Josh Jackson, a 55.2 percent free-throw shooter, stepped to the line and bricked the first of two shots with 2.8 seconds left in Saturday’s Kansas-Texas Tech thriller at United Supermarkets Arena.
“I just tried not to think about missing it too much,” said Jackson, Kansas’ 6-foot-8 freshman sensation from Detroit. His miss left him one more chance to break a 79-79 tie and avoid overtime.
“I find often when I think about missing one, then I think about missing another (and) it just happens. I kept telling myself to knock it down. It’s what happened,” Jackson added after converting the second attempt — one that gave the Jayhawks (22-3, 10-2 Big 12) an 80-79 victory over a gritty Tech team (16-9, 4-8) that led by as many as four points late after rallying from a game-high 12-point deficit.