— Kansas had won 33 straight conference openers, but that streak came to an end today.
— It was certainly a frustrating day for KJ Adams. In 28 minutes, he scored two points and pulled down just one rebound.
“Well, I don't think KJ had a great game, and technically, KJ is a two-big lineup guy, but I don't think he was probably at where he'd been playing most of the season without question,” said Self. “And we tried to play Flory where he set ball screens and ran to the rim, and Hunt was kind of a perimeter ball screen set him guy, and it worked fine because it allowed us enough angles to get downhill and Zeke get to the free throw line, but it was better for us.
“And then Flory obviously did a good job of defending on the other end, especially their point guard,” he added. “He's probably never guarded a point guard in his life and that's who he stuck on. So I thought he did a good job.”
KJ had a chance to give KU the lead late in the game but came up short near the basket, probably should have passed it out, and WVU converted two shots on the other end of the court.
— Here’s what Self had to say when asked about playing Flory Bidunga more. Against WVU, Bidunga went for 8 points and 11 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
“I don't know,” said Self when asked how he goes about playing Flory Bidunga more. “Maybe we just play three bigs and just rotate those guys equally. But Flory has got to play more, but the bottom line is the reason he's got to play more is because we're not really getting a lot out of a couple of positions right now, and we've had some good practices, but obviously, today that's as miserable of offensive team as I've seen play in this building in 22 years.
“That was horrid,” he added. “So the second half was a little better, but time and score dictated why we played better because when you're behind and times running out, you tend to be more aggressive. We were never aggressive in the first half whatsoever.”
— This team would be in serious trouble without Zeke Mayo. Against West Virginia, Mayo, in 35 minutes, scored a game-high 27 points, on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, and 13-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line.
Right now, Mayo is really the only guy getting to the free-throw line for Kansas. The Jayhawks don’t have anything close to a shot at winning this game today with Mayo on the court.
— Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams, and Dajuan Harris are still playing too many minutes. Adams (28 minutes) scored two points and pulled down one rebound. Dickinson (33 minutes) scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Harris (38 minutes) scored 11 points, pulled down one rebound, dished out seven assists, and turned the ball over three times.
— If guys like AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen, David Coit, and Shakeel Moore don’t find ways to impact this team, it’s going to be a very disappointing season for Kansas. These guys were brought here for a very specific reason, and they need produce when given the opportunity.
— It was certainly a frustrating day for KJ Adams. In 28 minutes, he scored two points and pulled down just one rebound.
“Well, I don't think KJ had a great game, and technically, KJ is a two-big lineup guy, but I don't think he was probably at where he'd been playing most of the season without question,” said Self. “And we tried to play Flory where he set ball screens and ran to the rim, and Hunt was kind of a perimeter ball screen set him guy, and it worked fine because it allowed us enough angles to get downhill and Zeke get to the free throw line, but it was better for us.
“And then Flory obviously did a good job of defending on the other end, especially their point guard,” he added. “He's probably never guarded a point guard in his life and that's who he stuck on. So I thought he did a good job.”
KJ had a chance to give KU the lead late in the game but came up short near the basket, probably should have passed it out, and WVU converted two shots on the other end of the court.
— Here’s what Self had to say when asked about playing Flory Bidunga more. Against WVU, Bidunga went for 8 points and 11 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
“I don't know,” said Self when asked how he goes about playing Flory Bidunga more. “Maybe we just play three bigs and just rotate those guys equally. But Flory has got to play more, but the bottom line is the reason he's got to play more is because we're not really getting a lot out of a couple of positions right now, and we've had some good practices, but obviously, today that's as miserable of offensive team as I've seen play in this building in 22 years.
“That was horrid,” he added. “So the second half was a little better, but time and score dictated why we played better because when you're behind and times running out, you tend to be more aggressive. We were never aggressive in the first half whatsoever.”
— This team would be in serious trouble without Zeke Mayo. Against West Virginia, Mayo, in 35 minutes, scored a game-high 27 points, on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, 2-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, and 13-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line.
Right now, Mayo is really the only guy getting to the free-throw line for Kansas. The Jayhawks don’t have anything close to a shot at winning this game today with Mayo on the court.
— Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams, and Dajuan Harris are still playing too many minutes. Adams (28 minutes) scored two points and pulled down one rebound. Dickinson (33 minutes) scored 10 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Harris (38 minutes) scored 11 points, pulled down one rebound, dished out seven assists, and turned the ball over three times.
— If guys like AJ Storr, Rylan Griffen, David Coit, and Shakeel Moore don’t find ways to impact this team, it’s going to be a very disappointing season for Kansas. These guys were brought here for a very specific reason, and they need produce when given the opportunity.
