NORMAN, Okla. Teddy Bridgewater . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr. that the freshman needed to be more aggressive on offence. Selden Jr. did what Self told him, scoring a career-high 24 points and going 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and No. 18 Kansas started Big 12 Conference play with a 90-83 win over Oklahoma. Kansas (10-4, 1-0) won its conference opener for the 23rd straight year, a streak that began with the 1991-92 season. Oklahoma, in January 1991, was the last team to beat the Jayhawks in a conference opener. "It was the confidence my teammates and coaches have in me," Selden Jr. said of his successful game. "I was out there just playing and not thinking. "Thats just Kansas basketball. Were trying to start off Big 12 play on the right foot, so we feel like weve got to go after all loose balls and weve got to pick up our defensive intensity. ... I know its tradition-rich and I just want to put forth my best effort and the team wants to put forth its best effort to keep it going." Perry Ellis had 22 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 11 rebounds, helping Kansas shoot 54.7 per cent from the field. After a 5-0 start, the Jayhawks lost four of its next eight and were coming off a 61-57 loss to San Diego State on Sunday that ended their 68-game home winning streak against nonconference foes. Kansas has won 11 of the last 12 matchups with Oklahoma. The Jayhawks latest win in the series could be especially important, considering the difficult stretch they face to start the Big 12 campaign. After Oklahoma, Kansas will host No. 25 Kansas State, visit No. 9 Iowa State, then host No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Baylor, all in succession. "Its going to be a monster," Self said. "Our league is great. When you think about OU and they go down and they win at Texas, and Texas wins at North Carolina. K-State is playing as well as anybody right now. Iowa State is obviously terrific, and Baylor. Weve probably been, nonconference-wise, one of the bigger disappointments in the league, based on our preseason expectations. I think its going to be a fabulous league." Cameron Clark had a career high-tying 32 points for Oklahoma (12-3, 1-1), which lost for the second time in three games. In losses to Louisiana Tech and Kansas, the Sooners gave up 102 and 90 points, respectively. "It is very frustrating," Clark said. "We just have to go back to the drawing board. It all starts on defence. We just have to come together as a group and figured out what it is we are not doing and get better at it." The annual visit to Lloyd Noble Center by the Jayhawks -- who have won or shared nine straight Big 12 titles -- drew fans including country music star Toby Keith, Oklahoma City Thunder chairman Clay Bennett, and Thunder general manager Sam Presti. Before the game, Oklahoma football player Sterling Shepard -- who scored two touchdowns in the Sooners win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl -- appeared in a video in which he said, "OK, basketball, we got our big win. Now its time to get yours." But the Sooners never really slowed Kansas and struggled to deal with the Jayhawks size advantage inside. Kansas had a 36-22 edge in rebounding and didnt seem bothered by a subpar game by Andrew Wiggins. The star freshman went 2 of 9 from the field and scored only nine points, only the second time this season he failed to reach double digits. "Kansas is awfully good and did a good job dictating a lot of it, for a majority of the minutes," Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. "I thought our guys battled hard. There were maybe a couple of stretches in there when we didnt quite compete like we have to against a club like that to have a chance that wed like to have." Kansas led 50-44 at halftime and two free throws by Joel Embild made it 74-62 with 10:39 left. Oklahoma stayed within striking distance and pulled within four points four times, the last time at 87-83 after a turnover by Wiggins and steal by Ryan Spangler led to a dunk by Buddy Hield with 39.9 seconds left. Naadir Tharpe made two free throws moments later to push Kansas lead to six points and, after Clark missed a 3 at the other end, Ellis made the back end of a two-shot free-throw opportunity to make it 90-83 with 29.2 seconds left. Wiggins blocked another 3-point attempt, by Frank Booker, and the Jayhawks eventually were able to run out the clock. Tharpe scored 17 points for Kansas on 5-for-7 shooting. Hield had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners, while Tyler Neal and Jordan Woodard had 10 points each. Woodard got all his scoring at the free-throw line, going 10 for 10 as Oklahoma made 29 of 36. Kansas went 24 for 30 from the line. Kansas shot 64.3 per cent from the field in the first half, led by Selden Jr., who matched his previous career scoring high of 15 a little more than 8 minutes into the game. "We were a team that lacked confidence coming in, so it was nice to see a freshman step up and basically give us confidence early on, because thats about as well as weve executed half-court offence, probably, all year, in the first half," Self said. Kansas jumped to a 20-11 lead, but Oklahoma hung close thanks to 19-of-22 on free throws. With the score tied at 39 with 3:04 left before halftime, Wiggins was called for his second foul and Self protested, earning himself a technical foul. Oklahoma made all four subsequent free throws to go ahead. Foul trouble forced Self to dig deep into his bench and freshman Conner Frankamp hit a 3-pointer and a 2 in the final 1:13 to give Kansas the six-point halftime lead. Matt Cassel . