Kansas dug its way out of a 15-point deficit at home on Saturday to open up Big 12 play with a dramatic come-from-behind win over Oklahoma State thanks to some stifling late defense, clutch shots and maybe some questionable officiating with the game on the line.
The No. 4 Jayhawks survived 69-67 despite trailing by two points with under one minute to play. KU got a go-ahead 3-pointer from Kevin McCullar with 45 seconds remaining and a pair of free throws with just over 20 seconds left to go up three, only for OSU guard Bryce Thompson to knot things at 67 with a 3-pointer moments later. Things got even more frenetic from there as KU rushed to the other end and got a bucket from KJ Adams at the rim to take the final lead.
OSU drew up a nice inbounds play under the basket to free up Thompson for a look at the rim, but McCullar crashed down hard on Thompson to swat the shot away. Officials made the decision not to call a foul on the play, which CBS analyst Clark Kellogg seemed to disagree with.
"Oh wow, that was a foul," Kellogg said on the CBS broadcast. "Bryce Thompson should have been at the line. That's a tough one."
Thompson, who originally signed with Kansas out of high school as a five-star recruit before transferring to Oklahoma State two years ago, tied a career-high with 23 points -- including 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range -- in the losing effort.
Kansas got 20 points from Jalen Wilson and 14 points from KJ Adams in its successful comeback bid with both Wilson and Adams teaming up to score 21 of KU's 39 second-half points.