Unbelievable: No. 1 Kansas outlasts No. 2 Oklahoma in triple OT

Ratings are down, fan attendance is down, but games like this keep you strapped to your seat, with beer and chips all over the floor.

Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield was still wringing wet after a three-overtime thriller against Kansas, the longest game ever played in the long, storied history of Allen Fieldhouse, when he flashed a brilliant smile and said, “I can’t wait for the rematch”.

After forcing two turnovers with less than 30 seconds to go in the third overtime, Kansas turned a 1-point deficit into a 3-point lead with 8.6 seconds left. There’s always, it would appear, someone who is better than him at Kansas but he showed in this game why he is arguably the most underrated player in the country. Parity is supposedly reigning supreme, which means we should be geared up to see a top-five team going down every time we glance at the national scoreboard for the next two months. Graham took a pass in transition and was fouled at the other end, converting both free throws to give Kansas the lead. Preseason favorites like North Carolina, Kentucky, and Duke have stumbled out of the gate a bit, and injuries have hurt teams hurt teams like Gonzaga and Michigan State.

Woodard’s final three-pointer gave the Sooners a 106-104 lead, and they still led 106-105 when Hield was stripped by Mason with 17 seconds left.

Kansas: Ellis played 53 minutes….

Hield finished 13 of 23 from the field, making eight three-pointers.

Here’s a little more: Last night’s game delivered a 16.79 rating in the Kansas City demographic, the highest for a KU game since the Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats squared off on February 11, 2013.

Senior forward Perry Ellis led the Jayhawks to their 12th straight win, contributing 27 points and 13 rebounds.

Buddy Hield scored 46 points in the losing effort for the Sooners. Ryan Spangler added 14 points and 18 rebounds. If they make it another two weeks without suffering another loss, though, we’ll have to resume seriously questioning why these guys aren’t getting any love.

Kansas (12-1) has not lost since blowing a lead against the Spartans in the Champions Classic in Chicago in mid-November.

The Sooners would stretch their lead to 54-44 early in the second half. “We knew he was going to be a good player, but he was great”.

It’s official. Kansas University is the new No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the latest AP poll – just in time for Monday night’s clash with new No. 2 Oklahoma, at Allen Fieldhouse (8 p.m. tip, ESPN).

Of course, those were the days of the old Big Eight, before the Big 12 expanded to 12 – and then became 10.

Now down one with just 12 seconds on the clock, Oklahoma took a timeout… and had the ball stolen on the subsequent inbounds.

Lattin missed the front end of a one-and-one and the game went overtime tied at 77. “I can’t explain it. I was just happy I made the free throws and happy I was in a great position to get a deflection and shoot free throws at the end”.

Kansas is at Texas Tech on Saturday. Cunningham, a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer, did it twice in 1964 – with 40 points and 28 rebounds against Maryland on January 13, and 48 points and 25 rebounds against Tulane on December 10. This is my last time playing in this building.

The teams traded baskets in the extra session, and Ellis hit a three-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 86-86 with 1:15 left.