Oklahoma has been about balanced scoring in the last couple of games, but sometimes it’s nice to just let someone carry the day.

Mo Gibson had done it once before during the season, and he did it again at Kansas State in a 78-71 victory to guarantee OU the No. 7 seed in the Big 12 tournament and avoiding playing the very first day of the event.

Gibson started the game with back-to-back 3-pointers and closed the show in style en route to 29 points that included seven from beyond the arc to give OU its third consecutive victory and first win at KSU in 10 years.

“It was huge. We knew what we had to do and just take it one step at a time,” head coach Porter Moser said. “I'm just proud of them. I'm proud of the resiliency of this group.

“We had back-to-back bad losses - not in terms of bad losses because we played elite teams like Texas Tech and Iowa State - but we didn't play well. We've been in almost every game. We weren't in those games.

“We come back and regroup and talk about taking it one game at a time. The Oklahoma State game, we put that in the bank. Then West Virginia. We all knew that we have to come in and end this thing on the road. To do that and for the guys to see their investment and how they are doing (it’s big).”

Gibson made eight 3-pointers in OU’s best win of the season against Texas Tech, but he had been incredibly quiet ever since. He woke up in a huge way vs. the Wildcats.

He scored 20 points in the first half and then scored nine in the final five minutes of the game to secure the win.

OU (17-14 overall, 7-11 Big 12) will take on No. 2 Baylor at 6 p.m. Thursday in Kansas City. The Bears swept OU during the regular season.

Johnson provides the spark

It doesn’t have to be everybody every night, but it has to be at least somebody on every night. Coming off the bench, it was another superb outing for super senior Marvin Johnson.

In 22 minutes, Johnson had eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and one massive block and continued to show how his athleticism sets him apart from the rest of the field.

“Man, he got his athleticism in the game,” Moser said. “A couple of plays that just stick out in my mind is when he won his first three steps on transition and he got his stride into the game and he got out in front and made a transition layup. And then he did a give-and-go and he separated so quick. I think Tanner hit him for a give-and-go. And then watching him get some of those rebounds in traffic with his length and athleticism.”

Dominating the glass

There have been a couple of issues that have popped up routinely during the season for OU, and rebounding is one of them.

It wasn’t a concern vs. KSU as OU did a great job in outrebounding the Wildcats 37-22, including a 9-5 edge offensively.

Obviously, it was an emphasis to win it,” Moser said. “We thought we could get some offensive rebounds, but you just can't give them second shots because then they kick out for 3's. But I thought we were really aggressive on the glass.

“It was noticeable. We talked about it. You achieve what you emphasize, and we wanted to have that kind of presence on the offensive and the defensive glass. I thought that was one of the keys to the win.

Jacob Groves and Jalen Hill both had eight rebounds to go with Johnson and his seven.