LAWRENCE Kansas&#x92; 83-50 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday is what was supposed to happen when teams on the opposite ends of the league standings collide.</p><p>The Jayhawks recorded the easy victory &#x97; No. 1,000 all time in conference play for the program &#x97; and coach Bill Self was able to rest starters as Kansas approaches a stretch of the schedule that will determine the Big 12 championship.</p><p>The run starts Wednesday at Texas A&M, continues Saturday with co-Big 12 leader Missouri&#x92;s visit and Feb. 27 at Oklahoma State. By then, the finish line for the Big 12 marathon season will be in sight.</p><p>&#x93;It&#x92;s a hard schedule, a really hard schedule,&#x94; Self said. &#x93;Missouri is so important, but the thing is, winning at A&M is just as important. Winning at Oklahoma State is just as important.&#x94;</p><p>Saturday&#x92;s outcome did nothing to alter the perception that fourth-ranked Kansas, 22-5 overall and 12-2 in the Big 12, is ready for the challenge.</p><p>&#x93;It was a good win, we were solid,&#x94; Self said. &#x93;But it definitely wasn&#x92;t anything to get giddy about.&#x94;</p><p>The Jayhawks broke free early and led by 22 at halftime. KU made its first seven shots, and guards Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Tyshawn Taylor took their men off the dribble. Offense came easily for most of the half.</p><p>But things got stale for a while. After 10 minutes of the second half, each team had logged 12 points. It felt like the Oklahoma State game in Lawrence a week earlier, when Kansas jumped to a huge halftime lead and spent the second half going through the motions as the Cowboys pecked away.</p><p>Kansas caught its breath and played well down the stretch. The Jayhawks ran off 14 straight points. Jeff Withey blocked Jordan Tolbert shots on successive possessions. Taylor delivered a lob pass that led to Thomas Robinson&#x92;s slam that rattled the backboard and energy returned to Allen Fieldhouse.</p><p>One thing for sure, Tech coach Billy Gillispie wasn&#x92;t headed back to Lubbock with any timeouts. He drained his full allotment of five in the second half, calling them after Red Raiders&#x92; baskets. </p><p>But nothing could slow Kansas, even the reserves, who hadn&#x92;t delivered much this season.</p><p>That changed Saturday. Conner Teahan had 11 and Kevin Young added 10.</p><p>Even Jordan Juenemann, a senior who was put on scholarship for the second semester, had seven points by making all three of his shots.</p><p>&#x93;They stepped up and played really well,&#x94; Kansas guard Travis Releford said. &#x93;They met the challenge.&#x94;</p><p>No starter played more than 28 minutes. It&#x92;s the first time in Big 12 play that all of the starters logged less than 30 minutes.</p><p>Self was especially eager to give Taylor rest, and his starting point guard logged 27 minutes with primary backup Naadir Tharpe logging 12 minutes.</p><p>The idea going forward is to avoid loading Taylor with 37 or 38 minutes. He&#x92;s broken down in the final few minutes of games when he plays that much, which has resulted in missed free throws and turnovers.</p><p>Resting Taylor for about three minutes each half is the idea, and Tharpe&#x92;s line on Saturday was encouraging: He made his only three-point attempt, was credited with an assist, two steals and had no turnovers.</p><p>Withey, the team&#x92;s hottest player, chipped in nine points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. He altered a handful more. In the first half, Tech had seven field goals, and four came from beyond the arc.</p><p>&#x93;It was very tough to score inside,&#x94; said Tolbert.</p><p>For the Jayhawks, it&#x92;s on to the stretch that will define its season. The Aggies played Kansas tough in Lawrence three weeks ago. Oklahoma State beat Missouri in Stillwater, and the Tigers? The build-up for the final game as conference opponents will be epic.</p><p>&#x93;We know it&#x92;s going to be hard,&#x94; Self said. &#x93;We have to play a little better than what we&#x92;ve been playing, but if you told me before the season that we would be 12-2 in the league with four games left I probably would have sold out for that.&#x94;