#12 Oklahoma played host to #5 Kansas in a Tuesday night Big 12 match with potentially serious implications on the conference’s standings. After KU held a lead for much of the second half, an interesting strategy and some key makes allowed for the Sooners and Trae Young to regain the lead with a minute remaining. After an exchange of possessions in which Oklahoma was able to follow through and the Jayhawks were not, OU fans in Norman returned to their frat houses and off-campus apartments with a sense of accomplishment.
A night that ends in disappointment for Jayhawk fans around the world, typically ends with another Big 12 fanbase is rejoicing. In the immediate aftermath of tonight’s upset, we learned a few things about both teams before they head down the stretch of their remaining regular season games.
Secret’s Out: Poke A Doke
Kansas Center Udoka Azubuike struggled mightily from the free stripe and provided the turning point and eventual winning opportunity for Oklahoma. Doke was fouled four times in the waning minutes of the action. He totaled SIX free throw attempts within the final five minutes of play and failed to make a single one. An obvious risk from Bill Self that did not pay off for the coach when all was said and done. Six points left off of the board, five point loss, four calling birds…
If this struggle for Azubuike persists, which it will unless a drastic alteration is made to his free throw form, it’s almost a guarantee that other schools will attempt this in close games down the road. The only solutions to thwart this strategy would be for Bill Self to substitute Mitch Lightfoot off of the bench, replacing Udoka, or potentially Doke switches his form to the underhanded granny shot from the stripe going forward. Until then, the book has been written on how to stop Kansas late in games.
Oklahoma is Not One Dimensional
Heading into tonight, the thought process sweeping the nation was if Kansas could guard Trae Young well enough, a victory would be in their grasps. While there is some truth to this, the Sooners played some of their best basketball around Young tonight. Christian James put up fifteen points alongside Young and Brady Manek powered home fourteen points and brought seven crucial defensive boards back down to earth.
That’s not the discredit the success Trae Young had, especially in the passing game, but a major importance for the Sooner to upset the Jayhawks tonight relied heavily on the supporting cast. Matt Freeman played a whopping two minutes, but inserted enough coins into the machine to play Poke A Doke to help bring the Sooners back on top.
Malik Newman is Going to be KU’s Savior
Since scoring twelve straight for the Jayhawks in a comeback victory against Baylor on Saturday, Malik Newman’s name has been a frequently used phrase around the Lawrence campus. Whether we’re shooting at the rec or shooting into our trash cans, we’ve subbed out “Kobe!” for “Newman!” Devontae Graham has done a fine job of leading this offense, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has done well enough as the spot shooter and Lagerald Vick has shown flashes of excellence earlier in the season, but if Malik Newman’s play is taken to the next level on a consistent basis, he’ll be a true threat to any team.
Whether he’s shooting a contested two, an open three or perfecting a smooth stutter-step drive to the rim, Newman has finally shown a deal of success Kansas has been waiting for all year. Like Lagerald, he’s shown these flashes before and there’s reason to believe this could slip away in the future, but until then, expect KU to ride Malik’s recent successes for a few games while the magic is still alive.
Bill Self Out-coached Himself
Self’s decision-making through crunch time on Tuesday night has left many scratching their heads. Leaving Udoka Azubuike in when his free throw misses were hurting the team’s odds is definitely difficult to look past, especially as a frequent visitor of Allen Fieldhouse.
The point can be made that Self’s decision was one of instilling confidence in Doke, but the counterpoint of the big man losing confidence over his inability to claim the free points has just as much validity. Whichever stance you take, it doesn’t matter because Bill Self is still going dancing this March and his Jayhawks still lead the Big 12 by one game over a pack of hungry wolves setting themselves up to die of starvation.
Is criticism of the coach warranted? Sure. Is the pure overreaction from KU fans on Twitter fun to watch? Absolutely. Will people wake up tomorrow still praising Self? Yep. Move on.
Lon Kruger, Oklahoma Didn’t Crack
The concern with hosting Kansas after losing back-to-back games is the Jayhawks have the potential to blast a depressed team into submission and create an uncertainty around that team’s future successes. Kruger, Young and the rest of the gang staved off the storylines and the ridicule by showing the world that this “Young” Oklahoma team won’t back away from a fight. A win for the Jayhawks bolsters their confidence and leaves the rest of the Big 12 in a tough spot, but an addition to the loss column instead has the Jayhawks’s floaties losing air as they try to stay above the water and the rest of the conference.
BONUS SIXTH TAKEAWAY:
Trae Young? Still very good.