Bill Self was frustrated by KU’s defense against UCF — and won’t use this excuse
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU coach Bill Self criticized defense after 81-75 loss to UCF.
- Self blamed lack of communication, rebounding for breakdowns.
- KU will face TCU with probable returns for Peterson and Jackson, adjustments expected.
Kansas basketball’s defense, which has allowed an average of 64.6 points a game through 14 games, was torched for 81 points in an 81-75 loss to UCF on Saturday in Orlando, Florida.
“We absolutely (stunk) on Saturday,” KU coach Bill Self said of the defensive effort against UCF, the second team to score in the 80s versus KU in 2025-26. North Carolina put up 87 points in a 13-point victory over the Jayhawks on Nov. 7 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“Attacking switches and attacking our bigs downhill,” Self said of the reasons the Knights prevailed against a previously stingy KU defense.
Self hopes for a better result Tuesday when the No. 22-ranked Jayhawks (10-4, 0-1) play host to TCU (11-3, 1-0), which averages 79.5 points per game. Tipoff is 8 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse with a live telecast on ESPN.
TCU scored a season high 115 points in a 115-64 rout of Jackson State on Dec. 29.
“I think you could say we have been good in stretches and at times, but not consistently like we need to be,” Self said of his team’s play on defense. “Causing havoc is part of it, which we didn’t do the other day, but rebounding is part of it, too. Talking is part of it, too. Paying attention to scouting report is part of it too. There are a lot of things that are part of it that we can certainly get better at. … Our end result the other day was poor.”
Self was asked if a long layoff between games may have contributed to a less-than-stellar effort on defense at UCF.
KU defeated Davidson 90-61 on Dec. 22 at Allen Fieldhouse, then embarked on a four-day Christmas vacation before returning for practice on Dec. 27.
“It’s a good question, and I could probably say, because I even asked my staff, should we, should we not have, do you try to squeeze in a game (between Davidson and start of Big 12 play)?” Self said. “You can probably get more done in practice than you can in squeezing in the game that time of year, all that stuff. But if I’m not mistaken, we had about 21 points with 12 minutes or 13 minutes left in the first half. So … usually when you’re rusty, that shows more on offense than it does defense. And so that would just be an excuse.”
As far as offense ... Self was not pleased Saturday with the production of forwards Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller.
The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Bidunga scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in 29 minutes. Tiller, 6-11, 240, hit two free throws but was 0-for-5 from the field.
“I think a lot can fall on him,” Self said of Bidunga. “We watch tape. You catch the ball on the perimeter, the first thing you do is bounce it back in the direction that it came from. Just cost us two points, because he’s wide open and we don’t even look to him. So a lot of it, I think, is on the perimeter, but I think he can demand more, too. He and Bryson both.”
KU’s offensive production took a hit when freshman guard Darryn Peterson was unavailable all but five minutes the second half because of cramps. Peterson scored 26 points, hitting five 3s in 23 minutes. He had 23 points while playing 18 minutes the first half. Self said Monday that Peterson and Elmarko Jackson (knee) were both probable for TCU.
Self was asked if it’s difficult as a coach to basically coach two different units, one with Peterson and one without him.
“I don’t want to say hard. I think coaches and teams go through this all the time. When you have a full complement of guys, or maybe you think you do, and then you don’t, all that stuff that happens a lot. So we’ll just have to adjust,” Self said.
TCU, which opened Big 12 play with a 69-63 home win over Baylor on Saturday, has double-digit scorers in the starting lineup in forward David Punch (14.0 ppg), center Xavier Edmonds (10.6 ppg) and guard Jayden Pierre (10.6 ppg).
“They beat Florida (84-80). They beat Baylor. They beat Wisconsin (74-63),” Self said of TCU. “I mean, they’ve got some good wins. They play extremely hard. They’re not as big maybe as what they have been some other years as far as standing height, but they play hard, and they switch a lot. And they deny and they make it really hard to score.
“Their defensive efficiency is really up there and really high, and they’ve always been a team that plays fast, so we’ll have to do a good job guarding the ball, and especially in transition.”
