Trae Young Scores 26 as No. 12 Oklahoma Comes Back to Upset No. 5 Kansas

The No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks are the bullies of the Big 12, but Trae Young and the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners were top dogs Tuesday with an 85-80 victory at Lloyd Noble Center.

Young poured in 26 points and dished out nine assists, but it was Christian James and Brady Manek who drilled the biggest shots of the game. James hit a go-ahead three-pointer with just more than a minute remaining to put Oklahoma ahead by two, and Manek's three with less than 30 seconds left pushed the lead to five and all but iced it.

It was a much-needed win for the Sooners, as it snapped a two-game losing streak and moved them within a game of the Jayhawks in the Big 12. The Sooners are 5-3 in the conference, while Kansas is 6-2 as it pursues its 14th straight regular-season Big 12 crown.

It was fitting James and Manek played significant roles in the outcome considering they were the only Sooners outside of Young to score in double figures. James finished with 15 points and four boards, while Manek added 14 points and tied a team high with seven rebounds.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had the hot hand for the Jayhawks with six three-pointers on his way to 24 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Malik Newman was also impressive with 20 points, five rebounds and four steals.

However, the Jayhawks failed to protect a lead that was as big as 10 in the second half in part because of poor free-throw shooting. Udoka Azubuike went an abysmal 1-of-7 from the charity stripe, drawing nothing but iron multiple times down the stretch to keep Oklahoma within striking distance.

It still looked as if Kansas would pull away when Mykhailiuk's three-pointer with less than 10 minutes left made it 72-62, but Young went into takeover mode and scored nine of Oklahoma's next 12 points to set up the dramatic finish.

It was the type of display that has put him on the short list of National Player of the Year contenders. Though he's most lauded for his scoring, he had no issue finding open teammates when Kansas pressed on his shot and sent additional defenders his way.

George Schroeder of USA Today highlighted the impressive showing against one of the best teams in the nation:

Oklahoma will need more outings like Tuesday's from its star player if it is finally going to wrestle the Big 12 away from Kansas. It will look to keep things rolling Saturday against Alabama, while the Jayhawks will attempt to put the loss in the rearview mirror with a showdown against Texas A&M the same day.