LAWRENCE, Kansas -
"Pay head all who enter: Beware of the Phog"
Those words hang over the entrance from the visitor's locker
room to the court at Phog Allen Field House, a place where the Oklahoma Sooners
had not won since 1993. After Saturday's 67-54 loss to No. 3 Kansas, snapping
that now 12-game losing streak in Lawrence will have to wait until next season.
The Sooners didn't show any fear of the intimidating
environment. Unfortunately for the Sooners, it was a poor shooting performance
that did them in.
OU shot just 35.6 percent from the field, including a
4-of-16 performance from leading scorer Romero Osby. Osby finished with 12
points, along with Amath M'Baye, who needed 11 shots to get his 12 points.
Kansas wasn't great offensively either, shooting 43.6
percent from the field. The Jayhawks were led by Ben McLemore's 18 points,
while Jeff Withey finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Withey officially only had four blocks, but altered countless OU shots. Every
time the Sooners ventured into the lane, Withey's seven-foot frame was there,
ready to swat any shot into the stands.
Kansas dominated inside, outscoring OU in the paint 28-16,
but it was the Jayhawks outside shooting that put the game away.
The Sooners kept it close in the first half, trailing at the
break 29-21. After shooting 28.6 percent in the first 20 minutes, OU was lucky
to be within eight at halftime.
In the second half, OU kept trying to get close, but never could
get closer than eight points. Every time the Sooners made a shot, the Jayhawks
would counter with a big shot of their own on the other end.
After OU closed the gap to eight points on a jumper from
Cameron Clark with 10:13 remaining, the Jayhawks responded with a three-pointer
from Naadir Tharpe and McLemore that extended the lead to 14 at 49-35.
Another McLemore three-pointer extended the lead to 15
points with 5:16 remaining before the Sooners made one final push, cutting the
lead to 10 with 3:02 remaining on an M'Baye jump shot.
However, Elijah Johnson drained a three-pointer on the next
Kansas possession to push the lead to 59-46 and effectively ice the game.
The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Sooners.
Oklahoma travels to Waco Wednesday night to take on Baylor at 6 p.m.
OSU Cowboys
OKC Thunder
TU Golden Hurricane
ORU Golden Eagles
