#1 Kansas Beats #2 Oklahoma in a Three Overtime Thriller

It isn’t often that college basketball fans are treated to a matchup of the two top ranked teams in the country in a non tournament setting, but there was one such game on January 4th and it was a great one. Oklahoma, #2 in the AP Poll traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to take on top ranked Kansas in a matchup of Big 12 conference rivals. It was the first time since 2007 that two teams from the same conference that were #1 and #2 in the AP Poll met in a regular season game, and this game lived up to the billing

The score was tied at the end of regulation, it was tied after overtime, and it was tied at the end of the second overtime. Finally, with Kansas trailing by one point late in the third overtime, the Sooners’ Buddy Hield had the ball stripped away by the Jayhawks’ Frank Mason III who passed to Devonte Graham who was fouled. Graham sank two free throws. Hield then threw the ball away on the inbounds pass. Mason sank two more free throws and that was that. The Jayhawks won 109-106.

Although Hield committed those two late turnovers, let it not be said that the loss was his fault. Someone had to lose and this is about as even as it gets. Hield did everything he could to win this thing, scoring 46 points, with 7 assists, and grabbing 8 rebounds. Jordan had 27 points for the Sooners, and Ryan Spangler had 14 points and 18 rebounds. Perry Ellis had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks, while Graham scored 22 and Wayne Selden Jr. added 21.

Here’s hoping Oklahoma stays at #2 in the AP poll, as a loss like this to the #1 team should not cause a drop in rank. The two teams will meet again in Norman, Oklahoma on February 13th.