Kansas basketball: Jayhawks withstand home battle from shorthanded Sooners, featuring clutch minutes from Jalen Wilson, David McCormack

Kansas basketball avoided its second straight home loss by getting the job done down the stretch against Oklahoma, 64-59. Despite a slow start, the Jayhawks were able to put together enough plays in crunch time to pass by the Sooners. 

At home this weekend, Kansas basketball welcomed a ‘middle of the pack’ Oklahoma program to Allen Fieldhouse. Lon Kruger’s Sooners came out of the locker room firing and playing with a ton of energy, jumping out to a 9-2 lead against the Jayhawks.

Kansas got off to a sluggish start but were able to find some life and finally take a one-point lead with 12:16 left in the first half off a Mitch Lightfoot layup.

Oklahoma, however, stuck around to take a 2 point edge into halftime, leading 33-31. They played the first half of a game in which they were without Brady Manek and Jalen Hill about as well as they could have hoped.

This was another game in which the Jayhawks struggled to reach their ceiling from beyond the arc (aside from this deep three from Christian Braun with his foot on the Jayhawk’s beak).

Even though Kansas finished with just 6 threes on the night, a quiet Jalen Wilson – who ended the game with 9 points, 11 rebounds, and an uncharacteristic 7 turnovers – hit the most important outside shot to put the Jayhawks up by four with just 1:31 left.

To seal the deal, David McCormack made a tough hook shot with 12 seconds to push it back to a two-possession game. He put together his second solid game in a row, finishing with 17 points and a couple of blocks.

Bill Self did, however, note the lack of rebounds his big fellas got as McCormack and Lightfoot combined for just one rebound. Luckily, the guards were able to grab enough to get by and push Kansas over the edge.

In a grueling Big 12 season, this a perfect example of a game the Jayhawks had to find a way to win even without playing their best, or even particularly well.

They’ll have a short turnaround as they head to Stillwater, which has historically proved to be a tough visit for the Jayhawks. This time should be no different, as they’ll have their hands full with freshman phenom Cade Cunnigham and the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Tuesday.