No. 4 Kansas puts away No. 20 Kentucky 90-84 in overtime (+videos)

Wayne Selden made the first of two free-throw attempts, walked backward off the strip and without turning around extended his hand behind him. He was waiting for some acknowledgement that never came. Frank Mason had his back turned.

Selden slapped his own hand. The guy did everything Saturday in Kansas’ pulsating 90-84 overtime victory over Kentucky.

In the best game of his career, Selden, a junior guard, poured in 33 points, and many of the crucial ones at the end of regulation and in the extra period.

“We knew he could have games like this,” guard Devonte Graham said. “Tonight was the perfect time.”

On a night soaked in pageantry – James Naismith’s 13 original rules were wheeled out at halftime and will soon find a permanent home in a building adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse – the teams put on a show worthy of the winningest programs in the game’s history.

Selden’s production was a career best. Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis was at times unstoppable on his way to 26 points, and so good that Kansas used a rare junk defense to slow him down.

The Big 12/SEC Challenge contest interrupted the conference season, which pleased neither Kansas’ Bill Self nor Kentucky’s John Calipari.

But their teams put on show.

After an early Kansas thrust, the Wildcats and Ulis took over. He scored 12 of his 14 first-half points in the final eight minutes of the half and flipped a couple of beautiful assists, including a behind-the-back bounce pass. The Wildcats led by six at the break and extended it to eight early in the second half.

The fourth-ranked Jayhawks (17-4) had to change something, so Self ordered up a triangle-and-two defense to contain Ulis.

“I think we made them a little passive,” Kansas guard Frank Mason said. “They didn’t know where to attack.”

There’s a history here. Kansas got the Final Four in 2012 with the same strategy against North Carolina in the Midwest Regional final. But Mason couldn’t recall using any this season.

“We worked on it five or seven minutes a day in practice this week, and it basically bailed us out,” Self said. “We had such a hard time guarding them.”

No. 20 Kentucky (16-5) shot 63 percent in the first half, but against the change-of-pace defense the Wildcats went long stretches without making a shot.

But Kansas didn’t exactly mount a charge. The Jayhawks gradually shaved points off the deficit, and missed free throws meant the task took longer than it could have.

Perry Ellis dropped in a free throw to knot the game at 64-64 with six minutes remaining and his two from the line gave KU its first lead of the second half at the 4:51 mark.

Over the next four minutes, the teams traded shots, but none was bigger than Selden’s triple from the corner.

Devonte Graham set the play in motion with some dribble penetration at the top of the key. He spotted Selden, who lifted above the outstretched arms of two defenders and buried it for a 75-74 Kansas lead with 51 seconds remaining.

Kentucky regained the edge on Jamal Murray’s step back 15-footer with 32 seconds to play, and Ellis made one of two free throws at 9 seconds, giving Kentucky a final opportunity.

But a Wildcat pass sailed out of bounds, giving Kansas a final gasp with 2.2 left. Mason’s halfcourt heave hit off the back iron.

Calipari thought it was in. That would have been a dagger. Instead, the Wildcats sank in overtime, as Selden kept up the pace.

He got the extra period going with a pair of free throws, then delivered Kansas’ only basket of the overtime with authority. Selden took off from the top of the key, got to the basket from the right side, rose over Skal Labissiere and slammed it home. Allen Fieldhouse became unglued.

“I wanted to be aggressive,” said Selden, who surpassed 1,000 points in his college career.

The slam turned out to be the winning points. It broke a 78-78 tie started a 7-0 that put things away.

“It’s as good a game as he’s played since he’s been here,” Self said.

The final seconds ticked down and the fans, treated to a second overtime classic a month after the breathless affair against Oklahoma that went three extra periods, finally got in a couple of rounds of the “Rock Chalk” chant.

Calipari had heard it before. Not as a visiting coach. The Hall of Famer was on the opposing sideline for the first time in his career. He spent three seasons as a low-level assistant in the mid-1980s, the second two under Larry Brown. His replacement on the staff was Self.

“It’s just a great environment, to coach in, to play in,” Calipari said. “Kentucky is very similar.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 8:48 PM with the headline "No. 4 Kansas puts away No. 20 Kentucky 90-84 in overtime (+videos) ."