The Kansas Jayhawks have a storied rivalry with the Kansas State Wildcats. Through Bill Self’s tenure, KU has largely been dominant over the Wildcats, but with the last eight games being split 5-3 in favor of the Jayhawks, this is by far the closest the margins have looked.
With that being said, Through the Phog combed through some of Kansas’ most fun matchups against the Wildcats recently and one game in particular kept coming up.
When the Jayhawks did the impossible in 2022
Let’s set the scene KU was 12-2 heading into this age-old rivalry, with the Wildcats sitting at 11-7 under head coach Bruce Weber, in what would turn into his final year with the program.
At this point in time, the Jayhawks were still attempting to push on for a national title, which couldn’t come during the 2019-20 season thanks to COVID-19, while Kansas State was prepping itself for a coaching change at the end of the season.
Things could not have been going in more different directions.
Yet the best thing about these rivalry matchups is that they often throw form to the wayside and can often be muddled into long, drawn-out games, exactly Kansas State’s goal of the day, or so many thought.
Instead, the Wildcats came out with an intense confidence inside Bramlage Coliseum that tore Kansas to pieces over the first half. By the end of the first period, Kansas State had already notched a phenomenal 59.32% field goal rate, which saw seven three-pointers go down.
Heading into the second half, the Jayhawks were down 50-34, teetering on a knockout, if it hadn’t been dealt already.
However, Bill Self did what he always does, and slowly chipped away.
Kansas improved their first-half field goal rate by 8% between the two halves, and their defense locked the Wildcats down, dropping their first-half field goal rate by nigh-on 30%, slowly sapping away the energy of the crowd minute after minute. It wasn’t until the final 2:59 of the game with the Jayhawks still down by six, that they unleashed the killer blow, going on a 9-0 run to end the game.
Ultimately, it was Ochai Agbaji’s game-winning floater with nine seconds to play that sealed the deal and sent the two teams in different directions.
Following Kansas’ 78-75 win, Kansas went on to claim its second national title under Self in its own thrilling 72-69 final, finishing with a 34-6 overall record, including an end-of-season winning streak that lasted 11 games.
For the Wildcats, they finished the season on a 4-9 slump, leading to Jerome Tang’s hire ahead of the 2022-23 season.
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