The Day After: Crushing the Cowboys

By Matt Tait     Feb 16, 2016

Kansas guard Frank Mason III (0) soars in for a bucket against Oklahoma State during the first half, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

I’ll be the first to admit that I thought Monday’s KU-Oklahoma State game was going to be dreadfully boring, largely because I thought Kansas was going to absolutely destroy the Cowboys.

And even though the 94-67 final score indicated exactly that — even worse than the 85-59 outcome I predicted — the game was much more entertaining than I expected.

Credit for that goes to both teams. Oklahoma State for showing up and fighting like they believed they were good enough to win even without all-conference point guard Jawun Evans in uniform. And Kansas because, well, Kansas was Kansas.

The Jayhawks used a couple of massive runs — 33-11 to end the first half and 21-6 midway through the second — to bury the Cowboys and move a half a game into first place in the Big 12 standings over idle West Virginia.

Six different Jayhawks reached double figures and Kansas showed on multiple occasions that it had enough in its take to squash any thoughts of an Oklahoma State upset or comeback, exacting revenge on the Cowboys for a 19-point OSU victory in Stillwater in mid-January.

Kansas forward Landen Lucas (33) blocks a shot by Oklahoma State guard Joe Burton (4) during the first half, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Quick takeaway
————–

I absolutely loved how Devonte’ Graham, who was the hero of Saturday’s victory at OU and likely entered Monday night with all of the confidence in the world, only attempted seven shots and scored 10 points in this one. Not because those numbers are pretty pedestrian compared to the career-high 27 he poured in to beat the Sooners, but because the sophomore guard was completely OK with playing fifth fiddle. Five Jayhawks scored more points than Graham and four took more shots. That speaks to KU’s developing deadly balance and if the Jayhawks can bring that night in, night out the rest of the way, they’re going to be an extremely tough out for anybody, anywhere.

Three reasons to smile
———————-

**1 – I don’t know about you, but that second-half run, in which KU responded to OSU trimming a large lead to just six points by ripping off 10 straight in less than three minutes** was about as impressive of a stretch of basketball as I remember seeing from this team. It looked as if KU just flipped a switch and understood that if they didn’t not reclaim control of this one right away, it could wind up being closer than anyone wanted or expected. That, in turn, would make Bill Self unhappy. And that, in turn, would make life miserable for the Jayhawks. So they took care of it, playing with incredible energy, effort, intensity and urgency and delivering the knockout blow.

**2 – It’s starting to get a little redundant (and that’s a good thing for the Jayhawks) but, man, is Landen Lucas locked in right now?** Not only is he putting up stats — a career-high 14 points and 10 more rebounds in this one — but he looks like he’s playing at a different pace than everybody else, almost like one of those slow-motion montages you see in the sports movies that are used to indicate an athlete in complete control and at peace on the floor. Lucas seems to be both of those right now and he continues to improve night in and night out.

Kansas forward Cheick Diallo (13) blocks a shot by Oklahoma State forward Chris Olivier (31) during the first half, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

**3 – I know he played just seven minutes and did next to nothing on the stat sheet, but isn’t there part of you that loved to see Cheick Diallo try to hammer home that fastbreak dunk** late in the game. It missed — I’m still not sure how — and Diallo finished scoreless and with five rebounds. But you just get the feeling that one of these days, a bucket like that is going to go down for the freshman and he’s going to start breathing again. Diallo did again flash a little of what he could bring to this team defensively, blocking three shots in a five- or six-possession stretch in the first half, all of them coming in different manners.

Three reasons to sigh
———————

**1 – Predictable or not, KU’s sluggish and slow start was a bit of a head-scratcher** in that KU made this one a little bit harder than it needed to make it. KU coach Bill Self said after the game that he thought that was because his team had a strong inner-confidence that it could and would be in control throughout Monday’s game and added that his team seems to play better and perform at higher levels when there is an element of nervousness leading up to tip-off. That speaks to the lack of consistency this team has demonstrated throughout the season but, clearly, based on Monday’s effort, is not having too great of a negative impact.

**2 – I thought KU settled for a couple of hero-ball type of shots in this one,** especially during that second-half stretch when OSU cut the double-digit KU lead to six. And I wasn’t the only one. At least three or four times I noticed KU’s assistant coaches on the bench dropping their heads as if to say, “What the…” following a rushed or ill-advised shot by Devonte’ Graham or Wayne Selden. Not every shot can be a good shot. The defenses certainly have something to do with that. But most of these seemed to be early in the shot clock and completely unnecessary. That can be fixed.

**3 – Self said he was disappointed by the way his team defended** the Cowboys and pointed to OSU’s low total of eight turnovers as evidence. Playing without point guard Jawun Evans and, at times, without No. 2 point guard Tyree Griffin, who tweaked his ankle in this one but played through it, OSU took good care of the ball and it seemed as if Self believed his team should have harassed the OSU guards more and made life a little more miserable.

Kansas guard Devonte' Graham (4) pulls up for a three against Oklahoma State guard Tyree Griffin (2) during the second half, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

One for the road
—————-

KU’s home rout of Oklahoma State….

• Made Kansas 22-4 overall, 10-3 in Big 12 play

• Extended KU’s winning streak to six games

• Extended the nation’s longest active home-court winning streak to 38 inside Allen Fieldhouse

Kansas guard Devonte' Graham looks to move around Oklahoma State forward Chris Olivier (31) as he defends against Oklahoma State guard Tyree Griffin (2) during the first half, Monday, Feb. 15, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

• Gave Kansas 10 conference wins for the 22nd-straight season

• Kept Bill Self without a regular-season conference sweep by a Big 12 opponent during his time at Kansas. KU has never been swept in a two-game Big 12 regular-season series under Self (since 2004). In 81 regular-season Big 12 home-and-home series during the Self era, Kansas has 54 sweeps and 27 splits.

• Improved the Jayhawks’ all-time record on ESPN’s Big Monday to 33-1 inside Allen Fieldhouse and 56-20 overall, including a 37-12 clip under Bill Self

• Gave Kansas 10 league wins for an amazing 22-consecutive seasons dating back to 1995

• Made Kansas 14-0 in Allen Fieldhouse this season, 204-9 under Bill Self and 742- 109 all-time in the facility

By the Numbers: Kansas 94, Oklahoma State 67

• Made Self 15-11 all-time versus Oklahoma State (14-8 while at Kansas)

• Made KU 2,175-835 all-time

Next up
——-

The Jayhawks will head down I-70 on Saturday for a 5 p.m. Sunflower Showdown rematch with Kansas State in Manhattan.

— See what people were saying about KU’s rematch with the Cowboys during KUsports.com’s live coverage


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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.