Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Year of the Comeback for Kansas Jayhawks Basketball: Recap of Their 15 Point Turnaround vs Ok State

Episode Date: January 2, 2023

Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team ended the calendar year of 2022 with another comeback win, overcoming a 15-point half-time deficit to win close in Allen Fieldhouse against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Recap of the win, GOATs of the game including Jalen Wilson. Quick recap of the College Football Playoff and the title game now set.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's Locked on Jayhawks, the year of the comeback for Kansas men's basketball. We recap the game against Oklahoma State and another outstanding comeback by the Jayhawks. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Derek Johnson. You can hear me on Rock Chalk Sports Talk from 3 to 6 every Monday through Friday on KLWN and Lawrence. Not today, though, with the New Year's holiday. Thanks for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day. We are free and available wherever you get any of your podcasts.

And on today's edition of the show, the year of the comeback for Kansas men's basketball capped off on the last day of 2022 with yet another one in a 15-point halftime comeback against Oklahoma State. We're going to recap that game all throughout the day. Today's episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, helping you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege. That's linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege to post your job for free.

Terms and conditions apply. Just the year of the comeback, man. As I said, Kansas with a 15-point comeback at halftime to eventually win the game by two points very important win for starting out in the big 12 play we'll get to that in a second but the year of the comeback complete kansas with the 15 point comeback at half against kansas state and manhattan as part of the 21 22 season back in earlier 2022 then the national championship comeback you're down 15 at half to north carolina you come back and win the title.

And then you finish off on the very last day of the calendar year of 2022 with another 15-point halftime comeback. Just kind of showing the spirit and this program, what it is, and this team, and what it is in some of these comebacks. Pretty remarkable stuff from Kansas coming into the year of 2022, the calendar year. Kansas had two all-time comebacks being down 15 points or more at halftime winning the game. The Missouri game actually is not there. They were down 15 at one point through the game, but at halftime, it was a little less than that. It's there's a UCLA game in like the nineties. It might've been early two thousands that Kansas was able to come back from.

Then there was a Florida game in like 2014, 2015, somewhere in that range where they were down 15 and a half and they ended up coming back and winning the game. So they had two of them right over the course of whatever. I don't know how long that had been databased for, but I would imagine you can go back a pretty far amount. Now, obviously, being down 15

in 1965 when there's no shot clock is going to be a lot different than being down 15 in the shot clock era. So that would lead to it. But they had three of them after having two coming into the year of 2022. They had three of them in the year of 2022, and like I said, very

fitting that you finish out the year of 22 with another one against Oklahoma State. Really a game of two halves that led to the comeback. The first half, Kansas turned the ball over too much. Offensively, it was a pretty non-existent game for most KU players on the offensive side of the ball, outside of like Jalen Wilson and maybe a couple threes from Grady Dick in the first half so you struggled that against a good Oklahoma State defense and then Oklahoma State got hot from three part of it was you're doing part of it was them they I think the first

one they hit and then several others were contested pretty good defense or late in shot clock situations for a team that coming in only shot 32 percent from threes, you were taking those situations. So, you know, part of it is just them hitting shots and being uncharacteristically hot. Part of it is, you know, you left some guys open from three and it felt like Bryce Thompson kept being left wide open from three, which is not ideal for a guy playing a revenge game in Allen Fieldhouse and who was hot and kept hitting threes now some of that you were trying to maybe double in certain situations and they found the open guy so you tip the cap there but also you would hope for better rotations and getting guys covered so that that exact thing doesn't happen and the more and more you left bryce thompson open and the more and more he's hitting threes the more and more frustrating it

got for you and the more and more they got into threes, the more and more frustrating it got for you. And the more and more they got into a groove. And then they again put up, I mean, that was an offense coming into the game that was outside the top 70 on Ken Palm and adjusted offense efficiency. Kansas had a top 15 defense. They put up 45 points on you in the first half. So again, you kind of tip your cap a little for a team that doesn't shoot well to go to nine of 18 from three in the first half. Obviously, you're not going to be able to beat them, but you would have liked to be a little closer. And if you don't turn the ball over as much, you have a better offensive half. Maybe even despite them shooting that way, you're only down 8, 9, 10 points at half.

And then that would have been a little easier to overcome. Obviously, it didn't end up mattering. They still overcame the 15 because the second half, those turnovers I mentioned, you had 11 of them in the first half. You had one turnover in the second half. That's as big of a difference as anything. You just get 10 extra shots up, even if you shoot only 40%, which is below your average. That's four extra makes. That's eight extra points, nine or 10 if you hit a couple threes in there.

