Kansas basketball: Jayhawks pick up fourth top 10 victory after defeating Oklahoma

After one of the program's worst regular season losses in recent history, the Kansas basketball team bounced back in typical Bill Self fashion with a 78-66 victory over the No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners.

The game seemed to be spiraling in the same direction that it did against UCF, as Kansas squandered a 9-point first-half lead and trailed early in the second. However, unlike last time out, they were able to ride the passion in the Allen Fieldhouse crowd and picked up a double-digit victory over Porter Moser's group.

Hunter Dickinson was phenomenal in the win, dominating the frontcourt following his least impressive performance as a Jayhawk. He scored a game-high 24 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and tying his career-high in blocked shots with five.

Kevin McCullar scored 21 and continued to feast at the charity stripe with a 10-for-11 showing, knocking down his 66th made free throw since the month of December began. KJ Adams struggled from the field in the second half but still contributed a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Jayhawks.

Unlike in previous contests, we saw the 'Hawks take care of the ball to a T. They set the program record for the least turnovers in a single game, giving it away just twice. Turnovers had been an underlying issue for KU, and it was obviously something Coach Self emphasized in the practices leading up to this bout.

Johnny Furphy received the first start of his collegiate career after Elmarko Jackson had started the first 15 games of the year. The Australian freshman scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds, though playing time was distributed evenly between the two (19 to 18 minutes).

Kansas finished 29-for-66 from the floor (43.9%) and 3-for-15 from beyond the arc (20.0%). Despite the shooting woes, the Jayhawks tremendous ball security and some big-time defensive possessions carried the squad to the finish line.

With the win, Kansas basketball now bears four triumphs over schools rated in the top 10 of the current AP Top 25, the others being Kentucky (No. 6), Tennessee (No. 5), and UConn (No. 4). While the Sooners will surely drop out following an 0-2 end to the week — and the aforementioned SEC schools both fell on the road — the Jayhawks have regained their momentum heading into a road clash with Oklahoma State on Tuesday.