No. 4 Kansas rallies from 15 down to beat Oklahoma State 69-67

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The last time Kansas needed to overcome a 15-point halftime deficit was on the biggest stage in college basketball.

The Jayhawks certainly weren’t going to be intimidated by one in Allen Fieldhouse.

With another raucous home crowd behind it, the nation’s No. 4 team quickly wiped out the big lead Oklahoma State had painstakingly built. And when KJ Adams scored the go-ahead basket with 4.8 seconds left, the Jayhawks twice stopped the Cowboys at the other end to squeak out a 69-67 victory Saturday in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

“There aren’t any 15-point plays,” said Jalen Wilson, who was instrumental in helping the Jayhawks rally from the same hole to beat North Carolina for the national title, “so the main thing was to win every 4 minutes and that’s what we did.”

Wilson finished with 20 points and Adams had 14 to lead the Jayhawks (12-0), who trailed 45-30 at the break before a 22-5 run wiped out the deficit and propelled them to their 32nd consecutive conference-opening win.

“It could have went to 20 real quick or we could get it down to 10,” Wilson said. “We all came together, shook off the first half, understood we’re at home. Fifteen points can seem like a lot but it’s not.”

The Cowboys (8-5) didn’t give up after the comeback, finding themselves with the lead again in the closing minutes.

Kansas took it back on Kevin McCullar Jr.’s 3-pointer with 45 seconds left, and Wilson added two free throws moments later to stretch the lead to 67-64. But the Cowboys’ Bryce Thompson, who began his career at Kansas and matched a career high with 23 points, drilled his own 3-pointer with 14.8 seconds left to tie the game at 67.

The Jayhawks raced up court, got the ball to Adams and he made a nifty lay-in to regain the lead.

“We always run plays where I screen and roll out real fast,” Adams said. “It was just like that.”

Oklahoma State lost the ball at the other end trying to score in transition, and with 1.1 seconds on the clock, the Cowboys got the inbounds pass to Thompson, whose shot was swatted from behind. A final inbounds pass was batted away.

Thompson hit seven 3-pointers but dealt with second-half foul trouble for the Cowboys, who have lost four straight and nine of their last 10 to the Jayhawks. John-Michael Wright also had four 3s and finished with 19 points.

“We gave ourselves a chance right up there to the end,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said, “but there’s no moral victories.”

The last instruction Oklahoma State got before tipoff came on a whiteboard held by a staff member: “Alert The Lob Backdoor.” The Cowboys shut that down and just about everything else.

McCullar had three turnovers in the first 5 minutes and four in the half. Adams also had four in the half. And one of the two 3-pointers that Gradey Dick hit was a desperation bank high off the glass.

Oklahoma State capitalized at the other end, taking advantage of wide open skip passes for their own easy 3s. Thompson hit four of them in the first 15 minutes, and two more attempts were halfway down before bouncing out. Wright’s fall-away 3 with 1:56 left forced Kansas to call timeout, and his buzzer-beater gave Oklahoma State a 45-30 halftime lead.

The Cowboys were 9 of 18 from the arc in the first half. Kansas had 11 turnovers.

Then came the comeback.

It began when DaJuan Harris Jr. drilled a 3 in front of the Kansas bench. It continued with 11 straight points after Thompson hit another 3 of his own. And by the time Wilson hit a 3-pointer with 10:54 to go, the Jayhawks had ridden a 22-5 surge to not only wipe out their halftime deficit but take their first lead since the opening minutes.

Kansas wasn’t able to draw away, though. And that set up a frantic final 10 minutes.

“It’s the exact same thing as the national championship,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “You turn it up, tie it earlier than you ever expect and then it becomes a basketball game.”

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma State. The pressure of Allen Fieldhouse was evident in the second half. The Cowboys’ first three possessions ended with a missed shot, another miss as the shot clock sounded and a shot-clock violation. By the time they finally got their legs under them, Kansas had wiped out their advantage and made for a tense finish.

Kansas: Even during the Jayhawks’ 22-5 second-half run, when they went scoreless on three straight possessions, their defense kept Oklahoma State from regaining momentum. It helped that they only turned it over once after the break.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State: Plays No. 24 West Virginia on Monday night.

Kansas: Heads to Texas Tech on Tuesday night.

Big 12 coaches tab TCU’s Mike Miles Jr. as preseason player of year

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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IRVING, Texas — TCU guard Mike Miles Jr. has been picked as the Big 12 preseason player of the year by the league’s coaches.

