LDN - Sports

Mason, No. 1 Kansas thwart Oklahoma's upset bid

[February 28, 2017] LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Climbing to No. 1 in the polls Monday appeared to be a drag on Kansas.

Either that, or the Jayhawks were simply dragging from having starters play significant minutes all season. After already clinching the Big 12 championship outright, they also seemed to take Oklahoma lightly.

Nonetheless, Kansas overcame a 12-point deficit at the midway mark of the second half and topped the Sooners 73-63 on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

Jayhawks senior guard Frank Mason posted game highs of 23 points and six assists in his final home appearance.

During lengthy Senior Day speeches delivered afterward, Kansas coach Bill Self called Mason "the best guard I've ever coached" and actually plugged him for national player of the year.

Mason, as usual, was humble when asked about the praise.

"It's all great, but with me, it's all about the team," Mason said. He added that his four-year run with the Jayhawks "means everything to me. Kansas has changed my life."

Junior guard Devonte' Graham added three key 3-pointers during the Jayhawks' impressive comeback and finished with 16 points for Kansas (27-3, 15-2 Big 12).

"That's about as poor as we've played, just throwing the ball away," Self said of the game's first 30 minutes. "It seems like we missed every free throw too. ... That was a great halftime speech. We went from being tied to being 12 points down."

Oklahoma's Lon Kruger has coached enough games in Allen Fieldhouse to know a run was coming. Still, his young Sooners, mired in last place in the Big 12, could not handle the momentum change.

With 7:07 remaining and Oklahoma still leading 58-54, the Sooners could not inbound the ball coming out of a media timeout. That forced them to take another timeout, and they still committed a turnover on a five-second call.

Then with 6:33 remaining, the Sooners again had to burn a timeout after the Jayhawks successfully trapped a player near midcourt. The timeout was the Sooners' last, and they ended the possession with a shot-clock violation.

"The key when you come in here is not letting them score off your offense, and get turnovers that start transition," Kruger said. "We lost our composure a little bit at the six-, seven-, eight-minute mark. We've just got to be stronger and fight through everything. We didn't handle the ball tough enough during that time."

Oklahoma scored just five more points, surrendering the lead on a run in which the Jayhawks scored 12 unanswered points as part of a 10-for-10 shooting spree. Kansas finished with a 21-5 flurry.

"It's unfortunate when we have a significant lead and let it go," said Sooners senior forward Khadeem Lattin, who scored 12 points. "That goes to having a pretty young team. We have some growing to do, but we've been growing all year."

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Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts to play during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Sooners (10-19, 4-13) were solid enough defensively through the first 30 minutes. They eventually forced 19 turnovers while getting a team-high 14 points from freshman guard Kameron McGusty and 12 from freshman forward Kristian Doolittle.

The blitz the Jayhawks used to take control offset careless ballhandling, which included eight turnovers by freshman guard Josh Jackson, who managed his 11th double-double with 11 points and a season-best 12 rebounds.

"I told our guys we're running out of time," Self said of the rally, one of several the Jayhawks have waged in Big 12 play, particularly at home. "These guys are confident, but I think they think whatever the situation they can flip the switch, which is a bad trait. In a game that really matters, you may not be able to."

Kansas was sloppy throughout the first half, which ended in a 28-28 tie. The Jayhawks committed 11 turnovers and did not command the lead until going up 21-20 with 7:12 remaining until the break.

Each team made just eight first-half field goals. Kansas shot 34.8 percent and Oklahoma just 25 percent.

Mason paced the Jayhawks with eight first-half points. Lattin scored eight first-half points to lead the Sooners.

Kansas wound up shooting 50 percent from the floor, while Oklahoma shot 34.9 percent.

NOTES: Kansas jumped to No. 1 in the nation in both the media and coaches polls Monday. In climbing two spots, the Jayhawks moved ahead of Gonzaga and Villanova. Kansas was last ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll on March 16, 2016, before gaining the No. 1 overall seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. ... The seniors Kansas honored in the final home game of their careers -- G Frank Mason, F Landen Lucas and G Tyler Self -- have been on teams that have won 112 games, and counting. ... The victory was the 34th in a row for Kansas in home finales. ... Oklahoma needs to win its final conference game to avoid finishing Big 12 play with a tie for the worst record under sixth-year coach Lon Kruger. The Sooners were 5-13 in 2012, Kruger's first season. The Sooners play their final regular-season game Saturday at home against TCU. The last time Oklahoma placed last in conference play was 1969 in the Big Eight.

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