Three immediate takeaways from Oklahoma’s 62-57 upset loss to Kansas State on Tuesday night in Manhattan.
The No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners were back on the road Tuesday night in another place they hadn’t won in a while when they went to Manhattan to take on Kansas State.
Similar to the Iowa State game in Ames on Saturday, the Sooners were given all they wanted from an opponent who had not had a great season – but this time they didn’t come out on the right side of the scoreboard.
It looked for all the world that Oklahoma was going to absorb the Wildcats best shot and escape the Little Apple after they took a six-point lead with just under four minutes to go. But alas, Mike McGuirl got hot and Kansas State finished the game on a 15-4 run to pull off the road stunner.
The loss drops the Sooners to 14-6 on the season and gives them what has to be considered easily their worst loss of the season. Here are three immediate takeaways from the game:
This is a bad loss, obviously
This is a pretty bad loss for Oklahoma both in terms of the opponent and also the way it unfolded. This game was not as much of an easy win as it was likely viewed by many given Kansas State’s record, as they are still a tough team playing with confidence off of a win and were on their home floor.
But, the Sooners did beat them by 26 points the first time and held a 6-point lead late in this one. This is a game they should have had.
Oklahoma has done a terrific job of taking advantage of the bottom of the conference this season, but they didn’t take care of their business this time.
Teams lose to teams they are better than all the time in all sports, but especially in college basketball. It happens. This team has done a fantastic job avoiding this kind of thing all season long.
There isn’t any evidence to think this isn’t simply an aberration, but how they respond on Saturday for Bedlam will be highly interesting.
Well, a whole lot has changed in the last 41 days since that night in Cincinnati.
On Tuesday night, Oklahoma blew out Kansas State at the Lloyd Noble Center marking the second straight win by more than 25 points while also holding their opponent to 50 points or less. The defensive improvement has been truly astonishing to watch play out.
“For the most part I think it’s just guys getting a better feel and a better understanding of what needs to be done,” head coach Lon Kruger said on the defensive upswing. “I think we’ve gotten into bodies a little bit better. They (opponents) have felt us a little bit more from a defensive standpoint.”
A big part of the lockdown defensive effort has been the insertion of Elijah Harkless into the lineup after Brady Manek was forced to miss some time due to COVID-19 protocols. Manek was back for this game but played limited minutes and came off of the bench with Harkless starting again.
The transfer was fantastic, stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, 13 rebounds and six assists. His impact has come along very quickly.
“It’s been cool to kind of help fill Brady’s (Manek) shoes,” Harkless said. “Those are big shoes to fill. To keep this kind of train going and get us better every single game. But we’re happy to have him back, and I can’t wait for him to get back into game speed.”
Harkless’ impact on the game in a variety of different ways is catching lots of attention. He has quickly become a key piece of this team in a short time period after missing the beginning of the season while he was still waiting to even be granted his eligibility for the year after transferring to Norman.
“He can play in this league (Big 12) with us,” Kur Kuath said. “He hustles, he works hard everyday, he’s just like that. He comes to fight day in and day out.”
Leading the offensive charge tonight was De’Vion Harmon who was sharp once again, scoring 16 points on 6 for 11 shooting. He appeared to suffer a right leg injury late in the game that forced him to leave the floor with help, but Kruger said after the game that it was just a cramp and that he would be fine.
Now the Sooners turn the page and head into a rematch with Kansas on Saturday this time in Norman. Obviously, they will be coming in with plenty of confidence after two dominant wins the last two times out since their close defeat at the hands of the Jayhawks in Lawrence on Jan. 9th.
“Confidence is improving with each ballgame,” Kruger said. “Our play is improving with each ballgame. I think our guys understand that that has to continue. In the Big 12, if you’re not getting better then someone else is going to pass you. The guys understand how good Kansas is, it was a good battle in Lawrence but that’s one behind us and now we got to play better to have a chance to win on Saturday.”
Oklahoma will host Kansas Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s XX-XX win over Kansas State in Norman on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma picked up their second straight blowout home win on Tuesday night as they handled Kansas State 76-50 at the Lloyd Noble Center.
The defensive effort was once again superb as the Wildcats never had any sense of an offensive rhythm. The play on defense is what allowed the Sooners to build an 8-point halftime lead despite getting off to a sluggish start and then eventually run away in the second half.
De’Vion Harmon had himself a nice evening putting up 16 points in the win, but did have to leave the game in the final minutes after an apparent right leg injury.
The victory moves Oklahoma to 8-4 on the year and 4-3 in conference play. Here are three takeaways from the easy Sooners win:
Everything you need to know for Oklahoma’s game against Kansas State Tuesday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.
