Kansas forward Zach Clemence (21) puts up a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, in Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

It’s been a rough start to the 2022-23 season for Kansas forward Zach Clemence, but it took a turn for the better on Tuesday night during KU’s wild 79-75 comeback win over Oklahoma.

Despite entering Tuesday having played just 59 minutes total in 11 games up to that point, Clemence played a dozen minutes against the Sooners and had by far his best game of the season.

KU coach Bill Self said he elected to go with Clemence as the first big man off the bench on a whim, in real time, largely because he remembered Clemence having a good game against the Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse last season.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Self said after Tuesday’s win. “I didn’t know who I was going to put in, Zach or Zuby (Ejiofor), when I subbed KJ (Adams out) and then I (picked) Zach. But the biggest reason was because he played so well against Oklahoma last year and I knew he had a couple of good days of practice. So, I’m glad I made that decision.”

In last year’s OU game at home, Clemence, who then was just a freshman, came off the bench and had a huge impact in guarding OU big man Tanner Groves and knocking in a couple of big 3-pointers.

Sound familiar?

He did a very similar thing — offensively, anyway — on Tuesday night, knocking in two first-half 3-pointers and finishing with 10 points for the game.

The 3-point makes were his first of the season — after starting 0-for-9, and he had made just one shot total in 13 attempts entering Tuesday, when he made 3 of 6 shots, along with a pair of free throws while adding 3 rebounds.

“Those 10 points were really important for us,” Self said after the victory, which featured KU closing the game on an 18-4 run after trailing 71-61 with 5:19 to play.

Those two shots might’ve been even bigger for Clemence, who reacted to both makes with the kind of fire and passion he’s been known to have throughout his basketball career. After the game, in an interview on KU’s postgame show on ESPN+, Clemence said hitting the first one was “the best feeling in the world.”

How’s this for déjà vu; that shot came from the top of the key — the very same spot that Clemence drilled his first 3 against the Sooners last year.

He said then, “That’s like my favorite shot, so I was pretty confident (it was going in).”

That last year’s showing versus OU came in his first game in a month after sitting out with a broken toe made the performance all the more impressive. And while there was no injury quite like a broken toe this time around, Clemence had been largely missing in action again until Tuesday night.

Part of the reason for that is the way he’s been used so far this season. And Self has acknowledged that on a couple of occasions, saying that the coaching staff has asked him to play a position and style that doesn’t fully suit his strengths.

What he showed Tuesday night fit him to a tee. And while he still left a little to be desired on defense, Clemence at least showed that there’s still life in that 6-foot-10, 230-pound frame of his.

Now it’s time to see what comes next.