Kansas’ big win sets up another high-stakes clash with Oklahoma
Five weeks after their epic triple-overtime classic with the No. 1 ranking on the line, Oklahoma and Kansas will meet again with plenty at stake.
First place in the Big 12 will be on the line Saturday afternoon in Norman when the third-ranked Sooners get their rematch with the sixth-ranked Jayhawks.
With Oklahoma edging Texas on Buddy Hield’s last-second 3-pointer on Monday night and Kansas fighting its way to a 75-65 victory over West Virginia the following night, the two Big 12 favorites will enter Saturday tied for first place. The winner of Saturday’s game will leave in no worse than a first-place tie with West Virginia, while the loser will face an uphill climb over the final three weeks of the regular season.
The Big 12 title race is especially meaningful because of the quality and depth of the league and the history at stake. Kansas is trying to extend its remarkable run of league titles to 12 in a row, while Oklahoma, West Virginia and the rest of the contenders are eager to end the streak.
If regaining a share of first place in the Big 12 was part of Kansas’ incentive Tuesday night, the Jayhawks also were motivated to avenge a previous loss to West Virginia. Kansas committed 22 turnovers against the Mountaineers’ full-court pressure on Jan. 12, 13 combined from Frank Mason and Wayne Selden alone.
Turnovers again were the key for Kansas on Tuesday night. When the Jayhawks took care of the ball in the first half and for stretches of the second, they maintained a comfortable lead. When they Jayhawks got careless with the ball and committed four straight second-half turnovers, they allowed the Mountaineers to scratch and claw back into striking distance.
Kansas overcame its 15 turnovers by shredding the West Virginia defense for 56.2 percent shooting when it did get the ball down the floor successfully. Perry Ellis scored 21 points, Mason added 14 and Landen Lucas dominated on the glass, chipping in nine points and 16 rebounds.
West Virginia didn’t have enough firepower to get any closer than within four during the final 15 minutes of the game, especially without forward Jonathan Holton. Jaysean Paige scored 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting as the cold-shooting Mountaineers shot a meager 37.3 percent from the field and 5-for-20 from behind the arc.
While West Virginia may yet have a say in the Big 12 title race, the Mountaineers still have games against Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State and Baylor left on the schedule. It’s possible they’ll have to win as many as three of those to give themselves a realistic chance at the Big 12 crown.
Regardless, the winner of Saturday’s Kansas-Oklahoma game will certainly be in excellent position.
One month after the Jayhawks and Sooners played the game of the year in college basketball, they’ll now have a chance to play the game of the year in the Big 12.
– – – – – – –
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
