Playing as an underdog for the first time in 63 games, Kentucky nearly became just the 10th team to upset a Bill Self-coached Kansas team inside Allen Fieldhouse. Instead, the Wildcats merely became the 37th-straight home victim for the Jayhawks, who pulled out a 90-84 overtime victory Saturday night in the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
Kansas wins 37th straight at home, tops Kentucky in overtime thriller
The fourth-ranked Jayhawks proved once again why they’re nearly unbeatable in Lawrence by clawing out an overtime win over Kentucky Saturday night.
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Thanks to the heroics of point guard Tyler Ulis, it looked for most of the second half like 20th-ranked Kentucky would head back to Lexington with the biggest win of its 2015-16 season. The 5'9 sophomore dished out a game-high eight assists to go along with his team-high 26 points and three steals.
Ulis, however, was no match down the stretch for Wayne Selden, who gave the defining performance of his breakout junior season. The former McDonald’s All-American posted a career-high 33 points on 12 of 20 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. He was also responsible for the game’s biggest highlight, this cram on Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere, which broke a 78-78 tie.
The dunk started a 7-0 Kansas run which put the Jayhawks in control for good. The overtime thriller marked the second time this season that KU has needed extra time to dispatch an opponent at home. Earlier this month it took three OTs for Kansas to take down Buddy Hield and Oklahoma, 109-106.
Wichita State is the only team in the country that has won more consecutive home games than KU. The Shockers’ 42-game home winning streak became the nation’s longest when Arizona saw its run of 49 consecutive wins at the McKale Center snapped Thursday via an 83-75 loss to Oregon.
The victory improved Bill Self to a ridiculous 201-9 in home games as Kansas’ head coach. Those nine losses have come to nine different teams, meaning Self has never lost to the same squad twice at Phog Allen.
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