 32-29 at halftime. A four-point possession five minutes in the second half turned the game in the Jayhawks’ favor.

Baylor forward Flo Thamba was called for a flagrant one foul after the referees deemed he purposely pushed his hand into the face of Lawson. He made both free throws and was fouled again by Thamba after the inbounds play, with Lawson making both again.

Kansas took a 44-35 lead after the possession and maintained it the rest of the game.

With their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal opponents already decided and neither team playing for the regular-season title, there was little at stake aside from an improved resume come Selection Sunday.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks finish the season 16-0 in Allen Fieldhouse, marking the 20th time in program history that Kansas has done so. It’s the first time since 2015-16 than Kansas has accomplished the feat and the seventh time during the Bill Self era.

Baylor: Despite the loss, the Bears finished the Big 12 regular season with double-digit wins for the sixth time in 10 seasons. Before 2010, they hadn’t finished conference play with double-digit wins since 1988 when they competed in the Southwest Conference.

UP NEXT

Kansas: The Jayhawks enter as the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. They will play 6th-seeded Texas on Thursday.

Baylor: Will play Iowa State on Thursday in the Big 12 Tournament.

— Associated Press —

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Christalah Lyons scored 21 points, Kylee Kopatich added 20 and No. 10 seed Kansas jumped out early and beat seventh-seeded Oklahoma State 76-66 on Friday night in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

Lyons and Kopatich each made seven field goals and combined to make five of the Jayhawks’ eight 3-pointers. Aniya Thomas added 12 points and Austin Richardson had 11 for Kansas (13-17), which will play No. 2 seed Iowa State in a Saturday quarterfinal.

Vivian Gray scored 16 of her 25 points in the second half to lead Oklahoma State (14-16). Braxtin Miller chipped in 16 points.

The Jayhawks built a 20-point lead midway through the second quarter before Oklahoma State cut the deficit to 35-28 at halftime. The Cowboys pulled within a point twice early in the fourth quarter but never had the lead.

— Associated Press —

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kristian Doolittle had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help Oklahoma beat No. 13 Kansas 81-68 on Tuesday night and end the Jayhawks’ run of Big 12 regular-season titles at 14 years.

The last time Kansas didn’t at least tie for the conference crown, Oklahoma State won it outright in 2003-04. Now, Kansas State and Texas Tech remain in contention for the championship. The fans knew — they chanted “streak is over” in the closing minutes.

Brady Manek scored 21 points and Rashard Odomes added 12 for Oklahoma (19-11, 7-10 Big 12), which boosted its chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid.

Dedric Lawson, the Big 12’s leading scorer, had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas (22-8, 11-6). David McCormack added 18 points for the Jayhawks.

Manek scored 10 early points to help the Sooners roll out to a 23-7 lead. Kansas crept back into the game before a dunk by Manek put the Sooners up 30-18.

In a perfect example of the way the first half went, the Sooners ran the shot clock down so far that the student section started counting. As time ran out, Doolittle bulled his way through Kansas’ defense for a layup to put the Sooners up 41-22. The Sooners led 41-28 at the break.

Oklahoma poured it on in the second half. A 3-pointer by Odomes pushed the Sooners’ lead to 59-37, and Oklahoma remained in control the rest of the way.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: Sure, the Jayhawks lost a road game to a team that has caught fire late in the season and likely will reach the NCAA Tournament. But the way they lost should be a concern, as should the close call in a win over struggling Oklahoma State last Saturday. Kansas doesn’t look like Kansas right now.

Oklahoma: The Sooners finally got that marquee win they have been looking for during conference play. The Sooners had lost five straight at one point, but now have won four of five. They head toward the postseason with momentum this season.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kansas will likely drop for this one because the game was more lopsided than the final score indicates. Kansas trailed by 19 with 1:53 to go before a late flurry.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts Baylor on Saturday.

Oklahoma: At Kansas State on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — After nearly knocking off No. 11 Texas Tech, Oklahoma State was in position to take down No. 15 Kansas.

Again, the Cowboys came up short.

