Oklahoma State upsets lethargic No. 3 Kansas 86-67

The narrow and aging confines of Historic Gallagher-Iba Arena were once among the most feared in the country, a deafening gymnasium where it’s been said that the noise would make the light bulbs explode during wrestling meets.

That story, of course, may be apocryphal. (Is it even possible?) And the building may have lost some of its mystique over the years. And sure, the place may have been half full when Kansas and Oklahoma State took the floor on Tuesday night, a shell of its former self.

But even on an otherwise quiet night in January, even with an Oklahoma State team hovering just above .500, the venerable gym conjured up some of that old magic.

The final score said Oklahoma State 86, No. 3 Kansas 67, a stunning upset in both score and context, and the ripples of this result will be felt throughout the Big 12 Conference race on Wednesday morning. For the third straight year, the Jayhawks came to Stillwater and left with a loss. For the third straight year, a trip inside Gallagher-Iba ended with Oklahoma State students flooding on the floor, a collage of orange and black T-shirts flying across the hardwood.

“I kind of hate that,” Kansas sophomore guard Devonte’ Graham said. “Just losing.”

Kansas, 15-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, is suddenly 2-2 its last four games and searching for answers. The collapse against Michigan State at the Champions Classic was frustrating, but understandable. The loss last Tuesday at West Virginia came on the home floor of a top-10 team. But this? This loss on Tuesday at Oklahoma State, against a team that entered with a 9-8 record and had lost four straight Big 12 games? This was hard to explain.

This looked like a team that was tired and fatigued, a team that needs to re-find its old mojo as the heart of the Big 12 race approaches.

“We’re capable of playing a lot better,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, sitting inside the building in which he once competed as a college player. “We’re struggling right now. We’re laboring. We’re not playing well as a unit. We’re not playing really well individually. We’re inconsistent. Our attitude and our energy and our effort, I didn’t think it was bad tonight. They were just better.”

In some ways, of course, the difference was obvious. Oklahoma State drilled 11 of 21 shots from three-point range, working over a lethargic Kansas defense that appeared a step slow for much of the night. The Jayhawks hit just six of 22 from three-point range while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor. For the fourth straight game, the Jayhawks did not resemble the athletic and deep team that rolled through December and ascended to No. 1 in the rankings.

"I think about every thing that could go wrong, with us, went wrong,” Self said.

This included a lackluster performance on the boards — Oklahoma State outrebounded Kansas 38-31 — and another quiet performance from junior guard Wayne Selden, who was perhaps Kansas’ MVP during the first two months of the season. On Tuesday, Selden hit just three of eight from the floor and finished with seven points and two rebounds. In his last four games, Selden is averaging just 9.5 points per game.

But here's something more alarming: As Kansas packed its bags and prepared to return to Lawrence, Self was not being asked about Selden. He was talking about what might be the Jayhawks’ biggest concern — the suddenly baffling play of junior guard Frank Mason.

One part pitbull, one part offensive catalyst, Mason entered this season coming off a breakout sophomore season and quickly claimed the title of Kansas’ most indispensable player. At his best, Mason is a fearless lead guard with the ability to both score and break down a defense for others. But in the weeks since the Jayhawks’ triple-overtime victory over Oklahoma, Mason has appeared to crash headfirst into a person wall. In his last three games, he had shot just 37 percent from the floor while committing 10 turnovers.

The fog lingered on Tuesday night — he had just one point in the first half before finishing with 14 points on four-of-12 shooting. Self insisted that Mason is not injured; if he is battling anything, Self said, it might be soreness. But the importance of Mason is undeniable for a team with designs on a 12th straight Big 12 title.

“We’re not getting much out of our guards at all,” Self said. “We’re not going to go anywhere unless (Frank) plays well. And Devonte’ and Wayne have to be consistent. We’re not going to go anywhere.”

When the night began, Self seemed to have the future in mind. Looking to shake things up, Self inserted freshman big man Cheick Diallo into the starting lineup for the first time in his career. The move did not have its intended effects. Diallo was benched early in the second half after twice getting lost in one of Kansas’ standard offensive sets.

The Jayhawks were also playing without junior Brannen Greene, who bruised his knee in practice earlier this week. The Cowboys built a 43-38 lead at halftime and then stretched the advantage to 59-49 on a dunk from Anthony Allen midway through the second. The Jayhawks would chip away for a few minutes, closing to within seven points with 9:26 remaining. But Oklahoma State kept making threes — nine, then 10, then 11, pushing the lead to 75-60 with under five minutes to play.

“We have to give them credit,” KU senior Perry Ellis said. “They were the better team. They were the better team tonight.”

In the short term, of course, this loss will sting. The Jayhawks, who return home to face Texas on Saturday, now sit tied with Oklahoma for third place in the Big 12 race, a half-game behind West Virginia and Baylor, who both sit at 4-1. But the long-last effects could be just as pivotal. In the marathon of conference play, in the unforgiving Big 12 Conference, Tuesday night is a performance that could haunt.

“If there is anything that’s positive out of this,” Self said, “it’s that we’ll find out who we really are. And I know we’re capable of being much better than this.”

OKLAHOMA STATE 86

No. 3 KANSAS 67

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Percentages: FG .421, FT .520. Three-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (Mason III 2-5, Vick 1-1, Selden Jr. 1-4, Graham 1-4, Mykhailiuk 1-5, Ellis 0-3). Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 9 (Selden Jr. 3, Mason III 2, Vick, Traylor, Graham, Ellis). Steals: 7 (Traylor, Ellis, Selden Jr., Bragg Jr., Mykhailiuk, Diallo, Graham). Technical Fouls: None.

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Percentages: FG .500, FT .885. Three-Point Goals: 11-21, .524 (Carroll 3-4, Shine 2-5, Hammonds 2-6, Evans 1-1, Newberry 1-1, Burton 1-2, Griffin 1-2). Blocked Shots: 3 (Allen Jr. 2, Newberry). Turnovers: 10 (Evans 6, Allen Jr., Shine, Hammonds, Newberry). Steals: 5 (Evans 2, Solomon, Carroll, Newberry). Technical Fouls: None.

Half: Oklahoma State 43-38. Attendance: 11,383. Officials: John Higgins, Kelly Self, Keith Kimble.

AP-WF-01-20-16 0236GMT

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Oklahoma State upsets lethargic No. 3 Kansas 86-67."