March 10, 2006

Kansas Defeats Oklahoma State in Quarterfinals of Big 12 Tournament

March 10, 2006

DALLAS, Texas –

The University of Kansas men’s basketball team defeated Oklahoma State, 63-62, in its first game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Freshman Mario Chalmers hit a pair of free throws with 19.8 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory for KU.

The game went back-and-forth for much of the game with both teams alternating runs and neither able to take a commanding lead. KU led by as many as 11 in the first half, but OSU got within two at the 2:26 mark in the first before Kansas took a 32-23 lead into the break.

The second stanza saw Oklahoma State take a one-point lead at 17:03 left in the game, but KU would use an 8-0 run to go ahead for good. Sophomore Sasha Kaun led the Jayhawks with 16 points on 6-of-9 from the floor. He helped Kansas control the paint, outscoring the Cowboys by a 38-20 margin.

The Jayhawks overcame sluggish shooting in the second half to move on to the next round of the tournament. KU, which leads the nation in field goal percentage defense, held the Cowboys to just 38.3 percent overall from the floor.

The victory sends the Jayhawks into Saturday’s semifinal game against either Oklahoma or Nebraska. Tip-off is slated for 3:20 p.m. and can be seen on either ESPN-Plus or ESPNU.