Sooners survive scare from short-handed Kansas

By Matt Tait     Mar 7, 2015

Mike Yoder
Kansas guard Kelly Oubre, Jr. (12) passes between Sooner defenders during the Jayhawks game Saturday, March 7, 2015 against the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.

? No. 9 Kansas, which already had the outright Big 12 title wrapped up, battled No. 15 Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center tooth and nail for 40 minutes on Saturday before Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield wound up tipping in an OU miss as the buzzer sounded to give the Sooners a 75-73 victory.

KU sophomore Frank Mason III tied the game with three free throws with 5.4 seconds to play but OU had the ball last and got the victory.

With Perry Ellis (knee), Cliff Alexander (eligibility) and Brannen Greene (suspension) out of the lineup, KU got elite-level contributions from role players Landen Lucas (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Hunter Mickelson (5 points, 6 rebounds), who helped carry Kansas through the fast and furious game.

OKLAHOMA 75, KANSAS 73

Box score

OU built a first-half lead as large as 11 points (27-16) yet only led 32-30 at the half. The Sooners kept the upper hand for most of the game, but KU, which played like the game meant everything, never went away. Every time OU would push its lead to six or seven points, KU would come right back and cut it to two or three.

KU took a couple of leads in the second half, the first coming on a post move by Lucas with 8:03 to play and the next coming on a tough finish in the lane by Devonté Graham with 5:41 to play. Both buckets put KU up by a single point and OU came right back and answered each by reclaiming the lead.

In the end, though, OU made one more play than the Jayhawks, who fell to 24-7 overall and 13-5 in Big 12 play. Mason led KU with 21 points.

OU improved to 21-9 and 12-6.

Here’s a quick look back at some of the action:

• The game turned when: The Jayhawks ripped off a 14-5 run to close the first half and turn an 11-point Oklahoma lead into a two-point halftime margin. Kansas got a pair of three-pointers from Mason and another triple from Graham during the stretch that helped keep Kansas close and set the stage for a dog fight in the second half.

• Offensive highlight: Midway through the second half, Mason made a ridiculously tough drive to the hoop look easy, as he crossed up the OU defender with a behind the back dribble to get into the teeth of the defense and then finished with his left hand over length. All of that, with the shot clock winding down. The bucket pulled KU within three, 49-46, with just over 12 minutes to play.

• Defensive highlight: Both Mickelson and Lucas had big-time blocks in the first half. Lucas’, which came first, was a case of perfect timing on the jump after he walled up, elevated, maintained control and then put the roof on an OU shot attempt. Mickelson’s was the result of help defense, as OU’s Isaaih Cousins drove in.

• Key stat: In a game that close in which so many stats were close to equal, a couple of miscues can make the difference. KU turned it over 11 times and OU turned it over 9 times. Both are good numbers, but those two extra give-aways might have been enough.

• Up next: The Jayhawks will head to Kansas City, Missouri, where they’ll open play in the Big 12 tournament at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Sprint Center as the top seed against the winner of the Wednesday game between the conference’s No. 8 and No. 9 seeds. 


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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.