Oklahoma
KU Prevents Oklahoma from illegally entering federally owned land prior to having authorization to do so
With Kansas getting key injured players back, and Oklahoma missing a couple, the Jayhawks entered this game as slight road favorites, despite a lot of uncharacteristic struggles on the road this season, even against the bottom of the of the conference. It was tough and go for a long time, but the Jayhawks eventually got the big road win their resume needed.
Kansas star Kevin McCullar, Jr returned from a nagging injury that had sidelined him for two straight games, the second of which was an embarrassing blowout loss in Lubbock. And while Dajuan Harris hasn’t missed any time, he did roll his ankle a week ago and didn’t look 100% against Tech this past week. It probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the two starters combined to shoot 8-26 (31%) from the floor, 3-12 (25%) from deep, and made it to the line for just four total attempts, only half of which went in. That said, the two players came up with some big plays when Kansas needed them, and getting the win ahead of a full week off will likely be a more positive experience coming off just the second road win for Kansas in Big 12 play, this one coming against a ranked opponent.
The first 30+ minutes of this game were ugly, largely for both teams. Oklahoma built up a team-high 11 point lead in the 1st, but they were getting locked down inside the arc and a lot of that lead was built on streaky 3 point shooting that wouldn’t last. Once the Sooners’ cooled off, this became a bit of a defensive slog for a good portion of the 2nd half. The offense would wake up eventually though. After Oklahoma clung to a six point lead a few minutes after the halftime break, and things finally started to go Kansas’ way. It took until the 9:07 mark for Kansas to finally take back the lead, 49-46. Shots started to drop from that point forward, and it took just until the 5:57 mark for KU’s first 2nd half lead, and their first double digit lead of the entire game.Oklahoma never put another run together, and Kansas improved to 8-5 in league play (though just 2-5 in Big 12 games) with a 67-57 victory that could definitely be described as a scrappy win.
Hunter Dickinson was the clear player of the game, with 20 points, 16 boards, and four assists. Despite their shooting difficulties, McCullar and Harris combined to score 21 points, with McCullar grabbing eight boards while Harris dished out seven assists. Johnny Furphy got his great run of form going again as well, scoring 15 with nine boards and four steals, exactly one week after he racked up six steals against Baylor. He also found his three point shooting groove again, hitting 3-5 after going just 1-13 from deep across the last three games.
As I previously mentioned, the Jayhawks get a well-deserved full week off before a home game against a Texas team that’s only won two of their last six. The Jayhawks sit at 8-5 in Big 12 play, which lands them just 4th in the conference. If the team wants to get things clicking again before March comes around, McCullar, Harris, and everyone else will need to spend the week healing up as we head down the final stretch of regular season play.
Oklahoma
Fire Crews respond to commercial fire in SW Oklahoma City Wednesday afternoon
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Oklahoma City fire crews responded to a commercial fire in SW Oklahoma City on Wednesday afternoon.
The Oklahoma City Fire Department said crews responded to a fire at a vacant restaurant near SW 29th and South Miller Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.
Crews extinguished the flames, which were shooting up through the roof, according to OKCFD.
No injuries were reported, and OKCFD is working to determine the cause of the fire.
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Oklahoma
Woman hospitalized after house fire in northeast Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Authorities say one woman was taken to the hospital following an early morning house fire in northeast Oklahoma City.
Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Oklahoma City firefighters were called to a house fire near N.E. 13th St. and Missouri.
When crews arrived, they found the victim on the front porch of the home.
“When they got off the rig and initiated offensive fire attack, found one victim on the front porch. Appeared she was maybe suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire was relatively small. It was contained to one bedroom in the back. The patient was transported, was treated here, and then transported to OU,” said Batt. Chief Brad Smith, with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
Officials said the fire originated in the back of the house, in a back bedroom near the closet.
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However, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Oklahoma
Bode Sparrow commits Friday: why BYU is Oklahoma’s biggest threat for the Davis star
Kaysville (Utah) Davis athlete Bode Sparrow cut his list to four back in May and has now locked in his commitment date.
Sparrow is a tremendous player on both sides of the ball and checks in as the No. 77 player nationally in the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.
He will make his long awaited college choice this Friday, May 25 from a final four of BYU, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
In handicapping this race, two schools jump out for us. The first is Oklahoma. I put a commit prediction in for the Sooners back in March and there was some buzz that he could commit around that time.
Sparrow decided to hold off making an early decision in order to take his official visits. Oklahoma was the first visit locked in and for awhile, the only visit that was set, giving even more credence to the Sooners being the team to beat.
“They really believe in me and have a vision for me there,” Sparrow told us after his official visit. “They show me so much love and I have such great relationships with the coaches there.
“I also really like the town of Norman and the plan in place for me from a safety/scheme standpoint. They really have everything I’m looking for in a school. Brent Venables is great, a defensive minded head coach and I just love the all around fit.”
Sparrow followed up his visit to OU with trips to Oregon, Utah and BYU. The Ducks made a big impression and should be considered a dark horse. They are easily one of the toughest schools to recruit against and it would surprise no one if Sparrow ends in Eugene.
Saying that, the school that is gaining a lot of momentum and looks to be Oklahoma’s biggest challenger is BYU. For months we talked to some close to Sparrow, college coaches and trainers who all said the same thing, ‘don’t rule out BYU in the end.’
No one has recruited Sparrow longer than the Cougs. He has been on campus more than any other school, he’s strong in his LDS faith and he has a great connection with the BYU staff including head coach Kalani Sitake.
BYU was able to get the final visit over the weekend and there is some quiet confidence in Provo as well as from a few other recruits/commits who were also on the visit. With the church connection, we’ve long said in a head to head battle, BYU is very tough to beat, especially for an in-state player.
Saying that, there are still Sooner commits we’ve talked to convinced Sparrow is still headed to Norman. That’s why this recruitment has become one of the more fascinating ones to follow this cycle, it’s one of those rare instances where days away from a decision, it could still go in multiple directions.
For now, my commit prediction remains on Oklahoma but BYU is closing fast and this one close to a toss up with a decision quickly approaching.
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