Marcus Garrett’s big game earns top spot but can’t quite carry Kansas

By Matt Tait     Jan 23, 2021

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Oklahoma guard Austin Reaves (12) goes against Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Garett Fisbeck)

**1 – Marcus Garrett -** Garrett’s found his offense again, knocking in 3 of 5 3-pointers, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring 21 points to lead Kansas during Saturday’s 75-68 loss at Oklahoma. And, defensively, he did a lot of the things you’d expect him to do. He wasn’t perfect, but KU would’ve been run out of the gym without him.

**2 – Mitch Lightfoot -** Lightfoot had arguably the best second half of any player in the game. He scored in the post with both hands, dished a nice dime to a cutting Wilson for two more points and hammered home an emphatic, two-handed dunk while bringing his usual energy and toughness to the floor. Finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes.

**3 – Jalen Wilson -** This was a weird game for Wilson. After a hot start, he cooled considerably and finished the game without a rebound. Still, he score 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and helped Kansas finally get out to a fast start again.

**4 – Dajuan Harris -** The redshirt freshman point guard, who played some with Garrett on the floor, tallied 5 points and 4 assists in 21 minutes and had moments where he showed the kind of impact he can have on the game and this Kansas offense. He’s still not a weapon that opponents fear, which hurts KU’s offense, but he was aggressive in looking to score and gave this team what he could while he was out there.

**5 – Ochai Agbaji -** Made just three of eight field goal attempts and turned it over four times in 33 minutes. He even missed a couple of free throws, further hammering home the point that it just wasn’t Agbaji’s day.

**6 – David McCormack -** Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: McCormack looked good at times and bad at others. His 10 points came on 4-of-10 shooting. And he dished four assists. But he played just 17 minutes and missed far too many easy ones inside.

**7 – Christian Braun -** Two points on 0-for-5 shooting with one rebound and one assist is not the kind of production you hope to get from a guy who was on the floor for 33 minutes.

**8 – Tristan Enaruna -** Had a golden opportunity to step up and play a bigger role with Braun and Agbaji struggling, but did not grasp it. Missed all three shots he attempted in just 12 minutes.

**9 – Tyon Grant-Foster -** KU coach Bill Self talked this week about wanting to get Grant-Foster in the game more. And he did. But the juco transfer, who misfired on the two 3-point tries he attempted, wound up in his usual role of single-digit minutes and did not make much of an impact when he was out there.

**Season Standings**

1 – Ochai Agbaji – 129

2 – Jalen Wilson – 116

3 – Christian Braun – 108

4 – Marcus Garrett – 107

5 – David McCormack – 95

6 – Mitch Lightfoot – 78

7 – Dajuan Harris – 71

8 – Bryce Thompson – 50~

9 – Tristan Enaruna – 47

10 – Tyon Grant-Foster – 45

T11 – Latrell Jossell – 7

T11 – Gethro Muscadin – 7

~ missed 3 games with a back injury and is out another 3-6 weeks with a broken finger

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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.