Men's basketball: Sooners knock off No. 5 Jayhawks
Astrud Reed, The Oklahoma Daily
Freshman guard Buddy Hield celebrates with fellow students after the Sooners 72-66 win over #5 Kansas on Saturday night in Norman.
Astrud Reed, The Oklahoma Daily
Senior guard Steven Pledger (center) and senior forward Andrew Fitzgerald (left) join the student celebration at center court after beating #5 Kansas 72-66 in Norman on Saturday. The Sooners' broke a 10 game losing streak against the Jayhawks and got their first win against a top 5 team since 2006.
The Oklahoma men’s basketball team led for almost the entire game as it upset No. 5 Kansas, 72-66, Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.
The Sooners (15-7 6-4 Big 12) took the lead with 14:53 left in the first half and never trailed again, withstanding multiple Jayhawk runs.
Kansas (19-4 7-3 Big 12) had a last-ditch effort at a come back fall short after cutting the lead to 68-66 with 15 seconds left. OU held off the Jayhawks thanks to clutch free throws from freshman guard Je’lon Hornbeak and junior guard Cameron Clark.
“The key is that Je’lon likes being there,” coach Lon Kruger said. “He shot them well, even the one or two that he missed (earlier) were in-and-out, and I think the fact that he shot them well made him want to go back again later in the game.”
Not only did Hornbeak keep Kansas at bay with his free throws, but he also hit the biggest shot of the night — a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining that pushed the Sooner lead to 66-61.
“I had passed up a couple (shots) just trying to get Roe (senior forward Romero Osby) going,” Hornbeak said. “But he just told me (to) be ready to shoot. I got it, sized it up, saw that I had a lot of space and I took it.”
While Hornbeak had the endgame heroics, the true star of the night was Osby, who pestered the Kansas frontcourt all game.
Osby finished with team-high totals in both points and rebounds, finishing with 17 and eight, respectively.
“I had a lot of opportunities to drive today,” Osby said. “I made my first few jump shots, which is kind of how you have to play against [Kansas’ senior center Jeff Withey]. It ended up just working out in my favor.”
Withey was one of the few Kansas players to be consistently effective, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds.
However, it wasn’t enough, as the Sooners snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Jayhawks that dated back to 2005.
This upset may prove to be important come NCAA Tournament selection time, as OU finally got the signature victory that their résumé had been lacking.
“Obviously any time you beat a Kansas club, you feel very good about it,” Kruger said. “I’m mostly happy for the players and the fans. Those spontaneous celebrations are hard to put a value on.”
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