Miles was joined by Baylor guard Adam Flagler and Kansas forward Jalen Wilson as unanimous picks on the preseason All-Big 12 team, as selected by coaches who couldn’t vote for their own players. Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson and Texas teammates Timmy Allen and Marcus Carr were also on the team.

Oklahoma senior guard Grant Sherfield, a transfer from Nevada, was tabbed as the league’s preseason newcomer of the year. Baylor guard Keyonte George was named the top incoming freshman.

Miles was the only Big 12 player last season to finish in the top six for points (15.2) and assists (3.8), and had eight 20-point games. Flagler averaged 13.8 points and 3.0 assists, while Wilson averaged 11.1 points and was second in the Big 12 with 7.4 rebounds a game.

Sherfield led Nevada last season with 19.1 points and 6.4 assists per game, and also averaged 4.2 rebounds. He led the Mountain West Conference in assists.

George was a five-star recruit out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and the highest-ranked recruit in Baylor history. The McDonald’s All-American from Texas averaged 17.8 points last season and shot 41% on 3-pointers.

Oklahoma State sinks No. 12 Texas Tech’s Big 12 title hopes

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 19 Kansas State at Oklahoma State
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STILLWATER, Okla. – Bryce Thompson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.4 seconds left and Oklahoma State beat No. 12 Texas Tech 52-51 on Saturday, eliminating the Red Raiders from the Big 12 title race.

Terrence Shannon missed a contested jumper just before the buzzer for Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State (15-15, 8-10) celebrated a win in its season finale. Oklahoma State is banned from postseason play because of NCAA rules violations, so the Cowboys can’t play in the Big 12 tournament next week.

The Red Raiders (23-8, 12-6) needed a victory and losses by Baylor and Kansas to finished tied for the Big 12 lead.

Kevin Obanor led Texas Tech with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Bryson Williams added 13 points before fouling out in the final minute. Williams – Tech’s leading scorer for the season – wasn’t in for the final sequence.

Rondel Walker led the Cowboys with 12 points, and Thompson had 11.

Obanor’s reverse layup with 15 seconds left before halftime put Texas Tech up 27-25. Thompson’s jumper with four seconds remaining tied it at 27. Neither team led by more than six in the first half. The game was tied six times and there were three lead changes.

A 3-pointer by Obanor put the Red Raiders up by 10 midway through the second half.

Oklahoma State roared back. A block by Moussa Cisse led to a fast-break dunk by Thompson that cut Tech’s lead to 49-46.

The Cowboys missed their next seven shots, with Tech stuck on 49 points before Walker scored and was fouled on a put-back with 51.5 seconds left. He made the free throw to tie it at 49.

Tech missed 10 straight shots before a tip-in by Davion Warren with 28.3 seconds remaining put the Red Raiders back in front, setting up the wild finish.

BIG PICTURE

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders went unbeaten at home but struggled on the road. They went 3-6 on the road and 5-8 away from home. That’s not a good sign heading into postseason play.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys closed the season by winning four of their final seven games, despite the postseason ban.

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma State: Season over.

Oklahoma State sinks No. 12 Texas Tech’s Big 12 title hopes

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
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STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State salvaged a special ending from what could have been a throwaway season.

Bryce Thompson made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.4 seconds left and Oklahoma State beat No. 12 Texas Tech 52-51 on Saturday, eliminating the Red Raiders from the Big 12 title race.

Terrence Shannon missed a jumper closely contested by Oklahoma State’s Tyreek Smith just before the buzzer, and the Cowboys (15-15, 8-10) celebrated a win in their season finale. The NCAA banned Oklahoma State from postseason play because of rules violations.

“I feel like we kind of maximized what we could do,” Thompson said. “That’s a great team we just played. To go out and win in that fashion, to keep fighting and to finish it off for our seniors was big.”

The Red Raiders (23-8, 12-6) needed a victory and losses by Baylor and Kansas to finished tied for the Big 12 lead, but they shot 35.2% and went extra cold late in the game.

“We just couldn’t score,” Tech coach Mark Adams said. “I apologized to the team. I couldn’t get them in anything that seemed to work.”

Kevin Obanor led Texas Tech with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Bryson Williams added 13 points before fouling out in the final minute. Williams – Tech’s leading scorer for the season – wasn’t in for the final sequence.

