4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU 59 - OU 58
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2006
Sophomore guard Russell Robinson drives down the court on a fast break. Robinson led the team with five assists and four rebounds.
Big 12 Power Rankings
1. Texas
2. Kansas
4. Iowa
5. Colorado
3. Oklahoma
6. Nebraska
7. Texas Tech
9. Texas A&M
8. 0klahoma State
10. Missouri
11. Kansas State
Texas held onto the top spot by beating Texas A&M on Saturday in Austin, Texas. Every voter had Texas in first place. The Longhorns have the best record in the Big 12 Conference, losing only to Oklahoma in Norman, Okla.
Kansas jumped one spot in the rankings by holding on in a thriller on Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks have won 12 of their past 14, and were a unanimous No.2 decision in the voting.
Editor's Note: The Kansan Big 12 Power Rankings are voted on by Ryan Colaianni and Daniel Berk, Kansas men's basketball writers, as well as Eric Sorrentino, sports editor, and Erick R. Schmidt, associate sports editor.
Iowa State helped its own cause by smacking Colorado on Sunday in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones boast one of the most explosive backcourts in the conference, and Curtis Stinson cemented that by going off for a triple-double against the Buffaloes. Stinson had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists with only two turnovers. Three of the four voters had Iowa State at four, and the other voter had them at five.
The Big 12 pillow fight of the week between Baylor and Kansas State had the Bears knocking off Jim Woolridge's Wildcats in a match-up in Waco, Texas. Still, The Wildcats' 3-5 conference record, compared to the Bears' 1-7, was enough to keep the 'Cats out of the bottom spot for at least one more week.
Jared Gab/KANSAN
Kansas coach Bill Self raises his hands in victory as he heads to the locker room after the Jayhawks defeats Oklahoma 59-58. Kansas was down by as many as 16 points in the middle of the second half and came back with the one-point win.
Screams of celebration on Sunday fill the Fieldhouse after Kansas' thriller victory against
Oklahoma took the lead back with less than 30 seconds to play with a three-point shot by Neal in the corner, but freshman guard Mario Chalmers responded quickly, driving into the lane on the other end and hitting a soft floater to give Kansas the lead for good.
Game
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"I looked at coach, he was just saying push the ball up and that's what I tried to do," Chalmers said. "I got to the paint and Bookout fell, so I was just tried to take the shot and fortunately I hit the shot."
Self's actions after the game were evidence to the excitement of the game. The coach stood at the entrance to the tunnel to his team's locker room with his hand in the air, taking high-fives from each of his players. A joyous student section stood behind him, and his players high-fived the crowd on their way off the floor.
Down nine early in the first half, Kansas used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to get back in the game and take a one-point lead before going down three at halftime.
After five close losses earlier in the season, Kansas was happy to finally pull out a narrow win.
"It's a real big win, to finally get a close one, to prove some people wrong that we can get a win in a close game," Rush said.
The Jayhawks were lucky to be in the game after struggling to score early, missing open three-point shots and turning the ball over on early possessions.
Basketball notes:
Rush sets record
Rush overtook senior Christian Moody as the team's career-active points leader.
Home court advantage
The victory was Kansas' eight straight against Oklahoma in games played in Allen Fieldhouse.
Being 16 points down was the largest deficit Kansas has faced in a victory since the January 2005 game against Georgia Tech.
Saving the best for last
Winning streak continues The victory was Kansas' 12th in its past 14 games
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Oklahoma
Edited by Hayley Travis