Kansas escaped with a 72-67 victory Saturday, with Dedric Lawson scoring 20 points and matching a season high with 15 rebounds. He also had three steals for his 18th double-double of the season.

Quentin Grimes added 17 points for the Jayhawks (22-7, 11-5 Big 12), who have won five of their last six games.

“We did play with a sense of urgency, even thought it may not have turned out the way we wanted to, but I wouldn’t have blamed it on that at all,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It wasn’t because we played poorly, it was just because Oklahoma State played well.”

Cam McGriff had 19 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma State (10-19, 3-13) before fouling out with 1:38 remaining. Curtis Jones had 19 points and five rebounds off the bench.

“I’ll say this about my team, they embody the spirit that I want this program to be about,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “They’re doing probably one of the hardest things to do, which is not allowing the results to affect the process. They’re trying to make sure that their process gives them a chance to affect the results.”

The Cowboys, who led most of the way, have lost three in a row and eight of nine, including the 84-80 overtime loss to Texas Tech three days earlier.

“I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating,” McGriff said. “We just keep on building that foundation brick by brick. If we come out and continue to play like we’ve been playing, good things will come. We definitely don’t take any moral victories, but we can definitely say we’re heading in the right direction.”

McGriff’s layup and free throw with 4:02 remaining gave Oklahoma State a 67-64 lead. But the Cowboys didn’t score again, missing their last five shots. With Kansas up 68-67 and 14 seconds left, Thomas Dziagwa missed a 3-pointer.

After Lawson made two free throws, Lindy Waters had an open 3 from the right corner with seven seconds to go, but it bounced off the rim. Waters, who hit 7 of 10 from beyond the arc against Texas Tech on Wednesday, entered the day leading the Big 12 with a .469 3-point shooting percentage.

“At the end of the day,” Boynton said. “We got what we wanted, we had the best 3-point shooter in the conference. That’s why you don’t get caught up in that. You can’t. I’ll take that shot again if we had to go play it over right now.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks had their worst first-half shooting percentage of the season, connecting on just 33 percent, including just 3 of 12 from 3-point range. They missed their last four of the half and the first two of the second before things got better.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys have been doing well of late with 3-pointers. They made 11 of 29 (38 percent), including 7 of 14 in the first half. That came after Oklahoma State hit a school-record 17 3-pointers in the OT loss to Texas Tech.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Kansas connected on 20 of 23 free throws while Oklahoma State was 2 of 5. There were a number of contentious calls that had the home fans booing. “I’m going to leave that alone,” Boynton said. “It is what it is, they called them. They’re not going to change it now.”

TIP-INS

Kansas outrebounded Oklahoma State 41-34, including a 19-14 advantage in the second half. . After Dziagwa and Waters combined to make 13 of 19 3-pointers against Texas Tech, the duo was a combined 5 of 16 on Saturday. . The 17 points by Grimes was the most he’s scored since he had 19 in a 77-60 loss to Iowa State on Jan. 5.

UP NEXT

Kansas: The Jayhawks visit Oklahoma on Tuesday in hopes of a season sweep. They won the first game 70-63 on Jan. 2.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys play at Baylor on Wednesday, looking to avenge their 73-69 loss at home Jan. 14.

— Associated Press —

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jarrett Culver scored 26 points and was one of six Texas Tech players to make multiple 3-pointers as the No. 14 Red Raiders overwhelmed No. 12 Kansas 91-62 on Saturday night.

The Red Raiders (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) never trailed, scoring the game’s first five points. They made a season-high 16 3s while winning their fifth game in a row.

When Davide Moretti made their eighth 3-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes left in the first half, it was already 37-17, the largest deficit to that point for Kansas this season. The margin grew to as large as 33.

Texas Tech took over sole possession of second place in the Big 12, one game behind Kansas State (21-6, 11-3) with four regular-season games remaining.

Kansas (20-7, 9-5), which has won the last 14 Big 12 titles, plays its Sunflower State rival Monday night. The Jayhawks have to win then to avoid falling three games behind with only three games to play.

