AUSTIN – Marcus Morris scored 18 points to lead No. 1 Kansas to an 80-68 victory over No. 14 Texas on Monday night and the Jayhawks easily handled an opponent that a few weeks ago was supposed to challenge them for the Big 12 title.

Kansas (23-1, 9-0) outmuscled and outhustled the Longhorns (19-5, 5-4) in just about every way, holding the top-scoring team in the Big 12 to 37 percent shooting and scoring 27 points off 17 turnovers.

And when Texas finally staged a late rally, Kansas slammed the door behind senior point guard Sherron Collins.

Freshman J’Covan Brown scored 28 points for the Longhorns, who have lost five of their last seven games after earning the first No. 1 ranking in school history a month ago.

The Jayhawks gave Texas a lesson in how to not just get to No. 1, but how to stay there, using a 22-0 run in the first half to quiet a raucous home crowd and open a big lead that Texas never really threatened.

Kansas, No. 1 for the second straight week after being out of the top spot for three weeks, even outrebounded a physical Texas lineup 45-34 and allowed just five points off its 10 turnovers.

Brown scored most of his points in a late burst that cut Kansas’ lead under 10 late before Tyshawn Taylor made two free throws. Collins then bulled through two defenders to fire a sharp pass to Tyrel Reed for a layup that ended the rally.

Kansas was No. 1 in the preseason poll and for the first eight weeks of the regular season before its only loss, at Tennessee.

Texas is in a free-fall after the best start in school history. The Longhorns looked like national title contenders when they were 17-0.

But that No. 1 ranking now seems like ancient history to a team struggling to find any offensive rhythm or make big stops on defense when they count.

Texas tried to muscle up Kansas by inserting forward Gary Johnson into the staring lineup for the first time. But his 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting couldn’t make a difference.

Damion James had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns for his 50th career double-double. But just like so many other recent games, he was Texas’ only scoring option for long stretches.

Texas led 14-11 before Markieff Morris’ long 3-pointer started Kansas’ big run that left the Longhorns looking bewildered at both ends of the court.

Collins zipped a pass to Marcus Morris and he made a nifty grab in a dead sprint for a layup. Taylor made a 3-pointer before two Texas turnovers led to easy Jayhawks baskets. Collins’ long 3-pointer from the left wing made it 30-14.

Texas went scoreless for more than 11 minutes and missed 12 straight shots before James banked in a 3-pointer. Kansas led 34-24 at halftime.

Kansas opened the second half with an alley-oop dunk from Collins to Henry and the Jayhawks’ stifling defense continued to force wild shots and turnovers.

When Texas guard Dogus Balbay mishandled the ball in the backcourt, all his teammates had already run to the other end. With four Jayhawks under the basket, Collins cooly tossed it to Marcus Morris for an empathic two-handed dunk and a 50-34 Kansas lead.

Everything seemed to be working for Kansas at that point. Brady Morningstar stroked a 3-pointer and Collins spun through the lane for a behind-the-the back pass to Cole Aldrich for a dunk. Even a botched alley-oop layup to Marcus Morris worked when the ball bounced right back to him on the other side of the basket for an easy putback.

Now the Red Raiders are trying to prove they belong in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma State's Marshall Moses, bottom, loses the ball after contact from Texas Tech's Theron Jenkins during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena, an 81-74 Tech win. (Merissa Ferguson/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

That makes each chance for a win, particularly on the road, important as Tech looks to push into the top of the Big 12 Conference pack. The Red Raiders will have one such opportunity today, facing Oklahoma at 7 p.m. in Norman, Okla.

But coach Pat Knight said Tech’s defense will need to show up the way it did in Saturday’s 81-74 win against Oklahoma State if it wants any hope for a win.

“To be able to hold Oklahoma State to 26 points in the first half and keep (James) Anderson at 10 points I thought was big for us,” Knight said. “It’s just like we did two weeks ago at home, but we’ve got to be able to do it on the road. We’re having a hard time defending on the road.”

