Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t feel like his team outplayed Oklahoma in the Jayhawks’ 72-61 win over the Sooners at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday afternoon.
Except for a 11-minute stretch to begin the second half. And that was more than enough.
After battling the No. 15-ranked Jayhawks head-to-head for the first 20 minutes, even taking their 34-33 halftime lead. The Sooners then came out flat to open the second half with careless turnovers and poor shooting. KU went on a 29-6 run to take a 62-40 lead with 8:41 left.
OU outscored KU 55-43 in the other 28:41 of the game.
Player of the Game: Carl Blair. The senior point guard provided a solid spark for OU off the bench. He scored 11 points on 2 of 3 shooting along with 3 assists and one turnover in 12 minutes of action. If Blair can provide similar production for the rest of the Big 12 schedule, he will provide allow OU to go small and matchup better with some of the league’s quicker teams.
Unsung Hero: Romero Osby. The junior was solid with nine points and nine rebounds but ended up with a team-high five turnovers. But Osby should have been more aggressive, particularly in the second half as KU began to pull away. The transfer from Mississippi State is a mismatch for most big men with his athleticism and needs to take advantage of that more often.
Key Stat: 48. KU finished the game with 48 points in the paint. The Jayhawks got several dunks and layups thanks to their penetration and offensive rebounding.
Key Stat, Part II: 14. The Jayhawks had 14 steals which helped contribute to their 48 points in the paint and 50 percent shooting (29 of 58 field goal attempts).
Quotable: “Not only did we turn it over, but we turned it over with them shooting layups, which is the worst of both worlds, of course.” - OU coach Lon Kruger on the Sooners carelessness with the ball in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“I think we came out kind of flat on both ends of the court. We made a couple of costly turnovers. Like Coach said, they equal points on the other end for them. So I think that’s really where it started.” - Osby on KU’s second half run.
“I thought that the 10 minutes, or whatever it was, to start the second half was probably the best run we’ve had all year. I thought our defense was active and we got our hands on balls and we were able to get out in transition. We’re pretty good when we get out in transition.” - KU coach Bill Self
Up Next: at Oklahoma State on Monday at 6 p.m.