STILLWATER, Okla. _ Kansas finished the Big 12 basketball regular season on Saturday the same way it opened the 2016-17 campaign: On a long winning streak.
The No. 1-ranked Jayhawks upended Oklahoma State, 90-85, at Gallagher-Iba Arena, for their eighth straight victory overall and first in Stillwater in four seasons.
KU (28-3, 16-2), which won its 13th-straight league crown by a whopping four games over West Virginia, Iowa State and Baylor, had opened the conference campaign with seven straight victories from Dec. 30 to Jan 21.
Frank Mason scored 27 points Saturday and Josh Jackson added 17, Devonte Graham 13, Carlton Bragg 11 and Landen Lucas 10 for the Jayhawks, who will meet the winner of Wednesday's Oklahoma-TCU game in a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal contest at 1:30 p.m., Thursday at Sprint Center.
Jeffrey Carroll had a career-high 27 points and Jawun Evans contributed 22 points and 15 assists for Oklahoma State (20-11, 9-9).
The Jayhawks, who led by just three points at halftime after holding a 12-point advantage (42-30 at 3:41), used a 7-0 run to turn a 47-46 deficit into a 53-47 lead at 16:55.
KU kept the lead the rest of the way, but not without a bit of a scare.
The Jayhawks led 79-70 at 5:35, but Oklahoma State immediately cut the gap to 79-75 at 4:53. It was 83-78 following a Landen Lucas dunk at 2:31. It was 83-80 when KU's Jackson hit a 3 from the corner to make it 86-80 at 1:47. Oklahoma State immediately cut the gap to 86-82 on two Evans free throws. Oklahoma State missed a pair of 3s at that point, KU holding its four-point lead at :45. Mason hit two free throws at :29.3 to give KU an 88-82 lead but Carroll responded at :18.3 to cut the gap to 88-85. Vick hit a layup at :16 to ice the win, 90-85.
Mason scored 11 points, Bragg nine, Jackson eight and Graham seven the first half as KU hit 55.2 percent of its shots and led, 43-40 at the break.
KU led, 42-30, with 3:41 left in the half and 43-32 at 2:10. However, Oklahoma State closed the half on an 8-0 run. Evans hit three free throws following a foul by Svi Mykhailiuk then hit a 3, followed by two free throws from Carroll, who had 14 points the first half.
Carroll hit his first four shots and scored 10 quick points, but KU led, 17-13, at 14:32. Mason had five points and Jackson four at that point.
KU upped a 31-28 lead (at 6:22) to 42-30 (at 3:41) courtesy of an 11-2 run. Bragg had four points, Graham three, Mason and Lucas two in the run.
The Jayhawks have won the Big 12 by four games four times in the 21-year history of the league: this season, as well as 1996-97, 1997-98 and 2009-10.
Mason, who needed to score at least 12 points and dish seven assists Saturday to become the only player in Big 12 history to average 20 points and five assists a game, did accomplish that feat with his 27 point, nine assist effort.
