Self won’t stress Big 12 implications to KU players before Baylor game: ‘They know.’
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self says he’s not planning on speaking with his players about the Big 12 regular season race prior to Saturday’s showdown against Baylor.
“No. I don’t have to do that. They know,” Self said Thursday at a news conference held in advance of an 11 a.m. clash between the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks (23-3, 12-1) and No. 1-ranked Bears (24-1, 13-0) in Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Baylor leads KU by one game in the conference standings with five to play.
“I’m not coaching it like the league race. I’m coaching it like an opportunity to play a terrific team on a big stage away from home. The league race isn’t something I’m going to emphasize,” Self said. “They (players) may talk about it themselves. We also know this, if you go down two games with four left … even if we were fortunate enough to run the table I don’t see them (Bears) losing twice. We know this is a big game concerning the league. I don’t have to talk about that.”
The Jayhawks, who last season had their string of 14th consecutive Big 12 regular season titles snapped by co-champs Kansas State and Texas Tech, will play Oklahoma State on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse, then travel to Kansas State on Feb. 29, play TCU on KU’s Senior Night on March 4 and close on March 7 at Texas Tech.
Baylor, which has won 23 straight games since a loss to Washington, will play host to Kansas State on Tuesday, then travel to TCU on Feb. 29, play Texas Tech at home on March 2, then close on March 7 at West Virginia.
“A lot is on the line this game,” KU sophomore point guard Devon Dotson said Thursday. “We are going to prepare like it is another game. We can’t let emotion get the best of us. We’ve got to play our game. I feel we are hungry in the locker room and competitive. We want to win.”
Health update
Self said that his squad is relatively healthy at this time.
“I think we’re fine,” Self said. “This time of year everybody gets nicked up. Marcus (Garrett, junior guard) has been nicked up the whole time. Maybe ‘Dot’ (Dotson) a little bit. We are not going to make excuses. We’ll play. Going into today I think we’ve been pretty fortunate. We’ve had injuries, but not had an injury create a lot of missed games.”
Dotson, who has had hip and knee injuries, said: “I feel much better. (I’m) just getting the body right (with) a lot of treatment, getting ready day by day.”
Of Garrett, who has had ankle problems this season, Dotson said: “He is ready. He didn’t go too much yesterday in practice. I feel like we are all ready.”
Braun over 50% from three
KU freshman Christian Braun enters the game having made 18 of 35 threes in 13 Big 12 games for 51.4%.
“A lot depends how he’s being defended,” Self said of the 6-foot-6 Blue Valley Northwest graduate. “He is shooting the ball well (but) the majority of those came in four or five games. Four or five games he didn’t have anything (from three), just because of the defense. He’s done a good job taking what they give him for the most part.”
Braun has made 4 of 6 threes the last two games (versus Iowa State and Oklahoma). Prior to that he did not attempt a three against West Virginia or TCU and missed two versus Texas.
“The first time we played Baylor he did not get off looks but played well,” Self said of Braun. He had four points and two rebounds in KU’s 67-55 loss to the Bears on Jan. 11 in Allen Fieldhouse. “We need him to do well,” Self added.
Isaiah Moss, who has started the last two games in place of Braun, scored 15 points on 2-of-8 three-point shooting the first game vs. Baylor.
“It would be nice to have those two guys knock down open looks,” Self said.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