After an unexpected weekend off due to their game with Oklahoma State getting postponed, Oklahoma (7-4, 3-3) is set to return to action when they host Kansas State (5-9, 1-5) at the Lloyd Noble Center on Tuesday night.
Kansas State enters the game on a tough stretch having dropped four consecutive games. The last three of those losses, against Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech, all came by double-digits.
In the Big 12, winning your homes is extremely necessary to having a chance to be in the upper half of the conference. It is even more pertinent in the games against the lesser teams of the league. Simply put, the Sooners have got to get this one.
For this conference tilt, here is everything you need to know:
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. CT’
WHERE: Norman, Oklahoma
HOW TO WATCH: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Chad McKee & Bryndon Manzer)
HOW TO LISTEN: Sooner Sports Radio Network – KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune in Radio App (Toby Rowland & Kevin Henry)
The Wisconsin Badgers have a well-defined identity. It has existed for the past quarter of a century under three different coaches: Dick Bennett, Bo Ryan, and now Greg Gard.
That identity is rooted in unselfish team basketball, rugged and resilient and resourceful at both ends of the floor. Everyone sacrifices for the team. Everyone does what it takes to win without needing personal glory. Five as one. The Way.
This identity has been embodied by the many high-quality Wisconsin teams we have seen over the years, but one of its best examples — among many good ones — was the 2011 win over Kansas State which sent the Badgers to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008.
At the heart of Wisconsin’s “all for one” team identity is the fact that the Badgers didn’t have the best player in this game against the Wildcats — not by a long shot — but they had the winning team.
Jacob Pullen almost carried Kansas State to the Final Four in 2010. Butler stopped him and KSU in the Elite Eight in Salt Lake City. Pullen had one more chance to make the Final Four in 2011, and he did his very best against the Badgers, scoring 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor — forced to defend Pullen — did not do well at the offensive end of the floor. The difficult nature of Taylor’s defensive assignment made it harder for him to function well on offense. Taylor was 2 of 16 from the field.
Purely going by statistics, shooting lines, and scoring totals, the point guard matchup in this game was a complete mismatch in favor of Kansas State.
Wisconsin won anyway.
The Badgers committed just five turnovers. They made 19 of 23 foul shots. They outscored Kansas State by 10 points — 15-5 — on the bench. They hit 9 of 20 3-pointers, even with Taylor having a rough game in Tucson at the McKale Center.
They did whatever it took.
Bo Ryan praised Taylor for holding the Badgers together, even though his own offense just wasn’t flowing:
“He was having a rough shooting night, but he was a taskmaster of his own skills and his own abilities,” Bo Ryan said. “He’s not going to throw the rest of it away simply because things have gotten away from him. He’s that dedicated to being the leader on this team on the floor.”
The non-Pullen Kansas State players scored a total of only 27 points in this game, going 9 of 26 from the field. Conversely, the non-Taylor Wisconsin players hit 19 of 34 shots and scored 58 points.
The team beat the individual. It was a classic Wisconsin win, and it delivered another Sweet 16 to the Badgers.
The Wisconsin Badgers were not the sexiest team in the 2008 NCAA Tournament subregional in Omaha. The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks — the team which eventually won the 2008 national championship — were there in Nebraska. So were the USC Trojans and Kansas State Wildcats, who boasted two of the flashier and more impressive young players in the United States. Kansas State beat USC in round one, with Michael Beasley outdueling O.J. Mayo. When Kansas State advanced to play Wisconsin in round two, the national buzz flowed not to the third-seeded Badgers, who had won 24 of their last 26 games, but to the 11th-seeded Wildcats, because of Beasley’s electric game.
Wisconsin turned out the lights on the electricity, however, delivering a letter-perfect performance in a 72-55 win over Kansas State. Wisconsin, after two years removed from the party, returned to the Sweet 16, marking Bo Ryan’s third Sweet 16 in a span of six seasons (2003 through 2008).
How complete was Wisconsin’s performance? Start with the job it did on Beasley after halftime. Beasley scored just six points after the break. Wisconsin adjusted after Beasley torched the Badgers with 17 first-half points. Wisconsin wasn’t great on Beasley in all 40 minutes, but it was excellent for 20 of those minutes. UW did, however, demonstrate total control of all 40 minutes in another aspect of play: 3-point defense. Kansa State went 0 for 13 on threes, the first time in 349 games the Wildcats had failed to make a three. Wisconsin’s win was built primarily on the strength of its active perimeter movement, which suffocated Kansas State at every turn.
