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How Did Kansas Come Back? is a blog about the history of the state of Kansas.
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The game
It was the middle of the fourth quarter and the score was tied. The home crowd was on their feet, cheering for their team. The away crowd was silent, waiting for their team to make a come back. The home team had the ball and was driving down the field. The away team’s defense was stop them. It was fourth down and the home team was about to punt the ball.
The teams
In basketball, a team scores points by shooting the ball through a hoop. The team with more points at the end of the game wins.
In the game of basketball, two teams play against each other. Each team has five players on the court at one time. The game is played with a round, orange ball.
One team is called the offense. The other team is called the defense. The offense tries to score points by shooting the ball into their basket. The defense tries to stop them from scoring by guarding them and blocking their shots.
The game is divided into four quarters, each lasting twelve minutes. At the end of each quarter, the team with more points scores wins that quarter. The final score is determined by adding up all the points from all four quarters.
If both teams have scored the same number of points at the end of regulation time, then there is overtime. In overtime, each team gets one extra chance to score. The first team to score in overtime wins the game.
The players
The game was played on October 28, 2018, between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs were the away team and were leading the game by a score of 24-17. However, the Broncos scored a touchdown to tie the game at 24-24 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Chiefs then drove down the field and kicker Harrison Butker made a field goal to give the Chiefs a 27-24 lead with just seconds remaining. The Broncos then got the ball back and quarterback Case Keenum threw a Hail Mary pass which was caught by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown. This gave the Broncos a 31-27 lead with no time remaining on the clock.
The first half
In the first half, Kansas looked like they were out of it. They were down by 14 points and their offense looked stagnant. However, they were able to make some adjustments and come out in the second half and take the lead.
The first quarter
The Jayhawks began the game on an 8–0 run, but then the Cyclones took control of the game with a 13–4 run to go up by six, 19–13, at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter
In the second quarter, the momentum began to shift. The Jayhawks’ aggressiveness on both ends picked up, and by halftime, they had cut the lead to single digits.
After the break, it was more of the same. The Jayhawks’ defense stifled Iowa State’s offense, and their own offense began to click. By the end of the third quarter, they had taken the lead.
In the fourth quarter, both teams traded baskets for a while before Kansas finally began to pull away. With just over a minute to go, they were up by seven, and although Iowa State scored a few more points, it wasn’t enough. Kansas held on to win by four.
The second half
The third quarter
With the score 48–32 in Kansas’s favor at the half, things looked bleak for the Jayhawks. But KU coach Bill Self called a timeout, and his team came out firing in the third quarter. The Jayhawks went on a 10–0 run to start the half, and by the end of the quarter, they had extended their lead to 20 points.
It was a complete turnaround from the first half, when KU had been outscored by 11 points. Self said afterward that his team’s performance in the third quarter was “the best we’ve played all year.”
The Jayhawks didn’t let up in the fourth quarter, and ended up winning 92–74. Senior guard Devonte’ Graham led the way with 28 points, while junior forward Lagerald Vick added 22.
The fourth quarter
The fourth quarter started with the Jayhawks down by 14. Udoka Azibuike, who had been quiet for most of the game, scored eight points in the first four minutes of the quarter to cut the lead to six. The Jayhawks then went on an 8-0 run to take the lead for good.
During the run, Marcus Garrett made a layup and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to put Kansas up 63-62 with 6:52 left in the game.
It was a back-and-forth battle from there, with neither team leading by more than two points until SedrickAltman made two free throws with 19 seconds left to give Kansas a 73-69 lead.
After a Missouri timeout, Xavier Pinson missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game. Azibuike then grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws to seal the victory for Kansas.
The overtime
The game was intense. Both teams were playing their hardest and neither team was willing to give up. But in the end, Kansas came out on top. How did they do it?
The first overtime
In the first overtime, both teams had a chance to score, but neither team could take advantage. For the Jayhawks, self-inflicted mistakes were costly. First, senior guard Marcus Garrett turned the ball over trying to drive to the basket. Then, with a chance to tie the game, junior guard Devon Dotson missed a wide open layup.
The second overtime
Despite being down nine with just over two minutes to play, Bill Self’s Jayhawks stormed back to force overtime. In the first overtime, both teams traded blows, and it looked like it was going to take a second overtime to decide this one.
In the second overtime, Kansas finally took control. Sophomore Marcus Garrett hit a clutch three-pointer with just over a minute to play, and the Jayhawks never looked back, winning by a final score of 109- 106.
