LAWRENCE, Kan. _ It was party time for Kansas' basketball players, coaches and fans Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The No. 3-ranked Jayhawks, who welcomed back Brandon Rush for his No. 25 jersey retirement ceremony, hoisted the Big 12 championship trophy while modeling their title hats and T-shirts after an 87-68 victory over TCU that clinched at least a tie for the program's 13th straight league crown.
In winning its 13th consecutive title with three games to play in the regular season, the Jayhawks (25-3, 13-2) _ who Wednesday were led by Frank Mason's 20 points, Devonte Graham's 17 points, Carlton Bragg's career-high tying 15 points and Josh Jackson's 15 points and 11 rebounds _ moved into a tie with UCLA for most consecutive league crowns in college hoops history. UCLA won 13 straight Pac-10 titles under coaches John Wooden, Gene Bartow and Gary Cunningham from 1967 to '79.
TCU (17-11, 6-9) was led by Alex Robinson's 15 points. Kenrich Williams had 12 boards.
There was a bit of a scare the first half as Jackson fell hard on the defensive end and appeared to hurt his foot with 11:37 left in the first half. He went to the locker room, returned at 6:35 and played the rest of the half and appeared to be fine the rest of the game, evidenced by his productive 26-minute performance (14 the second half), which he punctuated with a vicious dunk with just 2:19 left and KU up 14.
KU, which led, 40-39, at halftime, used an 8-0 run to grab a 57-47 lead with 14:16 to play. Jackson had a vicious one-hand dunk off a lob from Mason, Mason a layup that barely rolled in after hanging on the rim a second, Jackson another bucket and Graham two free throws in the surge.
KU extended its run to 22-7 to grab a 71-55 lead at 7:18. TCU moved to within 11 points at 4:11, but KU immediately extended the lead back to 14 at 3:00.
KU used a 5-0 run in the final 49 seconds to secure a 40-39 lead at halftime. Jackson hit a bucket with 29 seconds to go and missed a free throw, but grabbed the rebound and fed to Mason, who cashed a 2 at :22 to account for the one-point halftime advantage. It was a halftime that featured Rush's jersey being hung in the rafters and a speech by Rush well received by the 16,300 fans who gave him a standing ovation.
Mason had 13 points in the first half, Jackson nine and Bragg eight with five rebounds in 13 minutes. Graham scored seven points the first half.
TCU was led by Robinson, who had 10 points. Jaylen Fisher contributed eight as the Horned Frogs led by as many as five points, 27-22. KU trailed, 29-25, at 5:11. Mason hit a 3, and getting fouled on the shot by Fisher, cashed a free throw for a four-point play that tied the contest at 29.
TCU grabbed an early 8-4 lead. However, Bragg cashed a bucket and Svi Mykhailiuk a 3 to give KU a 9-8 lead at 14:37. KU hit 40.6 percent of its shots the first half, including 6 of 11 3s. TCU hit 5 of 15 3s the first half and 40.5 percent overall.
KU will next meet Texas at 5 p.m., Saturday, at Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
