The Kansas Jayhawks competed in another close contest as they went on the road and got a win in dramatic fashion in Norman against the Oklahoma Sooners.
During conference play, a team will take any win it can get – especially on the road. Regardless of how ugly, elite teams find ways to win when the pieces aren’t always fitting.
That’s exactly what Coach Bill Self’s Jayhawks did. After a steady first half, KU took a 2-point lead into the break. They came out of the locker room on fire, building a 12 point lead. The Sooners, however, would not go away.
Thanks to a 20-2 OU run, the Sooners fought their way back to go up by four. After some back and forth, the stage was set for a nail biter with the game tied with 30 seconds left.
KU guard Christian Braun put on his hero cape and hit the biggest shot of the game – a 3-point shot with 11 seconds left to put the Jayhawks up by three.
Christian Braun in the CLUTCH 💧 @KUHoops pic.twitter.com/th5PetFExO
— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2022
The game was not without injury scares for the Jayhawks. The Remy Martin injury storyline was added to when we saw him suit up and come off the bench. He played limited minutes and remained on the bench in crunch time, but it was encouraging to see him back on the court.
During the first half, Ochai Agbaji was going for a loose ball and landed on the scorer’s table, taking an injured wrist into the locker room. The Jayhawk faithful was able to breathe a sigh of relief, however, when he came back out prior to halftime.
He remained scoreless until KU needed it most as he scored all 10 of his points within the six-minute mark of the game.
In a conference that holds four of the AP top 25 teams, any win is a good win. The mentality is truly one game at a time since the parity within this year’s conference is so strong.
Even with many things to clean up on both ends of the floor, the Jayhawks should be heading back to Lawrence feeling optimistic that their guys stepped up when it mattered most.