KU Jayhawks basketball will play Nevada as fill-in. Bill Self called this school first
Kansas’ basketball team, in a hastily scheduled make-up game, will meet Nevada of the Mountain West Conference at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Allen Fieldhouse.
The No. 6-ranked Jayhawks (9-1) and Wolf Pack (6-4) were previously scheduled to play in separate games on Wednesday. Harvard had to cancel its game in Lawrence because of COVID issues within the Ivy League school’s program, while Nevada’s conference opener at San Jose State was postponed because of similar issues involving SJSU.
Tickets for the Jayhawks’ game against Harvard will be valid for admission to the Nevada contest and will not be re-issued, KU officials said.
KU coach Bill Self explained on Monday’s Hawk Talk radio show the Jayhawks were not surprised that Harvard had to cancel Wednesday’s game.
“It’s because in the Ivy League, the way the protocol is set up, whenever you travel, everybody has to be tested when they come back to school before they can resume an activity. The chances of people (Harvard players, coaches) going home (for holiday break) and coming back without picking something up would be very slim. I said all along the Harvard game would probably be canceled,” Self said.
So prior to KU’s four-day Christmas break, Self checked with Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller about playing the Lumberjacks a second time this season if Harvard indeed canceled its game in Lawrence.
KU defeated SFA, 80-72, on Dec. 18, at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I saw their game was already canceled (for Thursday against Rio Grande Valley). I said to him (Keller), ‘If ours is canceled, why don’t we just play again?’ He agreed to it. When Harvard canceled yesterday, I called Kyle and said, ‘Our game is on.’ He said, ‘We just tested positive,’ so that game was off. Sean (Lester, associate AD in charge of basketball scheduling) did a great job scrambling around (finding Nevada),” Self said.
Self said the biggest challenge regarding the Nevada game was “getting them here on short notice with all the pilots and crews and situations with people (airline workers) under protocol ... it took a lot to be able to find a crew to actually fly them here. They (Wolf Pack) are ready to go. It was hard to find a crew to do it. That’s all been situated. They’ll be coming in tomorrow,” added Self.
Self said on Monday night that he was happy the Jayhawks are able to play a game this week before the scheduled start of conference play Saturday against TCU. That, though, was before the Horned Frogs announced the cancellation of their Wednesday home game against Texas Southern due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols within their program. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Drew Davison reported later Monday night, via a source, that KU’s slated home game against TCU on Saturday would also be postponed because of TCU’s outbreak.
“During these times I don’t think you can put anything on being too important, that you have to do something,” Self said, “because the chances of you doing it the way you want to aren’t very great (because of COVID).
“It was important we play somebody. I don’t know if that is as important as having a team full of healthy guys where you can practice every day. The fact we can get a game in, at least as of today, that could all change tomorrow, but it’s all set up. We’re good to go (for Wednesday night),” Self added.
Self said the Jayhawks, who returned for holiday break on Sunday, practiced once Sunday and twice Monday. One practice is scheduled for Tuesday with the KU-Nevada game Wednesday. Self did not indicate if anybody had been tested for COVID since returning. KU has only been testing in response to its players or coaches experiencing symptoms.
“It’s different with the big boys and how they do it,” Self said of pro teams and frequency of testing. “Colleges ... a lot of them are testing whenever you have symptoms or you test the unvaccinated or unboostered. Fortunately for us, we’ve had good success there (he’s said all players and coaches have been vaccinated twice; he said recently all but a couple in the program had received the booster). When you have symptoms you have to get tested.
“We had six of us, including myself, who all had symptoms two weeks ago. Everybody (of the six) tested (positive) for the flu. Nobody tested obviously for the variant or COVID. It’s a different protocol. If you have the flu you are out 48 hours. You can’t have a fever (and return).”
Self noted that “we’re going to have a season. It’s just going to be kind of messy for the next three to four weeks probably. I really think by the end of January this will all even out and we’ll have a pretty regular season. It’s just going to be uncomfortable for the next month in my opinion. It could be longer. The way this thing (variant) is spreading, I’d be surprised if not too many don’t have it or haven’t had it by February.”
Self did say the Colorado game could be made up ... if any Big 12 games are postponed and KU would have just one game to play in a certain week.
“It’d be a home game and a bonus game, so to speak,” Self said. “If it’s best for our team we’ll try to do so. If there are no cancellations the rest of the way that game will not be replaced. I’m not going to play three games in one week just to get in another game.”
Four of Nevada’s last six previously scheduled games have been postponed or canceled outright because of COVID issues. The Wolfpack have won five straight, beating Loyola Marymount, Minnesota Duluth, Pepperdine, Washington and George Mason since Nov. 23. Nevada also has beaten Eastern Washington and lost to San Diego, Santa Clara, San Francisco and South Dakota State.
Grant Sherfield, a 6-foot-2 junior transfer from Wichita State, leads the Wolf Pack in scoring at 20 points a game. Steve Alford is in his third season as Nevada’s head coach.
Nevada will be returning to Allen Fieldhouse for the first time since the Wolf Pack defeated the Jayhawks 72-70 on Dec. 1, 2005. KU leads the all-time series between the schools 4-2.
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 6:22 PM with the headline "KU Jayhawks basketball will play Nevada as fill-in. Bill Self called this school first."
