KU basketball falls to Arizona State after ejection, flagrant. See our takeaways
In the span of six minutes of game time, two different Kansas coaches earned three technical fouls against Arizona State.
That sequence of events — all in the first half — set the tone for a sloppy, physical game Tuesday night in Tempe, Arizona.
Facing Arizona State on senior night, nothing seemed to go right for the Jayhawks. From Bill Self’s first-half ejection to a near-fight following a flagrant foul in transition from Elmarko Jackson, Kansas looked out of sorts against the Sun Devils.
Even when the Jayhawks got back into the game, they crumbled with turnovers and missed free throws at inopportune times.
“I thought we were awful. I thought that they were good,” Self said of KU’s start. “A lot of times when coaches say their team was awful, it doesn’t give credit to the other team being good. They were good. ... I didn’t think we played very well. I didn’t think we were as prepared to play as what I’d hoped that we could have got them, and that’s on the coaches.”
Arizona State upset No. 14 Kansas 70-60 at Desert Financial Arena. The Jayhawks (21-9, 11-6 Big 12) end their two-game road trip to Arizona without a win.
Freshman phenom Darryn Peterson had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but struggled through another dismal shooting night, going 3-for-18 (2-for-11 from 3). Tre White led KU with 16 points, adding 14 rebounds.
Flory Bidunga also had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. But those performances were not enough.
“They were hitting everything,” White said. “That’s pretty much what it was. Like I say every game, we’ve just got to play to our principals, rebound and create for each other. Sometimes shots are going to fall. Sometimes they’re not. But we’ve just got to play defense, and tonight they were hitting shots.”
Sparks flied early in this one.
After Peterson was called for an offensive foul in the first half, an irate Self argued the call and was tagged with two successive technicals — by different officials. He was ejected with 6:07 to play in the first half. Jacque Vaughn, who stepped in as acting coach, was hit with a technical later in the half.
Arizona State’s Maurice Odom led his team with 23 points and six assists. Big man Massamba Diop scored 19 points with nine rebounds and dominated the paint. KU shot 6-for-22 on layups.
The Jayhawks started slow in this game, trailing 7-0 in the first two minutes. The lead ballooned to 20 at halftime — ASU led 40-20 — but the Jayhawks actually cut the deficit to two (57-55) with 4:04 to play.
Arizona State, however, responded with an 11-0 run to ice the game.
Up next for KU: Kansas ends the regular season with a matchup against in-state rival K-State on Saturday.
Until then, here are four takeaways from Tuesday’s game…
KU’s offense had a horrible start
Similar to Saturday’s loss at Arizona, after which Bill Self blasted the team’s shot selection, KU’s offense was hard to watch in the first half Tuesday.
The Jayhawks never looked in rhythm. It reflected on the scoreboard.
KU didn’t reach 10 points until about halfway through the first half. The team’s ball movement was lacking. Players stood around watching instead of trying to get open.
As a result, KU shot 21.1% from the field in the first half, making only eight field goals. The Jayhawks were worse from 3, going 2-for-12 (16.7%). And they shot only two free throws, while committing 10 turnovers.
The Jayhawks have not played a worse offensive half of basketball in a long, long time.
The second half was better, but still ugly. KU shot 38.2% from the field, 33.3% from 3 and 64.3% at the line in the second frame.
The Jayhawks finished below 30% from the field (29.2%) and 3 (25.2%) for the game.
Darryn Peterson was ice-cold again
Darryn Peterson typically makes his presence felt in the first half. But he’s been slumping of late, and that continued against Arizona State.
The freshman star struggled to get anything going against the Sun Devils. He was 0-for-5 when Self got ejected. He finished the first half with two points, both on free throws, while shooting 0-for-7 overall.
“Him missing shots, that didn’t bother me,” Self said. “I’m telling him to shoot. It’s my fault I’m telling him, ‘Shoot it.’”
Throughout the game, Peterson did plenty of other things well. He finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and five steals. He even played 34 minutes.
But his jump shot was ice-cold. He finished with 15 points on 3-for-18 shooting. Just shy of half his points came from the free-throw line, where he went 7-for-8. He also committed three turnovers.
“I think if he continues to work at full speed, he’ll make shots,” Self said. “The thing about it is, when you work and practice, it’s got to be at game speed and game tempo. And sometimes we as a group, in my opinion — when I say we have to practice, I’m not talking about just being out there and being together. I’m talking about when we’re all on the same page and doing things at the speed that you have to do it at when real guys are trying to stop you and guard you.”
The Jayhawks lacked composure
It’s rare for Self to get ejected, which happened vs. the Sun Devils.
But KU’s issues went far beyond the technicals. And they nearly sparked a fight.
After Elmarko Jackson’s flagrant foul stopping a dunk in transition — the play was called a common foul but quickly upgraded to a flagrant-one — the Jayhawks and Sun Devils came together. While the skirmish was going on, Tre White had to be held back by KU assistant Tony Bland, and White did not seem pleased as the two exchanged some words.
“I think the (coaches) thought that I was coming off the bench when I ran over there, but I really ran to the corner and ran back around,” White said. “I (saw) something happen, I don’t know. I just tried to run in and go and help my teammates. The coaches thought I was on the bench, and they just tried to make sure I didn’t get a tech. That was all.”
It’s rare to see the Jayhawks look as flustered as they did on Tuesday. But it was a major part of this game.
The fundamentals cost Kansas
When the Jayhawks go back and watch the tape from this one, it will showcase plenty of missed opportunities.
The Jayhawks gathered 24 offensive rebounds, which somehow only translated into six-second-chance points. That baffled the team’s head coach.
“I don’t know,” Self said. “It’s hard. That’s hard because usually, off of offensive rebounds, the defenses are in scramble mode. I know we are. We didn’t take advantage of that whatsoever.”
On top of that, Kansas missed countless chances at the rim. Even including dunks, the Jayhawks were 10-for-27 on plays at the rim.
KU also missed five free throws and committed 17 turnovers. The Jayhawks had a chance late, despite playing so poorly, but never got over the hump.
The little things added up Tuesday.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 11:07 PM.
