Bill Self acknowledges Kansas basketball’s 3-point problem after loss to Texas Tech
On the 70th anniversary of the first basketball game played in Allen Fieldhouse, the Kansas Jayhawks suffered a rarity — a loss in their tradition-rich arena.
Embracing modern-day basketball which, of course, emphasizes the 3, the No. 10-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders hoisted 43 shots beyond the arc Saturday afternoon in the grand old building — making 15 — in a 78-73 victory that dropped unranked KU’s record to 19-10 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12.
No team has ever shot more 3s in a game in the fieldhouse or anywhere else in a game involving the Jayhawks. Iowa State attempted 41 3s in a game versus KU on Feb. 25, 2013, in Ames, Iowa. The Red Raiders (22-7, 13-5) were three makes off the record number of 3s hit by a KU opponent. That’s 18 collected by Villanova in 2018, Iowa State in 2017 and Nebraska in 2002.
By comparison, the 3-point shot was not in existence during the first game in fieldhouse history, KU’s 77-67 win over Kansas State on March 1, 1955.
In 70 years, the Jayhawks possess a 868-121 mark in Allen, 330-21 in the 22-year Bill Self era.
“We did a lot of things well considering it was that close a game, but you get outscored 33 points from (behind) the arc …” Self said, his voice trailing off while attempting to explain reasons for KU’s third home loss in the fieldhouse this season. It’s the first time KU has lost three home games since the 2017-18 campaign.
“We were trying to keep up with them by shooting 2s and them shooting 3s, which is hard to do. When it’s 15-4 (in 3s) you’ve got to make a lot of 2s and a lot of free throws to offset that. And we didn’t do enough of that. We didn’t guard the arc whatsoever. And of course, that was the difference in the game,” Self noted.
KU in fact went 11-of-16 from the free throw line to Tech’s 7-of-8. KU was 4-of-18 from 3 for 22.2%.
It was Darrion Williams’ 3-pointer, his second of the game, that broke a 73-73 tie with 1:26 left.
KU didn’t score the remainder of the game. In fact, the Jayhawks’ last basket came with 2:51 to play, a lob dunk by KJ Adams that cut a four-point KU deficit to 73-71. KU’s last points were a pair of free throws by Hunter Dickinson, tying the game at 73-73 at 1:47.
“I would say I don’t think we expected them to shoot 43. We knew they were a really good 3-point shooting team coming in, and our game plan was to try to limit Williams as much as we could, because last year he went 12-for-12 against us (in Tech’s 29 point rout of KU in Lubbock),” said Dickinson. “And we knew they were going to try to run a lot of stuff to get him on the block, especially with switches, just because that’s how their team was set up.”
Williams finished with 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting (2-6 from 3) with nine rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes.
“He’s really dangerous, so we tried to trap him from different angles. And I think that kind of led to them getting a lot of good looks from 3, especially early on,” Dickinson continued. “And, you know, unfortunately, they made a lot of them.”
Tech went 10-of-24 from 3 the first half in building a 48-37 halftime lead. The Red Raiders led by as many as 14 points with 19:41 to play.
“Things have a tendency to balance out over time,” Self said of the difference in close games. “We’re not making enough plays, but particularly, we’re not getting key defensive stops. It puts a lot more pressure on you executing offensively when you don’t get a stop the possession earlier. That seems like to me that’s happening more often than actually the poor offensive execution.
“We did some good things,” Self repeated, noting KJ Adams (21 points, 13 rebounds in 37 minutes) may have had the best game of his career. “We need our bench to play better and we need them to play more. But certainly tonight, that was not probably what gave us the best chance.”
David “Diggy” Coit scored three points on 1-of-4 3-point shooting. Flory Bidunga had six points and three rebounds in 13 minutes and AJ Storr three points in five minutes. That was it for the bench, which combined for 12 points and no assists.
KU’s inefficient play on offense down the stretch likely cost the Jayhawks as much as the inability to prevent 3s.
Dickinson (18 points, nine rebounds, 31 minutes) missed an inside shot, grabbed the rebound and missed again with 60 seconds left and Tech up by the 3-pointer hit by Williams at 1:26.
“I missed the easy one at the end of the game I should have made,” Dickinson said. “That would have put us down one. I take responsibility for that one. I should have made that and I think that would have put a little bit less pressure on us to try to hit a 3 at the end there.”
Tech turned it over with 31.7 ticks left. At 0:21, with KU still down three, Dajuan Harris threw a pass intended for Dickinson out of bounds.
“I should have turned my head and saw Juan was passing it to me. I kind of left him out on an island back there,” Dickinson said.
Finally, after another Tech turnover with 19 ticks left, Zeke Mayo (five points, 1-of-7 shooting) instead of driving in for a 2, air-balled a 3 with 0:08 to play. After a foul off the rebound, Tech hit two free throws to account for the five-point difference.
“We just didn’t get a good look at the end,” Dickinson said of the air ball by Mayo. “I think we may have rushed it a little bit, but we should not have put ourselves in that position. We should have played better the 37-ish minutes before then and we wouldn’t have to rely on a lucky 3.”
KU will next meet the Big 12 champion Houston Cougars at 8 p.m. Monday in Houston.
This story was originally published March 1, 2025 at 6:11 PM.
