Trae Young picked Oklahoma over Kansas. Now he can help end its Big 12 streak

Before Trae Young became the biggest thing in college basketball, he was a high school standout in Norman, Okla. with a burgeoning reputation as a McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit. Young had offers from Duke and Kentucky, but neither was named a finalist when he was ready to make his college decision.

In the end, Young was picking between Oklahoma and Kansas.

Kansas coach Bill Self made Young his No. 1 target in the class of 2017. The Jayhawks would be losing one dynamic scoring guard to graduation in Frank Mason III. In Young, Self saw the perfect replacement: another undersized guard with deep shooting range who would pair well with Devonte’ Graham in the two point guard system Kansas now loves to run.

Young visited Kansas when Wayne Selden outdueled Tyler Ulis for a Jayhawks overtime victory over Kentucky. He was a guest of the Jayhawks when they beat Oklahoma in triple OT, an instant classic that featured a 46-point performance from Buddy Hield.

Young chose the Sooners anyway. You know the rest. On Tuesday night, he faces Kansas for the first time this season and tries to put a dent in Self’s chances at a record 14th straight Big 12 title.

Young is coming off a down week. He still averaged 34 points per game during that span.

Young had the worst game of his college career one week ago against Kansas State, finishing with 20 points on 21 shots and setting a Big 12 record with 12 turnovers. Saturday against Oklahoma State was a roller coaster: Young struggled in the first half but was brilliant in the second, yet the Sooners eventually lost a game they should have won in OT. Young finished with 48 points and eight assists, but he drew some criticism for taking 39 shots and 20 threes (making eight of them) to get there.

The criticism was mostly misplaced. Young still played a brilliant and reasonably efficient game. But you can feel people starting to wonder if his magic is wearing off. There’s no better place to make another statement than against Kansas.

The Jayhawks’ Big 12 title streak looked like it might have been in real jeopardy at the start of conference play. This is the deepest league in America, with multiple teams crashing the top 10 of the polls on any given week.

So much for that:

There’s still plenty of time left for someone to catch Kansas. Maybe that team will be Oklahoma, even after consecutive losses. If it’s going to be happen, a signature performance from Young on Tuesday night feels like a requirement.

Kansas will stick Graham and Lagerald Vick on Young. Young will shoot anyway, taking shots that only he can get away with. Maybe we can’t expect another Hield-in-Lawrence performance, but the stakes will be high and the spotlight will be huge under the bright lights of ESPN.

Young has passed just about every test so far. No. 5 Kansas might be his biggest one yet.