History tends to repeat itself.
Oklahoma (16-9, 6-6) falls way to No. 3 Kansas (22-3, 11-1) 87-70, after giving the Jayhawks a scare for 25 minutes. With the loss, the Sooners are still seeking their first win in Phog Allen Fieldhouse since 1993.
Let’s breakdown what exactly went wrong for Oklahoma.
NOT ATTACKING AZUBUIKE
Lon Kruger decided to not attack the Jayhawk’s big man consistently to open up the boards and create a hole in the Kansas defense. Kristian Doolittle, Kur Kuath, Brady Manek, and others failed to take Azabuike off the dribble to force him to make a play defensively.
The lack of doing so allowed Azubuike to stay in the paint and on the floor due to not being in foul trouble. His one foul cannot be attributed to home-cooking that Kansas is notorious for receiving in Allen Fieldhouse.
PICK YOUR POISON
The Sooners made it a point early that Azubuike was not going to be the one to beat them. his 15 points were not the ones that killed Oklahoma.
Instead, it was junior guard Marcus Garrett who once again set the Sooners’ fate. In the first matchup in Norman, Okla., Garrett was responsible for 15 points, five assists, and five rebounds. Not known as a shooter, the Sooners decided that they would give him room and force him to shoot. Garrett made them pay, dropping 24 points, five rebounds, and seven assists leading the way for the Jayhawks.
MANEK’S EARLY FOUL TROUBLE
Brady Manek picked up two quick fouls inside the first 10 minutes of the first half, the second one being a 50-50 call on a loose ball. Learning his lesson from last Saturday with Austin Reaves, Kruger sat Manek immediately with just over nine minutes to play in the first half.
Kur Kuath came in relief for Manek and did a solid job defensively, but with Manek on the bench, it took away an offensive threat for the Sooners and brought their offense to a screeching halt nearly immediately.
Manek played just 24 minutes and did not pick up another foul the rest of the way. Kruger went the cautious route for the first half which allowed Kansas to take control in the final five minutes to give the Jayhawks a nine-point lead at the half.
Oklahoma will have another tough test on Tuesday when they host No. 1 Baylor at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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