When the two schools meet for a rematch at Allen Fieldhouse Tuesday night, Kansas will find Oklahoma State in a decidedly different place than it left the Cowboys just two weeks earlier.
Since getting blown out 90-66 by the Jayhawks in a tepid Gallagher-Iba Arena, OSU took Kansas State to the wire in Manhattan (but blew a 10-point lead with 10 minutes to go), faded in the final minutes against TCU (after losing a 17-point first-half advantage) but then finally got over the hump in a 70-66 win over West Virginia on Saturday.
Javon Small hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to cap off a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double and freshman center Brandon Garrison scored a career-high 20 as the Cowboys earned their first Big 12 Conference victory of the year.
“The thing that I tell (the players) is it’s hard to beat somebody who keeps showing up,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said after the win Saturday. “It really is. Because the mindset is at some point, the other person’s not going to show up, and I’m proud of our kids for continuing to do the things that we’ve asked them to do, even though they haven’t seen what they saw today.”
He said he was going to immediately begin watching KU — and particularly the Jayhawks’ 79-75 loss Saturday at Iowa State — to “see if we can replicate some of those things, see the things that we didn’t do well when we played them two weeks ago and try to do those better, and see if we can put ourselves in position to do something that’s been really, really hard for a lot of people, which is going to Allen Fieldhouse and winning.”
Boynton actually won in Lawrence his first season at the helm, 2017-18, but has not done so since. He got close again last year, when former Jayhawk Bryce Thompson hit a game-tying stepback 3, but KJ Adams won it with a layup in the final seconds.
To replicate what ISU did to KU in that loss at Hilton Coliseum, the Cowboys will need to hit from the perimeter. The Cyclones went 14-for-30 from deep, and players like Tre King and Keshon Gilbert who hadn’t exactly been sharpshooters on the season made pivotal shots to sink the Jayhawks.
Knocking down 3s shouldn’t be much of a stretch for OSU. Small and Thompson will continue to shoulder much of the responsibility on that front. As it happens, KU coach Bill Self said Monday that in the last two weeks, OSU has been playing in a way more conducive to outside shooting.
“They’re playing smaller more often, which is putting in four guards on the perimeter a lot,” he said, “which makes them stretch the defense, make them hard to guard, shoot more 3s, beat you off the bounce.”
As for improving on what they didn’t do well two weeks ago, the Cowboys could start by taking a look at how they defended Hunter Dickinson (or tried to). The veteran went right at Garrison from the opening whistle and ended up with 21 points and seven rebounds in just 30 minutes of action. Boynton has repeatedly stressed that Garrison is a freshman going up against veteran big men with years of experience at the college level; OSU will need him to grow up in a hurry on Tuesday.
KU’s game at OSU was its most complete offensive performance of the season to that point, as all five starters (including Johnny Furphy, who has only gotten better since) scored in double figures. The Jayhawks almost reached that milestone again at Iowa State but were one Dajuan Harris Jr. point short.
To hear Self tell it, they played “as well as you could ever expect to play” in the loss. Harris, who on Monday was named a top-10 candidate for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation’s best point guard, said he felt it was his second-best game of the year, but that he has much more room to grow.
This OSU rematch falls at an awkward juncture for KU, between a hard-fought, emotional road loss, and a showdown with a new conference favorite, Houston, on Saturday. It’s also a second game against a team before they have played lots of teams once.
“That just seems kind of strange to me,” Self said. “I wish the schedule wasn’t like that but I know that it’s computerized … I think it’s a little quick on the turnaround but there are some positives to it too for both teams. You only have to scout the three games in between.”
The level of offensive execution KU has managed in recent games — even in losses at Iowa State and West Virginia — may well be enough, as the Cowboys are No. 11 in the league in points allowed per game (69.5), No. 13 in opponent field goal percentage (44.4%) and don’t really force turnovers (just 11.8 per game).
No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks (16-4, 4-3 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-11, 1-6 Big 12)
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 8 p.m.
• Broadcast: ESPN
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)
Keep an eye out
Slow out of the gate: Kevin McCullar Jr. has established himself throughout the season as KU’s go-to option when it needs a couple of hard-fought points, or at least he shares that status with Hunter Dickinson. It’s become a familiar sight for McCullar to have a meager number of points at halftime, then finish with 20 or so — right near his impressively high average — after repeated trips to the free-throw line and late corner 3s. The Jayhawks are better, though, when his first-half lulls come as a result of lesser usage, not frequent, inaccurate shooting. McCullar is a combined 5-for-22 in his last two first halves. He will always find ways to contribute because of his defensive intensity and passing acumen, and he will always get looks in big moments no matter how cold he is. But if he makes more quality shots in the first half against ISU, KU goes into the break with a score better representing its offensive effort and maybe doesn’t lose at all.
Waiting for a breakthrough: Freshman Elmarko Jackson has taken his new role in stride publicly, stating on KU’s pregame show before the Cincinnati game on Jan. 22, “Whatever helps the team grow and just continue to get better is just what I’m focused on,” and, “It’s clear that Johnny starts the game better than I do.” Self once said of Jackson that of anyone on the team, it was most important for him to play well for the Jayhawks to reach their ceiling. But he does not yet seem to have been galvanized by the move to the bench. Jackson has eight points, six rebounds and 10 fouls in the five games since, and played a season-low seven minutes against ISU. His best path to playing time may be through proving his value on defense — particularly as Furphy still struggles at times on the perimeter — but it’ll be hard for him to avoid the occasional freshman mistake.
No rest for the weary: The Jayhawks were coming off a somewhat longer layoff Saturday and so were better rested, but after a fair number of bench players saw action early, the starters had to use every bit of energy they had in the second half. The starting five played a combined 98 minutes and 14 seconds after the break. Harris has already played 37 minutes or more in five conference games. Self acknowledged that this high level of usage is a concern, but noted that the team does not pressure often or do other things that would deplete its stamina further “that maybe a team with a deep bench would do.”
Off-kilter observation
Thompson will play against his former school for the sixth time; he has averaged 15.8 points in those previous five meetings, including season highs for both the 2022-23 season (23 points) and 2023-24 so far (20).
Oklahoma State guard Javon Small drives during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas State Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 70-66.
Oklahoma State guard Bryce Thompson shoots during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas State Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan.
Kansas State forwards Arthur Kaluma, front, and Jerrell Colbert (20) chase a rebound with Oklahoma State center Brandon Garrison (23) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State won 70-66.
AP Photo/Matthew Putney
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel