Kansas Jayhawks got 2 FTs — not 3 — on crucial play vs. K-State. Big 12 explains why

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji rose for a three-point attempt. An official blew his whistle a moment later, calling a foul on Kansas State’s Selton Miguel.

This was with 55.4 seconds left in KU’s 78-75 road victory over Kansas State on Saturday, and the Jayhawks’ bench was convinced Agbaji was about to get three free throws, which would have potentially allowed KU to tie the score.

That’s not what happened, though. Instead, officials motioned for Agbaji to get two shots. KU coach Bill Self blew up on the sideline, screaming out while claiming it should’ve been a shooting foul.

The sequence all ended up as a footnote after Agbaji made both freebies, then hit a game-winning shot the next possession. But many KU fans still wondered afterward: What exactly was the call on the then-controversial play?

The Star contacted the Big 12 office Sunday, with the conference explaining the call via a statement from Big 12 coordinator of officials Curtis Shaw.

“The shooter had returned to the floor so the ‘act of shooting’ had ended,” Shaw said of Agbaji and K-State’s foul. “Therefore it becomes a 1-and-1, or in this case, two-shot foul, because they were in the double-bonus.”

Self wasn’t directly asked about the play on Saturday night but brought it up before discussing Agbaji’s game-winning shot.

“I still don’t know he wouldn’t get three free throws instead of two,” Self said. “But he didn’t, and nobody really explained it to me.”

Here’s another look at the play, both from the live broadcast and also an overhead replay.

KU’s clutch plays helped secure the victory after it trailed, 50-34, at halftime. According to the Jayhawks’ media guide, the 16-point rally was the largest halftime comeback in school history.