Jayhawks Cruise To 85-55 Victory Against Oklahoma In Big 12 Basketball Action
Jan. 14, 2008
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>LAWRENCE, Kan. – Four Jayhawks scored in double figures as third-ranked Kansas cruised to a 30-point, 85-55, victory against Oklahoma in Big 12 basketball action here Monday night.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Kansas improved to 17-0 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play, while Oklahoma fell to 12-5 overall and 0-2 in league action.
KU’s Darnell Jackson scored 17 points on eight of 10 shooting, while Brandon Rush made four three-pointers en route to 16 points and added nine rebounds and four assists.
Two other Jayhawks reached double-digit point totals as Darrell Arthur had 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks, and Mario Chalmers scored 13 points on four of five shooting and added five assists and three steals.
Oklahoma was led by Longar Longar, who scored a game-high 21 points. The Sooners played the final 35 minutes without their leading scorer Blake Griffin, who suffered an injury just five minutes into the game and did not return. Griffin entered the game averaging 15 points per contest.
Kansas used a number of runs to take control of the game, jumping out to a 9-0 advantage and pushing its lead to 20-4 before a 12-5 run by the visitors cut the margin to 25-16. However, KU scored 10 straight points in the next three and one half minutes as part of a 15-4 run to close the half with a 40-20 advantage.
Oklahoma started the second half on a 5-0 run before KU scored 11 straight, including six points by Chalmers and a three-pointer by Rush to make it 51-25 at the 16:32 mark. That started a 21-5 run to make the score 61-30 midway through the final period.
Kansas was just shy of setting a school record by making 17 of 18 free throws in the game. KU shot 53.4 percent from the field marking the 14th time in 17 games the Jayhawks have hit better than half their shots.
Meanwhile the KU defense held Oklahoma to just 32.8 percent shooting from the floor, the 16th time in 17 games the opponent has failed to reach 50 percent. The Sooners entered the game with a 48.2 field goal percentage mark.
Kansas has now won 65 of its last 72 games, including 31 of its last 32 contests. The Jayhawks have now won eight games by at least 30 points this season.
Rush, has produced two of his highest scoring games of the season in the last two contests as he had a season-best 19 against Nebraska on Saturday and 16 against Oklahoma. The junior had 17 points in consecutive games against Arizona and Florida Atlantic earlier this season.
Kansas will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 19 traveling to border showdown opponent Missouri. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. in a game, which will be televised on ESPNU.
