Kansas basketball: Freshmen step up in victory over Oklahoma State

Kansas basketball and its strong three-point shooting defeat Oklahoma State:

Returning to Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas basketball needed a win to keep pace in the Big 12 race. The Oklahoma State Cowboys came to town and would exit with a 12-point loss as the Jayhawks got late to coast to victory.

Kansas defeated the Cowboys 84-72 to push its record to 18-6 overall (7-4 in conference play), thanks in part to a strong day from freshman guard Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji kept the Jayhawks relevant throughout the first half, scoring 10 as Kansas went into the half in a tie game.

He went on to finish the game with 23 points, one short of his career-high, six rebounds and two assists.

Agbaji’s impact was not simply because of his scoring, but his ability to stretch the floor, going 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Since revoking his redshirt, Agbaji has shot 41.9% from the three-point line, including a strong 47% in his four starts.

Coach Bill Self even stated he regrets initially making Agbaji a redshirt earlier in the season.

Since taking the starting role, Agbaji has averaged 15.6 points per game, has shot 59% from the field and has snagged 27 rebounds in those four games.

Not only did Agbaji show out, but as did freshman point guard Devon Dotson and junior forward Dedric Lawson.

Dotson finished the game with 18 points, four assists and five rebounds and much like Agbaji, kept the Jayhawks relevant in the first half by helping with the bulk of scoring.

Unlike Agbaji, Dotson struggled a bit from behind the arc, only going 1-of-4 but he has not made himself known to a prolific outside scorer as he is a drive-inside and finish at the rim type of player. The positive from his three-point shooting however is the fact Dotson took four shots from behind the arc, keeping the defense of its toes whenever he was on the perimeter.

Dotson also has a strong ability to find himself wide open on the perimeter, knowing his spots. Whenever the ball was thrown down inside to Lawson, the Cowboys’ defense immediately would double team thus leaving Dotson wide open on the perimeter.

Lawson was not only threatening the defense on the inside but forced defenders to cover him on the perimeter too, going 3-of-6 from the three-point line.

In his last six games, Lawson has shot exactly 50% from behind the arc after starting the season struggling from that area.

Lawson finished the game with a game-high 25 points, five assists and seven rebounds, furthering his case for Big 12 player of the year. Lawson leads the conference in both scoring and rebounding at 19.6 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Kansas also started four freshmen in the game, the first doing so since Dec. 7, 2013 against Florida, which saw Wayne Selden, Frank Mason, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid all in the starting lineup.

The Jayhawks will return to action on Feb. 11 when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.