Kansas Jayhawks At Oklahoma Sooners Basketball | Three Keys To Victory

On January 19, Oklahoma traveled to Lawrence, and was disappointed. A terrible first half proved to be too much to overcome. Oklahoma can avenge that loss on Saturday. Ninth ranked Kansas will be coming into town riding an emotional high after a dramatic overtime win against West Virginia.

In that win against WVU, Kansas wrapped up a share of its 11th straight Big 12 title. With a win, the Sooners would put themselves in a position to, at the very least, share a second place finish in conference.

The Jayhawks will be coming to Norman and playing without McDonald's All-American and surefire top 10 pick, Cliff Alexander due to an NCAA investigation. Kansas will also be playing without leading scorer Perry Ellis, after he sprained a knee against WVU.

Oklahoma comes into the game looking to get back on track after a heart-wrenching loss at Iowa State on Monday, in which they led by 21 points in the second half. The Sooners had previously won 8 of its last 9 games.

KEYS TO THE GAME

1. REBOUNDING:

The Sooners gave up 14 offensive rebounds in the first meeting. With Alexander out, they should be able to have an advantage down low.

2. GET OUT AND RUN

With two of the Jayhawks' 5 leading scorers absent, the Sooners need to push the tempo. If Oklahoma can jump on them early, they can really emotionally hurt Kansas. It's highly unlikely that anyone comes back from a big deficit on the road.

3. TURNOVERS

When things go bad for OU, they play very erratic basketball. If Oklahoma can get some turnovers early, (see Key 2) this game might be over by halftime.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma; 85 - Kansas: 67