Wasn’t fun at the time, but this ‘humbling’ loss helped KU Jayhawks reach Final Four
Bill Self has said many times in his 19 years at the University of Kansas that a team doesn’t truly become a team until it goes through some (stuff).
If KU’s men’s basketball coach had to pinpoint this year’s signature moment in the formation/maturation of what turned into a Final Four team … he claims it’d be an 80-62 loss to fellow blueblood Kentucky on Jan. 29 at Allen Fieldhouse.
In front of an ESPN GameDay crew and the usual packed house, the No. 12-ranked Wildcats rolled to a 20-point halftime lead and never looked back against the No. 5-ranked Jayhawks.
“Some of the biggest wins we had this year were the hardest things we went through,” Self said of a batch of narrow victories that included a 62-61 home victory over Iowa State, 78-75 victory at Kansas State, 94-91 double-overtime home win over Texas Tech, 71-69 home win over Oklahoma, 72-68 home win over TCU and 70–63 home win over Texas.
“But I’d say the Kentucky loss helped us,” Self continued. “They came in our house and put it on us. We were humbled. Our record was better than what it deserved to be (17-2 at the time). We won so many close games where we eked them out. We got embarrassed by what a real team looked like. Everybody in our locker room knew that we had a long ways to go because that was a very eye-opening and humbling day.
“And through that, I think that was a catalyst to kind of tell us, ‘Hey, we think we may be OK, but we’re not near as good as we think we are,’ and I do think it helped us.”
That day’s loss to Kentucky left the Allen Fieldhouse crowd stunned.
But KU went 6-1 immediately after the defeat, and then, after losing to Baylor and TCU on the road, started a nine-game winning streak that included a 4-0 mark in the 2022 NCAA Tournament heading into Saturday’s Final Four semifinal game versus Villanova (5:09 p.m. at the Caesars Superdome on TBS).
“I actually think that game was good for us. Even if we were good that game, I’m not sure our good would have been good enough to beat their great. . . . They were fabulous. That game they were by far the best team we played this year,” Self stated.
Kentucky’s greatness that day gave the Jayhawks something to aspire to, Self noted.
“We then knew in order for us to compete at the highest level, which they were that day, we’ve got to get a lot better in a lot of areas,” he said. “It was probably as important a game as we played this year. I know we had some big games. But I’m not sure any win was bigger or better for us than that loss.”
KU senior forward David McCormack said although the Jayhawks were disappointed in losing in such lopsided fashion to Kentucky that day, they definitely learned from the experience. It was KU’s only home loss of a Big 12 championship/Final Four season.
“I think that game was a game of, looking inside the team, just building character and knowing what we have to do in order to win games,” McCormack said Thursday. “It was a game where you played high-level athletes and what we needed to do as far as starting the game off right, starting the game off strong. We had to definitely play to rebounding and play to our size and what we can do offensively and know that our strength’s in defense.
“A lot of time through this tournament we played defensively and made teams play worse than what we played. I think that’s what we kind of held our hat on, and really started from that point on from that game.”
KU faced a huge challenge in the game that followed the blowout loss to UK.
“Ochai was out and we go to Iowa State and win,” Self said of KU winning the game at Iowa State 70-61. Ochai — senior Ochai Agbaji, a consensus All-America selection this year — missed the game in Ames because of COVID-19 protocols.
Self realizes there were other games that helped the Jayhawks come together as a team. He mentioned a 78-75 comeback victory on Jan. 22 at Bramlage Coliseum — the Jayhawks players desperately wanted to win that day for Self, who was mourning the death of his father.
“The K-State game was right after my dad passed,” he coach said. “We were down 16 in the second half and come back and win that game. Getting a victory was huge for us. That gave us a little more confidence until we finally started playing (better).”
The Jayhawks followed a pair of road losses to Baylor and TCU with their current nine-game win streak. So far in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Kansas has claimed wins over Texas Southern (83-56), Creighton (79-72), Providence (66-61) and Miami (76-50).
Coincidentally, after the blowout loss to Kentucky, the Jayhawks trailed the Wildcats by four games on college basketball’s all-time victories list. KU now leads UK by two. The Wildcats were ousted by St. Peter’s in the first round of the NCAAs, while the Jayhawks have stormed to the Final Four.
The Jayhawks love the progress they’ve made since their low point against Kentucky.
“I’ve thought all along that this was a possibility,” Self said of KU’s current winning streak. “But I’ve also thought all along that the margin for error wasn’t such where we could get loose and have it be a probability. These guys have stayed focused, and they do play for each other.
“When we play the way that I think that we’re capable of playing, I have total faith.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Wasn’t fun at the time, but this ‘humbling’ loss helped KU Jayhawks reach Final Four."
