No. 11 Indiana edges No. 3 Kansas in overtime
It’s easy to see why Kansas coach Bill Self and Tom Crean of Indiana said this week that they’d love to explore the possibility of scheduling a home-and-home series between their two, tradition-rich programs.
The college basketball bluebloods, who had last met in 1995, on Friday put on an entertaining show for military personnel stationed in Hawaii — as well as non-enlisted fans of both teams — the No. 11 Hoosiers defeating the No. 3 Jayhawks 103-99 in overtime in the Armed Forces Classic.
Indiana knocked down a barrage of three-pointers, finishing with 15 makes in 31 tries. Frank Mason had a career-high 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds; Devonté Graham 16 points, Carlton Bragg 12, Svi Mykhailiuk 12, and Landen Lucas 11 with seven boards.
For Indiana, James Blackmon had 26 points, Thomas Bryant 19 points, Curtis Jones 15 and OG Anunoby 13.
The Jayhawks led the season opener 46-42 at halftime — and by nine points early in the second half — thanks to a combined 21 points from Mason (11) and Graham (10) as well as eight from Bragg.
Sophomore big man Bryant led the way with 16 points for Indiana the first half.
KU trailed 33-29 with 5:11 left in the first half, but used an 11-0 run to grasp a 40-33 lead with 3:13 left. Lucas started the run by converting a layup off a feed from Mason. Mason hit a driving layup and two free throws, Mykhailiuk a three and Bragg an inside shot. He grabbed a Udoka Azubuike miss and put it back in for the key hoop.
However, Indiana closed the half strong and KU led by just four at halftime.
KU jumped to an early 9-3 lead thanks to five points from Graham and four from Bragg. However, Indiana iced four early threes, including two from big man Bryant and led, 12-9, at 14:26. Bragg hit a bucket and Lucas two free throws to put the Jayhawks up, 13-12.
KU used an 8-2 run to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 21-16 lead at 10:33. Mason hit a three and Lucas had a free throw and bucket in that run.
Kansas wore special uniforms with the word “Honor” on the back of the jersey instead of the players’ last names. Indiana wore uniforms with the word “Courage.”
“It’s nice,” Self said of the jerseys. “If you watch our football team, they have a different uniform for every game they play. Oregon started that I think. Adidas doesn’t take any shortcuts or a backseat to anybody in outfitting us. They are providing 12 different uniforms we have throughout our season. This is a one-game deal. There are several others that will be a one-game deal or throwbacks.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 11:57 PM with the headline "No. 11 Indiana edges No. 3 Kansas in overtime."