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. Allen Reisner . -- Kevin Harvick has a second straight shot at winning from the pole at Kansas Speedway.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Even Oscar Robertson wanted to see more of the Sean Kilpatrick show. The Hall of Famer sat courtside and watched the senior guard score 26 points and get a team-high 12 rebounds on Thursday night, rallying No. 7 Cincinnati to a 63-58 victory over No. 22 Connecticut. The Bearcats (22-2, 11-0 American Athletic) got their 15th straight win with Kilpatrick finishing it off at the free throw line in the closing seconds. During a late timeout, Robertson raised his hand in a shooting motion toward Kilpatrick, who knew what he meant. Kilpatricks response? A "take-it-easy" motion. "He kept giving me the signal to shoot," Kilpatrick said. "I told him to relax." The Bearcats trailed for most of the game, their first with a No. 7 ranking that is their highest in 10 years. A crowd of 12,432 -- their biggest of the season -- watched them win. Cincinnati has won 18 straight at home, including all 16 this season. The Bearcats are off to their best start in 12 years. "Thats what weve been hoping for," forward Titus Rubles said. "Its good to see the city excited for Cincinnati basketball again. We definitely enjoyed the crowd today. It was a big factor in helping us with our energy." Justin Jackson had six of his 15 points and blocked a shot during a 13-4 run that rallied Cincinnati midway through the second half. Jermaine Sanders two free throws with 18.5 seconds left gave Cincinnati a 61-58 lead. UConns Niels Giffey missed a three-point attempt, and Kilpatrick got the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws. "The mark of great players is that they rise to the occasion," Bearcats coach Mick Cronin said. "He has the ability to rise to the occasion." Shabazz Napier scored 16 points for the Huskies (17-5, 5-4) who were playing their highest-ranked opponent this season. They are 2-2 against Top 25 teams, with wins over Florida and Memphis and losses to Louisville and Cincinnati. Two hours before tip-off, Cincinnati introduced Mike Bohn as its next athletic director. His topp priority: Get the Bearcats into a better conference. Josh Robinson. Cincinnati and Connecticut tried to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference, but were rebuffed. Instead, Louisville will move from the American Athletic into the ACC next season. The game matched two of the AACs top guards. Kilpatrick leads the league at 19.4 points per game, while Napier averages 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. Shabazz got the better of it early. Kilpatrick, who played all 40 minutes, rallied the Bearcats at the end. "Justin Jackson and Kilpatrick took over the game," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "It was a heck of a performance by (Kilpatrick). We couldnt get him out of the game. They just took it to us in the second half." Napier went only 2 of 12 beyond the arc and missed a three-point attempt that could have put the Huskies ahead with 30 seconds to go. Connecticut led for all but 40 seconds in the first half with its guards darting through Cincinnatis defence for layups and assists. Ryan Boatright scored six consecutive points as UConn pulled ahead 21-15. He fell hard on his left shoulder while going for the ball and left the game grimacing. He returned a few minutes later and scored only three points the rest of the game. Napier made a driving bank shot high off the backboard, then drove under the basket and passed outside to Giffey for a wide-open three-pointer that built UConns lead to 26-18. Another three by Giffey gave the Huskies a 10-point lead. The Huskies made four of their first six shots in the second half to hold the lead. Omar Calhouns baseline jumper put the Huskies ahead 42-34. Jackson then led the Bearcats on the 13-4 run. He emphatically blocked a shot to set up a fast break that culminated in Kilpatricks dunk. Jackson picked up a loose ball on the Bearcats next possession and dunked, then followed with a driving bank shot for a 47-46 lead with 7:34 left. Kilpatrick hit another three that started a six-point spurt and gave Cincinnati its biggest lead, 53-49. The Bearcats stayed ahead the rest of the way. ' ' '
