It was senior night at Allen Fieldhouse on March 4, 2013, and the Jayhawks did not disappoint. When head coach Bill Self replaced his four seniors for the last time inside Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas had locked up an easy 79-42 victory over Texas Tech on Senior Night. Seniors Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Jeff Withey and Kevin Young were recognized prior to and following the contest.
The seniors stole the show on all levels.
- By the end of the first half, Johnson had tied Jayhawk legends Kirk Hinrich and Ryan Robertson for the most assists in a half for conference game (9) before ending his home finale with a career-high 12 assists.
- Withey ended his night one rebound shy of a double-double. He racked up 22 points on a career-high tying eight field goals, nine rebounds and four blocks. Not to mention, Withey is now shooting 100% from 3 point range with the only shot and made three pointer of his career.
- Young missed only once on Monday, scoring 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Releford hit 8-of-10 free throws en route to 13 points.
With the victory, Kansas takes a half-game lead in the Big 12 title race over in-state rival Kansas State (24-5, 13-3), who hosts TCU Tuesday.
It was a game of runs as Kansas strung runs of 7-0, 19-2, 8-0 and 16-3 throughout the game. With 4:45 on the clock and a 77-38 lead, reserves and backups hit the floor for mop up duty to secure a 79-42 win. The 37-point margin of defeat on Senior Night marked the largest since KU's 109-51 victory in the 2007-08 home finale - also against Texas Tech.
This may be a false indicator game as assuredly the seniors were energized by the events of the evening and the gravity of the fact that this was their last game in Allen Fieldhouse as current players. Texas Tech is also not the bastion of basketball supremacy in the Big 12, but there is something to be said for Kansas taking care of business and putting TTU away for the night.
Kansas will close out the regular season at Baylor on Saturday, March 9, at 5 P.M. on ESPN. KU will then participate in the Big 12 Championship, March 13-16, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. With a guaranteed first round bye, KU’s first game will be in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14.
Check out the final stats.
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