Kansas basketball knocked out of Big 12 Tournament by Arizona. Here are 3 takeaways
When the Kansas men’s basketball team looks back on its performance vs. Arizona on Thursday, there will be an intense feeling of deja vu.
In another tight game, Kansas melted down. After storming back from down double-digits in the second half, Kansas had multiple opportunities to maintain and build on an advantage.
Instead, the No. 6-seeded Jayhawks wilted in an 88-77 loss at T-Mobile Center. A prime example came when Kansas trailed by five with 4:06 left. Kansas turned the ball over on two straight possessions and eventually lost another winnable game.
No. 3-seeded Arizona advances to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on Friday. The Wildcats will play Texas Tech while Kansas awaits Selection Sunday. The Jayhawks are likely to receive their lowest seed of the Bill Self era.
Zeke Mayo finished with 20 points and four rebounds. Hunter Dickinson added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Dajuan Harris chipped in 16 points.
The Jayhawks had another slow start but managed to find their footing late. Kansas trailed 45-37 at half after not scoring a field goal following a make at the 3:23 mark. Midway through the second half, KU roared back to take the lead.
From there, it was a back-and-forth affair.
Arizona finally took control in the closing minutes, ending the game on an 18-8 run in the last 5:02. It was a one-point game before that stretch. Kansas never led by more than three points.
Up Next: Selection Sunday. The Jayhawks could land anywhere from a No. 6 or 7 seed to even lower heading into March Madness.
Here are three takeaways from KU’s loss vs. Arizona...
Kansas hung around by making 3s
It’s not often the Jayhawks make double-digit 3-pointers. It’s even less likely that Kansas makes more 3-pointers than 2-point shots.
Well, the Jayhawks did both vs. Arizona on Thursday.
Mayo and Harris combined to make nine 3-pointers. At one point in the second half, Mayo’s childhood friend and former KU football star Devin Neal praised the transfer guard on X/Twitter.
“He out there shooting the SPALDING off the ball,” Neal tweeted.
Neal was correct in his assertion. Mayo finished the night shooting 5-for-12 (41.7%) on 3-pointers. He made several big-time shots in the second half.
The game continued a hot streak for Mayo. He became the first Jayhawk since at least 1996-97 to hit five-plus 3-pointers in three consecutive games.
“That’s why we recruited him,” Harris said. “He keeps that up, we’re going to be in great shape, scoring the ball.
As a team, Kansas shot 14-for-31 (45.2%) from deep. The Jayhawks made 13 2s, shooting 13-for-33 (39.4%) inside the arc.
Issues guarding the 3 ... again
Before Thursday’s matchup, the Wildcats ranked No. 279 in 3-point percentage (31.8%) and No. 277 in 3-point rate.
But something changed in this matchup. Arizona wasn’t shy about shooting 3-pointers early. The Wildcats shot a blistering 7-of-11 (63.6%) from deep in the first half alone.
KU’s perimeter defense has become a significant cause for concern. After Kansas’ win over UCF on Wednesday, Self bemoaned KU’s lack of energy and how it affected the perimeter defense.
The Jayhawks were again lethargic vs. the Wildcats.
Arizona had too many wide-open shots for a mix of reasons, including KU players over-helping, not closing out or getting caught on ball screens. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
Overall, Arizona shot 53.3% from the field. The Wildcats finished the night shooting 8-for-18 (44.4%) on 3-pointers.
Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson shouldered the blame postgame.
“I would say it starts with me. I gotta be better in the ball-screen coverage and one-on-one,” he said. “I think I let my teammates down with that.”
Letting a bad 3-point-shooting team shoot well on 3-pointers is a glaring cause for concern as KU heads toward the NCAA Tournament.
Quiet night for AJ Storr
Transfer guard AJ Storr had his best game in a KU uniform vs. UCF. He dropped a Kansas-career-high 19 points and earned praise from Self.
Self believed there wasn’t any reason why Storr couldn’t repeat the performance moving forward. But Storr fell short of any reset expectations.
Much like in the regular season, Storr struggled on the offensive end. He didn’t make a shot in his two attempts.
On the defensive end, he was worse. He was a step slow to contest shots, which led to open shots for Arizona. His defense has left a lot to be desired all season. It’s become common to see Self lecture Storr about his defense on the sideline.
Storr’s overall inconsistency has mirrored KU’s play this season. It’s truly a mystery how Kansas — and Storr — will look in each game.
Self touched on KU’s overall inconsistency postgame.
“I don’t think it’s at a point where I’m concerned about what we’re going to get,” Self said. “I would say there would be many times that I would be concerned about ... can we score enough points and is our defense good enough to keep a team under 70? Can we get to 70?
“Right now, we’ve scored points. We just haven’t stopped guys. Even when we played Arizona (before) — that was a good basketball game last Saturday.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 11:24 PM.
