It seems like there’s a ranked team playing a ranked team in the Big 12 almost every day this season. The conference is loaded top to bottom, with all challengers trying to end Kansas’ amazing 10-year stranglehold at the top. The Jayhawks have seemed vulnerable at times this season, giving the impression that this may finally be the year the streak ends.
Kansas comes alive in big road win over Texas
The Jayhawks are watching the throne in the Big 12, and they showed on Saturday they’re not about to let their incredible streak die without a proper fight.
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Maybe all that hope was premature. No. 11 Kansas went into Texas on Saturday afternoon and came away with a 75-62 win in what might have been the Jayhawks’ most complete performance of the season. Kansas didn’t turn the ball over once in the second half and had their way with a stacked front line for the No. 17 Longhorns for most of the evening.
The story of the season for Kansas has been the slow integration of top recruits Kelly Oubre and Cliff Alexander into the lineup by coach Bill Self. It was only a week ago when Self pulled Alexander after failing to make a defensive rotation against Iowa State, and played the big man just two minutes in the second half of a close loss. Maybe Self’s tough love is paying off because against Texas, Alexander might have had his most impressive game of the season.
The 6'9, 240-pound Chicago native came off the bench to finish with 15 points and nine rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting. Junior forward Perry Ellis was great as well, finishing with 14 points and five boards. When the Jayhawks find the shooting to complement their strong interior play, Self's team will be one of the best in the country. That's what happened on Saturday.
Brannen Greene came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Wayne Selden also went 2-of-3 from downtown. That inside-out game was too much for a Texas team that just couldn't find its stroke from the outside all night.
Hopes were high for Texas this season, but they're starting to look like so many of the other teams Rick Barnes has had: they desperately lack shooting. The Longhorns finished 3-of-18 from deep on the day. Sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor was terrific, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting in the loss. Jonathan Holmes had 14 points, and star freshman Myles Turner finished with eight points and eight rebounds on 4-of-11 shooting in an up-and-down game.
Kansas and Iowa State are the only two teams in the conference with just one loss, but Kansas State and West Virginia are right behind them. This is going to be a great conference season in the Big 12, and it’s just starting to heat up.
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