Big 12 teams have lost only 17 of their 158 home games this season. Tech’s only home loss this year was an overtime game against Missouri.

Oklahoma, though, has yet to lose at home.

“Through the history of this program, OU teams have been very good here,” OU coach Jeff Capel said. “I think it’s like anywhere else; most teams feel more comfortable at home. You feed off the energy of your crowd, and we’ve had very good energy from our crowds this year.”

The Sooners might be playing without two key contributors. The Oklahoman reported Monday that freshmen Steven Pledger and Andrew Fitzgerald were cited for petty larceny in connection with a shoplifting incident after Saturday’s win against Texas. Pledger played 24 minutes and scored nine points in the game, while Fitzgerald started, played 19 minutes and scored three points.

As of Monday afternoon, no information had been released about either player’s eligibility for the game against Tech.

Tech’s players said last week they still think the NCAA tournament is within reach. At 3-5 in the Big 12, Knight said the team has just one more loss than he anticipated at this point in the season.

The race, at this point, seems to be to an 8-8 conference record. That’s a record that got Duke into the NCAA tournament when Capel played there, and he and Knight both said they hope it’s enough in the Big 12 this season.

“We’re just beating up on each other, with the exception of Kansas,” Capel said. “You’d like to think if you can get there maybe it could happen, but I don’t know. We’ll see at the end what happens and what the selection committee does.”

Knight regularly repeats his belief that the Big 12 is the toughest conference in the country this season, and he’s got the facts to back it up. Seven Big 12 teams have spent time in The Associated Press Top 25 this season, including Tech. For nine of the 13 weeks rankings have been released, the Big 12 has had at least four teams in the Top 25.

Of the six teams in the history of the Big 12 to finish the regular season with 8-8 conference records, only the 2008 Texas A&M team made it into the tournament. Since the NCAA expanded its field to 64 and now 65 teams, 53 with .500 conference records have made the cut, and another 33 had losing records in league play.

Knight knows that’s happened in the ACC when that league was at its peak. Now he thinks it’s possible in the Big 12.

“Our league’s so tough this year I wouldn’t be surprised — if guys keep beating each other up like they are — if somebody at 7-9 could be on the bubble,” he said.

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Texas Tech’s coaches are confident in what their young post players bring to the table in place of the indefinitely suspended Mallard.

Texas Tech's Marissa Ashton, right, blocks a shot by Nebraska's Dominique Kelley. Ashton, a freshman, is a player the Lady Raiders might be looking for more production from while Kierra Mallard is suspended. (Geoffrey Mcallister / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

Tech will operate with a post by committee of sorts, with sophomore Jordan Barncastle and freshman Marissa Ashton joining senior Ashlee Roberson under the basket.

Barncastle will be the starting center, but she and Ashton will see similar playing time.

“To a certain extent, I think we had a committee, to be real honest,” assistant coach Kelly Curry said of the team’s structure before Mallard’s suspension. “The rotation is just short one now.”

What Tech will miss most without Mallard is rebounding, which Curry pointed to as his greatest concern. Mallard was hauling in more than seven per game.

“We’re going to have to make sure that we try to do the little things that can make a big difference and really defend smart and really rebound smarter,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “I feel like between those two and Ashlee that they’ll be able to do that. And they’re going to give you everything they’ve got in trying to do it, so that’s important.”

It’s been a frustrating season at the post position for the Lady Raiders. The team entered the season expecting contributions from Kaylan Talley and Shauntal Nobles, both of whom are out with injuries, and Tech is still waiting to hear from the NCAA regarding Teena Wickett’s eligibility. With Mallard’s suspension, Tech has only 10 active players.

All four of the aforementioned players are at least 6-foot-3.

The Lady Raiders were outrebounded 47-32 in their 81-51 loss to then-No. 17 Texas on Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center. Ashton grabbed three rebounds, and Barncastle pulled in two.

To compensate on the glass, Tech’s guards are going to have to step up and play a bigger rebounding role.

