How a rare play — and an on-the-fly audible — helped Kansas Jayhawks to a win over OU

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I thought at first that a play call saved Kansas in a crucial moment. Instead, it was a player.

Seventh-ranked KU survived 67-64 at Oklahoma on Tuesday night, and frankly, it did so by mimicking most other teams under coach Bill Self in Big 12 play.

In the final minutes, the Jayhawks performed their absolute best.

“We executed perfectly down the stretch,” Self said.

The player who brought KU back from a four-point deficit late with two threes was Ochai Agbaji. And he had plenty of help on his first make.

Self dialed up a rarely used baseline out-of-bounds play. This one’s sole purpose is to get an open three when KU needs one while behind, and even though Oklahoma’s players motioned like they knew what was coming ... they did not.

David McCormack and Jalen Wilson combined to form an elevator screen. First, Agbaji ran through, then McCormack’s door crashed in Agbaji’s defender Elijah Harkless.

Agbaji had more than enough space in the corner to bury the three.

“Great execution,” Wilson said. “I mean, he’s gonna have the confidence to knock that shot down regardless, and we knew that he was gonna be there open.”

The next one by Agbaji, though, to tie it 30 seconds later? A player making an NBA-type read on the fly.

Start with this: KU runs this particular sideline out-of-bounds play often. Here’s an example from Agbaji’s sophomore season, when he uses Udoka Azubuike’s screen to cut to the rim for an alley-oop slam.

There’s no way Oklahoma’s coaches didn’t know about this one. And there’s nothing more that staffs hate than potentially giving up easy baskets on lobs, especially at game point.

So when KU runs it with 2:53 left, the Sooners appear ready. Harkless knows McCormack’s screen is coming, so he goes under it to make sure there’s no way Agbaji gets to the rim unimpeded.

Except ... Agbaji doesn’t go there. Instead, he calls his own audible.

After seeing where Harkless is playing him, he jab-steps toward the rim, then quickly circles back to the three-point line.

Dajuan Harris gives him the pass. And Agbaji once again is completely clear for a three.

“He’s the best player in the country,” teammate Christian Braun said. “That’s what the best player in the country does down the stretch.”

Self said afterward that Braun and Agbaji didn’t have their best games overall. Part of that could have been Agbaji injuring his left wrist in the first half, which required an X-ray before returning to the game.

Those two carried KU late, though. Agbaji made his threes, then scored in the final minute on a layup drive designed for him. He also passed off on the game-deciding possession when Braun buried a guarded three to give KU a three-point lead with 10.9 seconds left.

“For those guys to step up and make those plays in the last four minutes, I think speaks volumes of talent,” Self said, “but also more importantly, toughness and character.”

In press conferences, Self often likens basketball games to tennis matches. In the latter, he says, you don’t have to win every point to take a match ... but you do have to win the most important ones in the clutches of moments.

The Jayhawks prevailed in those instances Tuesday. They went precisely where their coach needed on one set, then pivoted brilliantly when the defense over-prepared on the second.

For a night, that was a perfect blend of plays and players.

And another Self team at KU following the close-game recipe needed to win Big 12 championships.