After dropping its first road conference game of the season, No. 3 Kansas responded by taking care of business at home with a 78-66 win over No. 9 Oklahoma on Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks improved to 14-2 on the year and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while the Sooners fell to 13-3 overall with a 1-2 clip against conference foes.
Wednesday’s loss at UCF sparked a lineup change for head coach Bill Self, who opted to start freshman Johnny Furphy in place of freshman Elmarko Jackson. That decision proved to be a savvy one, as Furphy injected some life into the Jayhawks to start the game.
Furphy’s effort led to extra possessions for Kansas, grabbing a couple rebounds and forcing an early turnover by Oklahoma. KU raced out to a nine-point lead over the Sooners, who were ultimately able to weather the storm and hang around for the rest of the first half.
With a 1-point lead at the break, Furphy remained in the starting lineup to begin the second half. He and Hunter Dickinson delivered back-to-back transition dunks to give the Jayhawks an immediate spark, forcing a timeout by Sooners coach Porter Moser.
This time around, Kansas eventually seized control of the contest. The Jayhawks stretched their lead to double-digits midway through the second period en route to their first comfortable victory since league play began. The Sooners, who are headed to the SEC next season, will leave the league with their last win in Allen Fieldhouse taking place in 1993.
From a production standpoint, Kansas was led by its talented tandem of Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. Dickinson scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds and a career-best five blocks. McCullar finished with 21 points, featuring a 10-of-11 effort at the free-throw line.
KJ Adams Jr. recorded another double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. tallied eight assists to round out the total-team effort. After committing 18 turnovers in each of the first two league games, Kansas coughed it up just twice in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma.
Kansas will be on the road for both of its games next week, traveling to Oklahoma State on Tuesday before heading to West Virginia on Saturday.
