Kansas basketball: Ochai Agbaji is heating up at a good time during Big 12 Tourney
Ochai Agbaji maximized his role with Kansas basketball yesterday, finding a career high 26 points and a successful night from the perimeter.
Kansas basketball secured a win in their quarterfinal round against Oklahoma, with junior Ochai Agbaji making the most of his performance in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri.
The junior found a career high 26-point performance and contributed well for Kansas late in the evening to push the Jayhawks forward in the Big 12 Tournament.
Despite a fast start and a 13 point lead at halftime, the Jayhawks would find themselves in a much tighter situation with the Sooners in the second half.
Oklahoma senior Austin Reaves would put his foot on the gas, pulling the Sooners’ deficit to just three points.
This is where Agbaji shined, knocking down three back-to-back perimeter shots, shredding any last hopes of a comeback from Oklahoma.
Ochai Agbaji with four 3 pointers and 26 points as he’s single-handed it refusing to allow #RockChalk to lose to #BoomerSooner #Big12Tournament @Heartland_CS pic.twitter.com/dIzsIGZajN
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) March 12, 2021
If it took a trip back home to allow Agbaji to start hitting threes, then so be it.
The junior went 4 of 8 on the evening, with 3 being made in the second half when the Sooners were closing in on the Jayhawks near the end.
Without Ochai’s clutch response to Oklahoma’s late offense surge, it could be a different story right now for Kansas.
We should hope that he stays productive heading into today’s matchup with a Texas Longhorns program that turned some heads last night in their victory over Texas Tech.
Kansas will be out-sized against the Longhorns, but fundamentally the Jayhawks can find an edge if their offense stays hot.
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David McCormack, who is currently in Covid-19 protocol, will be absent from the entire conference tournament. This will hurt Kansas’ ability to utilize their inside advantage.
Agbaji will need to continue stepping up and contributing offensively for Kansas throughout McCormack’s absence.
Today’s Big 12 Championship semifinal between Texas and Kansas is set for 8:30 pm on ESPN2.
(Updated Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship bracket can be found here.)