Kansas coach Bill Self, Jayhawks players ‘relieved’ after narrow win over Creighton
With one minute to play in its second-round NCAA Tournament game against Creighton on Saturday, Kansas looked as if it might emerge as the second No. 1 seed to lose in the Round of 32 in the same arena, on the same day.
Unlike Baylor, the top seed in the East Regional which had just lost 93-86 in overtime to No. 8 seed North Carolina at Dickies Arena, the Jayhawks, the top seed in the Midwest, outscored No. 9 seed Creighton 6-0 in the last 55 seconds to escape with a 79-72 victory.
“I’m a little relieved, but I’m also very happy,” KU coach Bill Self said after the Jayhawks (30-6) advanced to their first Sweet 16 since the 2017-18 season.
“We’ve won some games in the NCAA Tournament that were a lot like this, and we’ve also lost some games that were a lot like this. So we’ll take it. It’s a relief but it also feels great. You can’t apologize for winning games in this tournament.”
Senior guard Ochai Agbaji smiled and nodded in the affirmative when Self asked three KU players seated at a table in the interview room if they shared his feelings of relief in finally putting away a shorthanded team of Bluejays that used a rotation of just six players.
Creighton (23-12) lost arguably its best player, sophomore center Ryan Kalkbrenner, to a serious knee injury in its first-round victory over San Diego State on Thursday.
“You’ve got to win games when it’s kind of ugly. And I don’t know that we could have won this game two months ago playing this way,” Self said, referring to KU’s 47-31 domination on the boards and stout defense during crunch time. “Then we had some guys step up and make some big free-throws and some plays late.”
He was basically referring to the final minute, when the game was clinched.
Agbaji, who scored 13 of his 15 points the final half, came up with a steal and breakaway dunk with 55 seconds left, giving KU a 75-72 lead. Yes, Creighton had the ball on that key possession only to be thwarted by the Oak Park High product.
Next, Bluejays freshman Trey Alexander (14 points and nine assists) had a driving layup blocked by David McCormack with 34 seconds remaining. KU’s Remy Martin (20 points, seven rebounds, four assists) grabbed the carom off the block, was fouled and hit two free throws at the 31-second mark, giving the Jayhawks a five-point lead. The Bluejays responded by missing two shots and turning it over.
KU concluded the scoring with a pair of Jalen Wilson free throws with 15 seconds to go.
“That play David made late, when we were trying to take away the three and they drove it and he blocked Alexander’s shot … that was a play that didn’t ice the game, but basically put it out of reach right there,” Self said, praising McCormack, who had seven points and six rebounds with two steals in 25 minutes. Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma countered with a career-high 24 points and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes.
Agbaji’s steal and dunk, of course, was huge, as well.
“I think we caught a break there,” Agbaji said. “They were running that same play where it was a ball screen and they were lifting. It was just a bad pass and it was mishandled. And then, obviously, we got a break there and got the steal and the dunk. That’s a momentum changer in games like this. So it was just a big play.
“They were battling hard the whole game. Credit to them,” Agbaji added of the Bluejays of the Big East Conference. “But we just knew … there were possessions that we knew we had to get, late in the game, whether it was a rebound or executing a play, just to break away from them being close.”
In the final analysis, KU had four players score in double figures — Martin with 20 points; Wilson with 14 and 14 rebounds; Braun with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists; and Agbaji with 15 points and eight rebounds — and did just enough to survive Creighton’s three-point onslaught.
The Bluejays hit 12 of 28 threes to KU’s 6 of 16.
“I heard ‘Mac’ (Creighton coach Greg McDermott) say before the game they’re going to let it fly, and they did,” Self said.
The game was close throughout. KU led just 39-38 at the break.
“I think we have been a team that has scored easier than we’ve actually defended,” Self said. “And tonight,we didn’t defend great, don’t get me wrong. They still got over 70. But when the offense was bad, we defended and we did some toughness things, especially late-game possessions, which I thought was very positive.
“They played us different than anybody’s played us all year long defensively (putting a forward on point guard Dajuan Harris). And we never really figured it out. But we had enough guys make shots and make enough plays that we were able to overcome it.”
Self said the Jayhawks will have a day off Sunday and maybe another day off or a short shootaround Monday, with KU’s Sweet 16 game against No. 4 seed Providence (27-5) not coming until Friday in Chicago.
“I think that — even though they (the Jayhawks players) didn’t earn it today — I think that would be something that would probably benefit us right now with our tired bodies,” Self said with a smile.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 6:51 PM.