“We can’t afford, as small a team as we are, for our perimeters to not rebound,” Kelly Curry said.

Texas didn’t make a point of exploiting Mallard’s absence in the post, but the Longhorns didn’t have to, not with an 11-for-22 performance from 3-point range.

Tech did manage to contest many of the Longhorns’ perimeter shots, and at least part of the credit for Texas not driving the lane goes to the defensive efforts of Barncastle and Ashton.

Texas wasn’t able to penetrate until late in the game, after four Lady Raiders had fouled out.

“I think what Texas did was they had an open shot and they knocked it down,” assistant coach Shereka Wright said. “Once you start to get one or two, the confidence is there. That’s with any kid. They shot lights out on threes, and you have to give them credit for that.”

The Lady Raiders will likely get a better post test Wednesday, when Danielle Adams and Texas A&M take on Tech at United Spirit Arena.

The Aggies may change up their game to expose Tech’s inexperienced posts, but Wright said she expects nothing more than the usual adjustments that coaches make during the course of a season.

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Texas Tech's Mike Singletary against the defense of Oklahoma State's Obi Muonelo during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma State 81-74. (Merissa Ferguson/Lubbock Avalance-Journal)

Late last week while the rest of the Texas Tech basketball team worked on its offense, Sinlgetary experimented with different angles and arm positions, trying to see how his sprained right shoulder would alter his shot. He knew the soreness would linger through last Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State, but also that he needed to be on the court.

So after two days of doing nothing but shuffling around the court with his arm immobilized against his chest, he dedicated himself to relearning his shot as soon as the bandages came off.

“The first day I got that mummy stuff off I got up a lot of shots,” Sinlgetary said. “I was just playing it by every shot, trying to see what was going to be best for me.”

What worked, he found, was to drive to the hoop rather than taking outside jumpers. So that’s what he did all Saturday afternoon, scoring 22 points to help Tech to an 81-74 win.

As it turns out, the injury did little to affect his statistics. On average he makes 4.9 of 10.5 field goal attempts in a game, and on Saturday he was 5-of-13. He improved his scoring average to 15.7 points per game.

His free-throw numbers saw the greatest change. Driving the lane helped him get to the free throw line 15 times, where he made 12 shots and more than half his points.

That’s up from an average of 5.1 makes in seven attempts.

“That’s why I was attacking the hole, because with a bum shoulder you can’t really stand out there and shoot jump shots,” Singletary said. “I’m probably going to change my game a little bit.”

The problem with jump shots, he said, is that the soreness creates a slight hesitation in his normal range of motion, which affects his release and thus the ball’s trajectory. He doesn’t feel that pain during the motion involved in a layup, or rebound for that matter (he had a team-high six on Saturday).

Texas Tech's Mike Singletary rounds Oklahoma State's Obi Muonelo during their game Saturday at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma State 81-74. (Merissa Ferguson/Lubbock Avalance-Journal)

When he does take jump shots, he compensates by moving his elbow away from his body.

“Its’ a little hitch, so my motion’s not as smooth,” Singletary said. “If I’m shooting in it’s tight and gets locked up on my follow through, so I just move it out and have to shoot that way.”

If Singletary maintains his rapid rate of recovery, he should feel even less pain on Tuesday, when Tech is back on the road for a game at Oklahoma. With a win the Raiders (14-7, 2-5 Big 12) could pull into a three-team pack sitting in seventh place in the league standings.

“It’s going to be a little while until I can get my original form back, but you’ve got to make adjustments,” Singletary said. “That’s what good players do.”

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Texas Tech lost 81-51 to No. 17 Texas on Sunday at the Frank Erwin Center, bringing Tech’s losing streak to six.

It is the longest losing streak for the Lady Raiders since losing seven in a row during the 1978-79 season.

Texas Tech forward Ashlee Roberson, left, grabs the defensive rebound ahead of Texas forward Earnesia Williams, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday in Austin. Texas won 81-51. (Associated Press)

Head coach Kristy Curry said the Lady Raiders (13-9, 1-7 in Big 12) remain determined and will not give up on their preseason goal of an NCAA Tournament bid.

