Kansas Outlasts Oklahoma 109-106 in Battle of Number 1’s

Although Oklahoma is a better team in nearly every aspect over 2014-15, the Sooners still revolve around their star in Hield.

He would have rather had a win. Hield committed one of his few errors of the game and committed a turnover that led to Graham getting out on the break and getting fouled before hitting both free throws.

Watching the instant-classic triple-overtime game Monday night between No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Oklahoma brought Maryland coach Mark Turgeon back to his years as a player and graduate assistant in Lawrence, Kan. The last came in the 1957 NCAA Tournament title game when North Carolina defeated Kansas with Wilt Chamberlain as the Jayhawks’ starting center. “It was just terrific”.

In fact, when you factor in the locale, the opponent, the defense that was being played and the moment that it came in, I’m not sure I can remember the last time that I’ve seen a more impressive individual performance than this.

OU ranks ninth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37%), including 20th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (29%).

Kansas moved into the No. 1 spot in the polls Monday, then used 27 points and 13 rebounds from senior Perry Ellis to hold off No. 2 Oklahoma 109-106 in triple overtime at Allen Fieldhouse. The Sooners rallied from 11 down at one point to take a 4 point lead into halftime behind a 12-0 burst. But with 47 seconds left a Lattin travel led to a Mason Jr. free throw, followed by Mason Jr. picking Hield’s pocket and Graham sinking two free throws.

Perry Ellis – who, yes, hasn’t graduated yet -was responsible for 27 points, 12 rebounds and three assists in the win Monday. His 46 points matched Wayman Tisdale for the sixth-highest-scoring game in school history. Graham connected on his two shots with 15 seconds left.

Khadeem Lattin went to the line at the other end with 2 seconds left, but the 52-percent free throw shooter clanked the front end of a 1-and-1 off the iron to force overtime. They clawed back and clawed some more until they overtook Kansas with just seconds left in the first half and to go into the locker room ahead.

Kansas had the final shot in the second overtime after Isaiah Cousins missed at the rim and Spangler couldn’t get his tip to go.

QUOTABLE: “We beat a team that could win a national championship”. Jordan Woodard leads Oklahoma with 53.1% (26-49) in treys. Both teams led by double digits, and both leads were quickly erased.

“If we’d have lost the game, I would have walked into the locker room and said, ‘You’ll never forget that one, ‘” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Good one-on-one players. We have to keep them out of the paint, just like we have to keep them out of the paint”. The Jayhawks managed to survive a 46-point onslaught from national player of the year candidate Buddy Hield thanks to a pair of critical defensive plays from Frank Mason late in the third overtime period. With his hands on his knees late in the game, it was apprent the 40 minutes he played against Iowa State on Saturday and the extra periods Monday night added up on the exhausted senior guard. The Jayhawks had 12 shots blocked by Oklahoma. Kansas is 16-9 all-time as a No. 1-ranked team….