It was most lopsided Big 12 loss for the Jayhawks since an 86-53 loss at Oklahoma State on Feb. 7, 2000. That was more than three seasons before Bill Self became their coach.

There was a raucous crowd of 15,098, the first home sellout for Texas Tech since an 84-65 win over Kansas on March 4, 2009. That was the last time the Jayhawks had lost in Lubbock.

Matt Mooney had 13 points for Tech. Moretti scored 11 points, Tariq Owens had 10, and Norense Odiase added eight points and 13 rebounds.

Culver, Mooney and Moretti each made three 3-pointers.

Dedric Lawson was the only Kansas player in double figures with 14 points.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks’ stranglehold on the Big 12 regular-season trophy absorbed a serious blow. It was their fifth consecutive road loss.

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders exacted some revenge from a 79-63 loss at Lawrence three weeks earlier. They shot 61 percent overall (34 of 56) and 62 percent on 3-pointers (16 of 26). In its five-game winning streak, Texas Tech has won those games by an average margin of 25 points.

UP NEXT

Kansas: Hosts No. 23 Kansas State on Monday nght.

Texas Tech: Hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devon Dotson drove through a crowd of West Virginia players, stopped in his tracks and passed the ball across the key, finding K.J. Lawson alone in the corner. Without hesitation, Lawson sunk his third 3-pointer of the game before running down the court celebrating with his brother, Dedric.

K.J. Lawson scored a season-high 15 points in 24 minutes, the first time he’s played more than 20 minutes since transferring from Memphis, and No. 14 Kansas beat the Mountaineers 78-53 on Saturday.

“I’m real happy for him, and it’s nice to see guys hang in there, and when their number is called they’re ready, and he’s been ready,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.

Dotson also scored 15 points and Dedric Lawson had 14 for the Jayhawks (20-6, 9-4 Big 12), who won their third straight as they continue to start four freshmen.

Lamont West and Chase Harler scored 11 points apiece for West Virginia (10-15, 2-10), which struggled without former starters Esa Ahmed and Wesley Harris, who were dismissed from the team earlier in the week for violating athletic department policies.

“One of the biggest things is those two guys rebounded it for us,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said.

Ahmed was averaging 12 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while Harris was putting up 7.9 points and 4.5 rebounds. With the early-season injury to Sagaba Konate, the Mountaineers are now without three of their top four rebounders.

Kansas held West Virginia to a season-low 16 points at halftime, and the Mountaineers shot 33.9 percent for the game, including 3 of 23 from 3-point range. West Virginia didn’t reach double-digit scoring until 5:52 remained in the first half.

The Mountaineers finished with 24 turnovers. In West Virginia’s 65-64 win over Kansas in Morgantown on Jan. 19, the Mountaineers turned it over just 13 times.

“Just keeping a man in front, pressuring the ball, making it hard for making entry passes, make them pass the ball side to side,” Dotson said. “We put the pressure on them and I thought the bigs did a great job on cover today.”

Kansas held an opponent to 53 points or fewer for just the third time this season, and it was the first time the Jayhawks have kept a Big 12 opponent under 60 points.

The Jayhawks got the crowd excited with several flashy plays in the second half, including a fierce one-handed dunk by Ochai Agbaji. Fans at Allen Fieldhouse were also pleased to learn of No. 18 Kansas State’s 78-64 loss to No. 23 Iowa State as Kansas cruised through the final minutes.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN

In addition to Dotson and Agbaji, Kansas started freshmen Quentin Grimes and David McCormack, who played a career-high 24 minutes. Agbaji (10 points) has scored in double figures in five of his last six games.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia: The Mountaineers sit last in the Big 12 standings. West Virginia has not finished conference play outside the top five since 2014, when it ended the season in seventh place.

Kansas: The Jayhawks remain in contention for the Big 12 title. After Kansas State’s loss to Iowa State, Kansas lurks a half-game behind the Wildcats, tied with No. 15 Texas Tech. The Sunflower Showdown in Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 25 could end up deciding the conference championship.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Hosts Kansas State on Monday.

