Kansas 64, Oklahoma 47

Friday, March 9th 2007, 1:45 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Brandon Rush scored 16 points and ignited Kansas after an uninspired first half, lifting the second-ranked Jayhawks past Oklahoma 64-47 Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Rush started Kansas' 18-2 second-half run with a reverse layup, and added a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws before the top-seeded Jayhawks (28-4) took it to another level. Sherron Collins picked up a loose ball and passed it to Julian Wright for a two-handed jam, and Rush followed with a steal and one-handed dunk that increased Kansas' lead to 46-29 with 11:33 remaining.

Collins pushed it to 55-35 with an acrobatic reverse layup at the 9-minute mark, and the Jayhawks eventually led by as many as 24 while Oklahoma struggled to make a shot.

The Sooners started the second half 1-for-14 and didn't get their second basket until Austin Johnson scored in the lane to cut the deficit to 58-37 with 5:10 left.

Coach Bill Self picked up his 100th win in his four seasons at Kansas. The Jayhawks have their most wins in a season since reaching the national championship game in 2003.

Darrell Arthur added 10 points for Kansas.

Longar Longar, held to single-digit scoring in Oklahoma's past six games, broke through for his seventh double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Michael Neal added 10 points despite a stomach virus.

Oklahoma's leading scorer, Nate Carter, was held to six points -- about half of his 11.8-point average -- as the Sooners' were held to their lowest scoring output this season.

The Sooners' hopes for extending the nation's longest postseason streak to 26 years rests in the hands of the NIT committee.