AUSTIN, Texas — Jeff Withey made a layup and free throw with 37 seconds left to give No. 7 Kansas the lead and the Jayhawks survived another tough fight with Texas for a 69-66 win Saturday.
Withey’s three-point play put Kansas up 68-66 and Thomas Robinson made a free throw with 8 seconds left. Texas’ J’Covan Brown got off a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left but it bounced off the rim. Brown also missed with 15 seconds left.
Tyshawn Taylor scored 22 points and Robinson finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Kansas (16-3, 6-0). The Jayhawks have won nine in a row and are the only Big 12 team still undefeated in conference play.
Brown scored 24 points for the Longhorns (12-7, 2-4), who have lost three in a row and absorbed their first home loss of the season.
The Jayhawks came in flying high after handing Baylor its first loss of the season to grab sole possession of first place in the Big 12. And this one looked as if it could turn into a rout before a big Texas rally in the second half turned it into another Longhorns-Jayhawks classic.
These two teams have a history of rugged games in previous years and things got chippy early when Robinson and Texas’ Alexis Wangmene both were whistled for technical fouls when they tangled at midcourt in the first half.
Kansas led by 15 in the first half and by 14 early in the second before Texas slowly reeled in the Jayhawks.
Clint Chapman scored 15 and gave Texas its first lead, 59-58, with just over 5 minutes to play. Brown, who scored just four points in the first half against a withering Kansas defense, kept firing up shots and his 3-pointer with 3:20 to play put Texas up 64-60.
Brown, who had two 3-pointers reviewed by game officials earlier, turned and shook three fingers in the air after making it. Brown has averaged 26 points in Texas’ three straight losses but was just 7 of 26 shooting against Kansas.
Kansas retook the lead on a three-point play by Taylor before Brown made two free throws. Kansas looked in trouble when Taylor then missed two from the line and Robinson missed a layup before Withey’s three-point play.
Kansas has won five of the last six meetings with Texas. Last season, Texas beat Kansas in Lawrence to end the Jayhawks’ 69-game home winning streak.
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