KU rallies to beat Oklahoma on Senior Night

The new No. 1 team in the Associated Press college basketball poll had trouble playing to its ranking for much of Monday night, which didn’t seem to matter much by the end of the evening.

Big 12 regular-season champion Kansas (27-3, 15-2 Big 12), which ascended to the top spot in the poll Monday afternoon for the first time this season, committed 12 turnovers and missed seven free throws in 15 tries in the first half and trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half before rallying for a 73-63 victory over Oklahoma in what turned out to be another festive Senior Night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Devonté Graham cashed three three-pointers in an astounding 25-6 run that helped KU rally from a 54-42 deficit with 10:13 left and forge a 67-60 lead with 4 minutes to play. The run had Allen Fieldhouse rocking, and the fans forgetting some lackluster play that caused the 12-point deficit, for sure.

Lagerald Vick had two threes in the game-breaking surge and Frank Mason, who heard chants of “MVP, MVP,” scored four points, as did Josh Jackson.

“How ’bout your Jayhawks. We slept-walked for 32 minutes. We finally woke up. You saw what the kids can do when their backs are against the wall. We may not always play the best but there’s no team tougher than the University of Kansas,” coach Bill Self told the fans on the public-address system after the game.

The Jayhawks, who were tied with the Sooners (10-19, 4-13) at 28-28 at the break, secured their seventh straight victory overall, 16th in a row over Oklahoma in Lawrence and 34th consecutive victory in a home finale.

That includes 33 Senior Days dating to the 1983-84 contest. KU had no seniors on the roster in 2006-07.

“The speech is not something I would have wanted to give if we lost,” KU senior forward Landen Lucas said. He and fellow seniors Mason and Tyler Self spoke to the fans after the contest.

“It went through my mind,” Lucas added of possibly losing on Senior Night. “Like other games we’ve had, I thought we’d find a way to pull it out.”

Of KU’s poor play until the final 10 minutes — KU closed on a remarkable 31-9 run — Lucas said: “It’s tough with emotions before the game (the three seniors and their parents were introduced to the crowd). We didn’t have our normal prep. We went a little bit off our normal routine. We might have let it get the best of us early on. It was tough. We went on a good run those last 7, 8 minutes. We felt good and got back to normal.”

Oklahoma came out in the second half and used a 21-11 run to build a 49-39 lead at 11:35. The Sooners extended the advantage to 54-42 at 10:13.

Down 12, the Jayhawks finally responded, slicing the gap to 58-56 at 6:33 following a 14-4 run. Mason, who had a game-high 23 points, opened with a bucket, Vick (11 points) hit a three, Jackson (11 points, 12 boards, 8 turnovers) slammed on an inbounds pass from Mason and Vick hit another three. Then, Lucas (8 points, 8 boards) and Jackson scored to cut it to one. Graham (16 points) hit back-to-back threes, followed by a bucket by Mason and another three by Graham, the fans witnessing yet another wild KU comeback.

The Jayhawks that finished the game looked worthy of the one that on Monday in the poll passed last week’s top two teams, Gonzaga and Villanova — squads that both dropped a game a week ago.

“We just got the No. 1 ranking in the country. I think we were playing for that most of all tonight,” senior guard Self said. He made his first career start, per Senior Night tradition, and played the first 3 minutes, 27 seconds, with KU falling behind, 7-0. The 6-foot-2 Self had one foul, but no other stats in that early stint. Mason was 0 for 4 in that stretch. Self also entered the game in the final moments, after the Jayhawks had taken control of the contest.

“We didn’t want to lose that the first night,” Tyler Self added of the No. 1 ranking. “It’s something we want to keep the rest of the year.”

Lucas said the Jayhawks weren’t worried about falling victim to any No. 1 jinx.

“I don’t think we were thinking about it in a negative way,” Lucas said. “If anything we were thinking, ‘We are the No. 1 team. We’ve got to go out and play like that. We got that ranking for a reason.’ This many games into the season, that means you have a pretty good team. That’s a pretty good thing. We kept that in mind the whole time, knew that it was a matter of time before we went on a run like we did.”

KU wound up hitting 12 of 20 free throws and 50 percent of its shots to Oklahoma’s 34.9 percent. Kameron McGusty had 14 points, while Kristian Doolittle and Khadeem Lattin scored 12 for the Sooners. The Jayhawks were 9 of 19 on threes; the Sooners 4 of 14. KU hit 12 of 20 free throws; Oklahoma 15 of 17.

The first half was mighty ugly. KU went 8 of 15 from the free-throw line while hitting 34.8 percent of its floor shots. The Jayhawks suffered an unsightly 11 turnovers, with Jackson committing five and Mason three.