That is such a gigantic difference in what you do turning the ball over. It it was funny because oklahoma state coming in was the team that had turnover problems offensively you thought kansas would have been able to take advantage of that they didn't really take advantage of it it was oklahoma state taking advantage of kansas but second half not really the case uh but you really did it with your defense besides the turnover stuff you hit a lot of threes like that certainly helped uh two of them actually came off huge Grady Dick offensive rebounds. Those might have been the two biggest plays of the game when you're struggling to get momentum and hitting shots against a good Oklahoma State defense.

Grady Dick coming up with those offensive rebounds, then kicking them out. I think Jalen Wilson hit one of them. DeJuan Harris hit the other one on the threes. Those are as big of plays as anything. But the defense was great because as much as Kansas, like, yeah, there was a little spurt in there where, where maybe they, they collected a bunch of points in a row overall to kind of start the second half. It was like, okay, they hit a shot and I was like, eh, you know, they miss a

shot or two and then they hit a shot and they miss a shot or two and then they right it wasn't one of those runs where it was like hey you hit a three get a steal hit a layup then you get another stop you go out and hit another transition three then you get another stop and you hit a transition dunk and it's like a quick 10-0 run in a minute 20 span it wasn't that at all Kansas had to kind of like chip back and like they okay they hit a couple shots to open up the half and then they get stuck on it and then they hit a couple right to open up the half and then they get stuck on it. And then they hit a couple, right? The defense did such an excellent job at holding Oklahoma State to within striking distance that they were able to kind of get over the hump eventually. And overall, after giving them 45 in the first half, you have what, 22 in the second half? That's going to get it done.

So the defense really did it in the second half for you. In addition to not turning the ball over and, oh, hey, also by not turning the ball over, you give them less opportunities to score easily. Like maybe they did in the first half. A lot of those turnovers were like unforced too, which was weird. But overall, the biggest reason why this win was important, obviously everyone is important, especially in big 12 play when you are trying to win the league once again, what you always do, right? But just look at what's in front of you right off the bat.

You have Texas Tech Tuesday night on the road in Lubbock. Very tough place to play. Good team. West Virginia on the road and Morgantown on Saturday. A team that up until losing this past weekend was ranked in the top 25 and a team that when you look at the places that Kansas has struggled to win in since the new Big 12 with TCU and West Virginia being added, that's KU's worst record on the road in Morgantown.

So a good team on the road. And that's what you have this week. It doesn't mean you're going to lose both games. Probably if you play the odds, you would say, what's most likely, maybe you split the two. But 0-2 is possible out of this stretch. It's just two really hard games against good opponents on the road, right? To where, if you lose that game to Oklahoma State, you could be sitting at 0-3, which is like good luck winning the Big 12 at that point. Or you could be sitting at 1-2, which is like good luck winning the Big 12 at that point.

Or you could be sitting at 1-2, even if that's more likely. That still makes it a tough hold to get out of. Now, instead, you look at it these next two and you're like, well, if we split, we're 2-1. Everything's in front of us. Great, right? It makes things so different. And also, when we talk about the recipe for winning the Big 12, usually it's go 9-0 at home, go 5-4 on the road. Put you at 14-4. Most years, that's going to win it. A lot of years, it's going to win it outright. Other years, like last home, go five and four on the road, put you at 14 and four.

Most years that's going to win it. A lot of years, it's going to win it outright. Other years, like last year, it might win a split of it. And there have been some years that Kansas loses a home game and goes eight and one at home. And maybe they make up for it. Maybe they go six and three on the road, or maybe they go five and four on the road still at that point. And 13 wins is enough.

We've seen that happen. But in those situations, if you lose that one game at home, you better not lose again at home. Kansas doesn't lose a lot at home, so even if they lost at home, you'd probably say, well, they'll be fine the other eight games. But it gets rid of that margin for error. Because if you lose your first game at home in Big 12 play, you have to win the other eight if you want to win the Big 12. It'd still help you if you win the other eight now to win

the Big 12, but maybe you do have that one little margin for error that you can at least have a chance to make up for on the road. So big start for them trying to win the Big 12 even in just the first game. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks before we get on to our good goats and bad goats of the game is brought to you

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number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege. That's linkedin.com slash lockedoncollege. To post your job for free, terms and conditions apply. Goats of the game, good goat, Jalen Wilson. 20 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block.