Rondel Walker led the Cowboys with 12 points, and Thompson had 11.

Obanor’s reverse layup with 15 seconds left before halftime put Texas Tech up 27-25. Thompson’s jumper with four seconds remaning tied it at 27. Neither team led by more than six in the first half. The game was tied six times and there were three lead changes.

A 3-pointer by Obanor put the Red Raiders up by 10 midway through the second half.

Oklahoma State roared back. A block by Moussa Cisse led to a fast-break dunk by Thompson that cut Tech’s lead to 49-46.

The Cowboys missed their next seven shots, with Tech stuck on 49 points before Walker scored and was fouled on a putback with 51.5 seconds left. He made the free throw to tie it at 49.

Tech missed 10 straight shots before a tip-in by Davion Warren with 28.3 seconds remaining put the Red Raiders back in front, setting up the wild finish.

The performance left the Cowboys wondering what they might have achieved this season with a postseason bid at stake.

“Defensively, I think we are the best team in this league,” Oklahoma State guard Isaac Likekele said. “And then offensively, whenever we are focused and move into the right headspace and execute, it looks like beautiful basketball.”

BIG PICTURE

Texas Tech: The Red Raiders went unbeaten at home but struggled elsewhere. They went 3-6 on the road and 5-8 away from home. That’s not a good sign heading into postseason play.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys closed the season by winning four of their final seven games, despite the postseason ban. They beat the Red Raiders, despite shooting just 32.8%.

LIKEKELE’S FINALE?

Likekele has a year of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-5 guard has scored more than 1,000 points at Oklahoma State and has been a defensive anchor.

He’s not sure if he will return next year, or when he will make a decision.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said. “It could be two days or it could be two months. Right now I’m just trying to relax and see my family and just chill with my teammates. So I’ll deal with all that stuff when the time will come.”

CISSE’S EFFECT

Cisse – a 7-foot forward – scored four points for Oklahoma State, but he had 10 rebounds and five blocks.

He also guarded the inbound pass on the final play. His presence led to a difficult shot for Tech.

“Yeah, we were just kind of suffocating,” Thompson said. “I mean, we had put Moussa on the ball, so it was really hard for them to get it in and … Just trying try to be solid, not foul and make them take a tough shot. And luckily, we were able to make them do that.”

UP NEXT

Texas Tech: Will be the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma State: Season over.

Flagler scores 29, leads No. 10 Baylor past Oklahoma State

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
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STILLWATER, Okla.- Baylor coach Scott Drew got the kind of performance he expects from guards Adam Flagler and James Akinjo.

Flagler scored a career-high 29 points, and Akinjo’s pull-up jumper with 14 seconds remaining in overtime provided the winning points as No. 10 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State 66-64 on Monday night.

“James and Adam — I mean, that’s that’s as good a backcourt as anyone in the country that starts for us,” Drew said.

Flagler missed last Saturday’s game against TCU with a knee injury. He made 11 of 20 field goals and 7 of 13 3-pointers in his return.

“Our trainer was the MVP for this game because he was able to get Adam back and able to play, and obviously, he looked pretty good,” Drew said.

Flagler also drew two charges in overtime.

“Those are huge, huge plays,” Drew said. “Momentum plays. But you can’t leave doubt either. On the road, you get back-to-back calls. I mean, they’ve got to be legit. You’re there. No questions asked. And Adam put itself in that position to get those calls.”

Oklahoma State’s Isaac Likekele missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it.

Matthew Mayer added 12 points for Baylor (23-5, 11-4 Big 12).

Bryce Thompson scored 15 points and Moussa Cisse added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Cowboys (13-14, 6-9), Oklahoma State beat Baylor 61-54 on Jan. 15 when the Bears were ranked No. 1.

Neither team scored at the start of the game until a layup by Mayer with 17:32 remaining in the first half. Oklahoma State missed its first nine shots before Likekele’s bucket got the Cowboys on the board just over five minutes into the game.

Baylor opened with a 6-0 lead and extended its advantage to 10-2 before Oklahoma State rallied. The Cowboys took their first lead, 21-20, on a pullup jumper by Thompson.

Cisse’s alley-oop dunk on an assist from Thompson with 31 seconds remaining in the first half gave Oklahoma State a 36-29 lead – a score that held until the break. Thompson had 11 points in the first half and Cisse had three dunks in the three minutes before the break. The Cowboys made 15 of their final 21 field goals in the first half.

