No. 7 Kansas Runs Out of Rallies in Overtime Loss at Kansas State, 85-82

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Brannen Greene came out of nowhere to swipe the Kansas State inbounds pass for a layup not 10 seconds after throwing down a dunk. With his team facing a nine-point deficit with less than two minutes to play, any spark was precious and Greene was there to provide it. His fight peaked the comeback that saw No. 7 Kansas force the game to overtime, but ended in favor of Kansas State, who forced a rare Jayhawk loss in Bramlage Coliseum, 85-82.

Greene’s tenacity spread like wildfire. Junior guard Naadir Tharpe came through with one of his multiple pull-up jumpers with 21 ticks left, cutting the lead to two. When Andrew Wiggins’ three-pointer that would’ve tied the game fell flat, the rookie himself did not – when his team needed him the most, he drove to the basket, rebounded his own miss and put the ball through the hoop.

Four seconds remaining. Tie game.

The unreal 10-1 scoring rally in the final 1:53 combined with the dose of luck that Kansas (18-6, 9-2 Big 12) needed to force its first overtime of the season ran out in the last five minutes. Instead, Kansas State (17-7, 7-4 Big 12) ended KU’s six-game win streak over its in-state rival, ended KU’s 11-game win streak on ESPN’s Big Monday and defeated Kansas at home for the third time in the last 26 meetings inside Bramlage Coliseum.

Greene finished with a career-high three steals and 10 points thanks to his clutch second-half baskets and an icy 4-for-4 mark at the free throw line. One of four Jayhawks to end the night in double-figures, Greene was joined by sophomore forward Perry Ellis, who tallied his fourth double-double of the year with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Neither Wiggins nor Tharpe hit a shot in the first half, yet the duo posted 16 and 13 points, respectively, by the end of the night. Tharpe chalked up his second career double-double, adding his 10 assists to his point total.

Conversely, Kansas State saw two players post double figures, but received a game-high 20 points from freshman guard Marcus Foster and 15 points from senior guard Will Spradling. The duo put up a combined 10 of those points in overtime. Spradling led the team with five assists and no players pulled down double-digit boards as KU outrebounded the Wildcats, 43-32.

Kansas State started the night with the best scoring defense in the league, allowing just 61.8 points per contest. It showed as shooting woes plagued the Jayhawks, making just two of its first 12 attempts. The first media timeout was welcomed when it arrived at the 13:45 mark with Kansas State holding a 10-6 lead. KU’s plight would get worse before it got better, however, as the visitors missed the next five shots, sinking to a measly 16.7 shooting percentage and a 13-8 deficit.

After watching their shooting percentage drop like a rock, the Jayhawks responded with four buckets in their next five shots – including freshman Conner Frankamp’s first three-pointer since Jan. 25 at TCU. His trey capped an 8-1 run, handing KU the 18-17 lead, its first since the 3-2 mark early in the evening.

Kansas worked to adjust. As a unit, the Jayhawks found ways around the Wildcat defense. When the home team opened a small 28-24 gap as halftime approached, alternate ways of getting to the basket stepped up by way of Greene, who chalked up a quick five points, and the rivals took a knotted 29-29 score to halftime.

Both teams had better luck with finding the bottom of the net to kick off the second half, each going 4-for-7 prior to the first media timeout. Tharpe made his first shot of the game and was joined by freshman center Joel Embiid and Ellis to offset a Foster three-pointer and the Thomas Gipson dunk that followed. Foster, who led the Wildcats with nine points in the first half, was just heating up. His second three-pointer of the frame made him a perfect 4-for-4 from long distance just five minutes in to half number two. Two layups later from Omari Lawrence and the Wildcats took their largest lead of the game on a 7-0 run, 46-37.

In dire need for a make, Tharpe delivered. His first three of the game halted the Wildcat scoring run, but when Wiggins had the chance to convert on a three-point play and cut the lead to three, the free throw bounced out. The miss opened the door for a steal-turned-fastbreak layup and again Kansas State shot forward, 50-42.

With a little over 11 minutes on the clock, Kansas started chipping. Ellis made both when a technical foul sent him to the line and senior forward Tarik Black fought his way under the basket to trim the KSU lead to four. Greene remained a constant at the line. He and Embiid hit four-straight freebies to narrow the gap to two points.

Every Kansas advance had a Kansas State road block. Nearly 30 seconds of solid defense was over turned by a Spradling drive to the basket for a layup, kicking the lead back to five points. When Tharpe pulled up for a jumper in the lane, D.J. Johnson answered with a layup on the other end – setting up a dramatic final five minutes.

