Oklahoma topples Kansas
Kansas City, Mo. ? Oklahoma toppled No. 1 Kansas, 64-55, in Sunday’s championship game of the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.
It was Kansas’ only loss to a Big 12 team this year. The loss didn’t stop Kansas (29-3), from getting a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA Final Four tournament. Kansas will play 16th seed Holy Cross (18-14) on Thursday in St. Louis.
However, the win could help No. 4 Oklahoma’s (27-4) chances at landing a top seeding.
Kansas came out shooting cold, hitting only 23.3 percent in the first half. The Jayhawks went into the locker room at halftime trailing 29-19. The Jayhawks’ first-half point total was the lowest this year.
Kansas came out strong in the second half, hitting all four of its first four shots. The Jayhawks slowly ate away at OU’s lead, tying at 39 with 11:29 left and tying again at 41 with 10:51 left.
However, turnovers proved to be a major factor. Kansas lost the ball 20 times, while OU coughed it up only 9 times.
Oklahoma shot 33.8 percent for the game, compared to Kansas’ 33.3 percent. KU’s long-distance sharpshooters were cold Sunday, hitting only 3 of 18 three-pointers.
OU’s Hollis Price had 23 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Drew Gooden led the Jayhawks in scoring, 22 points and 15 rebounds. Nick Collison had 15 points and 13 boards. Kirk Hinrich had 4 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.