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| #24 2-2 |
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| #9 3-0 |
Since Mizzou jumped ship and headed to the SEC, Jayhawk fans have wanted a new heated rivalry. Thanks to Marcus Smart's on court black flips in Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas was gifted that hated rivalry. No worries though, Kevin Young took care of that "little" problem a few weeks later.
This was ever present last night, when the Kansas Jayhawks hosted the Oklahoma State Cowboys. If I told you that neither team shot over 50%, 71 free throws were attempted and 3 technical fouls were issued, you would instantly know that the Cowboys and Jayhawks were playing basketball somewhere!
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| Courtesy: kusports.com |
Game started off ugly with the first points coming off a jumper from Sophomore Frank Mason III. OSU Junior Phil Forte finally put the Cowboys on the board but not until 2.5 minutes had been played. About a minute later, Forte nailed a 3 giving the Cowboys a 5-2 lead. OSU's Junior Michael Cobbins quieted the crowd down with a dunk and Junior Anthony Hickey made a layup 20 seconds later prompting Kansas Coach Bill Self to call time. Kansas had 4 turnovers, 3 coming from Junior Perry Ellis. Kansas looked horrible on both ends.
Freshman Kelly Oubre Jr. didn't waist any time after the break, nailing a big 3. However Oubre gave up 3 free-throws after fouling Forte behind the Arc. Forte showed his glamorous acting side jumping into Oubre. Regardless, Forte, the best free-throw shooter on the Cowboys, hit all 3 shots giving OSU a 12-7 lead on the Jayhawks.
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| Courtesy: espnsports |
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| Courtesy: kusports.com |
What happened next had the basketball Gods grinning from ear to ear. Freshman Cliff Alexander, channeling his inner-beast, brought down the thunder on OSU 7-footer Anthony Allen and earned a trip to the line. When I say Twitter exploded, I honestly mean it. I had over 200 items on my feed about this dunk in just a few seconds. Alexander finished with the best He-Man impersonation of all time. Apparently the He-Man flex is frowned upon in this establishment as Alexander picked up a technical foul. Sports Center Top-10 and nominated for Dunk of the Year.......I'd say that T was well worth it!
To this point, Kansas only lead in the opening minutes. I've spoken about that "one moment" that shifts the momentum your way. Cliff's dunk was that moment. KU went from being 5 down to up 5 in just over 6 minutes. Buckets from Ellis, Mason and Freshman Devonte' Graham mostly came off free-throws. That said, KU was shooting horrible from the line. KU would end up going 15/24 for the half.
For the last couple of years, I have questioned how Head Coach Travis Ford handles his team. If you will remember Marcus Smart's pushing a fan and kicking chairs, Le'Bryan Nash is not far off. Oubre bumped Nash on a dead ball. Granted tensions were high and Oubre maybe not on purpose bumped him, but Nash shoved him back. I'll raise you a Jamari Traylor and Cliff Alexander to the rescue. Nash kept running his mouth. While team mates pulled Nash back, what I didn't see what Ford do much of anything to stop him. Who's running the team Coach Ford? After it was all said and done, both Traylor and Nash each earned themselves a technical foul. As a coach, I'd be livid, as a fan, I say protect your man! With foul shots off these technical's, OSU regained the lead, but only for a short time. Oubre, Graham, Ellis and Mason wouldn't let up. OSU kept hammering back, but neither Nash nor Forte had gotten hot yet. Going into the locker room, KU was up on the Cowboys 32-28.
Kansas came out strong in the 2nd half. Sophomore Wayne Selden Jr., who had been scoreless and quiet in the first half, was making up for it now. Dunks, free-throws and a cold-blooded 3, had KU up by 10 very early. If there was ever a game of fouls, this was it. All but one player on OSU's roster was playing with 2 or more fouls. All of KU's big men were looking at foul trouble. Where this game could have been blown away at the line by either side, neither team shot well. In the words of Charles Barkley it was "Turrible" just Turrible".
