LUBBOCK, Texas — Darrion Williams had a perfect night for Texas Tech and the Red Raiders trailed in a lopsided 79-50 win over No. 6 Kansas that saw Bill Self ejected for the first time as Jayhawks head coach. I never pursued it.
Monday's 29-point loss matched Kansas' largest loss to an unranked opponent in the Associated Press era (since 1948-49), the other being against Kentucky State in 1950.
It was the 33rd time this season that an Associated Press Top 10 team lost to an unranked opponent, the most in a single season through February in AP poll history.
Williams, a second-year transfer from Nevada, scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-12 shooting, including four 3-pointers. He also made two free throws and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said: “Congratulate him on his work habits and his belief in this team. … I believe this game is about winning for the people who play it.'' ” he said. “He had a great combination of scoring, facilitating, rebounding and winning tonight.”
Williams' 12 no-miss field goals are the most against a ranked opponent in Associated Press history. He was also the first player in the past 25 seasons to record 30 points, 10 rebounds and a perfect shooting percentage against a ranked opponent.
Williams hit a 3 on the first shot of the game for the Red Raiders (18-6, 7-4 Big 12). They made 8 of 12 long-range shots in the first 13 minutes and took a 27-14 lead.
Kansas (19-6, 7-5) will be without Big 12 leading scorer Kevin McCuller Jr. for the second straight game, and guard Dajuan Harris Jr. will not be at full strength with his rolling left. It was a frustrating night. He injured his ankle late in a 64-61 home win over No. 12 Baylor two days ago.
“We are devastated and tired right now,” Self said.
Self was ejected for the first time in 21 seasons at Kansas after receiving two technical fouls with 5 minutes, 49 seconds left after an offensive foul call on Hunter Dickinson, but that was all that bothered the coach. It wasn't.
“I didn't curse him, I didn't scream, but I think I said the magic words a lot of times, which caused me some technical problems. I really I wasn’t going to get kicked out,” Self said. “But, you know, given the circumstances of this game, I honestly feel that whether it's in our favor or in their favor, this game hasn't been called the way it should have been called. There is no difference.”
The last time Self was ejected was in 1999 against Wyoming with Tulsa.
After Self left the court, Pop Isaacs made all four free throws for a 63-43 lead. Tech's Warren Washington scored 11 points in just 20 minutes. He was limping when he left the game with just over 16 minutes remaining, but returned about eight minutes later and had a dunk before leaving for good.
Nicholas Timberlake and Johnny Furphy each scored 13 points for Kansas. Harris finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, while Dickinson missed 10 of 12 shots and finished with five points.
McCullough is in his second year with the Jayhawks, averaging 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He played in 79 games in three seasons at Texas Tech from 2019-2022 and was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams.
Without McCullar and Harris not fully healthy, the Jayhawks shot a season-low 32.7 percent from the field (17-of-52). Their 50 points were the fewest of the season and the fewest in a road game under Self. Their big men Dickinson and KJ Adams made 3-of-23 field goals.
The 29-point difference matched Texas Tech's largest point difference over the Jayhawks. The other one was 91-62 five years ago, also at home. At the time, none of the current Red Raiders players were on the roster.
Unranked Big 12 teams are 9-3 at home against top-10 teams this season.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
