No. 3-ranked Oklahoma may well have lost this game in the opening 10 minutes of the first half, when Kansas fired out to a 20-6 lead as the normally sharp-shooting Sooners couldn’t buy a basket early. Oklahoma made just 2 of its first 19 shots and ended the half with only 8 field goals total in shooting a season-
low 27 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Were it not for making 15 of 18 free throws, OU would have trailed by much more than five points at the half.
The nation’s second-leading scorer, Buddy Hield, was 0 for 6 in first-half field goal tries and finished the half with just six points total, all on free throws.