He kept you in it in that first half. If he's not hitting some shots for you and trying to carry you as much as he can, maybe you're down 20 points at half. Maybe you're down 22. And at that point, maybe it's too hard to overcome. But he also hits big shots for you in the second half. He did miss the front of the one-and-one,

but he bounced back and he hits the two big free throws late to eventually win you the game. So that was big time for Jalen there. K.J. Adams gets a good goat of the game 14 points six of six from the floor four rebounds one steal I think he had foul trouble in the first half there was a lot of Zuby and Zach Clements playing in the first half but KJ was rock solid in the second half never really let and part of it was double teams and other big men in there too but never really let Musa Cissé take over the game or get going offensively or have a big impact there so partially credit for

kj adams the biggest thing though was the offense in the game six for six 14 points you had the end one just rolling to the rim the biggest development though and this this not just for the game but this could be a gigantic development i'm not trying to oversell this but it's very large that push shot he hit that push shot a couple times where he just catches it at the free throw line cc's playing in on kind of drop coverage and just sagging off saying what are you gonna do shoot it and he shoots it right and uh just kind of a push shot like floater, and he hits it. Kind of like a pop a shot type of thing. That is such a gigantic play if he can hit that consistently,

because now future centers aren't going to be able to just sag off and play in the paint and help on other guys. Then they at least have to come up to the free throw line to guard KJ, and that's going to be helpful because he's a good passer. He can dribble. Maybe he can outspeed them and dribble pass them to the rim it just opens up so much and opens up your spacing a little bit more on the offensive side of the ball so that would be a gigantic development for KU and speaking of development KJ Adams has maybe had the biggest development the biggest I don't

know rise from last year to this year in terms of how much better he has gotten. You could make some other arguments, but I think he would probably be at the top of that list. You could also argue that KJ Adams has improved the most on the team from the start of the season to where it is now. So, I mean, just leaps and bounds improved from where we were last year to where it is now. Loving what he's been providing for this team. Kevin McCuller's defense gets a good

goat i couldn't put the full kevin mcculler because the offense was a struggle uh he did hit that late three-point shot though so you know tip of the cap there for for kevin mcculler that was a huge shot for him to make and i do expect him to bounce back offensively but the defense man continues to just be so so good he has the recovery block at the end of the game to preserve the lead for you. It's those highlight plays where he gets those recovery blocks or he gets the like falling back steals or rips it away from big man. Those are so incredibly good and so hard to do, but it's also the little things like there was a play in the first half and I think Oklahoma

state ended up scoring later on the possession. And it was in the first half when you're getting beaten down. But it's just the little things like this. Moussa Cisse is being guarded by Zubi Ejiofor, and he catches the ball, and he is far away from the hoop. He's trying to back down Zubi Ejiofor. He's 16 feet away from the hoop to where he's not really a threat, but you could tell in the scouting report Kansas was saying, hey, we're going to double the post.

Moussa Cisse catches, we're doubling him, and we're going to try to make life unfortunate. And he catches it, and Zuby's doing a good job walling him off. He's trying to back him down. You see Kevin McCuller take a step or two toward going to the double, like the scouting report says. And then he kind of has this realization, like, hey, he's like 16 feet away from the hoop. Zuby seems to be doing a good job walling him off. Maybe this isn't the right time to double because then it's just going to be an easier read for him so far away from the hoop to pass to the open guy and it's going to lead to an open three-pointer and he backs off and goes

guard somebody else it's those little things even not just the highlight plays that you just realize where a lot of guys would just view it as nope i'm only pertaining to the rules the scouting report says the double every time moussa cc catches in the post when that scouting report is written based on the idea that moussa cc is catching it in the low block and it's like you have to combine the scouting report with maybe having a little bit of common sense and some guys might just you know get two in the zone with the game or scouting importance i'm going to double every time and then boom somebody else would have got open from three it's the little things where he realizes and has the mix of okay common sense here i'm gonna go off someone else

and we're gonna prevent things he's just so alert and good and smart on the defensive end uh dewan harris in the second half gets a good goat first half a bit of a struggle for dewan zero points oh for three shooting he had four assists one rebound one turnover second half all of those numbers better six points goes two of two from three five assists two rebounds so more assists and rebounds by one and then zero turnovers so less turnovers he was so in command in the second half and when KU's at their best it's when he is in command and running the show for you Zuby Ejifer I'll give an honorable mention one along with Joey Esifu for their bench contributions. Ten minutes played, four points, three rebounds.

I thought he did a solid job holding his own defensively against Musa Cisse. With Joe, 14 minutes played, he hit two big threes for you in the corner. I thought he had really good ball pressure, whether it was creating a 10-second call or knocking the ball out and maybe looking like it should have been Kansas ball, but they give it to Oklahoma State.

