Fans share favorite memories from Jayhawks’ Big 12 championship streak
Kansas’ 14-0 run was snapped Tuesday night in Norman, Okla.
The Jayhawks’ 14-year run as Big 12 regular-season men’s basketball champions is over, and sports fans have noted that the iPhone and Twitter didn’t exist when the streak began. Another perspective: the average life expectancy in the United States is 78.6 years, so KU’s streak covered 17.8 percent of a typical person’s life.
For KU fans, there were a lot of great memories, and they shared their favorites on Twitter after the Jayhawks’ loss at Oklahoma. Here are some of the games those fans mentioned (in no particular order):
Feb. 25, 2013: KU 108, Iowa State 96, OT
Elijah Johnson scored 39 points, including eight in the final 29 seconds of regulation and 12 in overtime, as coach Bill Self won his 500th game and left Cyclones fans stunned at Hilton Coliseum. And one was particularly upset. KU and K-State tied for the best record in the Big 12 at 12-4 in the 2012-13 season.
Feb. 25, 2012: KU 87, Missouri 86, OT
The Jayhawks rallied from a 19-point deficit and tied the game at Allen Fieldhouse. Thomas Robinson blocked Phil Pressey’s shot at the end of regulation, and in overtime Tyshon Taylor made two free throws that provided the winning margin in the final “Border War” game. The Jayhawks won the Big 12 with a 16-2 record in 2011-12, while Mizzou was second at 14-4.
Jan. 4, 2016: KU 109, Oklahoma 106, 3OT
In the first matchup in Big 12 history between teams ranked first and second in the AP poll, Buddy Hield scored 46 points for the Sooners in a losing cause. Perry Ellis had 27 points and 13 rebounds for KU, while scored 22 and Wayne Selden 21. An ESPN audience was enthralled by the thriller. KU won the Big 12 with a 15-3 record that year. West Virginia was second at 13-5.
March 3, 2015: KU 76, West Virginia 69, OT
Two weeks earlier, the Mountaineers beat the Jayhawks by a point at home. In this game, West Virginia raced to an 18-point first-half lead and KU star Perry Ellis went down with an injury in front of stunned Allen Fieldhouse. But the Jayhawks erased an eight-point deficit with 2:32 left in regulation and Jamari Traylor’s dunk in overtime gave Kansas a lead it didn’t relinquish as it clinched the Big 12 title. KU won the Big 12 with a 13-5 record, while Oklahoma and Iowa State finished second at 12-4.
Here are some other games/lists that KU fans noted:
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 9:36 AM.
