Will the eventual Big 12 champion need to finish 14-4 this season? ‘I have no idea’
One year ago, Kansas State and Texas Tech were crowned co-Big 12 men’s basketball champions after winning 14 of 18 games in conference play.
So is 14-4 the mark needed to earn a Big 12 regular-season title trophy again this year?
“I have no idea. I haven’t thought about it. I think you could probably give it another 10 days or two weeks you could probably get a feel for that — 14-4 right now to me looks like a very, very good record,” Kansas coach Bill Self said Monday night on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show.
Self’s Jayhawks, who remained No. 3 in the most current AP poll Monday, downed current No. 17 West Virginia 60-53 Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse to start 1-0 in league play after going 12-6 a year ago.
Before that, KU won the league an NCAA-record 14 years in a row.
The Jayhawks during title seasons were 13-5 in 2017-18; 16-2 in 2016-17; 15-3 in 2015-16; 13-5 in 2014-15; 14-4 in 2013-14; 14-4 in 2012-13; 16-2 in 2011-12; 14-2 in 2010-11; 15-1 in 2009-10; 14-2 in 2008-09; 13-3 in 2007-08; 14-2 in 2006-07; 13-3 in 2005-06 and 12-4 in 2004-05.
“I think everybody in our league can play a role in our league race — maybe not to win the league but to keep somebody else from winning league,” Self stated.
“Iowa State … the way they shoot the ball … they have arguably as good a player as we have in the league in (Tyrese) Haliburton. They will have a chance to win every game. Iowa State probably should have won at TCU (81-79 overtime loss Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas). They were right there to win. Didn’t TCU have a ‘Hail Mary’ (shot) at the end of regulation?” Self asked.
TCU’s R.J. Nembhard banked in a three at the end of regulation to force OT.
“Iowa State could be the frontrunner in the league if they’d won that game without question,” Self said, asked about non-favorites that could still be a huge factor in conference race.
“I think Texas (59-44 loser at Baylor in opener) to me is still a team … (Jericho) Sims is so bouncy inside. They can stretch it from several spots. They are a team if they get going could be a handful for anybody.”
KU (11-2) will travel to Iowa State (7-6) Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Hilton Coliseum.
“To me, winning a home game is just breaking even. Lose a home game it is a big minus,” Self said. “Certainly winning a road game is a plus. Losing a road game is breaking even at most places. The best way to win a league … just winning at home is not enough. You’ve got to go .500 or better on the road. Last year, (KU was) 9-0 at home … if we’d have gone 5-4 that would have tied it. Instead we went 3-6 on the road.
“You’ve got to split on the road at worst and got to win them all at home. If you don’t do that you have to go steal one somewhere,” Self added. “Home wins … it’s imperative you get them. Road wins are the ones that give you a chance to separate yourself if you are going to.”
Braun played the whole half
Self was asked Monday about the distribution of minutes in Saturday’s win over West Virginia.
Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun played all 20 minutes of the final half, while Udoka Azubuike and Marcus Garrett played 17 and 16 minutes respectively. The only subs in the half were bigs David McCormack (three minutes) and Silvio De Sousa (four minutes).
“I think that game surprised some of our guys. You can say, ‘They are beating us on the glass (44-30), why don’t you play David or Silvio with Doke (Azubuike)?’ That’s a fair question,” Self said. “I thought the same thing.
“They were beating us just as bad with David or Silvio in the game playing with Doke. And we can’t run any offense (with two bigs in game). West Virginia is so good the driving lanes are so crowded we didn’t have any offense.
“That was why. It wasn’t like I was mad at anybody. We went with Christian because I didn’t think Isaiah (Moss, 0 for 2 from three in eight minutes) was quite as ready to play in that game as what Christian was. Isaiah got in there and had a couple competitive things not go his way and missed a couple shots (first half).
“It’s fine if you miss a couple shots but you can’t give them an ‘and-one’ on a touch foul or whatever. You can’t do those things. I thought Christian was one of the toughest guys on the team that gave us the best chance. I think it turned out to be true,” Self said.
Braun, a freshman wing out of Blue Valley Northwest, had six points and five boards with no turnovers and one assist in his 30 minutes.
“Christian may not make every play the way you want. He’s tentative shooting. He doesn’t shoot it enough,” Self said. “I’m sure fans think the same thing because he’s a good shooter. He played the way that gave us the best chance to win.
“He didn’t turn it over, played tough, got his hands on loose balls. He got some confidence. Hopefully this will be a great springboard for him.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 8:21 PM.
