Withey, Robinson lead No. 7 KU past Oklahoma St

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson each logged impressive double-doubles for No. 7 Kansas, which wasted a big chunk of a 29-point second-half cushion before pulling away for an 81-66 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Withey finished with 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds, while Robinson burnished his player of the year credentials with 24 points and 14 boards for his 18th double-double of the season.

Tyshawn Taylor added 12 points, Elijah Johnson had 11 and Travis Releford 10 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 10-2 Big 12), whose 55-26 lead was trimmed to a dozen with 6:43 to go.

Withey and Robinson answered the call, each knocking down a pair of free throws, and Kansas cruised the rest of the way to its 19th consecutive home victory.

Markel Brown had 21 points and Keiton Page added 19 for the Cowboys (12-13, 5-7), who have lost 16 straight at Allen Fieldhouse. Their last victory at Kansas' longtime home was on Feb. 8, 1989.

Kansas spent the afternoon honoring the 1952 national championship team.

The Jayhawks wore throwback uniforms, the cheerleaders were dressed in skirts that touched the floor, and a pregame video montage showed grainy, black-and-white clips of the team that knocked off St. John's in the final for the school's third national title.

Several members of the team were introduced at halftime, including Bill Hougland and Clyde Lovellette, who was the MVP of the Final Four and later became a four-time All-Star in the NBA.

Also on hand were Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who are good friends with Jayhawks football coach Charlie Weis. The three of them, whose ties extend to their days with the New England Patriots, sat together along the baseline.

They had plenty to cheer about in the first half.

The Jayhawks led 16-13 about 8 minutes into the game when they started to ramp things up, turning missed shots and turnovers into easy baskets at the other end. The few times the Cowboys got back on defense, Kansas simply ran its offense to create easy looks at the basket.

The lead grew to 23-13 on back-to-back baskets by Withey, who scored a career-high 25 against Baylor his last time out, and the Jayhawks went ahead 34-17 on a layup by Travis Releford.

Things were going so well for Kansas that Robinson scored when a shot he was trying to fight through traffic bounced off the head of an Oklahoma State player and through the basket.

The lead eclipsed 20 when Releford scored off a nifty feed from Taylor with 5:17 to play, and Elijah Johnson's 3 and a pair of foul shots by Robinson made it 51-22 late in the half.

Kansas wound up shooting 64.5 percent before the break, outrebounding the Cowboys by a staggering 22-6. The Jayhawks also doled out 13 assists to just three turnovers — six of them by Taylor, whose ballhandling and decision-making has improved dramatically this season.

Oklahoma State tried to get back in the game in the second half, clamping down on defense and doing a better job of hanging onto the ball on offense.

Page's 3-pointer with 8:01 left trimmed Kansas' lead to 66-52, and a basket by Le'Bryan Nash a couple minutes later made it 68-56, the smallest gap for the Cowboys since 28-17.

Kansas managed to get things under control in time to wrap up its 10th conference win.

The Jayhawks remained in a tie for the Big 12 lead with fourth-ranked Missouri, which knocked off Baylor earlier in the day. The two teams meet at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 25.

Oklahoma State failed to capitalize on any momentum gained from a win over Iowa State last Tuesday night. The Cowboys have only won once at Kansas since 1983.