Manhattan — After playing with fire for much of the last two weeks, No. 2 Kansas finally got burned.
The Jayhawks trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, and ultimately clawed their way back to take the lead with eight minutes remaining. Yet No. 13 Kansas State made the key plays down the stretch to secure a 83-82 overtime victory Tuesday night in Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (16-2, 5-1 Big 12) snapped a seven-game losing streak in this rivalry during Jerome Tang’s introduction to the Sunflower Showdown. The Jayhawks (16-2, 5-1) had their 10-game win streak snapped and suffered their first loss since Nov. 25.
But, of course, this one came down to the very end. And needed overtime to decide it for good measure. To be honest, it was fitting that this matchup needed an extra five minutes to determine the winner.
On the final possession in regulation, Kansas failed on an offensive set that led to a costly turnover. Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson was unable to convert what would have been the game-winning layup at the buzzer on the other end.
The Jayhawks, who were without K.J. Adams Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr. after both fouled out down the stretch in regulation, ultimately grabbed a 77-76 lead on an and-one sequence from Jalen Wilson with 3:48 remaining.
The Wildcats answered with a pair of free throws of their own to reclaim the advantage. Wilson then drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing at the 2:20 mark to give Kansas a 80-78 advantage. Yet Dick coughed up the lead again by committing his fifth foul of the game with his back turned from the driving ball handler.
Wilson put Kansas back on top, 82-80, with two more free throws heading into the final minute of action. After a KSU free throw cut the deficit in half, Wilson drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Only it didn’t count, as Bill Self called a timeout just moments before it happened.
K-State then had its turn with the game on the line with 30.3 seconds left in OT. Tang called a lob to Johnson, who threw it down for the go-ahead bucket. The Jayhawks called a timeout with 11.7 left in the game, but were unable to get as good of an offensive set ATO while being without three starters.
Wilson finished with a career-high 38 points in the loss, which marked the third-most by a KU player in the Bill Self era.
Kansas will play host to TCU on Saturday.
