The Epic Showdown for 1st place in College Basketbal

Source: Kansas City Star

Frank Mason III celebrating the Jayhawks win

Owin Carreras, Staff Writer
January 7, 2016

On January 5th, 2016 The Kansas Jayhawks played the Oklahoma Sooners in an EPIC three overtime thriller. The game was an instant classic, people are still talking about the game and its days after. The Jayhawks are ranked number one in AP poll while the Sooners are ranked number one in Coaches poll.

The game was so epic because it was the first time number one and two went into three overtimes since 1957 when number one North Carolina against number two Kansas who played in the national championship! There were a couple controversial calls one between Oklahoma and another against the Jayhawks. At the end of regulation Wayne Selden Jr. was hit in the face while going into the paint for a shot but there wasn’t a foul called. Selden Jr. was clearly hit in the face when showed on replay but there still wasn’t a call.

The last play of the game was the most controversial call because Hield was inbounding the ball and Frank Mason III was covering the inbound pass. The referee told Mason III to give Hield space after the timeout. The inbound rule is that the player gives the in bounder a three foot space between each other. Mason III was clearly not three feet apart from Hield and that’s what gave him an edge to getting the steal and ending the game.

The Jayhawks won the game 109-106 with Perry Ellis leading the scoring on the team with 27 points along with 13 rebounds. Devonte Graham had 22 points with the go-ahead free throws to win the game.

The Sooners leading scorer was Buddy Hield who had 46 points, he absolutely went off! He had two turnovers that cost the Sooners the game and then missed a potential game tying 3. Jordan Woodyard hit 6 threes and finished with 27 points. Woodyard fouled out on Devonte Graham in the third overtime which eventually cost the Sooners the game.

The next meeting between the two teams will be Saturday February 13th, 2016 when the Jayhawks travel to Oklahoma to take on the Sooners. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN at 2:00 pm. There are no guarantees that the game will go into three overtimes but the game is going to be a good one.