No. 4 Kansas vs. Texas Tech final score: Jayhawks roll in 79-42 laugher, one win away from Big 12 title

Jamie Squire

Kansas routed Texas Tech in a game they dominated from the start, putting them just a win away from their ninth straight Big 12 regular-season title.

No. 4 Kansas never gave Texas Tech a chance, pulling away easily and early in a lopsided romp, winning 79-42.

Kansas scored the first seven points of the game, and although the Red Raiders eventually got the score to 13-10, the Jayhawks responded with a 19-2 run capped off by a Jeff Withey three — his first of the season. Withey and Kevin Young each got into double-digit points by the half, while Texas Tech had just 20 points as a team, trailing 45-20 at the break.

They didn't take their foot off the pedal. Kansas went on a 14-3 run to start the second half. If you do the math, you'll see that gave them a 59-23 lead. They kept their stars in the game until relatively late, even with the enormous lead: Withey would finish with 22 points, while Elijah Johnson had 12 assists.

The win puts the Jayhawks in the driver's seat for the Big 12 regular-season title, giving them a half-game lead on Kansas State. A win in their season finale Saturday against Baylor or a loss by the Wildcats in either of their final two games will clinch a share of the title for Kansas. That's a good bet: Kansas State's final game will be on the road against No. 14 Oklahoma State.

After losing three straight games in early February, including one to a lowly TCU squad, the Jayhawks are closing the year strong: they've won seven in a row. Although one of those was a double-overtime win against Oklahoma State and the other was a miracle comeback against Iowa State, the other five have all been by 20 points or more.