Mason had eight points and Graham seven in the half. Oklahoma hit 8 of 32 floor shots for an anemic 25 percent. The Sooners did drill 10 of 11 free throws while committing eight turnovers.

Lattin led Oklahoma with eight points in the half.

“I told our guys we’re running out of time,” Self said of the Jayhawks needing to make comeback after comeback to win games. “These guys are confident, but I think they think whatever the situation they can flip the switch, which is a bad trait. Get behind like this in a game that really matters, the percentage play means you probably couldn’t (always come back and win).”

Self was asked to describe the class of three seniors: “Class. Winners. Brothers,” he said. “They all come from different backgrounds. They see each other totally the same. Every year the seniors are special. This is an extra-special group.”

KU will next meet Oklahoma State at 5 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.

Self comments on seniors to fans

Self commented on the seniors during a ceremony after the game.

▪ About Tyler Self: “There’s three words when they talk about my son and his name comes up, whether I say it or think it, it gives me great pride and (those words are), ‘That’s my son.’ ”

▪ On Landen Lucas: “We’ve never recruited anyone brighter. Although I’ve never told him this, I don’t think we’ve ever recruited anybody tougher. I wouldn’t have thought when we recruited him, ‘If Landen gets two fouls in the first half, what are we gonna do?’ Landen is that important to us.”

▪ On Frank Mason: “The best guard I’ve ever coached and this year’s national player of the year.”

▪ Also on Mason: “We knew he’d be good. We knew he was competitive. We didn’t probably know he’d probably mean as much to this program as any kid I’ve ever coached here. Landen is the toughest big guy maybe we’ve had here. I don’t think anybody would argue … I don’t know if there’s ever been any player tougher than Frank Mason wearing the crimson and blue.”

▪ On junior Devonté Graham: “Devonté, wouldn’t it be special to come back next year and do a Senior Night speech?” The fans responded with the chant, “One More Year” for Graham. Self also jokingly asked Jackson about playing at KU four years, which obviously isn’t going to happen for the certain one-and-done player.

Highlights of senior speeches

The seniors each spoke to the fans after the game. Some highlights:

▪ From Tyler Self: Speaking directly to Bill Self, he said: “Dad, you gave me the the opportunity of a lifetime. I got to live out a dream and I’m so grateful for it. You taught me more about basketball than I thought there was to know. It doesn’t come close to what you taught me and what it means to be a man and I hope someday I can be the father you are."

He added: “The thing I respect the most, each player that comes here leaves a better person. The last five years have been the best five of my life. I used to sit in those seats, watch everybody play, watch the Senior Nights and think how special it was. I got to live out the dream. My advice is dream big, pursue it, stay the path, don’t care what other people think about you, keep chasing it and good things will come.”

▪ From Landen Lucas: “I was recruited by Danny (Manning). Yeah I’ve been here that long. … Coach Self, we’ve been to hell and back as you’d say, a couple of times. The first time I came here, he said this would be the only night I started, Senior Night. If I started any other nights the program would be in last shape,” Lucas added, drawing laughter from the fans.

Lucas thanked Self for “making sure I get recognized for the small things I do.”

▪ From Frank Mason: “If I had a chance to play here four more years I swear I would. Kansas has helped me become a better man on and off the court. I think more off the court. I learned so much being in a different environment. It helped me become a better man. I’m really sad I don’t have a chance to play here any more. I’ll definitely be back in town a lot.”

No. 1 KANSAS 73

OKLAHOMA 63

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Percentages: FG .349, FT .882. Three-Point Goals: 4-14, .286 (McGusty 2-5, Buford 1-1, Strong-Moore 1-3, Doolittle 0-1, James 0-2, Shepherd 0-2). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 5 (Lattin 2, McGusty, McNeace, Shepherd). Turnovers: 13 (Strong-Moore 3, Buford 2, James 2, McGusty 2, Odomes 2, McNeace, Shepherd). Steals: 10 (McGusty 4, Odomes 2, Buford, James, Lattin, Shepherd). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

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Percentages: FG .500, FT .600. Three-Point Goals: 9-19, .474 (Graham 4-8, Vick 3-3, Mason 2-5, Jackson 0-1, Mykhailiuk 0-2). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 4 (Lucas 2, Bragg, Mason). Turnovers: 19 (Jackson 8, Mason 4, Bragg 2, Graham 2, Lucas 2, Mykhailiuk). Steals: 7 (Mason 3, Bragg, Graham, Jackson, Mykhailiuk). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

Half: Tied 28-28. Att: 16,300.

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 10:33 PM with the headline "KU rallies to beat Oklahoma on Senior Night."