Self says KU ‘can play with anybody’ if Jayhawks duplicate first-half effort at Texas
Kansas’ offense accounted for 43 points in the first half of Tuesday’s Big 12 men’s basketball game at Texas.
That marked just the second time the Jayhawks topped the 40-point standard during the first 20 minutes of a conference game during the 2020-21 season. KU scored 49 points the first half in racing to a 93-64 victory over TCU on Jan. 5 in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We were flying around, carefree (with) guys getting out on the break and helping rebound. We were just playing,” KU sophomore guard Christian Braun said after the Jayhawks’ 75-72 overtime loss to the Longhorns at Erwin Center in Austin.
Junior guard Ochai Agbaji scored 14 points, while freshman combo guard Bryce Thompson added 11 off the bench Tuesday during a first half in which the Jayhawks, took advantage of a 19-2 run to build an 11-point halftime lead.
KU scored just 23 points the second half, squandered the lead and ultimately lost after being outscored 9-6 in overtime.
“We came out a little tense the second half,” Braun said, trying to explain the difference. “We were more relaxed when we were on that run.”
The difference in the two halves obviously frustrated 18th-year KU coach Bill Self, who was rather encouraged after 20 minutes of productive offense.
“I’ll look at how we shared it the first half,” Self said of a half in which KU had nine assists on 16 baskets. The Jayhawks hit 48.5% of their shots and were 4-of-12 from three and 7-of-11 from the line. “And how we were basically reluctant passers the second half. The ball stuck the second half, Guys got a little stale, became a little less aggressive. The second half we reverted back to the way we run offense whenever it’s not very good. Guys have got to step up and make some shots. I wish I’d done a better jobs in some situations as well, obviously.”
In the final 20 minutes, KU had four assists on eight baskets. The No. 17-ranked Jayhawks (17-8, 11-6 Big 12) hit 29.6% of their shots and were 3-of-10 from three and 4-of-7 from the line.
“If we compete like we did the first half we can play with anybody,” Self said.
Self seemed most disappointed in some mental lapses by his players in the final half and OT. He called a timeout with 15 seconds left in regulation and KU down, 66-64. Power forward David McCormack forced overtime by scoring a stickback bucket off a Marcus Garrett miss of a driving layup with 8.1 seconds to play.
“We didn’t do anything like I said to do. I wanted to shoot a three (and go for win),” Self said on his postgame radio interview. “We didn’t run it right. We got lucky. Our execution out of timeouts is frustrating. Coming out of the timeout, we draw it up, guys come out and don’t remember what they’re doing. That is frustrating. We’ve got to tighten that up,” he added, noting the miscommunication between coach and players happened three times in the game.
The Jayhawks now will start to prepare for Saturday’s game against Baylor. The Bears, the No. 2 ranked team in the country, will bring an 18-0 record, 10-0 in league play, to Lawrence for the 7 p.m. game..
At this time, it’s the Senior Night game for Marcus Garrett, Mitch Lightfoot and walk-on Chris Teahan. Self has said the Jayhawks, however, still might schedule a game prior to the Big 12 Tournament to make up for the game lost against Tarleton State in December. If that happens, the seniors would have an additional home game following the Baylor contest.
In addition, all seniors have a chance to return next season if they wish. Because of COVID-19, the NCAA has given all seniors the opportunity to come back for another season if they so desire.
“It’s Senior Day for Marcus and the guys. We’ve got Mitch and Chris, too,” Self said. “We’ll have some decisions probably made about what they want to do with the future. I’ve still got to talk to them about some different things. I’m excited about the opportunity to play Baylor. Our guys will be too.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Self says KU ‘can play with anybody’ if Jayhawks duplicate first-half effort at Texas."
