LAWRENCE, Kan. — Looking as if it was still stinging from Monday’s loss at No. 20-ranked Texas, No. 8 Kansas played from behind for much of the game before rallying to defeat unranked Oklahoma, 71-69, on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks (20-4, 9-2 Big 12), who trailed by eight points with 2:41 remaining in the first half and three points at halftime — not to mention five points with nine minutes to play — grasped a one-point lead on a straight-on 3-point basket by Zach Clemence — yes, Zach Clemence — with 6:55 left and didn’t surrender it.
Jalen Wilson scored 22 points with nine rebounds and Christian Braun added 18 points and eight boards as KU extended its remarkable homecourt winning streak over OU (14-11, 4-8 Big 12) to 21 games.
Ochai Agbaji, who scored just 11 points in Monday’s loss, had five points at halftime and finished with 11 points for KU, which won its 20th game for the 33rd consecutive season. That’s a 20-victory streak that started in 1989-90 and is the longest active stretch of 20-victory campaigns in NCAA Division I.
One of the heroes of this game turned out to be freshman Clemence, who after missing a month because of injury, made the straight-on 3 that gave KU a 58-57 lead. KU did not relinquish the lead, which grew to as many as eight points but dipped to one point with 17.7 seconds left.
Jordan Goldwire scored 20 points and Tanner Groves scored 19 for the Sooners, who entered as 10.5-point underdogs. OU entered having defeated No. 9 Texas Tech by 15 points on Wednesday in Norman, Okla.
OU last won in the fieldhouse, 80-77, on Feb. 17, 1993.
Goldwire and Groves scored eight points and Elijah Harkless had seven as OU led at halftime, 34-31. Wilson had eight points and David McCormack seven for KU while Agbaji had just five points in the half on 2-of-7 shooting.
KU took its first lead (46-45) since the opening minutes of the game on a bucket by McCormack with 14:22 left.
OU’s Groves hit a pair of 3s and the Sooners led 57-52 at 9:14. Wilson hit a 3 to cut the gap to 57-55 and then Clemence gave KU the lead with his 3-pointer. Braun scored at 5:55 and KU led 60-57.
After a turnover, Agbaji was fouled at 4:58. He hit one of two free throws and KU led 61-57 at 4:58. Braun scored to make it 63-57 at 3:50. KU led by eight, 67-59, at 1:34, but couldn’t put it away easily. Goldwire hit a pair of 3s and it was 70-67 KU with 22.7 seconds left.
Harkless scored after a KU turnover and it was 70-69 with 15.8 seconds left. Wilson missed the first free throw and hit the second. Down two, Goldwire missed a 12-footer just before the buzzer.
The Jayhawks completed a regular-season sweep of OU. The Jayhawks won, 67-64, on Jan. 18 in Norman.
