Jayhawks hold off Oklahoma rally

By Matt Tait     Jan 19, 2015

KANSAS 85, OKLAHOMA 78

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (12), forward Perry Ellis, and Kansas guard Wayne Selden Jr., right, battle for a rebound with Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins (11) and Oklahoma TaShawn Thomas (35) during the first half on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Box score

One monster half by each team provided the opportunity for a wild finish and the Kansas University men’s basketball team, which dominated in the first half, made more plays than Oklahoma down the stretch and came away with a 85-78 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.

The victory featured 10 KU three-pointers and the Jayhawks coming back from a four-point deficit in the final four minutes after holding a 19-point lead at halftime.

At one point during the later portion of the first half, the Sooners trimmed KU’s lead to 13 — 41-28 — and forced KU coach Bill Self to call a timeout. But the Jayhawks responded with a 10-4 run to close the final 4:40 of the first half and led 51-32 at the break.

Not discouraged by KU’s hot shooting in the first half, the Sooners came out with a vengeance in the second and displayed some hot shooting of their own, first trimming the KU lead to 4 in just seven minutes and then taking their first lead of the game at 59-58 on a free throw from Buddy Hield.

That set the stage for a wild final 10 minutes, which no one would have expected to see after the way Kansas (15-3 overall, 4-1 Big 12) played in the first half.

Kelly Oubre Jr. led KU with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Perry Ellis added 16 points and 8 boards and Cliff Alexander, after playing just two minutes in the second half on Saturday at Iowa State, responded to his coach’s questions about his “motor” with a monster double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes.

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

• The game turned when: OU opened the second half with a 9-0 run that turned into a 27-7 run, which erased KU’s 19-point halftime lead.

• Offensive highlight: It was not just one moment, rather a stretch of eight consecutive made three-pointers to open the game for the home team. Five different Jayhawks got into the act that put KU one made three-pointer shy of tying a school record for most consecutive three-point makes. Brannen Greene, Oubre and Devonte’ Graham each made two triples, with Frank Mason III and Ellis chipping in one apiece. Graham’s second, the eighth in the sequence, came from the top of the key, bounced off the back of the rim eight feet into the air and then fell through, barely moving the net. Graham was the one who ended the streak with a miss from the left corner, but KU still finished 9-of-12 for the half and 10-of-19 for the game.

• Defensive highlight: KU’s toughness down the stretch certainly counts. After going down 69-65 inside the final five minutes, KU forced OU misses on five of seven possessions and built a six-point lead of its own.

• Key stat: Bench scoring. OU got next to nothing from its bench, as the Jayhawks, led by Greene, outscored the Sooners 31-7 in bench points. Greene (12 points, 3-of-4 three-point shooting) had played just eight minutes — combined — in the past two games.

• Up next: The Jayhawks will head back out on the road for a tough test at Texas at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be shown on CBS. 

— See what people were saying about the game during the KUsports.com live blog.


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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.