Here’s where KU basketball can improve after close call against Oklahoma
Kansas men’s basketball went nearly 13 minutes without a bucket in the second half of a physical Big 12 battle between the No. 2-ranked Jayhawks and unranked Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
“We were laboring. We were so bad,” 20th-year KU coach Bill Self said of the Jayhawks, who, after the long drought, trailed by a game-high 10 points (71-61) with 5:19 remaining. “We had some individuals not play great, but they all played great when it counted the most.”
The Jayhawks erased the 10-point deficit thanks to a frenzied 18-4 run in the final 5 1/2 minutes. Kansas won 79-75.
“It wasn’t an epic game, but it was an epic finish. Guys made every play when it counted,” Self said. “That’s about as well as a team can play in the last four minutes. It was an incredible finish in guys making plays at the end.”
Self — his Jayhawks improved to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big 12 (OU fell to 10-6, 1-3) heading into Saturday’s 3 p.m. home game against No. 14-ranked Iowa State (13-2, 4-0) — praised his team’s play for one moment, then criticized his squad’s performance in his next breath in a postgame session with media.
He knows what went wrong offensively in the 13-minute drought and at other junctures of the game.
“The way they guarded Gradey (Dick, eight points, 1-of-8 shooting), ... by face guarding they took him out,” Self said. “Gradey didn’t have one of his better outings at all, but can contribute in other areas besides scoring.”
Dick, a 6-foot-8 freshman from Wichita, grabbed five rebounds with an assist and a steal in 36 minutes.
“He can be a decoy and we can run better offense because they are not going to help off him.. He wasn’t himself,” Self continued. “I didn’t think J-Will (Jalen Wilson 17 points, 3-of-12 shooting) was himself the first 30 minutes. I thought Kevin (McCullar, eight points, 2-of-6 shooting) wasn’t himself at all until basically game point. We had some individuals not play great but all play great when it counted the most”
McCullar’s basket and foul shot put KU ahead for good at 75-73 with 42.9 seconds left.
“The guys who kept us in it, … who would have thought our 5-man (position) would score 32 points? We never thought that would happen all year long and our 5-man won the game for us,” Self exclaimed.
Post men KJ Adams and Zach Clemence combined for 32 points. Adams scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Clemence added 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting (2-of-2 from three, 2-of-3 from the line).
“This game, OU did everything right. They did everything you are supposed to do to win a game on the road. They controlled pace,” Self said. “They took care of the ball even though they ended up having 11 (turnovers, to KU’s six). They kept us out of transition for the most part. They were fortunate we missed some shots. We were fortunate they missed some threes. They missed some threes, but if you look across the board what else could they have done better?”
The Jayhawks offensively bailed themselves out by hitting 31 of 39 free throws to OU’s 19 of 23. For the game, KU hit 22 of 59 floor shots for 37.3%. KU was 4-of-11 from three and 24-of-31 from the line. OU hit 27 of 57 shots for 47.4%. The Sooners were 2-of-17 from three and 19-of-23 from the line.
“Still as poor as we say we were on offense, if you score 79 against Oklahoma you think you are going to have a great night,” Self said. “They score 75 and think they’re going to have a great night. There were a lot more points scored in large part due to free throws. There were a lot more points than I envisioned. I thought it’d be 59-57.”
Self added: “Defensively it was about as poor as we played in a long time. We couldn’t guard Sherfield (Grant, 25 points, 9-of-15 shooting) and we couldn’t guard Milos (Uzan, 11 points, 4-of-8 shooting). Those two guys were the two best players in the game for them. They were so competitive.”
Next up for KU is Saturday’s game against Iowa State. The Cyclones slugged Texas Tech 84-50 on Tuesday in Ames.
“We are happy we won,” Self said, “but it is about as poor as we played in a long time (missing 21 layups), not being able to play through contact. We just found a way. Give OU credit. They are good.
“People think OU is good defensively … wait until you see Iowa State. ... People can talk about we’re 4-0 or whatever. Let’s call it what it is. We’ve got to get better.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Here’s where KU basketball can improve after close call against Oklahoma."
