No. 9 Kansas was on an unprecedented stretch, losing four of its last six games. This doesn’t make No. 5 Texas’ job any easier, however.

The defending national champions are known for their raucous crowd at Allen Fieldhouse and have one of the best coaches in the country, Bill Self. Not to mention, the Jayhawks have the Big 12’s leading scorer in Jalen Wilson.

The redshirt junior forward was the best player on last year’s championship roster. But the Denton, Texas product has been even better this year, averaging 21.5 points per game and ranking 10th in the nation in scoring.

The Longhorns, who have only won twice in Lawrence since 2005, were hoping to beat a top-14 team for the third straight game on Monday night against Wilson and company.

As the game tipped off, Texas was noticeably uncomfortable thanks to the loud sellout crowd, causing the Longhorns to turn the ball over four times in the first four minutes of play.

Despite the sluggish start, Texas found themselves tied at 12-12 thanks to graduate guard Sir’Jabari Rice’s early eight points. But a 15-2 run by the Jayhawks put them back ahead 30-16, and once again, the Longhorns had an uphill climb ahead of them.

Senior forward Timmy Allen helped keep the game close, registering a team-high of 10 points. A late three-pointer by graduate guard Marcus Carr with 11 seconds left cut the lead to seven, a number that seemed much more manageable than 10 going into the half.

Kansas scored 12 points off turnovers. If Texas wanted to crawl back yet again, it would need to limit the amount of turnovers.

Once the second half got underway, the Longhorns stormed back, erasing the seven point deficit in a matter of minutes and prompting an early timeout from Self.

The Jayhawks answered back with a run of their own, going up 58-50 with 12:14 left on the clock. For the next five minutes, the two teams traded buckets. But a scoring drought from Texas allowed Kansas to rebuild the lead they had earlier in the game, and the Longhorns were once again behind by double-digits. Time was not on Texas’ side either as the game only had 3:54 remaining.

Carr wasn’t going to give the Jayhawks an easy win, taking the game into his own hands. The Toronto product hit back-to-back-to-back shots, two of which were threes, and Texas was back within single digits, closing in with Kansas leading 77-68.

It was too little too late, however. The Jayhawks held on long enough to seal the win 88-80, putting an end to the Longhorns’ winning streak.

Despite Wilson being held to a season-low two points, other Jayhawks picked up the slack. Freshman guard Gradey Dick registered 21 points and redshirt junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr. scored 17 of his own. The biggest contribution, though, was junior guard Joseph Yesufu’s 14 points off the bench.

“We knew we were going to get their best game tonight coming off a tough loss against Iowa State, especially from their supporting cast,” Texas head coach Rodney Terry said following the loss. “Give all those other guys credit. They came in and played at a very high level.”

The Longhorns’ next chance to get back in the win column will be on Saturday at home against West Virginia.