The energy level was at an all time high from what these two teams had gone through. Forte was nursing what looked like a cramp or strain, Cobbins was nursing a knee and Traylor looked gassed. Around the 6 minute mark, Self called for time. I haven't see guys as blessed to hear time called than my days of "sets" with Coach Anderson in High School. If tonights game would be won off endurance alone, KU looked to win that battle as well.
If this crowd wasn't already fired up enough, Sophomore Landen Lucas hammered one home getting this crowed rocking! Lucas would log 4 points on 12 minutes of play.
If OSU had any chances of getting back in this game, the time to start was now. Kansas had a 2nd wind come about them and started heating up the defense and OSU started missing shots.
I will hand it to the Cowboys, they never let up the entire game. Gassed or not and injuries or not, they never let up. Que the foul game. Judging by the entire night's foul shooting, KU needed to step it up here. Thankfully they did. Mason and Graham went 6/6 on the remaining foul shots. With 45 seconds left, Traylor poured one more gallon of salt in the wound with a last minute dunk, bringing down the house.
That was it for the Cowboys. The Jayhawks had defended their home court once again 67-57 going 14-2 on the season with 3-0 in league play. The Cowboys would drop to 12-4 and 2-2 in league play. These two teams will not meet again until February 7th in Stillwater. This will no doubt be another endurance challenge for the Jayhawks. Lets just hope that between now and February 7th, someone learns how to shoot free-throws.
The Jayhawks travel to Ames Iowa this Saturday the 17th to take on the Cyclones of Iowa State. Tip off at Hilton Coliseum is 8pm central and can be seen on ESPN. While not the first Big XII road game, this will be one of the most challenging for the Jayhawks yet.
To this point, Kansas only lead in the opening minutes. I've spoken about that "one moment" that shifts the momentum your way. Cliff's dunk was that moment. KU went from being 5 down to up 5 in just over 6 minutes. Buckets from Ellis, Mason and Freshman Devonte' Graham mostly came off free-throws. That said, KU was shooting horrible from the line. KU would end up going 15/24 for the half.
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| Courtesy: kusports.com |
Kansas came out strong in the 2nd half. Sophomore Wayne Selden Jr., who had been scoreless and quiet in the first half, was making up for it now. Dunks, free-throws and a cold-blooded 3, had KU up by 10 very early. If there was ever a game of fouls, this was it. All but one player on OSU's roster was playing with 2 or more fouls. All of KU's big men were looking at foul trouble. Where this game could have been blown away at the line by either side, neither team shot well. In the words of Charles Barkley it was "Turrible" just Turrible".
The energy level was at an all time high from what these two teams had gone through. Forte was nursing what looked like a cramp or strain, Cobbins was nursing a knee and Traylor looked gassed. Around the 6 minute mark, Self called for time. I haven't see guys as blessed to hear time called than my days of "sets" with Coach Anderson in High School. If tonights game would be won off endurance alone, KU looked to win that battle as well.
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| Courtesy: kusports.com |
If OSU had any chances of getting back in this game, the time to start was now. Kansas had a 2nd wind come about them and started heating up the defense and OSU started missing shots.
I will hand it to the Cowboys, they never let up the entire game. Gassed or not and injuries or not, they never let up. Que the foul game. Judging by the entire night's foul shooting, KU needed to step it up here. Thankfully they did. Mason and Graham went 6/6 on the remaining foul shots. With 45 seconds left, Traylor poured one more gallon of salt in the wound with a last minute dunk, bringing down the house.
That was it for the Cowboys. The Jayhawks had defended their home court once again 67-57 going 14-2 on the season with 3-0 in league play. The Cowboys would drop to 12-4 and 2-2 in league play. These two teams will not meet again until February 7th in Stillwater. This will no doubt be another endurance challenge for the Jayhawks. Lets just hope that between now and February 7th, someone learns how to shoot free-throws.
The Jayhawks travel to Ames Iowa this Saturday the 17th to take on the Cyclones of Iowa State. Tip off at Hilton Coliseum is 8pm central and can be seen on ESPN. While not the first Big XII road game, this will be one of the most challenging for the Jayhawks yet.
!!!ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!
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