Why two 3s — that never came to be — bothered Bill Self after KU’s loss to Texas
If you’re going to forget your lines, it’s best for that to happen at the dress rehearsal rather than opening night.
In much the same way, all is not lost for Kansas following Tuesday’s 75-72 overtime loss to Texas.
Yes, the Jayhawks played out of character during the most important moments against the Longhorns at Frank Erwin Center.
Still, as long as the experience creates motivation to make corrections before the spotlight of the NCAA Tournament, this could serve a vital role as KU prepares for what matters most in the weeks ahead.
Let’s be clear: KU coach Bill Self is ultra-competitive and desperately wants to win. This was no different Tuesday when he pulled out all the late-game stops to try to give his team every chance at pulling out a close victory.
This loss’ ramifications, though, simply aren’t that significant. KU should land somewhere around a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and that’ll be in a year where teams already get less benefit from improved standing because all games are taking place in Indianapolis anyway.
So sure, KU wanted to win the game. And of course, Self didn’t want to be swept by a conference team in the regular season for just the second time in his 18-year tenure in Lawrence.
It’s just ... outside of that, this game won’t carry a lot of weight in either a couple days or a couple weeks.
KU isn’t winning the Big 12, and fans will only remember this season for March Madness anyway, so this remained part of a weird holding pattern for the Jayhawks whose main mission for the last month has been trying to simply create an upward trajectory.
That still is taking place after Tuesday’s loss, though this result also served as a warning about what could go wrong if and when the Jayhawks try to play outside themselves.
Self cited a few examples of this, but perhaps the most glaring came with a minute left in overtime and KU up one.
Jalen Wilson swung it to Ochai Agbaji in the corner, and with Texas switching defensively, Agbaji appeared to have daylight for an open corner three.
He drove instead. After trying to back down his defender, Agbaji put up a wild shot off the backboard that failed to even hit rim, with Texas clearing the defensive rebound.
Agbaji wasn’t the only Jayhawk guilty of this type of sin Tuesday, but in the moment, he tried to be someone he wasn’t. Agbaji is an elite three-point shooter — making 5-for-10 from three to that point — and every season statistic would indicate an open three from him being a preferable option as opposed to trying an isolation-like drive.
“It’s disappointing to me that our best shooters still don’t shoot the ball,” Self said. “We turn down shots.”
It wasn’t the only time KU’s players veered off course late. Self mentioned Christian Braun as someone who needed to put up more threes too, and the coach also wasn’t pleased with David McCormack’s rebounding after the big man had just four boards in 24 minutes.
“We didn’t play to our strengths today in the second half,” Self said.
KU was out of sorts with execution as well. That included an end-of-regulation layup miss from Marcus Garrett and stick-back from McCormack that sent the game to overtime; Self admitted later that his play call was for the team to shoot a three while going for the win.
“Coming out of a timeout, draw it up and guys don’t remember what they’re doing,” Self said. “So that’s frustrating.”
The good news for KU: These weren’t the highest of stakes Tuesday. If the first half served notice that this team can look pretty darned good when playing with confidence and energy, the second half also was water in the face to emphasize that the Jayhawks aren’t talented enough to ignore the important details that have made previous Self teams great.
Will this be the start of a fix? That will be the important takeaway from this particular loss.
Because there’s no shame in messing up a run-through ... just as long as it illuminates the work needed ahead.
