KU’s Self speaks softly at halftime of comeback win over OSU: ‘We screwed that up’
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self did not lose his temper in speaking to his No. 4-ranked Jayhawks at halftime of Saturday afternoon’s Big 12 opener against Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse.
He managed to keep his cool despite his squad getting torched 45-30 the first 20 minutes.
“I didn’t get onto them. I said, ‘Well we screwed that up, what (are) we going to do now?’’’ Self said after the Jayhawks stormed back to win their 32nd consecutive league opener — a 69-67 victory over a Cowboys team that entered with an 8-4 record compared to the Jayhawks’ 11-1 mark.
What the Jayhawks did was outscore Oklahoma State 22-5 in grabbing a 52-50 lead nine minutes into the second half, then outlast the Cowboys down the stretch to the delight of 16,300 fans who stood much of the second half and never gave up on the home team.
KU improved to 300-16 at home in the 20-year Self era.
“The second half … that’s about as turned up, good, solid man-to-man defense as we’ve played in a long time,” Self said. “They got five points the first 12 minutes, both offensive rebounds. It was the exact same as the national championship game (when KU trailed North Carolina by 15 at half of a 72-69 KU win last spring). “You turn it up to tie it earlier than anticipated then after it’s a basketball game it’s like a heavyweight fight. Fortunately we got the last blow. That took every bit of energy we had,” Self added.
Thanks to that second-half defense (Oklahoma State scored 22 points on 28% shooting), the Jayhawks were able to overcome the career-high tying 23-point performance turned in by former KU guard Bryce Thompson for Oklahoma State.
Tulsa native Thompson hit a career-high seven threes in 10 tries. Also guard John-Michael Wright hit four threes and scored 19 point for Oklahoma State. Jalen Wilson led the way with 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting for KU.
“I think it was kind of a group effort,” Wilson said. “We all realized they (Cowboys) got off to a hot start (hitting 9 of 18 threes the first half and 13 of 29 for the game to KU’s 11 of 23). We came together to shake off the first half, to understand we’re at home. Fifteen points may seem like a lot. In the span of 20 minutes it’s not,” Wilson noted.
KU came up with some big plays late to assure an historic victory. The comeback from the 15-point halftime deficit matched the largest halftime deficit overcome in a victory by the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse (15 points vs. Florida in 2014; 15 points vs. UCLA in 1995).
Oklahoma State’s Thompson hit a three-pointer to erase a 67-64 KU lead with 14 seconds left. KU did not call timeout.
Instead guard Bobby Pettiford passed to Dajuan Harris in front of the KU bench near the three-point line. Harris with the score tied took one dribble toward the goal then passed to KH Adams as Adams dashed from the corner to the lane. Adams went up over a guard and banked in a straight-on driving layup that gave the Jayhawks the lead with 6 ticks remaining.
“Coach trusted his point guard. That’ the most important thing,” Harris said of Self not calling a timeout after Thompson’s game-tying three.
“KJ was wide open. They switched and had a smaller guard by the hoop. I threw it over his head. KJ … you know how powerful he is. He went up and made a play,” Harris added.
Self explained: “I thought, ‘Broken floor let them play,’” Self said. “It was in Juan’s hands. The pass he made to KJ was under pressure. Of course KJ made the catch and finish,” Self added.
Adams, who scored 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting (2 of 3 from free-throw line) gave his version of the game-winning shot.
“We always run plays where I screen and roll out really fast,” Adams said. “Juan passed to me. I got a good finish and it (inside shot) won the game there.”
Oklahoma State still had time to shoot a two to tie and force overtime or three to win.
With 1.1 seconds left, Oklahoma State, taking it out under its own goal, inbounded to Thompson who raced in from the top of the key to the baseline. He put up a layup that was blocked hard by KU’s Kevin McCullar with 0.3 on the clock.
“That was big. We needed that. It was clean. All ball,” Harris said of McCullar’s rejection.
“Kevin made a great play. He’s a defensive stopper too. He made a great play for us,” Harris added.
Of his block, McCullar, who also hit a huge three that gave KU a 65-64 lead with 49 seconds left, said: “We were getting through the screens. He (Thompson) kind of came off a backscreen. I got up to him and timed the block. I thought it was a clean block.”
Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton had no problem with the block not being called a foul.
“We got a 1-foot shot,” Boynton said. “Kevin McCullar made a great defensive play. He’s a very good defensive player.”
Oklahoma State still had 0.3 seconds remaining after the McCullar block sailed out of bounds. Ernest Udeh tipped the inbounds pass as the clock expired.
“That was a great win for us,” Self said. “My team out there showed what we can do when we are turned up and play well.”
Harris finished with nine assists and six points for Kansas, while Gradey Dick had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists. Joseph Yesufu cashed two threes. McCullar had seven points, five rebounds, one assist, five twurnovers and two steals.
KU will next meet Texas Tech at 8 p.m., Tuesday, in Lubbock, Texas.
This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 6:35 PM with the headline "KU’s Self speaks softly at halftime of comeback win over OSU: ‘We screwed that up’."
