Late on Saturday afternoon, No. 3 Kansas saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end in Austin, Texas at the hands of the Longhorns, 75-59. First off, and let’s be clear about this and I think we all agree, Texas was simply the better team today.
Bill Self’s squad won at least a share of the Big 12 regular season championship on Tuesday after beating Texas Tech and, a day later, won the Big 12 regular season championship outright after TCU defeated Texas in Fort Worth.
Kansas entered Saturday's game on a seven-game winning streak, while Texas took the court having lost two-straight games. No matter what happened today, Kansas was going to be the No. 1 seed in Kansas City next week, and unless something drastic happens, the Jayhawks will likely be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas, on Saturday, came out like today’s game against Kansas was a Final Four game, while the Jayhawks struggled to get anything going, missed wide-open shots and layups, turned the ball over, and, for a number of reasons, couldn’t get over the hump.
To me, this kind of felt like the Iowa State game in Ames. Against Texas, Jalen Wilson led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while no other player scored in double-figures for the Jayhawks.
KJ Adams (9), Kevin McCullar (8), Gradey Dick (6), Dajuan Harris (5), Joseph Yesufu (5), Zach Clemence (2), and Zuby Ejiofor (1) rounded out the scoring for Kansas. Wilson led the way with 10 rebounds, while Harris dished out 7 seven assists and didn’t commit a single turnover. He also led the way with three steals in 37 minutes of action.
So, as everybody knows, the next two tournaments are single elimination. You lose and you go home. A loss in the Big 12 tournament and Kansas simply beings to prepare for the NCAA tournament. However, a loss in the NCAA tournament, and the season is over.
If Kansas is going to make a deep run in March, it can’t simply be the Jalen Wilson show. If that’s going to be the case moving forward, the month of March is going to be a huge disappointment.
I’m not going to say that this team has very little margin for error, but this is a team that, when at its best, can beat any team in college basketball. However, when this team struggles, especially out of the gate, they are more than capable of getting beat on an off night.
Starting next week in Kansas City, Dajuan Harris, Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar, Jalen Wilson, and KJ Adams will need to, as a group, impact the game on both ends of the court. I’ll have to go back and look to get a better look at the numbers, but I can tell you that the last two games have been a real struggle for Gradey Dick.
Dick didn’t hit a field goal against Texas Tech and didn’t hit a field goal against Texas until the second half. Because of his ability to score from behind the arc, Dick can greatly impact the game so quickly with his shot-making ability.
However, that simply hasn’t been the case in the last two games. He’s really struggled to get anything going and, to me, that’s a big concern heading into the most important part of the season. Kansas needs Dick to be at his best down the stretch here in KC and in the NCAA tournament.
For the rest of the season, KU’s starting five has to play the best it's played if the Jayhawks are going to make a serious run at repeating. Also, and this isn’t a knock on any player, but at this point, the bench is what the bench is.
Harris, Dick, McCullar, Wilson, and Adams, can’t play every minute of every game, so guys will continue to have opportunities off the bench. I think any production Kansas does get off the bench moving forward will be somewhat of an added bonus. There have been games this season where the bench was amazing and in other games, the bench wasn’t a factor at all. Really don’t know what to expect down the stretch.
Just looking over the final stats, for the second time, Texas was led by Rice (23) and Hunter (20). Those two guys really had a big game for the Longhorns. Kansas lost the battle on the glass by just two, committed 11 turnovers to UT’s seven, but Kansas was outscored off the bench, 32-8.
If you look at the numbers, Kansas was 21-of-58 from the field, 7-of-22 from behind the arc, and 10-of-15 from the free-throw line. Texas was 25-of-55 from the field, 6-of-21 from three, and 19-of-24 from the free-throw line.
Down 21-12 in the first half, Kansas simply couldn’t remember. Yes, they pulled to within seven points, but couldn’t get over the hump. With a few days of rest coming, I look forward to seeing how Kansas responds in Kansas City next week.
Bill Self’s squad won at least a share of the Big 12 regular season championship on Tuesday after beating Texas Tech and, a day later, won the Big 12 regular season championship outright after TCU defeated Texas in Fort Worth.
Kansas entered Saturday's game on a seven-game winning streak, while Texas took the court having lost two-straight games. No matter what happened today, Kansas was going to be the No. 1 seed in Kansas City next week, and unless something drastic happens, the Jayhawks will likely be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas, on Saturday, came out like today’s game against Kansas was a Final Four game, while the Jayhawks struggled to get anything going, missed wide-open shots and layups, turned the ball over, and, for a number of reasons, couldn’t get over the hump.
To me, this kind of felt like the Iowa State game in Ames. Against Texas, Jalen Wilson led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while no other player scored in double-figures for the Jayhawks.
KJ Adams (9), Kevin McCullar (8), Gradey Dick (6), Dajuan Harris (5), Joseph Yesufu (5), Zach Clemence (2), and Zuby Ejiofor (1) rounded out the scoring for Kansas. Wilson led the way with 10 rebounds, while Harris dished out 7 seven assists and didn’t commit a single turnover. He also led the way with three steals in 37 minutes of action.
So, as everybody knows, the next two tournaments are single elimination. You lose and you go home. A loss in the Big 12 tournament and Kansas simply beings to prepare for the NCAA tournament. However, a loss in the NCAA tournament, and the season is over.
If Kansas is going to make a deep run in March, it can’t simply be the Jalen Wilson show. If that’s going to be the case moving forward, the month of March is going to be a huge disappointment.
I’m not going to say that this team has very little margin for error, but this is a team that, when at its best, can beat any team in college basketball. However, when this team struggles, especially out of the gate, they are more than capable of getting beat on an off night.
Starting next week in Kansas City, Dajuan Harris, Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar, Jalen Wilson, and KJ Adams will need to, as a group, impact the game on both ends of the court. I’ll have to go back and look to get a better look at the numbers, but I can tell you that the last two games have been a real struggle for Gradey Dick.
Dick didn’t hit a field goal against Texas Tech and didn’t hit a field goal against Texas until the second half. Because of his ability to score from behind the arc, Dick can greatly impact the game so quickly with his shot-making ability.
However, that simply hasn’t been the case in the last two games. He’s really struggled to get anything going and, to me, that’s a big concern heading into the most important part of the season. Kansas needs Dick to be at his best down the stretch here in KC and in the NCAA tournament.
For the rest of the season, KU’s starting five has to play the best it's played if the Jayhawks are going to make a serious run at repeating. Also, and this isn’t a knock on any player, but at this point, the bench is what the bench is.
Harris, Dick, McCullar, Wilson, and Adams, can’t play every minute of every game, so guys will continue to have opportunities off the bench. I think any production Kansas does get off the bench moving forward will be somewhat of an added bonus. There have been games this season where the bench was amazing and in other games, the bench wasn’t a factor at all. Really don’t know what to expect down the stretch.
Just looking over the final stats, for the second time, Texas was led by Rice (23) and Hunter (20). Those two guys really had a big game for the Longhorns. Kansas lost the battle on the glass by just two, committed 11 turnovers to UT’s seven, but Kansas was outscored off the bench, 32-8.
If you look at the numbers, Kansas was 21-of-58 from the field, 7-of-22 from behind the arc, and 10-of-15 from the free-throw line. Texas was 25-of-55 from the field, 6-of-21 from three, and 19-of-24 from the free-throw line.
Down 21-12 in the first half, Kansas simply couldn’t remember. Yes, they pulled to within seven points, but couldn’t get over the hump. With a few days of rest coming, I look forward to seeing how Kansas responds in Kansas City next week.
