What KU basketball coach Bill Self said about loss to K-State, no court storm
Just two days after defeating then-No. 4 Houston by double digits, the country’s new No. 4-ranked team — Kansas — suffered a 75-70 overtime defeat to Kansas State, a team that entered the ESPN Big Monday battle at Bramlage Coliseum on a four-game losing streak.
“This league can humble any of us at any moment,” KU coach Bill Self said before tipoff of the 8 p.m. contest, which was attended by 11,010 fans who did not storm the court after the victory, K-State’s second overtime win over KU in as many seasons in Manhattan.
“So much with everybody is if they make shots or not. They say the NBA is a make or miss league. The Big 12 is becoming that too,” Self added.
Indeed, Kansas State (15-8, 5-5) cashed 9 of 26 3s to KU’s 3 of 15, making some wonder how KU kept it close considering that discrepancy alone.
“Guys,” Self said at his postgame media session, “whether it’s K-State playing at Oklahoma State (Saturday on the road) or us playing Houston or whatever (in Lawrence), the intensity and everything is not quite the same with ‘prep practice’ 20 minutes Sunday because of fatigue.
“I actually thought both teams did a good job hanging in there 45 minutes. I know we were tired. I don’t think we were quite as turned up as Saturday obviously,” Self added of the Jayhawks’ (18-5, 6-4) 13-point win over Houston. That was a game in which KU hit 69% of its shots.
KU was hurt by the KSU guard duo of Tylor Perry, who had 26 points and Cam Carter, who went for 19. They combined to hit seven 3s in 17 attempts
KU hit just 41.2% of its shots to KSU’s 41.4%.
The teams may have been fatigued Monday, but they definitely wanted to win. There were some tense moments as the teams went up the tunnel after this hotly contested game. Coaches and administrators from both schools appeared to glare at each other at the conclusion of the handshake line up the tunnel.
Self was asked if words were exchanged between members of the coaching staffs.
“I don’t know anything about … it wasn’t with my top assistants. I don’t think so,” Self said. “I don’t know anything that was said. It’s a pretty emotional sport and emotional game. So I imagine if there was something said it was probably just done out of emotion.”
Self subbed out his starters with a few seconds to play because he anticipated a court storming at Bramlage.
“I actually subbed to make sure we could bring everybody to the side when the game was over. I didn’t notice any problems,” Self said. “If you leave the starters out there they don’t know to get to the side of the court. I put other guys (like Michael Jankovich, Parker Braun and Jamari McDowell) in so they knew to get to the other side of the court.
“Every other time we lost over here there’s been a pretty good court storming. Tonight there wasn’t. I thought they did a good job controlling everything there at the end.”
The Jayhawks appeared to take this loss hard. They fell to 1-4 on the road in the league.
“We’ve got to be better on the road,” point guard Dajuan Harris said after scoring 15 points with eight assists. “This is, what, the fourth time we lost on the road? We’ve got to come ready to play to close out late-game situations. We’ve got to take care of business. We should have won that game. We’ve got to be better on the road though.”
Noted Hunter Dickinson who had 21 points and 12 rebounds: “It’s pretty frustrating when you are up 11 (in second half). I think I’ve got to do more for my team. I feel I let them down today.
“It was a fun atmosphere. You could tell there’s some disdain between the universities. It was a great environment, a great game. Unfortunately we came up short.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 12:15 AM.