On offense, Greg Stiemsma had a career-high 14 points… and yet he was far from the main story for the Badgers. Michael Flowers had a quietly productive 15 points, and Trevon Hughes had a star turn with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
“Today, this felt good, the ball in my hand,” Hughes said. “Any given day I feel like anybody on this team could go out there and score 20 points.”
Hughes’ heroics plus dynamic 3-point defense and a strong second-half response to Michael Beasley all did the job for Wisconsin, solidifying the Badgers’ status as a Sweet 16 program in the upper tier of national college basketball.
Everyone agrees Silvio De Sousa should be suspended, but for how long?
Depending on who you ask, Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa should be suspended for a few games or for the rest of the college basketball season for one very specific moment in an all-out brawl at the end of the Kansas-Kansas State game Tuesday night.
With only a few seconds left in Kansas’ 81-60 win in Lawrence, Kansas State guard DaJuan Gordon stole the ball from De Sousa, who was dribbling out the clock. Gordon went in for a meaningless layup, De Sousa blocked the shot and Gordon landed on the court, where De Sousa taunted him.
Seconds later, dozens of people surrounded them for a scuffle that spilled into the stands.
But at one point amid all the chaos, De Sousa picked up a stool and had it over his head as if he was ready to swing it at someone. Before he could, what appeared to be an assistant coach standing behind him pulled the stool out of his hands.
Kansas coach Bill Self said he saw that moment in person and called it a “terrible image” and guaranteed consequences. But what should those be?
ESPN analysts Jay Williams and Richard Jefferson were among those who weighed in.
“This is not acceptable,” Williams said Wednesday on ESPN’s Get Up. “This is wrong. There shouldn’t be fights. But I also want to put this in perspective: This is a rivalry game. This is a rivalry game. And look, the kid made a play at the end. He stole the ball and got his shot blocked. This is a bigger issue with Silvio De Sousa. I think he will be suspended — and should be suspended.”
Tuesday night after the brawl, ESPN’s Dick Vitale called for a much harsher punishment for De Sousa for picking up the stool and raising it over his head, ready to hit someone with it.
Calling the brawl “absolutely sickening and unbelievable,” Vitale said:
“In 40 years I’m on TV, I haven’t seen anything like that, unless you go to the NBA and look at the Pistons brawl that took place in the Palace. I think there’s no doubt in my mind that De Sousa never, ever should put a uniform on again in college basketball. None. As Seth [Greenberg] said — and I couldn’t agree more — he’s holding a chair! I mean, that’s criminal. He’s going to hurt somebody.
“I don’t want to hear any excuse that they stole the ball with time running out, should have never done such. Give me a break. That was ugly! Where were the coaches, the assistants keeping their team on the bench? That’s the first rule: One assistant should take charge and make sure that no one gets there. It is sickening. There’s no place in the game. That was almost criminal what De Sousa has done. I’ll be shocked if he ever wears a [Kansas] uniform again.”
However, when discussing Vitale’s comments Wednesday on Get Up, Williams and Jefferson agreed that suspending De Sousa — who also did not play during the 2018-19 season because of a possible NCAA violation — for the remainder of the season is too severe of a punishment.
Williams called Vitale’s suggestion “a little bit extreme,” while Jefferson said, “That’s a little much,” and emphasized De Sousa should be reprimanded for his intent by picking up the stool in the first place.
Jefferson suggested up to 20 games with 13 regular-season matchups remaining on the Jayhawks’ schedule. He said:
“Even though he didn’t get a chance to use the chair, it wasn’t because he individually decided to put it down. It’s because someone took the chair out of his hand. He actually turned over his shoulder [as if to say,] ‘Who took my weapon?’ Right? He should be suspended for 15 to 20 games.”
Williams said “maybe 10 games” is a better suspension length:
“You know what’s really funny? We’re not allowed to be very harsh and critical on kids because they’re in college, and then also we are. The thing about being a kid is you’re going to make mistakes in the heat of the moment. There’s a learning opportunity there for Silvio De Sousa, and I don’t want to take away the whole season. Maybe, 10 games.”
No word yet on whether Kansas and Kansas State, the Big 12 or the NCAA — or a combination of all of the above — will deal out the suspensions or other penalties to De Sousa and others involved in Tuesday night’s brawl.
The end of the Kansas-Kansas State game quickly turned UGLY.
The aftermath of the Kansas-Kansas State game Tuesday night in Lawrence quickly turned ugly and embarrassing for both programs. Just as time ran out on the Jayhawks’ 81-60 victory, a brawl broke out with both benches jumping in and escalating the situation, moving from the court and into the stands underneath one of the baskets.
