NORMAN, Okla. – Andrew Fitzgerald scored 21 points to lead four Oklahoma players in double figures and the Sooners got their first Big 12 win under coach Lon Kruger, an 82-73 victory over No. 18 Kansas State on Saturday.
Oklahoma (11-5, 1-3) shot 55 percent from the field and forced the Wildcats (12-4, 1-3) into 19 turnovers.
Trailing by nine points at halftime, Kansas State fell behind by as many as 18 before cutting the deficit to six with 57 seconds remaining. The Sooners withstood the rally by making four of six free throws over the final 1:21.
Rodney McGruder led Kansas State with 19 points.
Romero Osby and Steven Pledger both had 18 points for Kansas State while Cameron Clark added 10.
Oklahoma opened the game on a 7-0 run, prompting Kansas State coach Frank Martin to call a timeout just 1:42 into the game.
The Sooners led by as many as 12 points in the first half as Kansas State struggled to find offensive consistency while shooting 33 percent from the field.
Leading by 18 points with 8:27 remaining in the game, it looked like Oklahoma would run away with it but two 3-pointers from Will Spradling and a basket from Nino Williams as he was falling down cut the deficit to eight.
Kansas State finished with a 44-24 rebound advantage over Oklahoma, the conference's best rebounding team.
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