LUBBOCK Texas _ Kansas has not officially been eliminated from contention for a 15th straight Big 12 Conference title. The Jayhawks' fleeting championship hopes took a severe hit on Saturday, however.
No. 14 Texas Tech raced to a 25-point halftime lead and never looked back in blasting the No. 12-ranked Jayhawks, 91-62, at United Supermarkets Arena in a battle for sole possession of second place in the league race.
KU dropped to 20-7 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12.
Jarrett Culver scored 26 points, Matt Mooney 13, Davide Moretti 11, Tariq Owens 10 and Norense Odiase eight points with 13 rebounds as Texas Tech (22-5, 10-4) handed KU its worst loss in a Big 12 game in the Bill Self era (second-worst loss overall) and remained a game behind Kansas State (21-6, 11-3) in the standings.
KU lost by 32 points to Kentucky in 2014, 25 points to Texas in 2006 and 25 to Temple in 2014.
KU, meanwhile fell two games behind the Wildcats (with just four remaining) entering Monday's 8 p.m. Big Monday clash against Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse.
That's right ... the Wildcats will leave Lawrence on Monday with either a one-game lead or three-game lead over KU with three games left to play.
Dedric Lawson scored 14 points Saturday for KU, which fell to 2-5 in Big 12 road games this season. The Jayhawks dropped into a tie for third in the league with Baylor. Iowa State is 8-6, Texas 7-7, TCU 6-8, Oklahoma 5-9, Oklahoma State 3-11 and West Virginia 2-12.
Tech snapped KU's three-game winning streak, which had included a road win over TCU.
The Jayhawks on Saturday welcomed back sophomore defensive stopper Marcus Garrett, who had missed the past five games because of a high ankle sprain. He came off the bench and scored nine points in 22 minutes.
This one was never a game.
Texas Tech raced to an 18-8 lead and never slowed down in building the margin to 25 points _ 45-20 _ at halftime. It was the largest halftime deficit for KU in 18 years. KU trailed Baylor, 47-22, on Feb. 12, 2001 in Waco. KU lost that game 85-77.
Culver scored 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting and had three assists in the half for the Red Raiders, who hit 17 of 31 shots (54.8 percent) and 9 of 15 3s.
Four Texas Tech players had six points apiece as eight players scored in the half.
KU hit 9 of 23 first-half shots and was 2 of 8 from 3. The Jayhawks, who committed eight turnovers, were led by Devon Dotson's four first-half points.
Texas Tech raced to an 18-8 lead just 5:11 into the game. Culver hit his first three shots (including a 3) and scored seven points. Moretti and Brandone Francis also hit a three apiece in grabbing the early 10-point lead.
Freshman starter David McCormack, who was starting his fourth straight game, had two of KU's first three turnovers. KU was 4 of 5 shooting in that span, but still trailed by 10.
Texas Tech built on its early 18-8 lead, leading by margins of 21-10, 24-10, 26-12 and 34-17 with 7:08 left in the half. Texas Tech in gaining the 17-point lead at that point had hit 13 of 21 shots and was 7 of 12 on 3-pointers. KU was 8 of 15 and 1 of 3 from 3 with four turnovers.
Tech continued to add to the margin, leading 39-17 at 3:43. At that point, the Red Raiders had cashed 15 of 25 shots (8 of 13 3s). KU hit 1 of 5 3s at that stage and was 8 of 20 overall.