Just running clock off the shot clock for Oklahoma State's possessions to start off poorly. I thought he provided a lot of pressure and energy for you, which is the biggest thing you're looking for for your bench that really helped keep up the energy for Kansas in the second half. So honorable mentions for both them. And then also a good goat for the crowd. I thought the crowd was electric, especially in the second half, trying to will Kansas back into it. They were, it wasn't something where it was like Kansas goes on a run in the second half and the crowd is kind of quiet and now they're getting up. No, from the onset of the second half, even Kansas down 15,

the crowd is like trying to cheer them into getting going and getting the energy up. Probably the best crowd game of the year. It's always a great crowd with Allen Fieldhouse, but that was great with what the crowd kind of had an impact on. As far as the bad goats, of the year. It's always a great crowd with Allen Fieldhouse, but that was great with what the crowd kind of had an impact on. As far as the bad goats, just the first half in general. I could single out people, but it was pretty much

everyone. Jalen had a good first half, but it's kind of a struggle for KU. The Kevin McCuller offense would be a bad goat as great as the defense was. Just seven points. Again, hit the big shot for you toward the end of the game, so you get the credit there but overall tough shooting game he had five turnovers just seven points um you're gonna need for more

from him against texas tech foul trouble was a bad goat grady dick kevin mcculler kj adams were all in it they all ended up with four fouls that certainly hurts you throughout the game and for a team who plays their starters so much and they're i mean maybe maybe if you want to add Bobby Pettiford into this, but the starters plus Bobby or just the starters, the drop off between the starters plus Bobby to everyone else in terms of how much they play, how impactful they are, is such a7 Kansas team where it's like, ah, well too bad Darrell Arthur's in, or Darnell Jackson's in foul trouble. We'll just go to Sasha Khan. Oh, Sasha Khan's a foul. We'll just go to Cole Aldridge, right? It's not quite the same with this Kansas team right now. So the foul trouble is certainly a bad go. And then MJ Rice finding rotation space.

You keep kind of waiting for it to happen and him to start getting more playing time and get on a roll, but just hasn't happened so far. We'll see if it ever does at this point in the season. We're going to finish things off, switching gears a little with some college football playoff talk. But first this episode of locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by bet online,

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If you love sports podcasts, you can find those at BetOnline as well. They're the fastest and easiest way to get your betting information. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more. You can bet on the bowl action going on. You can bet on Kansas against Texas Tech. You can bet on theansas against texas tech you can bet on the chiefs against the raiders that's going to be a saturday game whatever you'd like bet online where the game starts finishing things up with some college football playoff talk the the playoff is set and just an unbelievable day of semi-finals after having so many years where at least one of the games was a blowout

and a lot of years where two were if not low outs completely controlled by one team to have that felt so good and it was so entertaining to watch both games being good back and forth high scoring that's everything that you could want with college football and it delivered and michigan for them certainly a lot of questions with you know now are they becoming like the notre dame of the playoff right uh great for for the big 12 that tcu makes this run both in terms of the now big 12 i think you probably get extra money for it uh and and what it means for the conference to have that team at the top but also i think it further gets the idea of hey when, when Texas and Oklahoma are gone,

Big 12 is going to be fine. And you start to look at, well, like, which team is going to clean up even more now that Texas and Oklahoma will be gone? I think TCU has to be at the top of that list. In the Fort Worth area, if they get things rolling this year, it's like TCU, Oklahoma State,

like UTK State doing really well. There's some teams, but TCU to me is the one that's the obvious answer of like they could be the power of the new Big 12, and they go to the title game. By the way, how did Kansas only or hold TCU to only 38 points? They put up like over 50 on Michigan, and they held them to what, 10 points in the first half?

Whatever Brian Borland's scheme was in the first half of that game, everybody should just look at that. I mean, unbelievable job, whatever they ended up doing in that first half. Whatever Brian Borland's scheme was in the first half of that game, everybody should just look at that. I mean, unbelievable job. Whatever they ended up doing in that first half because he held a very explosive TCU offense sort of down in that first half. But now you get a title game. Ohio State kind of blew it against Georgia. They probably should have won that game. Maybe that gives you hope that

TCU can beat them because Ohio State was able to exploit some things on Georgia by just chucking the ball around the field, having really good receivers. TCU has that. Now, I don't know. Max Duggan's not as consistent of a passer as C.J. Stroud, but they've got the receiving talent. They can chuck it around.

They do want to play power football. As good as TCU is getting the ball outside, that's what they did against Michigan. So I'm hoping it's a good game. I thought TCU-Ohio State would have been the best title game because you would have had two great offenses chucking it around, probably high-scoring game, two defenses that can at times give up yards and touchdowns. So I thought that would have been great.

I was kind of rooting for that. So unfortunately, we get the Georgia side because there is a part of me that thinks Georgia could just mash TCU. But I'm hoping for a good game. And TCU, the way that they've gone so far this year, I don't know why. I don't know. The spread is 13 points. That's what scares me a little bit. So, year, I don't know why. I don't know. The spread is 13 points.

That's what scares me a little bit. So, hey, you can bet on that. I bet online. That's going to do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Coming up on tomorrow's show, we'll recap the KU Texas Tech game. No Rock Chalk Sports Talk later today. Off for the New Year's holiday. Have a good rest of your day.

Happy New Year's. See you on the next episode of Locked on Jayhawks.