Bill Self evaluates Kevin McCullar's performance in injury return

The Kansas basketball team was coming off a loss this weekend, looking to rebound against Oklahoma. And a healthier Kevin McCullar rejoined the lineup to help the cause.

But McCullar wasn’t quite himself in his return to action after missing two straight games.

“I thought he was definitely out of sorts, out of rhythm,” coach Bill Self said after the game. “But he played within himself and we don’t win the game unless he plays. I mean the kid gets, what did he get? 10 points or whatever it was and eight rebounds. And made arguably as big a shot as we had in the game.”

McCullar did indeed score 10 points while chipping in eight rebounds, aiding the cause. But it was his shot in the second half that really helped spark things.

With the score knotted at 46 apiece, Kevin McCullar pulled up from 3-point range and buried one to give Kansas the lead. They’d hold the lead the rest of the way en route to a 67-57 win.

Self left it in no uncertain terms after the game.

“Yeah, we don’t win the game unless he plays, so we were fortunate with that,” he said.

Kansas rallies just before halftime

The real difference in the game, Self felt, was a stretch just before halftime. Kansas trailed 34-23, then put together a run to close it to 34-29 at half.

Kansas continued its momentum from there, eventually leading to the Kevin McCullar shot that established the lead for good.

“I don’t know if we turned it up, I think we were just pretty sound defensively,” Self explained. “To me it looked like it was two tired teams playing the majority of the game. I think, I know we are, and I’m sure that OU is as well. But I thought that, from an efficiency standpoint, I thought defensively and offensively, we were much better the second half, and they were better the first half.

“The key was, is when we got to 11-5 at halftime. To me, that was the biggest stretch in the game.”

Going forward, Kansas will be hoping Kevin McCullar is much closer to his normal self. The Jayhawks will need it.

Up next is a showdown with Texas, a team vying for NCAA Tournament positioning, on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.