With Big 12 conference play underway, it was time for Brandon Rush to crank up his intensity level – that’s what his mom told him, at least.

“That’s all she does is call me up on game day. ‘Attack the rim, attack the rim.’ That’s all she says,” the sophomore forward said. “I proved to her tonight that I could do it.”

The rest of the Jayhawks followed suit in an 87-57 thrashing of Oklahoma State. Cowboys coach Sean Sutton called it “an old-fashioned butt kicking.”

Knowing that the Cowboys only had seven legitimate players, coach Bill Self’s game plan was to get them tired and put them in foul trouble early.

“He said ‘run, run, run,’” junior forward Sasha Kaun said. “We tried to take it to them and wear them down.”

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No. 6 Kansas vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State

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It wasn’t just the Jayhawk guards running up and down the court. The big men were, too. Kansas continued to run in the second half, finishing with 18 fast-break points.

The offense didn’t get in the way of the defense, though. The Jayhawks followed up a terrific performance against South Carolina with more punishing D against the Cowboys.

The Jayhawks held the Cowboys to just 32 percent shooting, including a combined 7-24 from star players Mario Boggan and JamesOn Curry.

“We knew if we stopped those two, the game would be over,” Rush said.

Self said that he was impressed by the way the defense played, but, as always, had a list of things that could be improved on.

“We have the potential to get better, because we foul too much, and we’re not a great rebounding team,” he said. “If we eliminate silly fouls and control the first shot better, we could become very, very good.”

Oklahoma State was never able to find an answer on either side of the ball. Toward the end of the first half, the Cowboys tried to generate some momentum with a switch to zone defense, but the Jayhawks had an answer for that as well. By the time the second half began, Oklahoma State was a defeated team.

“When we got up by 23, they didn’t have any confidence,” Rush said. “The game was over.”

Self was cautious not to call it a “statement game.” Kansas has performed well this year in big-game situations, and the Big 12 will have plenty of marquee opponents.

“We’ve got a good team, but hey, we had a pretty good team that went to Stillwater last year and fell behind 22-8,” he said. “Those things happen when you play on the road.”

The Jayhawks get the opportunity to prove their road prowess on Saturday when they take on Iowa State in Ames. Kansas will enter the game as the favorite, but will still attempt to duplicate Wednesday’s intensity.

“We need to play like that every day, every game,” freshman guard Sherron Collins said. “But I guess we look forward to bigger games.”

View from press row:

Perhaps the most impressive stat from Sasha Kaun’s domination of Mario Boggan is this: Kaun didn’t register his first foul until there were only three minutes remaining in the half. Since returning from his knee injury, he has managed to put many of his bad habits from last year behind him. Not only was he able to dominate the paint Wednesday – he did it for an entire half without getting into foul trouble.

Former Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton was recognized at halftime for his role in shaping Oklahoma State basketball into the national power it is today. Sutton’s son Sean is the current coach, and drew a technical foul seven minutes into the game. It didn’t motivate his team, which gave up a 12-3 run after the call.

The Jayhawks have to lead the nation in missed dunks. Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur each took their turn Wednesday, and both did so on easy breakaways. It’s OK, though: they still converted enough to make the highlight reel and keep NBA scouts drooling over them.

With the first half winding down, Kansas had the ball with the shot clock turned off. Darnell Jackson found himself wide open with 17 seconds left and made a shot, but Bill Self was not pleased by the play – he wanted the Jayhawks to wait for the final shot of the half.

The Cowboys may not have looked good Wednesday, but they’re still a legit top-25 team. Junior guard JamesOn Curry is the star, but the Cowboys have a tremendous starting five. Junior Marcus Dove is 6-foor-9, but can knock down a three-pointer like a guard, making him an offensive weapon that will give lesser teams fits. The Cowboys may struggle through the Big 12, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them finish their season in the Sweet 16.

With five minutes remaining in the game, the Cowboys brought in junior guard Adarius Bowman for his first playing time of the season. Jayhawk football fans may remember Bowman as the receiver who tallied more than 300 yards against a nonexistent Jayhawk secondary earlier this season.

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