Three Things to Know Before Oklahoma State Faces Kansas

Oklahoma State heads into the Phog this weekend to face a Kansas team that’s riding the line between reeling and rebounding.

The Cowboys are in Lawrence on Saturday, a place they’ve not won in seven years, in search of their first Big 12 road win. But the Pokes are coming off one of their best performances in recent memory while the Jayhawks have struggled of late.

Let’s take a look at Oklahoma State’s road trip to face No. 23 Kansas and three things you should know about the matchup.

1. The Jayhawks Are Slumping

If two games is a slump and three is a streak, the Cowboys could set the Jayhawks on their first losing streak in four seasons.

Kansas is coming off consecutive losses in the state of Utah after dropping a 74-67 decision at Utah before getting run out of the gym in Provo, losing to BYU 91-57. The 34-point loss tied for the worst loss in the Bill Self era and third-worst in school history.

So what’s up with the Jayhawks?

At BYU, they shot just 36.5% from the field, 28.1% from 3 and tied a season low scoring just 57 points. They also coughed up 15 turnovers for 15 BYU points and were outrebounded by 10. It was a performance Self called “awful,” but it underlines what’s been a disappointing year for KU. #BluebloodProbz

KU’s seven losses as a ranked team to an unranked team ties for the most its suffered in the AP era (since 1948-49), according to ESPN. A loss to OSU would obviously break that record. It was also the first time a preseason AP No. 1 team has lost by 30-plus points, ever.

2. Two Extremes

The good news for the Cowboys (if momentum counts for anything) is that while Kansas is coming off its worst loss in years, OSU is coming off its biggest offensive explosion in some time.

OSU followed up one its worst offensive outings with its best, bouncing back from an embarrassing 93-55 shellacking at the hands of Texas Tech by hanging 104 points on UCF. The Knights are not the same team as either the Red Raiders or the Jayhawks, but it was a big step forward for the Pokes and gave them a pretty clear blueprint for success. Play better defense, force turnovers and pay them off with fastbreak points. (See KU’s last outing.)

The question is which KU team they will face on Saturday.

3. A Milestone Opportunity

Kansas is one of those programs we use to measure progress or high points against, and there’s at least a loose tie between OSU’s upcoming trip to Lawrence and the last time they won in the Phog.

Despite the Jayhawks’ recent struggles, Allen Fieldhouse will probably always be a daunting atmosphere. Kansas is 12-2 at home with its only losses coming to West Virginia in its Big 12 opener back on New Year’s Eve and then a double-overtime loss to No. 5 Houston. The Cowboys haven’t won there since 2018, having lost six straight in Lawrence. Now, this year’s team head to Lawrence in search of its first Big 12 road win.

That last win came in Mike Boynton’s inaugural season at OSU’s head coach. He actually went 2-0 against the Jayhawks that year, currying him plenty of favor with the Cowboy faithful. OSU beat No. 7 Kansas 84-79 in Lawrence before capping its regular season with an 82-64 win over the Jayhawks in GIA.

Steve Lutz won’t get the opportunity to go 2-0 against KU thanks to the Big 12’s expansion and the subsequent scheduling rotation, at least not in the regular season. But a win against a ranked Kansas team on the road would be a big step and an early career milestone for OSU’s first-year coach.

Again, the biggest question hinges on which KU team they face. It could go one of two ways. The Jayhawks could slip from slump into losing streak and the momentum both teams are riding in could keep them going in opposite trajectories. Or there’s a very plausible scenario that plays out in which the Jayhawks respond after getting punched in the mouth and the Cowboys come in hungover a bit from the midweek scoring binge. If either of those later possibilities prove out, the Pokes could be walking into a lion’s den.

The Cowboys and Jayhawks tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse.