No. 16 Kansas State beats Oklahoma 69-60

Down 66-56 with just under a minute to play, the Sooners resorted to fouling, and the Wildcats prevailed.

The game stayed close in the first half thanks to Oklahoma's rebounding and Kansas State's scoring off turnovers. The Sooners' 20-10 edge on the boards yielded 16 points in the paint in the first half, but the Wildcats offset that advantage by scoring 19 points off 11 Oklahoma turnovers.

"That's entirely because of Kansas State," Kruger said. "I thought their defense was outstanding."

The Sooners got as much separation as they ever would when Andrew Fitzgerald scored twice in the paint and was credited with two more points after a goaltending call. The sequence gave Oklahoma a 12-7 lead 6 minutes into the game.

Consecutive 3s by Spradling allowed Kansas State within 14-13 of Oklahoma midway through the first half.

"I really started to understand what they were trying to do to guard us, and it actually got real easy towards the end to read them on the screens," Spradling said. "With our bigs screening the way they did today, it was real easy to get open."

The Wildcats briefly took the lead after Rodriguez stole the ball and converted on a fastbreak layup.

The teams traded baskets, and then an emphatic dunk by Osby on an inbounds play gave the Sooners a 21-17 lead. Two free throws each by McGruder and Adrian Diaz tied the game.

The free throws were the first points for McGruder, but apparently those were enough to get him going. He proceeded to drain 3s on three straight possessions.

The Wildcats would go on to make 10 3s in the game.

"It's a difference-maker in the game when you study the stats because they had more field goals than us and overall they dominated the rebounds," Weber said. "If you run motion, you keep moving the ball, you keep spacing, it's going to get to the shooters, and finally we're starting to make some shots."

Following McGruder's trio of long-range shots, a dunk by Diaz and a 3 by Southwell gave Kansas State a 35-27 halftime lead.

Kansas State won't get to celebrate long. On Tuesday the Wildcats host No. 4 Kansas, their archrival and a perennial championship contender.

"It doesn't stop here," McGruder said. "We just better prepare for Kansas."