Kansas Storms Back To Beat Iowa State In Overtime

The Kansas Jayhawks moved closer to a ninth consecutive Big 12 title with a thrilling 108-96 win over Iowa State in Ames last night. The victory was Bill Self’s 500th career win, and the Jayhawks now have three winnable games remaining on their regular season schedule.

Elijah Johnson, who has been criticized all season for some poor play, had one of the most legendary performances in Kansas history. The senior scored a career-high 39 points, including eight in the final 29 seconds of regulation and 12 in overtime. Travis Releford added 19 efficient points, and Jeff Withey was a force in the paint to help Kansas keep pace with the red-hot Cyclones in the first half.

Iowa State nearly pulled off the win by hitting an insane 17 three pointers – a school record. The Cyclones’ 22-game home winning streak was snapped when Iowa State went cold in overtime as Johnson continued to score at will for the Jayhawks.

The Iowa State fans proceeded to throw plastic megaphones and concessions at the Kansas players after the game, due to Johnson dunking the ball with only a few seconds remaining on the clock. Johnson and Self both apologized for the dunk after the game.

Kansas has now passed the two toughest games it had on the backend of its schedule – on the road against Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Kansas hosts West Virginia and Texas Tech in its next two games, and the Mountaineers and Red Raiders are two of the weakest teams in the conference. The Jayhawks finish the season on the road against Baylor, who has been inconsistent all season. Kansas State, currently tied with Kansas in first, still has to travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State and also plays Baylor on the road. The road wins over OSU and ISU have put Kansas in a great position to once again win a Big 12 championship and earn a high seed for the NCAA tournament.

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