Big 12 opener vs. Oklahoma State set tone for what Jayhawks should expect in conference play

By Shane Jackson Jan 1, 2023

Nick Krug

Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (10) and Kansas center Ernest Udeh Jr. (23) celebrate after the final buzzer in the Jayhawks' 69-67 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Freshman Gradey Dick fired off just two 3-pointers in the first half of No. 4 Kansas’ 69-67 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse. He made both of them, but neither really came that easy.

With the Jayhawks trailing 45-30 at the intermission, Dick had to find other ways to make an impact. So he crashed the glass, finishing with career-high nine rebounds in which his three offensive rebounds led to key second-chance buckets for KU.

Dick, who is averaging 14.8 points per game, finished with just six points. But his impact felt much greater than that on a day where nothing really came easy for anybody, helping Kansas (12-1, 1-0 Big 12) win its 32nd consecutive conference opener.

Welcome to life in the Big 12.

“This was a great initiation of league play for Gradey because they faced-guarded him,” Kansas coach Bill Self admitted after the game. “Avery Anderson (III), give him credit, he sacrificed everything to make sure Gradey didn’t have a good game today. I mean that’s a good teammate.”

The way Oklahoma State (8-5, 0-1 Big 12) defended Dick on Saturday was a microcosm of what to expect in league play. The Big 12 is as deep as ever entering 2023, and a majority of these conference matchups will end up being rock fights that come down to the wire.

“We gave ourselves a chance right up there until the end,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton said. “But there are no moral victories; I told our guys that. This is a hard league to play in, the best league by two football fields, probably, than any other league.”

Just take a look at the Big 12 scoreboard on Saturday across five league openers, in which nine teams scored 70 points or fewer in regulation. No. 18 TCU rallied past Texas Tech for a 67-61 home win. No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma for a 70-69 road victory. Iowa State handed No. 12 Baylor a 77-62 defeat, and Kansas State recorded a 82-76 overtime win over No. 24 West Virginia.

Based on the style of play across the league, none of this should come as a surprise. All 10 teams rank inside the top-46 in KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency, with six squads sitting No. 22 or better on that end of the floor. It is too early to think about March, but every team is currently listed in the NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections.

KenPom currently projects every team in the Big 12 to finish with at least eight conference wins, with Kansas and Texas leading the way with a 12-6 clip in league play. TCU, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech are all projected to finish 8-10. Baylor and West Virginia are projected to finish 9-9.

The Jayhawks appear to be the early favorite in the league and might be the best-equipped to handle this 18-game gauntlet. KU leads the conference with a ninth-ranked defensive efficiency and has won 23 of its last 24 games, dating back to a 11-game win streak to end last season.

“We are going to have to be better in certain areas, but that’s how we are going to have to win games,” Self said of the way the Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State on Saturday. “We are going to hope that games are like this, because then hopefully we’ve got enough experience so we can make some plays late.”

That was on display on Saturday, when Kansas used an elite second half and won late after trailing by 15 at the break. The comeback from 15 down tied for the biggest halftime deficit overcome by the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse history. KU trailed Florida by 15 points at the half in 2014 and UCLA by 15 points at the half in 1995 and won both games.

“Winning at home is definitely important,” KU’s Jalen Wilson said Saturday. “It sets the foundation for winning the Big 12.”

The Jayhawks (12-1, 1-0) simply made plays when it mattered most, even with the Cowboys executing a sound defensive game plan for much of the contest.

With 7-foot-1 Moussa Cisse patrolling the paint, the Jayhawks were unable to get to the rim as much as they would have liked. Kansas went 10-for-19 at the rim, per Bart Torvik’s website, while taking 14 mid-range jumpers and 23 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

Even with Dick connecting on just two 3-pointers, Kansas shot a season-best 47.8% (11-of-23) from the long range. It marked the highest such percentage in a conference game at Allen Fieldhouse since shooting 50% (11-of-22) on Feb. 15, 2020 vs. Oklahoma.

That’s what Big 12 teams are going to have to do to win on a nightly basis over the next two months — find a way to locate the curveball when the fastball is being taken away. For one game at least, the Jayhawks proved they were capable of doing just that.

“This league is a monster,” Self said. “We played other teams that are predicted to go to the tournament and Oklahoma State is as good or better than most of those teams.”

Kansas will now hit the road for two tough road matchups, starting with a showdown in Lubbock, Texas, against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Tuesday. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.