"Electric" Atmosphere Sparks Kansas Comeback Reminiscent of April
If you were one of the people who missed the opportunity to be at the Caesars Superdome in April as the Kansas Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels to win their sixth national championship, you had a chance to get a similar feeling on Saturday.
Even though the stakes weren't nearly as high, the Jayhawks were able to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit early in the second half and then hold on for a narrow 69-67 victory to extend their winning streak in conference openers to 32.
The first half couldn't have gone any worse, as former Jayhawk Bryce Thompson and John-Michael Wright each had 14 points on hot three-point shooting. Jalen Wilson led the Jayhawks in scoring, but he needed 8 shots to score his 10 points. But the biggest problem was the 11 Kansas turnovers that became 20 Oklahoma State points.
But the second half was a completely different story. The Jayhawks only turned the ball over once, while Oklahoma State turned it over seven times. And Jalen Wilson got some help, as Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar both scored all of their points in the second period.
Even more important was the ball movement in the second half, as the Jayhawks had 12 assists on 14 made baskets. A perfect example was Gradey Dick's two offensive rebounds, which were quickly kicked out to Wilson and Harris for a three-pointer each. And KJ Adams came alive in the second half, going 5-5 from the field and making his only free throw attempt. He also added 3 big offensive rebounds and a defensive rebound.
But even though Kansas regained the lead with almost 11 minutes left in the game, they couldn't put any distance between them and the Cowboys. A KJ Adams jumper with six seconds seemed to be the dagger, but a quick drive by Bryce Thompson was only stopped by a spectacular block by Kevin McCullar and then an Ernest Udeh tip and steal to seal the victory
The Jayhawks are back in action on Tuesday as they travel down to Lubbock for the first of two straight road games. Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm on
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