Kevin McCullar’s defense pushed KU past Oklahoma State on NYE. How about the rematch?
Kansas men’s basketball, which trailed Oklahoma State by 15 points (45-30) at halftime, was in serious danger of losing its first conference opener in 32 seasons on New Year’s Eve at Allen Fieldhouse.
It took an inside bucket by KJ Adams with 4.8 seconds left to break a 67-67 tie, then a remarkable defensive play by guard Kevin McCullar with 1.1 seconds left to preserve a 69-67 victory in KU’s tradition-rich building.
It was a frantic ending of a game that could be on the minds of both squads as they gear up for a rematch Tuesday night in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Tipoff for the contest between No. 5 KU (20-5, 8-4) and the unranked-but-receiving-votes Cowboys (16-9, 7-5) is 8 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena with a live telecast on ESPN.
McCullar — he hit a three with 0:45 left to give the Jayhawks a 65-64 lead — admits his block of former KU/current OSU junior guard Bryce Thompson with 1.1 seconds left and KU up two has been one of his most memorable plays thus far in his senior season at KU.
“That was a big play,” McCullar said of blocking the layup attempt of Thompson, who matched a career high by scoring 23 points versus KU. Thompson hit a deep step-back three to tie the score at 67 with 14.8 seconds to play.
“I almost got beat backdoor (by Thompson) so I had to make it up somehow. I’ll take that and I’m glad we came out with that W,’’ McCullar added of the impressive comeback victory made possible by his key block.
Of the technical aspects of the blocked shot, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound McCullar said: “We were getting through the screens. He kind of came off a backscreen. I got up to him and timed the block. I thought it was a clean block.”
Thompson, a 6-6 junior guard from Tulsa, Oklahoma who played the 2020-21 season at KU before moving over to OSU, hit 7 of 13 shots in the first meeting versus KU. He was 7-of-10 from three in 29 minutes. Guard John-Michael Wright hit four threes on a night OSU was 13-of-29 from beyond the arc to KU’s 11-of-23.
“Credit those guys for executing,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said of the Jayhawks. “We got a one-foot shot. Kevin made a great defensive play. He’s a really good player.”
KU went on to win its first five Big 12 Conference games while OSU dropped four of its first five.
Thompson, averaging 11.2 points a game for the surging Cowboys who have won five games in a row and seven of eight, has had four double-digit scoring outings since the KU game. He had 19 points in a 72-56 home win vs. Oklahoma on Jan. 18.
KU certainly felt a sense of relief after McCullar’s block of Thompson’s possible overtime-inducing layup.
“Kevin made a great play. He’s a defensive stopper for sure,” said KU point guard Dajuan Harris, who had nine assists to one turnover versus the Cowboys.
Junior forward Jalen Wilson was impressed by the play as well.
“I had full confidence in Kevin making that stop,” said Wilson, who hit three threes and scored 20 points in 36 minutes. “We’ve got to have one guy guard somebody at the end of the game. He’s the guy to step up and make that play no matter what is going on. That’s the type of guy he is for us.”
Of McCullar’s rejection, Adams, who scored 14 points and grabbed four boards said: “That’s what Kevin does. We always expect that from Kevin. He is one of the best defensive players on the team. When he does that it doesn’t shock me. He does that every day in practice.”
McCullar — last year at Texas Tech he was voted a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist — said he is happy to do what he can game in and out on the defensive end.
“I think it has,” McCullar said, asked if his defense has improved since last season. “It’s something I work on and take pride in. I get a lot of help from my coaches and teammates. ... I’m just out there trying to do little things, trying to help everybody else be better.”
KU will enter Tuesday’s game on a two-game winning streak, including a win Saturday at Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma State is probably the best defensive team in our league right now,” Self said. “They’ve got (Moussa) Cisse and (Kalib) Boone (7-1 and 6-9 respectively). They’ve got good guards that can shoot it.
“The thing that happens a lot when you play a team home-and-home every year, if you handle somebody easily at home and the next game is on the road, you don’t feel nearly as good (about chances of winning the rematch). Sometimes players go into it thinking we’re way better.
“They way OU played at our place, our players (went into the last game in Norman, Oklahoma) thinking, ‘We got lucky. Now we’ve got to play our butts off here.’ Hopefully our players will have the same attitude against Oklahoma State because it was also a close game (vs. OSU in Allen).”
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Kevin McCullar’s defense pushed KU past Oklahoma State on NYE. How about the rematch?."
