Kansas basketball coach Bill Self has talked often already this conference season about the razor-thin margin between teams in the Big 12 winning games and teams in the Big 12 losing them.
On Tuesday night, Self and the 2nd-ranked Jayhawks wound up on the right side of the blade, unleashing a wild comeback in the final five minutes to top Oklahoma, 79-75 at Allen Fieldhouse.
After trailing 71-61 with around 5 minutes to play, Kansas closed the game on an 18-4 run, using equal parts clutch play-making and tough defense to pull out the improbable comeback and snatch victory away from Oklahoma, which led for 17:48 of Tuesday’s game, compared to 16:21 with the lead for the home team.
“We’re playing with fire,” Self said after Tuesday’s win. “So, we’ve got to tighten some things up. We’re so happy that we won, but that’s about as poor as we’ve played in a long time.”
Kansas shot 37% from the floor for the game, including four 3-point makes in just 11 tries, and missed 21 layups overall against a rough and rugged Oklahoma defense that was hellbent on keeping Kansas out of transition.
“Twenty-one layups,” Self said incredulously. “Now, granted, out of 21, 11 of them were hard shots. But 10 of them you should be able to play through contact.”
On one possession, late in the second half, KU’s Jalen Wilson and Zach Clemence combined for four consecutive misses from point-blank range, giving further support to the fact that this just wasn’t KU’s night. At least not until it was.
“Actually, after that play, I just laughed,” Wilson said. “I just ran back on defense and laughed. It’s just that type of night. But it never once dropped the confidence level that they were going to win. I feel like, no matter what’s going on, we’re going to find and make plays to win. Especially when we’re at home. I mean, that crowd gives us everything that we need and they were unbelievable, as usual, tonight.”
There was nothing easy about the Jayhawks first game of 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse.
And it was evident early on that that would be the case.
Kansas hit just three of its first 13 shots, missed 10 first-half layups and struggled to find any kind of rhythm or flow on either end of the floor.
Whistles on both teams played a role in that, and both teams earned technical fouls on Tuesday night, with OU guard Grant Sherfield picking up one after jawing with Kevin McCullar Jr. following a made jumper and Kansas coach Bill Self getting the other midway through the second half.
Self openly disputed a foul call by official Amy Bonner by walking five or six steps onto the floor and waving both arms Bonner’s way.
After Kansas (15-1 overall, 4-0 Big 12) had led 47-40 early in the second half, the foul and Self technical led to four straight OU free throws, which tied the game at 48 and flipped control to the Sooners.
“Give OU credit,” Self said. “They did everything you’re supposed to do to win a game on the road.”
KU stayed in it as best it could by hitting free throws (31 of 39 on the night), and a KJ Adams dunk followed by Jalen Wilson’s 3-pointer seconds later cut a 10-point OU lead down to five. Those two baskets also broke a nearly-13-minute field goal drought for the Jayhawks.
Said Wilson of the message late when Kansas faced that 10-point deficit: “Just to turn it around quickly. … There wasn’t a time when I thought the game was over because I know how we do.”
Kansas was in the double bonus with 11:20 to play in the second half, so every OU foul when the Jayhawks were on offense stopped the game and put KU on the line for two free throws.
OU coach Porter Moser said after the loss that the constant whistles made it hard for his team to stay in rhythm.
KU’s comeback run grew to 7-0 and then 11-2 and the Jayhawks twice cut the OU lead down to three points in the final 3 minutes. Those quick bursts made the comeback possible and KU salted the game away with clutch free throw shooting at the end.
So much of the game’s first five minutes were about KJ Adams, who entered Monday having scored in double figures in eight straight games and finished with a game-high and career-high 22 points on the night.
“I told him after the game, he really could’ve had 30,” KU point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. joked after the win. “He missed a lot of bunnies, but he was tired, so I was just trying to get on him. He had a good game.”
Said Adams of Harris’ playful criticism: “Juan was a little frustrated that I was missing a lot of his assists, but once we got the win I think we were friends again.”
Adams scored the second bucket of the game for Kansas on a true post up of OU’s Tanner Groves. A lot has been made about Adams, at 6-foot-7, being an undersized 5 man and KU having to get baskets at the rim in ways they’re not accustomed to. Yet, there he was with a true, back-to-the-basket post move to score over Groves.
Shortly thereafter, Adams hit two free throws to stay hot at the line, where he opened the season by missing his first eight free throws.
Adams sat for the first time at the 14:16 mark of the first half after picking up his first foul on an over-the-back call on the offensive glass. By the 8:01 mark, Adams was back in the game.
Said Wilson of Adams’ big night, which Self said was in part OU daring him to play them one-on-one: “These last (nine) games in a row, you’ve seen the confidence raise and he’s rising to the occasion. For a guy that didn’t get much time last year to now being thrown into the fire and seeing him react the way that we need him to is everything. … It just shows his will to win. He’s young, but he’s a winner.”
While Adams was out, reserve big man Zach Clemence also scored in the paint as the two teams continued to duke it out in a slugfest of a first half that featured the Jayhawks missing 10 of their first 13 shots while OU (10-6, 1-3) made just six of its first 13.
That wasn’t the only spot Clemence scored. After missing his first nine 3-pointers of the season, Clemence connected on the two he attempted in Tuesday’s first half, where he shot 3-of-3 from the floor to give Kansas a critical eight points.
He went to the bench with 8:01 to play, however, after picking up his second foul on the defensive end with the game tied at 21.
Adams stayed hot when he checked back in, hitting two more free throws and adding a bucket worthy of the highlight reel. With Kansas flying up the floor after an OU miss, Harris threw a lob to Adams, who had crept behind the OU defense. The pass was a tad underthrown, but Adams went up and got it anyway, laying it in while ducking under the rim to give the Jayhawks a 35-32 lead. That basket gave Adams his ninth game in a row in double figures and he still had 20 minutes to play.
A free throw by Kevin McCullar Jr. and a Grant Sherfield jumper at the buzzer set the halftime margin, with Kansas taking a hard-earned 36-34 lead into the locker room.
Wilson and Dick, who entered the night as KU’s top two scorers, averaging 34.9 points per game, combined for just five points in the first half on 2-of-10 shooting.
The two finished the game with 25 points on 4-of-20 shooting and, somehow, Kansas still won. Wilson scored 17 points, including 10 at the free throw line.
Next up, KU returns home on Saturday for a 3 p.m. clash with Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks will celebrate the 125-year anniversary of Kansas basketball.
“Have you guys looked at our schedule the rest of January,” Self asked after Tuesday’s win. “It’s a monster. So, stealing one today was big for us.”
