Why Bill Self joked KU basketball ‘better play well’ at Oklahoma State: Preview
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- Kansas coach Bill Self is 9-8 in Stillwater returning to Gallagher-Iba.
- Oklahoma State leans on 24-year-old Anthony Roy, averaging 17.6 points.
- KU must contain Roy’s shooting and Pokes’ speed to secure a win.
Bill Self, a proud Oklahoma State graduate who played point guard for the Cowboys from 1981-85, has returned to his much-beloved Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma, 17 times as Kansas men’s basketball coach.
He’s left the 13,611-seat building happy nine times, sad on eight occasions entering Wednesday’s 8 p.m. contest, which will be shown live on Peacock.
“I told the team today, you better play well. I spent 11 years there,” Self said, laughing, on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show. “They said, ‘You were in school 11 years? It took you 11 years to graduate?’
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, no, smart (aleck).’ But I did go to school there as an undergrad for four years and coached seven (as assistant) after that. It’s a special place to me, but it’s not home.”
Home in the Edmond, Oklahoma native’s eyes is Lawrence, where he and his wife Cindy raised two children in their 23 years in Kansas.
“We still have family there in Oklahoma, obviously, in Oklahoma City, but it hasn’t been home for a long time. So I don’t get the chills or the goosebumps there that some people may think they get when they go home, because we’ve been there so much,” Self said.
He did concede, “It’s always good to see old faces, and there’s still some (people) still around that were there back when I was there and working there.”
Self remembers his first game as KU coach in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Jayhawks lost 80-60 on Feb. 9, 2004. Oklahoma State, coached by Hall of Famer Eddie Sutton, entered that game 17-2 overall and 7-1 in the league; KU entered 15-4, 7-1.
Wayne Simien scored 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting with six rebounds, while Oklahoma native J.R. Giddens contributed 12 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting. No other Jayhawk reached double figures.
OSU’s John Lucas III scored 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while Tony Allen had 17 points and seven rebounds, Ivan McFarlin 12 points and seven rebounds, Daniel Bobik 11 points, five rebounds and five assists and Joey Graham 10 points and eight rebounds.
“I mean they had a great team,” Self recalled. “They went to the Final Four that year. That’s the loudest place — that day — I can ever remember (in a road venue). I called three timeouts by the 15-minute mark of the first half and the official said, ‘I should give you a T.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’re yelling at me.’ I said. ‘But you didn’t hear a word that I said, because the place is so loud.’ Gallagher has the potential to be an unbelievable home court.”
Sutton’s Cowboys raced to a 44-26 halftime lead that day in assuring victory early over Self’s first Jayhawks squad. Overall, Self is 29-11 versus his alma mater as Jayhawk coach. KU has won eight in a row in the series.
For KU to defeat OSU (16-9, 4-8), the No. 8-ranked Jayhawks (19-6, 9-3) likely will need to slow Anthony Roy, a 6-5 senior guard from Oakland, California, who averages a team-leading 17.6 points per contest.
Roy has hit 44.3% of his shots. He’s 74-of-175 from 3 for 42.3%. He’s also an 84% free throw shooter. He’s grabbed 3.9 rebounds per contest with 27 assists to 34 turnovers.
Roy scored a season-high 30 points against BYU in a 99-92 win on Feb. 4. He’s made six 3s against both Texas Tech in a loss on Jan. 3 and Cal State Fullerton in a win on Dec. 21.
Roy is in his first and last season at Oklahoma State. He’s also played at San Francisco in 2020-21, Wenatchee Valley in 2021-22, New Mexico State in 2023-23, Langston in 2023-24 and Green Bay a year ago. He played just 11 games at Green Bay before suffering a season-ending injury.
“He’s one of the league’s top players and he’s certainly one of the league’s top shooters and scorers. He’s (a player) we’re going to have to contend with,” Self said of the 24-year-old Roy.
Junior guards Vyctorius Miller and Kanye Clary average 12.2 points and 9.3 points a game respectively. Clary has 123 assists to 48 turnovers. Big man Parsa Fallah, a 6-10, 250 senior, averages 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Fallah had 27 points in the Pokes’ 95-92 home loss to TCU on Saturday in Stillwater.
“They’re good and they’re fast and quick and athletic,” Self said. “I’d say the biggest thing that stands out is their speed and their ability to make plays. When nothing’s there, they’re really good at getting downhill.”
OSU has lost three straight games and is 13-3 at home this season. KU is coming off Saturday’s loss at Iowa State. After the game, KU will return home to meet Cincinnati at 12 p.m. Saturday and Houston at 8 p.m. Monday.
This story was originally published February 17, 2026 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Why Bill Self joked KU basketball ‘better play well’ at Oklahoma State: Preview."
