Sooners fall to Kansas as Manek struggles
NORMAN—Brady Manek ran back on defense looking down and shaking his head.
The junior forward had just missed a layup late in the first half against Kansas. He tried to rebound and tip the ball in. Missed again. One more try at a tip, this time fighting more Kansas defenders — missed again.
Manek, who was a big part of the Sooners last two home wins against Kansas, struggled Tuesday night as Oklahoma fell 66-52 to the No. 6-ranked Jayhawks. Manek averaged 17.5 points the first two time she played Kansas at home but scored just 10 points in this meeting.
The look of frustration on Manek's face continued to show with each miss. He finished 4-of-16 from the floor.
Oklahoma didn't have to worry about defending Jayhawks sophomore guard Devon Dotson. The Big12' s leading scorer, Dotson sat out the game. He got banged up when the Jayhawks played Baylor on Saturday. With him out, the focus became senior center Udoka Azubuike.
The job of guarding Azubuike fell mostly to Manek who knew he needed to do to contain Azubuike.
"You just try not to leave him,” Manek said before the game. “He's physical, he's big. He's going to stay in the post. He's going to try to hit you, and you've just got to hit him first. Can't leave him. You've got to block him out. You've got to make sure he doesn't catch it where he wants it."
Manek executed the plan he outlined for parts of the game, pushing back against Azubuike and staying close to him. But Azubuike still got the better of Manek at times.
Once in the first half, when Manek was able to get around Azubuike and block him out, Azubuike got called for a foul trying to reach over Manek for the ball. But Manek couldn't get around Azubuike every time. As the solid frame of the Kansas center blocked out Manek and dunked a rebound, Manke lowered his head slightly before running to get set up on offense.
Azubuike finished with 16 points, second only to senior guard Isaiah Moss, who had a game-high 20 points.
As Manekf ought Azubuike for a rebound with about five minutes left in the game, the ball got hit out of bounds. The official called it Kansas ball. Manek turned around, threw his arms in the air and let out an angry yell.
Manek hit one last 3-point shot with under a minute left, but he didn't celebrate.
His and Oklahoma' s unbeaten streak against the Jayhawks at home had come to an end.