Was KU’s loss to Cincinnati the worst home defeat of the Bill Self era?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas lost by 16 at Allen Fieldhouse, fourth-largest home margin under Self.
- Jayhawks fell to unranked Cincinnati despite being 11.5-point favorites.
- Kansas has 10 home losses since start of 2020, 13 total from 2003-2019.
After Kansas basketball’s blowout loss to Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon, coach Bill Self was quick to shut down one narrative that his own player actually started.
Big man Flory Bidunga had noted Kansas should have respected Cincinnati more entering the game.
Self wasn’t having any of that.
“I’m not going to buy that (stuff),” Self said, waving his arm while dropping an expletive. “Maybe coming out with the same energy you have against Arizona and other people would be equal respect. We didn’t do that today, but don’t make something out of nothing because no team is on point and at a 10 in every game of the season, regardless if you’re playing home or away.”
Even so, alarm bells might ring for some KU fans because, on paper, this seemed like a troubling loss. The Jayhawks were 11.5-point favorites. They lost by double-digits to an unranked team at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in the Self era.
Kansas guard Melvin Council shared his own concerns with his team’s effort.
“We knew we had bad energy coming in the locker room and stuff like that,” Council said. “But that can’t happen again at all.”
Here’s one question going around Saturday: Was this the worst home loss of the Bill Self era?
The answer, still, is probably not.
Forget for a moment that Cincinnati (15-12, 7-7 Big 12), according to coach Bill Self, is “an NCAA Tournament team” and now has won four straight in Big 12 play.
Saturday’s loss was neither KU’s biggest home loss, nor the most shocking, of the Self era.
The Jayhawks have lost just 23 times at Allen Fieldhouse in Self’s now 23 years coaching. Two of those losses were to unranked Richmond (2004) and Oral Roberts (2006) early in Self’s tenure.
It’s also not the largest margin of defeat in a home loss. In fact, this 16-point loss ranks fourth in the Self era behind KU’s loss to then-No. 8 Texas (25-point loss in 2021), No. 14 TCU (23-point loss in 2023) and No. 12 Kentucky (18-point loss in 2022).
Cincinnati’s record also may be somewhat misleading. The Bearcats were ranked top-60 on KenPom entering the day and already had a win over then-No. 2 Iowa State. Cincinnati moved into the top 50 following Saturday’s result.
Another area to consider: Home losses have become more frequent of late. The Jayhawks have lost 10 times at home since the start of 2020. They lost 13 total times at Allen Fieldhouse between Self taking the job in 2003 and the end of 2019.
It’s also important context that this KU team won eight in a row starting in January, and had won nine of 10 entering this game.
There will be letdowns over a long season, and Self didn’t feel like the Jayhawks had their best from tipoff.
“There wasn’t bad energy, but I don’t think that we were as enthusiastic, “Self said. “I don’t think we were as energetic. I don’t think what (Council) said is necessarily the right phrase, but certainly I can feel it too.”
