Kansas trailed Kansas State by 17 points with 18:53 left on Saturday. It was a road game in a hostile environment against an in-state rival. Teams don’t usually come back from that.
Somehow, though, Kansas did.
The Jayhawks outscored KSU 42-22 in the final 18-plus minutes to escape Bramlage Coliseum with a 78-75 victory, improving KU to 14-1 in its past 15 games against Bruce Weber’s Wildcats. Kansas is now 30-5 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum.
“[Kansas State] should have won today,” Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters afterward. “They controlled the game. They were better than us.”
The game represented the end of a draining week for Self, who lost his father, Bill Self Sr., after a long illness on Friday. The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach was understandably emotional when addressing his players in the locker room after the win.
“We knew it meant a lot,” said Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji, who scored KU’s final six points and finished with a team-high 29. “We went out in the second half and battled. I’m glad that we could get the win for him.”
The come-from-behind victory pushed the Jayhawks’ record to 16-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big 12. They’re now 9-2 in the first two quadrants with wins over Michigan State and Iowa State. They’ll take a four-game winning streak into Monday’s game with Texas Tech.
Kansas remains No. 4 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 12th consecutive day. Barring a surprise, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers — fresh off of a win over Kentucky — will also move to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday for the first time in school history.
