Drew Gooden nearly outscored the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first half. When he hit his 15th point, that is all the home team had on the board. OSU outscored Gooden for the rest of the game 46-2, but Kansas still won by 18 points.
Kansas rebounded strongly from its road loss at UCLA and controlled nearly every aspect of this contest.
Aaron Miles scored the game's first point on a free throw, and OSU responded by taking the lead with a basket. It would be another four minutes before the Cowboys would score again, and then another four after that before their next bucket.
What helped OSU stay even remotely in the game in the first half was its free-throw shooting, going 12 for 12. The Cowboys' success at the line vanished in the second half, where they hit fewer than 50% of their attempts.
Kansas ran the floor on nearly every possession, while the Cowboys were more methodical and took their time to establish set plays. That strategy did not pay off, as they committed nine quick turnovers and missed all but three of their first sixteen shots.
Oklahoma State came out quickly in the second half, but both teams just as quickly slowed to a near crawl. In fact, OSU scored one point fewer in the second half than it did in the first, and KU's 26 second-half points were actually less than half its first-period 53.
Gooden led Kansas with 17 points. Hinrich and Nick Collison also hit double figures with 15 and 14 respectively. Jeff Boschee ended with seven points, but broke KU's record for three-pointers made.
Kansas moves to 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 Conference play. Next up for the Jayhawks are the Oklahoma Sooners, this Saturday in Phog Allen Fieldhouse.
See tonight's 6News on Sunflower Cable channel 6, tomorrow's Lawrence Journal-World, and KUSports.com, for full coverage of tonight's game.
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