“We’re halfway through and there’s eight games to go,” she said. “There are teams in this league that have gotten in at 7-9, and these kids are aware of that. We’re going to keep fighting and clawing and scraping and working our way back.

“To get to postseason is our goal and whichever direction that takes us is where we want to go. We’re not going to concede anything or lace up our shoes any less tight. We’re going to continue to grow and get better.”

The Lady Raiders were without leading scorer Kierra Mallard, who was suspended indefinitely Saturday for conduct detrimental to the team.

They were also without Chynna Brown, who was in the midst of her best game of the season before suffering a slight concussion when she took an elbow to the head late in the first half.

The freshman guard was making her second consecutive start and had eight points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of play before exiting.

But it’s hard to see any of Tech’s absent players being able to help overcome the Longhorns’ dominating 11-of-22 performance from 3-point range. Texas (16-6, 5-3) shot 50 percent from the floor and had four players in double figures, including 22 from Brittainey Raven and 13 apiece from Kathleen Nash and Cokie Reed.

“Obviously we’re undermanned and undersized but I don’t fault our effort,” Curry said. “Those are a couple high school all-Americans that are very talented and about four inches taller so give them credit.”

The Longhorns declined their option of driving the lane in the first half, despite the 6-foot-3 Mallard’s absence. Texas coach Gail Goestenkors credited Tech’s zone defense for eliminating the lane.

When Tech switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half to slow Texas down from beyond the perimeter, the Lady Raiders started to concede more points in the paint.

Jordan Barncastle, who replaced Mallard at center, scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Marissa Ashton, Tech’s other option down low, scored eight points in 20 minutes off the bench.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for us to step up and play different roles than we’re used to,” Barncastle said of taking over for Mallard. “Marissa played great today, crashed the boards hard and hit some shots.”

Jordan Murphree, who scored a career-high 29 points in Tech’s 95-90 double overtime loss to Texas on Jan. 16 in Lubbock, continued her up and down season, scoring six points. She’s averaging 3.3 points in conference road games and 21 at home.

Roberson notched her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. She was the only Tech player in double figures.

After the game, the senior forward reiterated her belief that Tech’s first loss to Texas, which started its current losing streak, was not a turning point in the season.

“We still competed after we lost the double overtime,” she said. “But we just haven’t gotten our game to where we wanted to or gotten the outcome that we wanted to. But overall, I don’t think that affected us at all. We still compete no matter what.”

The Big 12 Conference is full of tremendously athletic, tall and talented centers and power forwards.

Kierra Mallard served the role for the Lady Raiders these past three months and last season, but with her suspension, Tech is in a quandary.

At 1-6 in the conference, this predicament is slightly less significant. That is, Tech’s season is on the verge of being finished (and we’re not quite at the halfway point yet), so being without a powerful post isn’t as devastating as it would have been two, three or four weeks ago.

But what are the Lady Raiders going to do? Jordan Barncastle and Marissa Ashton will fill in as best they can, but there’s no way they can fully compensate for a team’s leading scorer.

I think assistant coach Kelly Curry was probably right when he told me that Tech wouldn’t lose THAT much with one of them in the lineup in place of Mallard (something he said before Kristy Curry announced Saturday that Mallard was indefinitely suspended), in terms of defense, rebounding, etc.

But not in terms of scoring. You can’t completely fill the void left by losing your leading scorer. Kansas is about to find that out, as well, with the season-ending injury to Danielle McCray.

So, without Mallard, can Tech remain competitive this season?

That’s a fair question of a team that has been at best competitive this saeson. Before Mallard’s suspension, Tech would have been barely regarded as a favorite against Kansas at home or Missouri on the road. If Mallard is out for the rest of the season, Tech may not win another game. The Lady Raiders might even miss out on an NIT invite…Yikes!

