DOWN GOES KANSAS
Jayhawks' Big 12 title streak ends in Norman
OU senior Kade Kordonowy lined up for a halftime, halfcourt shot, and on this historic Tuesday night, no one was shocked when the ball banked in. Call it the greatest halftime in Sooner history. Red Panda performs her remarkable routine, and a student wins $7,000 for a halfcourt shot. And the halftime didn't upstage the ballgame. The Sooners did more than beat Kansas. Did more than rout the Jayhawks. OU ended KU's incredible streak of Big 12 basketball championships. Church bells from Iowa Falls to Corpus Christi rang throughout the night as OU rolled 81-68 at Lloyd Noble Center. Kansas had won 14 straight Big 12 titles – Eddie Sutton's 2004 Cowboys were the last team to keep KU out of first place – but the Jayhawks were mathematically eliminated from making it 15 in a row. Either Kansas State or Texas Tech or both will wear the 2019 crown. No offense to the Jayhawks, but it was time. Kansas has done nothing but carry the Big 12 banner proudly every March. Sooners and Cowboys and
Cyclones and Wildcats and Mountaineers and Bears and Red Raiders all ebbed and flowed on the hardwood. But the Jayhawks always – ALWAYS! – gave the Big 12 national bragging rights in basketball. Still, it was a stain on the conference that no one could send the Jayhawks down to a second-place finish. Until now. And the cherry on top was OU's securing of an NCAA Tournament berth. The Sooners hadn't played like a March Madness team most of the winter, but bracketologists kept telling us OU was in the field of 68. Danged if the Sooners aren't starting to act like they belong. OU has won four of its last five games, and this was the Sooners' primo performance. Kristian Doolittle (24 points, 11 rebounds) was the best player on the floor, Brady Manek (21 points, 8-of-14 shooting) gave the Sooners consistent offense and Jamal Bieniemy (eight assists) played a marvelous floor game. The Sooners led 41-28 at halftime, extended the advantage quickly in the second half and Kansas trailed by at least 19 points until the final two minutes. At least this school year, David Beaty's Jayhawk footballers were more competitive than Bill Self's basketball squad. The Sooners were juiced from the start. From a 2-2 tie, they made six straight shots, four of them 3-pointers, the latter two in transition. Kansas trailed 18-7, and all across Middle America, hope soared that the Jayhawks' reign would end. The lead eventually reached 23-7 – KU's scoring drought lasted 5-1/2 minutes and spanned 10 possessions – but the Jayhawks didn't become Big 12 terrors by going gently into the good night. Kansas crawled back within eight, then came another OU spurt, 10 straight points, scored on five consecutive possessions, highlighted by a backwards pass from Bieniemy to Manek for a dunk. Then just to prove that the Sooners were all-in on making history this night, out came Red Panda for the halftime act. A Chinese acrobat on an eight-foot unicycle, flipping bowls from her instep on to the top of her head, in increasing increments until she launches five bowls from her foot onto the stack? Amazing. Then 15 bowls on top her head. More bowls than Kansas had consecutive Big 12 titles. Then came Kordonowy halfcourt shot, and wouldn't you know it, he's from Kansas. Wichita, to be precise. But don't worry. “I hate KU, actually,” Kordonowy said at halftime. “So I hope we end that streak tonight.” Mission accomplished.