The drama took a sharp turn in Kansas State’s direction when another Johnson layup and a goal tending decision pushed the lead to nine points for the second time. Now only 4:16 remained and Kansas was looking up at a 64-55 deficit.

For the next two minutes, Johnson and Tharpe took turns squaring off. Neither scored in the first half, but under the three-minute mark, Tharpe had 11 points compared to Johnson’s seven. Johnson’s team stayed in front, 66-59.

But not for long.

A patented Wiggins drive to the basket actually started the rally, cutting the lead to 68-61 before Greene came through with his back-to-back buckets. Tharpe dropped in a pull-up jumper to bring the Jayhawks back within two with 22 seconds left. Then Wiggins, who had badly missed a three that could’ve tied the game moments earlier, regrouped. He grabbed his own rebound from a miss and put it back for the game-tying layup.

Wiggins put the final touch on what was an unbelievable comeback, forcing the Jayhawks’ first overtime game of the season.

Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, the magic couldn’t be duplicated in overtime. Kansas struck first when Black’s dunk gave Kansas its first lead since the first half, 71-69. The Wildcats, as they had all night, had an answer. Spradling retaliated with another three, setting the tone for the extra time. While Ellis clawed to stay in it at the free throw line, he fouled out for the first time in his career and left the floor. Wiggins was next to go after cutting the K-State lead to three, 80-77, but the Jayhawks would get no closer, falling 85-82.

UP NEXT
Kansas will host TCU on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 3 p.m. on the Big 12 Television Network and then travel to Texas Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. on the Big 12 Network. The Jayhawks will host Texas on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

GAME NOTES
KU STARTERS (Season/Career Starts): Jr. Naadir Tharpe (21/21), Fr. Wayne Selden, Jr. (24/24), Fr. Andrew Wiggins (24/24), So. Perry Ellis (24/27), Fr. Joel Embiid (16/16)

SERIES INFO: Kansas leads 187-92

ATTENDANCE: 12,528 (sell out)

KANSAS’ LOSS…

Moved KU to 18-6 on the season, against the nation’s most difficult strength of schedule.
Made Kansas 9-2 in Big 12 play.
Made Kansas 61-55 all-time in overtime games.
Ended a six-game Kansas win streak over Kansas State
Made its all-time series record 187-92 against the Wildcats, including a 40-4 mark in the Big 12 era and 23-3 inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Made Bill Self 23-4 all-time against KSU (22-4 at KU)
Gave Wildcats’ head coach Bruce Weber his first win against Kansas, now 1-5
Changed Bill Self’s record to 318-65 while at Kansas and 525-170 overall.
Made KU 2,119-818 all-time.

