Halftime Musings: Jayhawks runs to 44-26 halftime lead over Cowboys

Kansas raced out to an early lead and didn't let Oklahoma State come back.

Fans of the Kansas Jayhawks are used to seeing their team race out to a big lead early in a game, only to surrender that lead by taking their foot off the gas. Tonight, Kansas jumped out to a big lead over the Oklahoma State Cowboys thanks to a 21-5 run and never looked back.

Here are some impressions from the first half as Jayhawks have a dominant 44-26 lead at halftime:

Energy

The biggest difference off the bat seems to be the energy level that Kansas is playing with in this game. Kevin McCullar did not suit up, resting his knee injury instead. That meant Elmarko Jackson got the start, and boy did he make the most of it. We'll get to him more in a minute.

The increase energy has come through most clearly on the defensive end. Instead of wide open three after wide open three, Kansas has been closing out well on shooters, making those shots much more difficult than they have been recently. It's not entirely fair to lay the blame on McCullar's injury, but it's clear that having 4 healthy perimeter players has made a huge difference.

Red-Hot Shooting

The Jayhawks picked a good night to heat up from the field. It's been a struggle recently, especially from three. But with 3:28 left in the half, Kansas was a blistering 5-7 from beyond the arc, and shooting 73% overall.

Kansas has not only been shooting well, but they have been taking good shots too, with lots of passing to a wide open shooter. And of course it's been great to see WHO has been making them:

Dajuan Harris, Elmarko Jackson & Nic Timberlake are a combined 4/5 from three tonight. This is just the 2nd game this season that all three players have made a three in the same game. Couldn't have happened at a better time for the #Jayhawks. #KUbball

— Creighton Coover (@kucr8ton) January 31, 2024

Clutch Bench Play

The players that typically come off the bench (including Elmarko Jackson here) have been electric tonight, as Jackson has made the most of his starting nod tonight. He is 3-5 from the field, including a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc. He also had a rebound, an assist and just one turnover.

But he wasn't alone. Nick Timberlake had a three off the bench, with four defensive rebounds and an assist. Jamari McDowell had an assist in just two minutes. Parker Braun had 2 rebounds and a steal. And the biggest sign of the great play was that Dajuan Harris sat for nearly four minutes of game time, during which the team went on a 11-2 run.

This is the type of growth we need to see if Kansas wants to hit their ceiling this season.