Kansas vs. Oklahoma State: Score, Twitter Reaction for Cowboys' Upset Win

In a stunning turn of events at Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State knocked off No. 8 Kansas with a huge second-half rally for a 67-62 win Saturday, significantly boosting its NCAA tournament credentials. 

Here was the scene in Stillwater after the final buzzer, via ESPN College Basketball on Twitter:

"

Oklahoma State UPSETS #8 Kansas 67-62. Jayhawks had 11 point lead at the half. L.Nash (OKST) 18 Pts, 5 Reb #KUvsOKST pic.twitter.com/9Rdn0LmZ6G

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 7, 2015"

The Jayhawks led the game 41-30 after the first half, but the Cowboys stormed out of the gate in the second half on a 23-8 run to take a 53-49 lead with just under 11 minutes to play. They would hold the lead for the rest of the game, rolling to a second straight victory over a ranked opponent after beating No. 25 Texas on Wednesday. 

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports summed up Oklahoma State's unlikely week of success masterfully:

Neither team shot the ball well. Kansas hit 39.6 percent of its attempts, while Oklahoma State was slightly better at 40 percent. The Jayhawks were far superior at hitting shots from beyond the arc, though, connecting on 10 of 20 attempts. The Cowboys were just 3-of-16. 

The difference came with Oklahoma State's defensive tenacity in the second half, as well as free-throw woes for the Jayhawks. Bill Self's team went 10-of-19 from the line, including two crucial misses by Frank Mason III and Perry Ellis in the final minute. 

Wayne Selden Jr. was the lone bright spot for Kansas, scoring 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and continuing to show range with his shot, as Joshua Riddell of DraftExpress noted:

Unfortunately for Kansas, losing in Stillwater is nothing new. As SportsCenter's official Twitter pointed out, Self hasn't figured out how to consistently win at Oklahoma State since taking over the Jayhawks:

Taking things deeper, ESPN Stats & Info noted Oklahoma State has experienced more success against Self than any other Big 12 team:

Perhaps that's not a coincidence, since Self played college basketball at Oklahoma State and spent seven years as an assistant coach with the Cowboys. He told Jesse Newell of The Topeka Capital-Journal that Stillwater doesn't hold the same spot in his heart it used to.

“The place is important to me,” Self said. “A lot of people there helped raise me and that kind of stuff, so (I’m) appreciative. But over 30 years, it kind of dwindles, the emotion that you have when you go back.”

That love may be even more fleeting for Self after this loss. His team had things well in hand for the first half, yet it had no answer on offense at the end of the game. Oklahoma State used a balanced attack from its starting five, led by Le'Bryan Nash's 18 points, but only one bench player scored for the Cowboys. 

This was about Travis Ford's defense locking down in the second half. The Cowboys coach doesn't have a sterling resume, but for some reason, he seems to match up well against Self. 

Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy took notice of the effort and offered his congratulations:

Joe Buettner of The Oklahoma Daily speculates this win will likely push Oklahoma State over the top in the bid for an NCAA tournament berth:

Despite being a pedestrian 6-5 in the Big 12, Oklahoma State has two wins over Texas, a victory over Baylor and this win over Kansas. Even with a soft nonconference schedule, the Cowboys' resume is starting to become too good for the selection committee to ignore. 

The loss may knock Kansas down a spot on the bracket at this point, though a 19-4 overall record (8-2 in the conference) leaves the Jayhawks with plenty of time to get back in the committee's good graces. They still have five games against teams currently ranked, as well as the Big 12 tournament, to make a move back to the No. 1 line. 

The bigger story is Oklahoma State currently moving into the tournament mix, a spot that had been tenuous coming into the day. Ford's team has to start building off these big wins, instead of playing down to the competition, to avoid falling back on the bubble over the regular season's final month.