TEAM NOTES

Monday’s matchup was the first overtime game of the season and its most recent since falling to Michigan in the Sweet 16 a year ago, 87-85, in overtime.
Down 59-68 with 1:53 remaining, Kansas used a 10-1 scoring run to force its first overtime game of the season. Four points from freshman G Andrew Wiggins, four from freshman G Brannen Greene and a pull-up jumper from junior G Naadir Tharpe kept the game alive.
KU outrebounded Kansas State, 43-32, marking the sixth time in Big 12 play – and 11^th time overall – that the Jayhawks’ rebounding margin surpassed double-digits.
Kansas tied a season-low with three blocked shots and set a new low with a 17.6 (3-for-17) mark from three-point range.
Kansas State shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) for the game, a season-high for an opponent during the conference season and second-highest of the year (Duke, 51.7).
For the third time this season, KU had two different players post a double-double. Sophomore F Perry Ellis had 19 points and 11 rebounds, while junior G Naadir Tharpe had 13 points and 10 assists.
Kansas saw two players foul out in a game for the first time this season in freshman G Andrew Wiggins and Ellis. Both were their first career foul outs and marked the first such occurrence since Jeff Withey and Kevin Young fouled out at Iowa State – also in overtime (2-25-13).
KSU extended its homecourt win streak to 13 games, the third-longest in program history.
Kansas State entered the night as the Big 12’s leader in scoring defense (61.8 ppg). Kansas proceeded to tally its second-lowest field goal percentage (41.8, 28-of-67) for the conference season.
KU started the game 2-for-12 from the floor through the first nine minutes for a dismal 16.7 shooting percentage. Facing a 16-10 deficit, KU responded with a 5-for-6 effort – sparking an 8-1 run to take the lead, 18-17.
After the 2-for-12 start, Kansas shot 50 percent (7-for-14) for the remainder of the first half.
Through the same nine-minute span to start the half, KSU had more than doubled KU’s 16.7 percent (37.5). By halftime, the Jayhawks had nearly caught them, shooting 34.6 (9-for-26) compared to Kansas State’s 37.9 (11-for-29).
At halftime, Kansas and Kansas State were tied at 29-29, just the second time this season KU has seen a tied halftime score (36-36 at Iowa State). KU is now 1-1 when tied at halftime.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Sophomore F Perry Ellis recorded the fourth double-double of the year and his second in the last three games with 19 points and 11 rebounds. With less than a minute remaining in overtime, Ellis fouled out for the first time in his career after playing a career-high 40 minutes.
Freshman Brannen Greene scored five points in the closing minutes of the second half, his first points in the last three games, en route to his career-high 10 points.
Greene was a major factor in the Jayhawks’ forcing overtime. Six seconds separated his driving layup (1:32) and his steal-turned-dunk (1:26) to cut the Wildcat lead from 68-61 to 68-65.
Greene also added a career-high three steals.
Freshman G Conner Frankamp checked in for the first time since the TCU game (1/25) and knocked down the three-pointer that gave KU its first lead of the first half (18-17) minus the Jayhawks’ early 3-2 mark in the opening moments.
Frankamp also hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to end with a career-high six points, but his last second heroics still found the Jayhawks three points short.
KU’s bench was outscored, 30-26. Of KU’s nine first-half field goals, four of them came off the bench as Andrew Wiggins and Naadir Tharpe didn’t register a field goal in the opening frame.
Junior G Naadir Tharpe’s first basket came via a layup at the 18:54 mark. He went on to post 13 points and 10 assists for his second double-double of the year and of his career.
Freshman G Wayne Selden, Jr. tied a season-low two points, his lowest scoring output since tallying two against Villanova.
Freshman C Joel Embiid rejected one shot against Kansas State to move within one block (61) of tying Eric Chenowith (62, 1998) for the Kansas freshman blocks record.
Embiid now has a blocked shot in 18-straight games.

QUOTES
Kansas Head Coach Bill Self
On the overtime:
“I thought we got off to a good start. I thought (Marcus) Foster made a great play to (Will) Spradling for the three. He put his shoulders down and forced help and made a really good play. We just played catch-up in overtime. We did not play very well in overtime. Give them credit though – that is kind of deflating the way we came back against them, but they responded well in overtime. They had some guys step up and make some really nice plays. “

On the more aggressive team in regulation:
“I did not think in the first half that they were. I thought in the first half we both were. We missed a lot of close-in shots and got the ball where we wanted to get it. Both teams defended pretty well the first half but then we did not defend very well in the second half, obviously. We were still able to score points, but we did not defend like we could have. I thought the second half they were the more aggressive team. That is easier to do when you have a great crowd and some momentum, play with the lead and the basket gets a little bigger. Certainly they made some plays and we did not make very many plays until the very end.”

On Marcus Foster’s performance:
“I thought he was good. I thought he was patient. We made two mistakes on him in the first half, that was it, and he got six points off two mistakes. But the second half, we did not guard him as well. I thought he competed hard and I thought their whole team played well. I do not know what you guys thought, but it was a good, entertaining college game. I just wish we would have competed a little bit harder on the defensive end.”

On the play of both teams:
“We did not do anything to make them play poorly in the second half. The first half was an ugly game. You can ask anybody, even the officials. It is hard to referee a game with a lot of missed shots, a lot of knocking and banging going on, but I thought that kind of gave us the best shot to make them not play as well. Certainly they did a nice job of not making us play well, but the second half we did not do much to make them play poorly.”

Junior Guard Naadir Tharpe
On the difference between regulation and overtime:
“We had a lot of mishaps and did not get any defensive stops. “

On Kansas State’s play:
“I felt like there was a time where we could have taken the lead and just get away with it. They did not stop fighting, they were fighting the whole game and they were relentless. We just did not compete at the end.”

On Marcus Foster:
“He was much more aggressive because you could tell he was looking for his shots as many times as he could. He did well at that tonight.”

Sophomore Forward Perry Ellis
On his thoughts on the game:
“We’re just upset that we did not get the win, but it means a lot to the Kansas people. We just have to move on now.”

On being ready to play overtime:
“We felt good. We were still energized, but could not get any stops.”