Kansas: Visits Texas Tech next Saturday in another critical game in the upper tier of the Big 12.

— Associated Press —

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas got the lift it needed against Oklahoma State on Saturday from a pair of guys that would have been just about the longest of long shots to provide it just a couple of months ago.

Ochai Agbaji was still redshirting back then. Mitch Lightfoot was buried deep on the bench.

Yet it was Agbaji who was pouring in five 3-pointers and 23 points against the Cowboys, and it was Lightfoot playing above the rim at both ends of the floor. And along with Dedric Lawson, who had a game-high 25 points, the No. 13 Jayhawks shrugged off a slow start for an 84-72 victory.

“It’s about taking your opportunities and making the best of them,” said Lightfoot, who finished with six points and nine rebounds. “That could be two minutes or it could be 20.”

Devon Dotson added 18 points for the short-handed Jayhawks (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), who were playing their first game without Lagerald Vick. He left the team this week to deal with a personal issue.

Vick’s departure came at a tough time for the Jayhawks, who lost earlier in the week to rival Kansas State to leave them two games back in the race for a 15th consecutive conference title.

Oklahoma State (9-14, 2-8) played Kansas to a draw in the first half before Lawson, Agbaji and the rest of the Jayhawks caught fire. The Cowboys’ own depth issues surfaced when Cameron McGriff got into foul trouble, allowing Kansas to slowly draw away late.

McGriff finished with 22 points before fouling out. Lindy Waters added 13 for Oklahoma State.

“We competed. We just didn’t have enough to stave off the run they made in the second half,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said. “Those things can come pretty quickly.”

Even before Vick left, the Jayhawks were playing without three guys they thought would be big parts of the program. Silvio De Sousa is ineligible, big man Udoka Azubuike is out after season-ending wrist surgery and defensive stopper Marcus Garrett is recovering from an ankle sprain.

The result was a discombobulated first 20 minutes Saturday.

Freshman forward David McCormack got his first career start but still seemed lost on the floor, struggling to adapt to high-level college basketball. Fellow freshman starter Quentin Grimes was shut out in the first half, and nobody on coach Bill Self’s crippled bench provided much energy.

Oklahoma State took advantage with a late run to make it 36-all at the break.

It was Lightfoot who finally sparked the Jayhawks coming out of the locker room. The backup forward soared for a couple crucial rebounds, stuffed a putback dunk and added a couple of energizing blocks to earn a standing ovation from a home crowd on edge.

Waters and McGriff answered for the Cowboys, who were trying to become the first team since 2001 to win back-to-back games in Allen Fieldhouse — they swept Kansas last season. But they failed to stop a 12-0 charge that finally gave the Jayhawks control.

Agbaji began it with a 3-pointer, Grimes added back-to-back 3s and Agbaji drained his fifth 3 to make it 65-51 and ultimately force Boynton into burning a timeout.

“That was just on us,” Cowboys guard Isaac Likekele said. “We caved in a little bit.”

The Jayhawks’ lead eventually reached 19 points as they cruised to the finish, winning a game that they desperately needed to keep pace in the Big 12 title chase.

“I know people around here are freaking out because they lost four games in the league,” Boynton said, “but they still have a Hall of Fame coach, still have a first-team All-America player and they still have one of the best home courts in all of America.”

STATS AND STREAKS

The Cowboys have lost three straight and six of seven. … The Jayhawks improved to 17-0 at home and on neutral floors. They are 1-6 in true road games. … Kansas committed 23 turnovers in its loss to the Wildcats. It had eight against the Cowboys.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma State entered the game leading the Big 12 in 3-point percentage and number made, and the Cowboys needed to shoot well from the perimeter to hang with Kansas. They were 4 of 7 from the arc in the first half but 5 of 13 in the second, when the Jayhawks pulled away.

Kansas can’t get Garrett back from his sprained ankle soon enough. Its game against Oklahoma State was the first of two in 48 hours, testing what little depth it has available.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State plays Texas Tech on Wednesday night.

Kansas travels to TCU on Monday night.

— Associated Press —