Bill Self quizzes Kansas Jayhawks about road record prior to victory at Stanford
Kansas’ performance down the stretch in a 56-55 loss to Villanova on Dec. 21 in the first true road game of the season obviously weighed on KU coach Bill Self a bit during the Jayhawks’ recent four-day Christmas break.
He was quick to ask one of his starters a question about KU’s recent performances outside of Allen Fieldhouse during a team chat following the team’s return to Lawrence on Thursday — three days prior to Sunday’s nonconference clash at Stanford.
“It was after practice the other day. He asked Ochai (Agbaji) because he was a freshman last year. He asked him, ‘What was the record on the road last year?’ I think it was 3-9,” KU freshman Tristan Enaruna related after the Jayhawks’ 72-56 victory over the Cardinal on Sunday at Maples Pavilion.
“He (Self) asked it for us. He wanted to get our minds right, let us know we can’t take it easy on the road. He told us we couldn’t lose this one. It was pretty good.”
KU actually went 3-8 in true road games last season, including 3-6 in Big 12 games. KU’s road performance was one main reason the Jayhawks saw their string of 14 straight Big 12 regular season titles expire.
“I didn’t even know about it. It surprised me kind of,” Enaruna said of KU’s road record in 2018-19. “It let me realize we had to win this next game and the upcoming away games … and home games,” Enaruna added.
KU (10-2) is 1-1 in true road games in 2019-20. The Jayhawks also went 3-0 at the Maui Invitational and lost to Duke at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Sunday’s victory over the Pac-12’s Cardinal definitely classifies as a true road win. But no question the Jayhawks were assisted by at least 3,000 Jayhawk fans in a crowd of 6,582. The building’s capacity is 7,233.
One group of fans displayed a “Beware of the Phog” banner in the north end zone at halftime. Also, the KU fans on hand performed the Rock Chalk Chant at the end of the game.
In addition, the KU fans started to arrive about 90 minutes before the contest to watch warmups. A handful of fans even asked former KU guard/current Stanford coach Jerod Haase for selfies.
“It was great,” Enaruna said after scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds in 11 minutes. “When we walked in, we were saying to each other, ‘It sounds like we are playing a home game.’ It’s pretty crazy. It shows we have a great fan base.”
Junior guard Marcus Garrett — he had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes despite playing on a sore ankle — said the fan support is appreciated so far from home.
“When we came out, one of my teammates said it felt like a home game. We heard a big roar,” Garrett said,. “I was a little surprised by all the fans.”
Stanford’s Oscar da Silva, who scored a game-high 19 points, was asked if he was disappointed seeing so many KU fans.
“Not for me,” da Silva said. “It’s fun when Maples is full. The fan turnout was great. It’s better to have it packed.”
Stanford’s Haase said: “The reality is we have a bunch of guys with a great deal of pride at Stanford playing their tails off. As people start coming out they’ll see that. It’ll be a group the fans enjoy watching as we keep improving.”
Self thinks KU’s fans may travel better than any other school in the country.
“We pack Maui every time (we go there),” Self said. “I bet we’ve taken more fans to Maui the last two times … more than anybody else has taken. In Sacramento (for Stanford-KU game in 2017) we had 5,000 fans there. Today we had at least 3,000, didn’t we? I don’t know who travels better than us. I don’t know that people travel from home. It’s people in this area who get to see their team. We are very appreciative of that. We’re pretty spoiled in that regard.”
KU will next meet West Virginia at 3 p.m. Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse. The game time for that contest was set Sunday after the Chiefs secured a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs.
Notes
Udoka Azubuike’s 0-for-5 showing from the free throw line Sunday was the most free throws attempted without a make by a Jayhawk since Richard Scott went 0 for 6 against Oklahoma on Mar. 6, 1994. Azubuike’s seven offensive rebounds were the most by a Jayhawk since Dedric Lawson grabbed seven against Iowa State on Jan. 21, 2019.. ... KU closes the 2010s decade with a 302-68 record. The 81.6 winning percentage over the last 10 years is the second highest for a decade in program history (1990s - 82%). ... Stanford made just five shots in the first half, the fewest field goals by a KU opponent in a half since Syracuse connected on five in the first half on Dec. 2, 2017. ... Kansas held Stanford to just 18 points in the first half, the fewest by a Jayhawk opponent in a half this season.
