Instacap: Oklahoma State Upsets Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse 84-79

Oklahoma State earned a signature win inside Allen Fieldhouse with a near wire-to-wire victory behind career games from both Kendall Smith and Cam McGriff.

The Cowboys started well building a 9-5 lead on 4 of 9 shooting and held KU to a 1-of-6 start. The shots weren’t falling from deep early with OSU starting 1 of 7 from 3. But most of those shots were good looks and when they started falling, Oklahoma State was able to build a 26-14 lead and sustain it through halftime. The Cowboys finished the first half hitting 7 of their last 11 from 3 and led 46-33 at the break.

OSU’s dominant first half was about more than just a shooting streak. It owned the boards, out-rebounding Kansas 27-17 and won the offensive rebound battle 13-7. OSU won on second-chance points, 22-3, and held the Jayhawks to 0 fast-break points in the opening frame.

Oklahoma State made the most of KU’s mistakes, when they occurred. The Cowboys scored 15 points off of the first five Jayhawk turnovers while surrendering none on their own first five.

Four Cowboys scored in double digits overall, led by career highs from Kendall Smith and Cam McGriff with 24 and 20 each. McGriff’s 20 points came on 10 shots. He also grabbed 9 rebounds (three on offense) and had two poster dunks.

Kendall Smith again came up huge in a big game. He earned his 24 on 10 of 16 shooting and had five rebounds and five assists. Jeffrey Carroll and Lindy Waters pitched in 15 and 11, respectively.

The 13-point halftime lead tied for the biggest KU’s had this year. The other was against West Virginia, but the Jayhawks rebounded in the second and beat the Mountaineers 71-66 in Morgantown.

Kansas’ Malik Newman came to life after an 0-4 first half, making his first three shots after the break and manning the inevitable Kansas surge to pull within 7. The Rock Chalk faithful came to life themselves after a 7-0 KU run.

But instead of falling apart, Oklahoma State answered with its own 5-0 run ignited by an ungodly slam dunk by McGriff.

This seems impossible. pic.twitter.com/DxeM7LXUWG

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) February 3, 2018

Kansas pulled back within 7 with seven minutes remaining and had the momentum when a near-made 3-pointer by Cam McGriff was called off (correctly) for a shot-clock violation.

Smith had a couple of late-game turnovers but seemed to come up with a bucket whenever Oklahoma State needed it down the stretch.

The Cowboys held on to with some clutch free throws by Smith to keep the Jayhawks at bay and win in Lawrence for the first time since 2013. It’s obviously a huge win for a rebuilding team and puts OSU right back in contention as a bubble team if it can finish the season strong.