The Oklahoma Sooners haven’t won in Lawrence, Kansas since 1993. In one of the toughest environments for a road team, the Sooners couldn’t hold onto a double-digit lead in the second half and fall to 10-6 and 1-3 in Big 12 play, 79-75 to the Kansas Jayhawks.
The Oklahoma Sooners trailed by just two points at halftime to the No. 2 team in the nation and led by 10 with five minutes to play. But at Allen Fieldhouse, the Sooners struggled down the stretch, scoring just four points in the final five minutes as Kansas went on an 18-4 run to finish the game.
Playing at Kansas is a difficult proposition for the best teams in the country. For Oklahoma, this game will feel like the one that got away as poor shooting and shot selection plagued them down the stretch.
The Sooners got up five points on a C.J. Noland layup to make it 73-68, but misses on three straight three-point attempts from Noland, Tanner Groves, and Grant Sherfield kept the Sooners from extending their lead and allowed Kansas to get buckets in transition to close the gap and take the lead.
K.J. Adams was fantastic down the stretch for the Jayhawks, getting six points in the paint and picked up three rebounds, including two offensive boards that ultimately led to a Jalen Wilson three-pointer.
It was a poor shooting night from three for the Sooners, but still, they hung in the game by getting to the basket and hitting their free throws. And it was at the free throw line that was the difference in the ball game.
Kansas had 39 free throw attempts in the game compared to 23 for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Jayhawks were 31 of 39 from the charity stripe, and the Sooners were 19 of 23. And that was the difference. On a poor shooting night from three, Kansas didn’t continue to shoot from downtown. They forced the issue in the paint and took their trips to the free throw line. Oklahoma, on the other hand, settled for threes when they should have been going to the basket to make plays. The Sooners were just 2 of 17 from three-point range but shot 47.4% from the field overall.
Grant Sherfield led the way for the Sooners with 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Milos Uzan followed up his 18-point performance against Texas Tech with 11 points and five rebounds. Tanner Groves and Sam Godwin also scored in double figures for the Sooners.
Despite the loss, the Oklahoma Sooners have found a spark in the last couple of games that, hopefully, they can carry over to their next contest at home against West Virginia on Saturday. This team has played some good basketball, but they haven’t been able to close out games late in the fourth quarter.
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