LAWRENCE, Kan. _ Texas Tech's basketball players and student managers wore red, long-sleeved No. 5 Patrick Mahomes II shirts during warmups prior to Saturday's Kansas-Red Raiders game in Allen Fieldhouse.
Any attempt to gain favor with KU players and fans _ who share the desire for Tech graduate Mahomes and the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIV on Sunday in Miami _ did not exactly pay off once the ball was tipped.
Devon Dotson scored 21 points, with six rebounds and three assists, as the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks upended the Red Raiders, 78-75. KU (18-3, 7-1 Big 12) raced to leads of 10-0 and 17-2 in front of the 301st sellout crowd in the fieldhouse.
Marcus Garrett added 15 points and five rebounds while Isaiah Moss contributed 12 points and Ochai Agbaji 11 for the Jayhawks.
David McCormack, who returned from a two-game suspension, had six points and six boards in 20 minutes. He played a pivotal role on a night Udoka Azubuike had foul problems and went for five points and eight boards in 16 minutes.
Freshman Jahmi'us Ramsey had 26 points for Tech (13-8, 4-4). TJ Holyfield contributed 19.
Mahomes, who will lead the Chiefs' offense against the 49ers, by the way, wore No. 5 in college. He, of course, wears No. 15 with KC.
KU fans, caught up in Super Bowl fever, bellowed "Home of the Chiefs" loudly at the end of Saturday's National Anthem.
KU survived a 14-point onslaught from Ramsey and early foul problems of Azubuike to lead, 44-35, at halftime.
Dotson scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Garrett and Agbaji had seven points apiece in the half.
Tech cut the deficit to four points, 57-53, at 9:33 and two points, 57-55, at 8:51.
KU answered with a 6-0 run and led 63-55 at 7:32. Dotson and Agbaji scored buckets and McCormack slammed in a lob from Dotson. KU led by 10 at the final TV timeout, 70-60. But Tech immediately cut it to 70-65 at 3:07 on two free throws by Terrence Shannon and a three by Holyfield.
Holyfield's 3 pulled Tech within five points again at 76-71 with 1:38 left. He went to the line at with 57.1 seconds left and made two free throws, then Garrett missed an inside shot and Ramsey scored a layup that made it 76-75 KU with 29 seconds left.
Agbaji went to the line with 14.3 seconds left, made two free throws and KU led 78-75.
Now KU had to play defense. Ramsey's inside shot was blocked out of bounds by Garrett at 6.3 seconds. Ramsey missed inside, Agbaji rebounded and KU had wrapped up the 3-point win.
Azubuike, who picked up his second foul with 9:56 left in the half and KU leading by nine points, did not return until the start of the second half. He had three points and three boards in seven minutes in the half, while McCormack had four points and three boards in eight minutes in the half. Ramsey had 14 points in 15 minutes.
KU won its sixth game in a row (including five league games) since a loss to Baylor on Jan. 11.
