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Summary The Kansas Jayhawks got back on the winning track Tuesday night with a 79-61 victory over sixth ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The margin of victory was Kansas' largest against OSU in over 30 years. The three amigos led the attack as Drew Gooden scored 17 points to go with 7 rebounds, Nick Collison scored 14 points and grabbed 7 boards, and Kirk Hinrich chipped in 15 points. Fredrik Jonzen had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Oklahoma State, but for most of the night he was the only bright spot for the home team. The game sends the Jayhawks to 14-2 and 3-0 in the Big 12, with two of the wins coming on the road. Seemingly, this game goes a long way to helping the Jayhawks get back to the top of the conference for the first time in 4 years. OSU has seemingly been eliminated from the title chase, after suffering their second home loss. They will need to nearly run the table from here on in to get back in it. Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have risen to the top of the heap, with KU battling OU in Lawrence on Saturday. That game will be huge in the conference race, with the winner probably being declared the odds-on favorite to win it. That game is at 12:00pm CST and will broadcast on ABC. Analysis The biggest stat of the game, Kansas turned the ball over just 14 times. These same Jayhawks turned it over 16 times in the first half on Saturday in a loss to UCLA. It was nice to see the Hawks value the basketball as much as they did, in a game and arena where it was CRITICAL for them to value it. Actually, while I deem that the biggest "stat," I don't think that was the most important aspect of the game. That honor would have to go to the halfcourt defense, especially in the first half. Kansas played tough, hard-nosed defense most of the night, and it was clearly evident in the first half of the game. OSU got no easy looks offensively, in fact they got very few easy PASSES, as the Kansas defense forced them out of sync. It was clear early on that the Cowboys weren't shooting it well, and Maurice Baker is still not healthy, but I don't think that takes away from the effort the Jayhawks exhibited. I was watching Bob Knight's Texas Tech squad take Texas into overtime in Lubbock on Monday night. I thought to myself, "If Kansas would put forth that kind of effort, they would be very, very good." Tonight they did, and they were. The defense also set up the offense. Kansas got opportunities in transition early in this game that isn't typical against an Eddie Sutton coached team. Specifically, the Jayhawks pushed the ball up the floor tremendously well off of turnovers and rebounds in the first 10 minutes as they stormed out to an early lead. By the time OSU had caught their breath, Gooden was hitting a three to give Kansas a 22-4 lead, and the Hawks never looked back. OSU was unable to mount any sort of a run in the first half, and KU jogged into the locker room up 53-31 in front of a packed, but stunned, Gallagher Iba Arena. When Kansas was leading 13-4 (between the 1st and 2nd media timeouts), I was thinking that Kansas had really missed an opportunity to bury the Cowboys. OSU hadn't scored, or even had a good look at the hoop, in minutes, but they were playing well on the defensive end and keeping KU from mounting any sort of a run. I was all ready to have that stretch be the key to the game (and why it was so close), but I was wrong, and KU soon went on a spurt that effectively ended OSU's chances. Now, moving forward... I'm trying to not get too "up," just like I didn't get too "down" after UCLA, for this win. It was a great win for the 'Hawks, and they would have beaten lots of good teams tonight, but they were playing a perhaps over-rated team with their best player dinged up. Granted, they were in a hostile environment and coming off a loss, which showed tremendous toughness. However, I think the short-term goal for this team is playing well and winning the Big 12, and this game (as fun as it was to watch) was just one piece of that. The Oklahoma Sooners will be another test on Saturday. If the Jayhawks come out as motivated and intense and they were in Stillwater, Sunday we can reflect on the biggest week of basketball that any member of this year's roster has ever played.

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Rock Chalk.... Robert