Writing these words frightens me as someone who expected better things from Tech this season. It looked like Curry might turn a corner in her Tech career this season, but instead took a step back.

I guess we’ll find out in a couple minutes here, when Tech takes the floor against Texas at the Frank Erwin Center. We’ll get a good idea of what the Lady Raiders are capable of without their leading scorer under the basket.

In the meantime, let’s take another look at new head coach Tommy Tuberville and his first recruiting class with the Red Raiders. Tuberville overhauled the coaching staff, with Matt Moore and Sonny Cumbie being the only holders from the Leach era, and I’m not sure whether that’s a good idea or a bad one.

On one hand, Tuberville needed to bring in coaches he’s familiar and compatible with, and it’s probably best to have a clean break from his predecessor. On the other hand, he might be trying to fix something that wasn’t exactly broken.

Only time will tell whether the staff he put together will mesh with the players he inherited.

Along those lines, Tuberville can’t receive too much credit or too much blame for a recruiting class that could be one of Tech’s better ones. Most of the players who signed on Wednesday were initially recruited by Leach and his staff, but the new regime landed some potential gems with a late push.

Defense was the theme of the class, which fits Tuberville’s style. Seventeen of the 25 players who signed with Tech play on the defensive side of the ball, including a trio of highly touted transfers along the defensive line. If they can provide a boost for a unit that made steady improvements under Ruffin McNeill, the Raiders might be able to gain even more ground on Big 12 powers such as Texas and Oklahoma.

An evolving offense under Neal Brown also got some help with Denton Ryan quarterback Scotty Young and a pair of promising receivers from Florida in Shawn Corker and Ben McRoy, whose talented younger brother, Javares, is a Tech commitment for 2011.

But the Raiders couldn’t secure another Florida receiver who might have been more coveted. Kadron Boone, who had committed to Tech early in the fall, wavered after the coaching change and was snatched away by LSU late in the game.

Recruiting at recess

It remains to be seen whether Tuberville will follow Lane Kiffin’s lead and start recruiting middle-school kids with strong arms and knacks for reading defenses. The new Southern California coach made waves this week when he offered a scholarship to David Sills, a 13-year-old quarterback from Delaware who promptly pledged to play for the Trojans.

I’m a little puzzled as to why a major college program would have any contact with a kid who isn’t scheduled to graduate until 2015. The 6-foot Sills might seem like a slam dunk now, but a lot can change in five years.

Still, I think there’s a better chance of Sills being the real deal than Kiffin staying at USC through 2015. He spent only one season at Tennessee before bolting for USC, and his tenure with the Oakland Raiders lasted only 20 games.

Kiffin lasting that long is about as likely as Leach, who has traded in the dusty plains of West Texas for the beaches of the Florida Keys, being the Trojans’ head coach in 2015. Unless Al Davis is still alive, and then Leach might be roaming the Raiders’ sideline wearing an eye patch and wielding a sword.

Geaux Saints

Lastly, I’d like to weigh in on a Super Bowl with some local flavor. The Indianapolis Colts’ Keyunta Dawson is a former Red Raider, and the New Orleans Saints’ David Thomas is a Frenship High School product. Coronado graduate Travasha Winfrey also will be on the field Sunday as a cheerleader for the Colts.

The Colts and Saints both started 13-0 this season and were the top playoff seeds in their conferences, largely because Peyton Manning and Drew Brees might be the best quarterbacks in the NFL. That spells high-scoring show in Miami, but I have a feeling it will morph into more of a turnover fest or defensive struggle.

As long as the Saints win, I’ll be happy. Manning and the Colts won it all only three years ago, while New Orleans – which has hosted many a Super Bowl – is making its first appearance on the big stage after decades of mediocrity if not misery.

I’ve always liked the city of the New Orleans and the Louisiana culture in general, particularly the food. And I know how much the people there love the Saints and would be absolutely elated to see them win it all.

