Why the postseason — not the Big 12 race — is new focal point for this KU Jayhawks team
In recent weeks, a common theme has emerged for Kansas men’s basketball.
The Jayhawks are a team desperately searching for answers.
Kansas lost its road Sunflower Showdown matchup against Kansas State on Saturday afternoon for the third straight season. The Jayhawks never put up much of a fight against their in-state rival — just a game removed from a dominant home win over Iowa State.
Afterward, KU forward KJ Adams was despondent.
“It’s just confusing,” Adams said. “I’ve never been in a situation here where I answer, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know,’ but we are going to have to figure it out as a team.”
Entering the year as preseason No. 1, Kansas now sits behind four teams (Houston, Arizona, Texas Tech and Iowa State) in the Big 12 standings. Two of those teams entered Saturday with only one loss.
KU — which has fallen to No. 16 in the AP Top 25— has struggled in Big 12 play in back-to-back seasons.
A year ago, Kansas went 23-11 overall and 10-8 in conference. The Jayhawks haven’t won three straight conference games since early January.
As of Saturday, KU is a combined 17-14 in the new-look Big 12 (including the Big 12 Tournament). Compare that to Self’s longstanding track record — at Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas, Self’s teams won 20 regular-season titles in the 26 prior years.
So why have the Jayhawks struggled so much in this era of college hoops?
“I don’t know,” Adams said. “College basketball is in a weird time right now when you have players coming in and out. I think we’ve just got to figure (it) out as a team. I think it’s taking a little longer for us to connect.”
Adams added that connecting on the defensive end will help this team, before repeating the Jayhawks have “something to figure out.”
Kansas has eight games remaining in the regular season. It will start a relatively easy stretch of games on Tuesday, when it plays Colorado (9-14, 0-12 Big 12).
KenPom favors KU in each of its next six games. The Jayhawks’ lowest win probability comes at BYU, where KenPom lists the Jayhawks as 53% favorites.
Big man Hunter Dickinson is hoping to see the very thing that KU has lacked all season — consistency — as the Jayhawks enter a pivotal stretch.
“It’s too much up-and-down. As KJ said, it starts with the energy and the effort,” Dickinson said. “If we can just get consistency the next three games, I think that would be very inspiring and good for our hopes in the (NCAA) Tournament. Because in the tournament, you’ve got to string together six straight games of consistent effort and consistent play to win a national championship. One bad game can end your season.”
Self shared a similar sentiment, while noting the Jayhawks are already effectively out of the Big 12 conversation.
“I’ll pay attention to the race. We’re not in it to win it. We’ve got five losses now. So even if we were to win out, I don’t think you’re going to have two teams lose four (more) times,” Self said. “I’m not looking at it like that. But I am looking at it as — not trying to minimize anything — the way the college world is today in basketball, it’s the same way in football.
“The Big 12 conference race means a lot in football, but if you don’t win the conference (title) game, you don’t get in the playoff. It’s not the same as it used to be. So, what we need to do is get better over the next month, and then hopefully play our best when the postseason rolls around.”