With Kansas clearly winning this one, sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa was dribbling out the clock around midcourt when Kansas State freshman guard DaJuan Gordon stole the ball with about four seconds left. He tried to go for a literal last-second layup, but De Sousa caught up to him, blocked the shot and sent Gordon to the ground.
De Sousa then stood over Gordon, who was still on the ground, for a few seconds, and suddenly, they were surrounded by their teams for an all-out brawl.
Dozens of people were in the mix with some assistant coaches failing to break things up, and at one point, De Sousa had a stool over his head like this was WWE before ultimately putting it down.
Kansas coach Bill Self had hoped to talk about freshman guard Christian Braun, who scored 20 points off the bench in the rivalry win. But that changed with the scrum at the end.
When asked about how he reacts to brawls or fights in college basketball and what the general public should think of it, Self didn’t hold back, saying after the game:
“Obviously, it’s an embarrassment. It’s not something that you’d be proud of. What happened is absolutely zero signs of toughness. It’s a sign of immaturity and selfishness more so than it is toughness. So if I was a fan watching, obviously, depending on what your perspective is, there would be nothing about that that would intrigue me to want to watch more.
“At least from what happened tonight, I don’t see anything positive. We’ve seen things like this happen [at] other places, and certainly it gets some attention. And you it’s the exception and not the rule, but still, it’s inexcusable. These things can’t happen. This doesn’t have anything to do with competition. Those were selfish motives on why it took place at the end.”
Self explained to reporters that he had seen some video replays of the fight before his press conference, adding he needed to see more before to get a full picture of what went down. However, he said he was there when De Sousa had a stool over his head:
“Regardless of what happened, it’s a terrible image and there certainly will be consequences for that.”
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Self also didn’t like how the brawl spilled into the stands. He said he hadn’t heard of any fans being injured in the incident — though he acknowledged he’s the wrong person to ask.
“It happened in handicapped seating. So at least if you’re going to do something, at least take it on the court or whatever. It’s ridiculous that they would go into the stands.”
De Sousa blocking Gordon’s shot was “fair game,” Self said, but he added that “regardless of how it got started, that’s no way for mature men to act.”
He also said once he figures out who did what, his players will be reprimanded:
“That was an embarrassment on our part for the role that we played in it, and there will be consequences that I’m sure I’ll announce [Wednesday] for that role as soon as I’m able to study it and come to grips with all of it.”
After things calmed down, officials determined there was actually still one second left on the clock, Self said, and gave De Sousa a taunting technical and ejected everyone on both teams’ benches.
Kansas State and Kansas are heated rivals but they took things to a whole new ugly level Tuesday night, which is going to likely lead to some massive punishments coming up.
The two teams got into a huge brawl right as the game – which Kansas won 81-59 – ended, with both benches rushing out to get involved.
The brawl spilled into the crowd behind the basket and saw coaches and assistant coaches jumping in to try to break things up.
But this thing got UGLY.
First, here’s the broadcast shot from overhead that shows you how this whole thing went down. It started with some taunting after a blocked shot at the buzzer after Kansas State tried to sneak in a layup:
Ugly fight erupts at the end of the Kansas State-Kansas game.
Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) started Big 12 play on the right foot by beating Kansas State (7-6, 1-0) 66-61. Here are three reasons why OU won.
Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) started Big 12 play on the right foot by beating Kansas State (7-6, 1-0) 66-61.
The Sooners played their second half of basketball of the season, playing complimentary ball and showing great effort on both ends of the court.
Here are three reasons why Oklahoma beat Kansas State.
WILDCAT FOUL TROUBLE
Oklahoma capitalized on Kansas State’s over-aggressiveness, drawing fouls early and often to start both halves. The Sooners were in the bonus with 12:56 left in the second half. Oklahoma attacked on and off the ball, making the Wildcats pick up fouls left and right. The Sooners capitalized at the line, shooting 23-29 to Kansas State’s 5-9.
WINNING UGLY
Both teams struggled to make shots but it could be chalked up more to good defense rather than bad offense. Oklahoma showed they could win ugly against UCF, pulling out a 53-52 win. But conference play is different and the Sooners rang the bell. Defensively De’Vion Harmon and Jamal Bieniemy both locked down their assignments and were nuisances all afternoon.
IN THE ZONE
Lon Kruger switched to a 2-3 or 3-2 zone inside the last five minutes of the game to throw the Wildcats off their pace. Bruce Weber’s squad was given fits with the defensive switch up, going scoreless over the last 3:45.
