Could Kansas basketball’s win at Oklahoma be turning point in 2023-24 season?
The Kansas men’s basketball team reminded the college basketball world how dangerous it can be on Saturday in Norman.
Trailing by 11 points to Oklahoma in the first half, the Jayhawks looked primed for another road loss. Instead, Kansas (20-6, 8-5 Big 12) defeated Oklahoma 67-57 and won its second road conference game.
KU’s comeback victory was fueled by a dominant defensive effort in the second half. Kansas limited OU to 23 second half points on 4-for-22 (18.2%) shooting.
On Thursday, Kansas coach Bill Self said he was looking for a moment where his team could come together to win a game almost out of sheer will.
“There hasn’t been that ‘wow, gotcha’ moment yet,” Self said. “I don’t think we’ve had one moment that this is where we’ve become a team.”
The second half in Norman might have been that moment for this KU team, as the Jayhawks desperately needed a road win.
“I think everyone around the country was waiting for us to win a game on the road,” Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson said.
The win against Oklahoma was also pivotal for Kansas’ seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas learned from Saturday morning’s committee reveal that they’d be the lowest No. 2 seed if the tournament started Saturday, No. 8 overall in the team rankings. A loss, and they could’ve been down to the No. 3 seed line.
Whether or not they were aware of that, they played with urgency in the second half after a start that felt like deja vu.
KU made more field goals than Oklahoma in the first half, 13-12, but the Jayhawks trailed, with OU shooting a red-hot 7-for-12 (58.3%) from 3. Meanwhile, KU shot 3-for-12 (25%) from deep.
The Sooners had 12 more points from 3-point shots on the same number of attempts. The 3-point disparity has been an issue for KU all season, leading to nearly all of its conference losses.
Self made a defensive tweak to the Jayhawks’ ball-screen coverage at halftime. He said it hadn’t been practiced, but the Jayhawks made changes on the fly and “actually did a good job” with them.
The Sooners shot 1-for-11 (9.1%) from 3-point range in the second half.
“We made a pretty significant change that was really not that subtle, pretty significant, and the guys didn’t screw it up,” Self said. “Most times, it’d be hard to remember (for) all five guys all the time, but for the most part they did a good job. But we didn’t sub much in the second half, which made it easier.”
Ultimately, KU put together a spectacular second-half effort to remind the basketball world that the Jayhawks are still a team with high aspirations despite all their struggles.
Kansas is currently in fourth place in the Big 12 conference but only a game-and-a-half back of leaders Houston and Baylor. Kansas will play both teams on the road in March.
“We got two more (road games), but the biggest thing is we’ve got to focus on getting rested and holding serve at home,” Self said. “I got a feeling when we go on the road in the last two games, we will be a turned-up team, especially with who we are playing.”