Flagler scored 15 points for Baylor on 6-fot-7 shooting in the first half, but his teammates went 6-for-24.

Baylor’s zone defense bothered Oklahoma State early in the second half and allowed the Bears to rally. A 3-pointer by Flagler from straight away gave Baylor a 49-45 lead.

The game remained tight the rest of the way, and Oklahoma State a possession in the final minute with the score tied at 60. Likekele appeared to throw in a possible game-winning circus shot from behind the basket with less than a second remaining. The crowd erupted and the Cowboys celebrated. Upon review, it was a shot clock violation, and the game went to overtime.

Likekele never thought he got the shot off in time.

“I just grabbed the ball and I just and chucked it at the hoop,” he said. “All of a sudden, I’m looking at the clock and they counted it as good.”

Drew said it was a good officiating crew that made the right call. He didn’t think the shot would count, but he said strange things can happen.

“We’ve all been in those things where you disagree and then they say game over and everyone runs on the floor,” he said.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: The Bears couldn’t afford to lose this one, especially since they lost to the Cowboys earlier this season. This was a gritty win for Baylor, which has won two of three since losing leading rebounder Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to a season-ending knee injury.

Oklahoma State: It was Oklahoma State’s fifth overtime game this season. The Cowboys fell to 3-2 in them. They have been tough throughout the season, despite being banned from postseason play.

1,000 POINT CLUB

Likekele reached 1,000 points for his career. He is the 44th Oklahoma State player to reach that milestone. He entered the game with 988 points and finished with 12.

PRESTI’S PRESENCE

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti attended the game.

UP NEXT

Baylor: Hosts Kansas on Saturday.

Oklahoma State: Visits rival Oklahoma on Saturday.

Agbaji scores 20 and No. 6 Kansas tops Oklahoma State 76-62

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
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LAWRENCE, Kan.- Ochai Agbaji scored 20 points and No. 6 Kansas saw all five starters score in double figures in a 76-62 victory over Oklahoma State on Monday night.

Kansas, which wore throwback jerseys from the 1921-22 season, the year the Jayhawks won their first Helms Foundation national championship, pulled away late in the first half and never was threatened in the second half.

“It was nice not having to sweat,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I don’t think we played great, by any stretch, but I thought we were pretty good. We weren’t very good the first 12 minutes.”

Kansas had been struggling to put opponents away recently. With one exception, an 83-59 victory over defending champion Baylor, the Jayhawks had five single-digit wins and two losses in their last eight games.

Joining Agbaji in double figures for Kansas (21-4, 10-2 Big 12) was Christian Braun with 16 points, Dajuan Harris and David McCormack with 12 points each, and Jalen Wilson with 11. McCormack also had 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.

“I thought he was great tonight,” Self said of Agbaji. And the coach said he wasn’t alone.

“We had some individuals who played pretty well,” Self added. “The ball definitely moved well the first 10 or 12 minutes of the second half. That’s about the best we’ve looked offensively in a while.”

Avery Anderson scored 15 points and Bryce Thompson added 11 for Oklahoma State (12-13, 5-8 Big 12). Moussa Cisse pulled down 11 rebounds for the Cowboys.

Carrying a 10-point halftime lead, Kansas scored the first four points of the second half and the lead never dipped to less than double digits the rest of the game. The lead reached 20 points when Braun hit two free throws with 13:36 left in the half. By the midway point of the second half, the lead was 26.

Still, Self has something to use for motivation. The Jayhawks missed 16 of their last 17 shots.

“That wasn’t a good finish at all,” he said. “But I would have taken a 14-point win before the game all day long.”

Harris said Self wasn’t too happy with the finish.

“Coach was really mad because we didn’t close the game out really good,” he said. “We were up 25 or so. We’ve got to a better job at the end. If we do that, keep sharing the ball, playing good defense, we’ll be in good shape.”

Both teams struggled at the start and Kansas led 15-13 before hitting three straight 3s to open up a 26-19 lead. The Jayhawks led 38-28 at the half.

TAKEAWAY

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys are playing out the string since they are not eligible for postseason play.

Kansas: The Jayhawks won their 10th league game for the 28th straight season, the longest active streak in the NCAA.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State: hosts Kansas State on Saturday.

Kansas: visits West Virginia on Saturday.