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Summary For the second straight game the Kansas Jayhawks took on a highly touted, top ten basketball team, and for the second straight game they delivered a lethal spurt that gave them a cushion that the opposition was unable to overcome. The fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners rolled in to Lawrence on a 13 game winning streak and rolled out having a severe blow dealt to their Big 12 title hopes. The Jayhawks led by 5 points at the break (30-25), but started the 2nd half on a flurry that built the lead to as much as 22 and held on to win 74-67. Oklahoma charged back down the stretch behind some hot perimeter shooting, while the Jayhawks struggled to convert at the foul line. In the end, Kansas's big run was too much. Drew Gooden, after struggling in a defensive first half, led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Collison was big for the Jayhawks as he scored 17 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, and blocked 3 shots. He also banged much of the game with the Sooner big men, but only committed ONE FOUL and was in the game for 35 minutes. Kirk Hinrich, playing more point guard than he has in any game this season, added 15 points and 7 assists. Kansas moves to 15-2, 4-0 in the Big 12. By dealing Oklahoma their first conference loss, Kansas joined Texas as the Big 12's only teams still unbeaten in the conference. Analysis Same song, different verse. The story of this game was again defensive intensity. Oklahoma came out very intense on the defensive end of the floor, got back well in transition to eliminate easy baskets for the Jayhawks, and were intent on playing physical basketball to slow the pace and keep the game close. Luckily for KU fans, the Hawks matched that intensity early and kept the Sooners close while struggling to score on the offensive end. In fact, the early stages of this game very much resembled the Oklahoma State game from Tuesday night, when the Jayhawks had built a 20 point lead just 8 minutes into the game. The real difference was Kansas wasn't converting on offense. It was once again a joy to watch this team play defense. As I said after OSU, if the Jayhawks continue to show this kind of defensive intensity, they will be very difficult to beat. Even though Gooden, Collison, and Hinrich had the best stats, my game ball goes to Keith Langford. He scored a respectable 12 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, but this was one of those deceptive lines. Langford was critical in this game for two reasons. Number one, in the first half Langford was just about the only bright spot on the offensive end, scoring 8 of his 12 points before the break. Number two, he played a lot of minutes today as Coach Williams chose to go much of the second half with a bigger lineup (more on that in a minute). Langford was solid, if not spectacular, and provided the Jayhawks with a much needed offensive boost off the bench. Very good game for the freshman. On to today's rotation. Freshman point guard Aaron Miles played less than a minute at the start of the 2nd half (he did return, but Langford replaced him for much of the 2nd half, with Hinrich playing the point). It will be interesting to hear Roy's reasoning for this. I think there could be a couple reasons. First, Aaron was playing a little too fast in transition at times. He threw a couple of balls away and was called for a charge in the first half while going one on three. Coach was also visibly upset with Aaron for second-guessing a wide-open jumper at the top of the key. He hesitated, then shot and missed... part of an 0-5 shooting day. Second, Roy might have been thinking he needed more size in the game, though it didn't seem that Kansas was getting out-rebounded. (I don't know the first half rebounding numbers, so that's just my feeling.) If I had to guess, I'd say it was probably due to Miles' struggles early in the game. I never like to see kids get benched for poor play, though sometimes it's necessary, especially for freshmen. On the bright side, there will be better days ahead for this kid, but I'm sure he'd be the first to admit that he struggled a bit today. I'd like to give a bit of praise to Coach Williams for his halftime adjustments today. Kansas struggled mightily to get good shots in the first half, but came out in the 2nd and repeatedly got the ball to Collison and Gooden in position to score. Drew Gooden scored a layup on the first possession after a nice back pick that was off a set play. The play started with Gooden and Collison both at the high post (one at each elbow). It was a look I hadn't seen from the Hawks before and looked like something that was drawn up during the break. As the second half run progressed, Kansas was back into their motion offense, but the guys were doing a much better job of reading where they needed to be and, more importantly, getting the ball to the spots that allowed the offense to be successful. This seemingly minor offesive adjustment allowed the Jayhawks to cruise to victory in a game that could have been very tight down the stretch. The Big 12 race is looking better for the Jayhawks every day. Getting through this week without a loss is huge in helping accomplish that goal. My thoughts as we look ahead, Kansas can probably lose two games and win the conference outright. Oklahoma and Texas have to play each other twice, OU/OSU battle twice, and Texas plays OSU and Missouri. If Kansas can avoid any "major" upsets, then there is less pressure on the "big" games. The Missouri game in Columbia will be a known commodity by the time it tips off (it is the last game for both teams, so the conference implications going into it will be very clear). Assuming a loss at Missouri (just for a second, then you can get that nasty thought out of your head), Kansas could still probably tolerate a loss in Austin against the Longhorns, a loss in Ames against Iowa State, or a home loss to Missouri. So, of those four games, the Jayhawks probably need 2 to win the conference. If they can get three of them, they could win it comfortably. The Jayhawks travel to Ames on Wednesday night to continue the journey, and an enjoyable ride it should be.

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Rock Chalk.... Robert