It also would make for some poetic justice. Manning and his younger brother, Eli, grew up in New Orleans, where their father, Archie, was the Saints’ first star but never had a winning season. Both Manning boys already have Super Bowl rings, so it would be fitting for Archie’s team to get one at Peyton’s expense.

At any rate, it’s time for the Saints to go marching down Bourbon Street in a pre-Mardi Gras parade.

Slideshow: TTU vs. Okla. St.

“We played him a little more physical this time, and I think that kind of got in his head,” Singletary said. “Every time he went to the rack he got fouled pretty hard, so as a good player, whenever you get fouled like that it gets in your mind to settle.”

Anderson settled for softer offense and just 10 points in Tech’s 81-74 win Saturday, down from the 28 he scored in defeating Tech 81-52 in Stillwater, Okla., on Jan. 9. Tech, on the other hand, ignited its defensive effort, forcing 21 turnovers and picking off 13 steals.

OSU point guard Keiton Page noticed the way Tech added pressure across its offense.

“We noticed it from the tip-off,” Page said. “Their intensity was just that much higher than the first time we played them. They just pressured the ball and got out and tried to deny passing lanes and they were just aggressive with us.”

Tech point guard John Roberson said the defensive boost paid off when Tech’s offense fell flat. The Raiders shot just 34.6 percent in the first half and 38.9 percent for the game, but held the Cowboys to 34.5 percent at halftime and 39.3 percent overall.

“We forced nine turnovers in the first half, and I think that’s what helped us scoring from our defense,” Roberson said. “We weren’t really getting buckets on the offensive end, but once we started playing defense we started we started getting layups, getting easy buckets, and that’s when we got into our rhythm.”

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Curry declined to comment on the issue.

In a formal statement, Curry said: “Sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your team, and I believe this is the right thing for our program at this time.”

Tech’s season has been in a tailspin ever since a 95-90 double overtime loss to Texas on Jan. 16 at United Spirit Arena. The Lady Raiders are in the midst of their worst conference start ever, dating back to 1983, when Tech first started playing in the now-defunct Southwest Conference.

The Lady Raiders (13-8, 1-6 in the Big 12) have lost five in a row and will face No. 17 Texas (15-6, 4-3) again Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Frank Erwin Center.

Mallard is Tech’s leading scorer but has struggled so far in conference play. She hasn’t scored in double figures in the last four games, including just four points against Iowa State on Wednesday.

There is no word yet on when Mallard will be reinstated, if at all.

Coupled with the announcement Tuesday that 6-foot-5 center Kaylan Talley would not return to the team this season because of her chronic knee injuries, the Lady Raiders are left in dire need of some help in the post.

Curry has been unsatisfied at times with sophomore Jordan
Barncastle’s aggressiveness under the basket. The other option is freshman Marissa Ashton, who has given Tech quality minutes off the bench. But at 6-feet tall, Ashton is undersized to be Tech’s primary post option.

On Friday, before Mallard’s suspension, assistant coach Kelly Curry spoke on the subject of Tech’s post players.

“I think that Jordan and Marissa are playing as well right now, especially on the defensive end, as they have all season,” he said.
“And as well as any of our post players are, period. I think whoever’s going to be in the game we’re not going to lose much. We might lose some height, but they’re going to make up for it in effort.”

When asked if he felt Mallard has been aggressive enough in the post, Kelly Curry said she had fallen into bad habits.

“Once she’s caught it and starts to make a move, she’s probably overcomplicating things,” he said. “We’ve been working on it; we just want a simple move to go up and score.

“I think she’s thinking too much at this point.”

The Lady Raiders squandered a six-point lead with 22 seconds left in the first overtime when they met Texas in Lubbock earlier this season. Texas tied the game up with two steals within six seconds and went on to win in the second overtime.

Chynna Brown, who made her first start since Nov. 17 on Wednesday against Iowa State, will be back in the starting lineup Sunday in place of senior Tilmila Martin.

“I felt like we needed to shift things up and make a change,” Kristy Curry said. “I was pleased with how Chynna responded to that challenge.”

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