STILLWATER, Okla. _ Kansas' basketball team remained a success in prime time, knocking off Oklahoma State 65-50 at Gallagher-Iba Arena for its 15th straight victory on ESPN's Big Monday.
Junior guard Marcus Garrett flirted with a triple double, dishing nine assists with eight rebounds and seven points in 34 minutes, while freshman Christian Braun went for 16 points and nine boards, as KU _ despite having problems feeding big man Udoka Azubuike against the Cowboys' zone defense and in spite of Devon Dotson's foul trouble _ improved to 70-18 on Big Monday. Isaiah Moss had 13 points for KU.
The No. 3-ranked Jayhawks (17-3, 6-1 Big 12), who made 11 of 33 threes to OSU's horrific 2 of 18 mark, improved to 4-0 on the road in conference play despite seeing an early 17-point lead (24-7) dip to one (25-24) late in the first half.
KU rebuilt a five-point halftime lead to 21 points with 7:43 to play thanks in part to a 13-0 run that stretched a 32-28 advantage to 45-28. The Cowboys had just 10 points in the second half in the first 14 minutes.
Kansas won despite big man Azubuike scoring six points on 3-of-4 shooting with seven boards. He did not attempt a shot the first half. Also, Dotson, who had two fouls the fist half and picked up his third at 17:08 of the second, had 11 points and three assists in 25 minutes.
KU fired away from three against OSU, hitting 6 of 19 in the first half to the Cowboys' 2 of 12 in leading 29-24 at the break against OSU (10-10, 0-7 Big 12).
The Jayhawks led 12-4 when Dotson left the game with his second foul at the 12:26 mark. He returned with KU up, 24-9, at 6:42.
The Cowboys used a 15-0 run to slice KU's 24-7 lead to 24-22 at 2:48. Cameron McGriff had seven points in the run.
The Pokes were able to cut the gap to 25-24 at 1:10. However, Dotson and Braun each scored and KU had its five-point halftime advantage.
Self brought walk-on Michael Jankovich in off the bench the final 41 seconds of the half to protect Dotson, a player Self did not want to pick up a third foul prior to half.
The Jayhawks won their second straight game in a building that's caused KU major problems of late.
KU had entered Monday's game having lost four of six in Gallagher-Iba. The Jayhawks also won their second game without the suspended David McCormack and Silvio De Sousa. McCormack has now completed his two-game suspension, while De Sousa will not return until the March 7 regular-season league finale at Texas Tech. They were suspended for their roles in a brawl at the end of the KU-K-State game on Jan. 21 in Allen Fieldhouse.
