Norman, Okla. ? Fifth-ranked Oklahoma looked like the class of the Big 12 Conference Sunday at Lloyd Noble Center.

And No. 6 Kansas University?

“The first half … we didn’t belong in the same league with them,” KU coach Roy Williams said after his Jayhawks spotted Oklahoma a 32-point lead before scaring the heck out of the Sooners in a 77-70 setback.

“We not only were not in the same building with them, but they were in the stratosphere, and we were in whatever you call the opposite of that,” Williams added.

Rest assured, the Jayhawks (20-6 overall, 10-2 league) do still belong to the Big 12 Conference and is tied for first in the league with OU after Sunday’s bizarre league showdown.

It was a wacky game that left some observers wondering if the Jayhawks should be proud they cut a 59-27 deficit at 16:07 to just five points at 73-68 with 22 seconds remaining … or leave snowy Oklahoma miffed because of a horrific start.

Anger at the slow start won out.

“Moral victories aren’t important around here,” KU senior forward Nick Collison said.

He finished with 15 points and 14 boards, but in actuality had a tough day, missing 13 of 18 shots, including a layup at :41 that could have cut OU’s 72-66 lead to just four points.

“We knew it was a big game, a huge game. It’s hard to explain not coming out and playing better early. All I can say is, give credit to Oklahoma,” added Collison, who missed eight of his first nine shots.

Collison wasn’t the only Jayhawk to misfire early and often.

Kansas University's Kirk Hinrich -- the Jayhawks' leading scorer with 21 points -- and Oklahoma's Hollis Price, left, chase a rebound. Hollis tied Quannas White for team-high honors with 19 points in the Sooners' 77-70 victory Sunday over the Jayhawks at Lloyd Noble Center.

Fellow senior Kirk Hinrich — who finished with 21 points off 8-of-15 shooting — missed four of his first five shots as the Jayhawks were 3-of-19 shooting early to OU’s amazing 13-of-25 mark.

At that point, with five minutes left in the first half, OU led, 36-15.

The Sooners (19-4, 10-2) led, 47-26, at halftime despite the fact Jabahri Brown, who had seven points the first eight minutes, bumped heads with Michael Lee and had to sit the rest of the game with a concussion.

KU had four assists the entire half.

Aaron Miles did not score in 10 minutes, while Keith Langford had four points in 17 minutes. Those two players each picked up three fouls. Collison and Hinrich were a combined 5-of-18 shooting, while OU hit 55 percent of its shots, including six of 10 three-pointers the first 20 minutes.

Ouch.

“They came out early and hit us in the mouth,” sophomore forward Wayne Simien said. He scored 17 points — 11 in a furious 27-7 second-half run that cut the 32-point deficit to a workable 66-54 with 6:16 left.

“We dug ourselves a hole the first half and the beginning of the second.”

Oklahoma was led by Quannas White and Hollis Price, who combined for five first-half threes in five tries and both finished with 19 points.

OU opened the second half on a 12-1 tear to grab its 32-point lead.

Miles, who finished with no points, five assists and four turnovers, missed three shots to start the second half. Two shots were blocked, and one was a missed three.

The Jayhawks opened the half 0-for-6, while the Sooners continued to sizzle.

“Some of those threes … they were isolated at the top of the key. There’s nothing any of the other four dudes (on defense) can do. They just hit big shots,” Langford said.

Still, the Jayhawks rallied.

But Collison missed an inside shot at :41 with KU down six. KU rebounded, but Miles threw a high lob to Collison that hit the rim and resulted in a turnover.

“We were trying to go for a three,” Williams said. “We had a screen set. Oklahoma had a great crowd, a fantastic crowd. I motioned to the weak side, but Aaron couldn’t read my lips, and he thought I told him to throw the lob. I said (later), even if I did say throw the lob, not to throw it that high.”

White hit one of two free throws at :35 to give OU a 73-66 lead.

Collison hit one of two charities at :22 to cut the gap to five, but OU scored the next four points off De’Angelo Alexander free throws to assure victory.

“If we converted some free throws and layups, we’d have been in it,” Collison said. “Still, they did a good job.”

Indeed, OU, which hit nine of 18 threes overall and 48.1 percent of its shots compared to KU’s 34.4 percent mark, deserves credit, said Williams, who was not overly impressed with what would have been the most improbable comeback victory in school history.

“I’m not that excited us making the huge comeback,” Williams said. “They missed shots and we had no pressure on us. At least we were competing and doing the right thing.

“It was just a pretty good butt-kickin’.”

And it came in a big game.

“I thought this team had better poise and determination to let that happen,” Hinrich said of coming out so sluggish. “It’s just amazing we had a shot being down 30.

“It was like a championship game. Hopefully we’ll learn from this and be ready to play from the start.”

The Jayhawks, who are tied for first with Oklahoma and a game ahead of Oklahoma State and Texas in the league standings, will play host to Texas A&M in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff Wednesday.