Postgame Report Card: No. 1 Kansas 73, Oklahoma 63

By Matt Tait     Feb 27, 2017

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Kansas guard Lagerald Vick (2) celebrates a three during the second half, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Quick grades for five aspects of KU’s 73-63, Senior Night win over Oklahoma at Allen Fieldhouse.

Offense: B
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Making 10-of-10 down the stretch to finish at 50 percent for the night saved what, for a while, looked like it might be the Kansas offense’s first C grade of the season.

Defense: B+
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Oklahoma got a ton of layups and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, but KU suffocated the Sooners down the stretch. Even in the first half, when KU’s offense was lousy, the Kansas defense forced OU to shoot 25 percent from the floor to keep Kansas in the game.

Frontcourt: B
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Forward Landen Lucas was good in his home finale, finishing 3-of-3 from the floor, 2-of-2 at the free throw line and with eight points and eight rebounds. Add a few more rebounds to that line and you’ve got the signature Lucas line. The best news here was, because of foul trouble, Lucas was limited to fewer than 30 minutes (28) for the second game in a row, giving the big man some much needed rest.

Backcourt: B+
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Mason had a rough first half and a strong finish. Devonte’ Graham did not assert himself until the end and Josh Jackson turned it over eight times. Those uncharacteristic traits from KU’s top trio certainly made things harder, but, as usual, there’s no way they win this one without all of them.

Bench: B-
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Outside of Lagerald Vick’s 11 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes, the Jayhawks didn’t get much from a bench that, for one night, included regular starter Svi Mykhailiuk. Sitting so senior Tyler Self could make the lone start of his career, Svi was 1-of-4 from the floor, 0-of-2 from 3-point range. Recently strong big men Dwight Coleby and Carlton Bragg Jr. both struggled, finishing 0-of-4 from the floor with 6 rebounds in 17 minutes. Bragg did grab three offensive rebounds.

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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.