What Bill Self thinks of KU Jayhawks improving to 3-0 in renewed Border War series
The six-game, six-year renewal of the men’s basketball series between Kansas and Missouri has reached the halfway point with Bill Self’s Jayhawks holding a commanding 3-0 edge over the rival Tigers following Saturday’s 73-64 victory at Allen Fieldhouse.
KU’s recent domination — the Jayhawks also won 95-69 last year in Columbia after a 102-65 victory in Allen in 2021-22 — wasn’t on Self’s mind after a game Self said “wasn’t one of our best deals.”
No. 2-ranked KU trailed by nine points in the first half and saw an 18-point Jayhawk lead dip to eight points in the second stanza.
“I don’t even care about 3-0. I don’t care about what happened last year or the year before. I care about what is going to happen from this point forward with our team,” Self said. “I am not going to think about Missouri again unless we have an opportunity to play them in the postseason, until next year (when the teams meet at Mizzou Arena).
“I am happy that we’ve won, don’t get me wrong, but that is not something I’m going to hang my hat on, leaving out of here thinking we are 3-0. You know what? We are 9-1. We play at Indiana (Saturday). We’ve got to get better for Indiana. That’s how I see it.”
KU, which was burned by Missouri guards Sean East (21 points, six assists, five turnovers) and Nick Honor (17 points), went 3-of-10 from 3 to MU’s 7-of-21 mark. KU outrebounded Missouri 42-25 with Hunter Dickinson grabbing 16 rebounds to go with 13 points.
The work on the glass — Kevin McCullar had nine rebounds, 17 points — helped KU (9-1) gain bragging rights over MU (7-3) for this third straight year.
“Beating Missouri always feels … the food tastes better and the drink is colder later on in the evening after you beat Missouri,” Self said. I thought Missouri did a great job of making the game the way it needed it to be to give them the best chance to win. I think they did a great job.
“I think our guys handled some things very well, but the game had no flow. It had no rhythm, which if we are playing well, we kind of play with some rhythm offensively. I am leaving out of here really happy we won, but also leaving here thinking we’ve got to play better. I’m sure Dennis (Gates, MU coach) is thinking the same thing.”
Self continued.
“(Gates) is probably thinking, ‘We came over there. We were the better team early, then we kind of had a rough stretch,’” Self said, referencing KU’s 20-2 run to close the first half. “’We hung in there. We didn’t let the crowd run us out.’’’
Self noted that “the crowd was great (on a night KU hit a chilly 44.6% of shots to MU’s 41.4%) but they weren’t a factor in the game because I don’t think our play was good enough to allow them to be a factor in the game, like they were against Connecticut.”
KU won that Dec. 1 home game 69-65 in front of a raucous crowd.
KJ Adams had 17 points, five assists and five turnovers and Elmarko Jackson added 11 points, including a 3-point basket and foul shot that gave KU a 31-29 lead, significant since KU trailed early, 15-6.
“They were obviously better than us to start the game. We were a lot better the last six minutes, going on a 20-2 run. That was the difference in the game. It’s an even game other than that,” Self said.
KU hit 20 of 23 free throws to MU’s 9 of 13. Freshman Jackson was 6-of-7 from the line. McCullar was 8-of-9 and Adams 3-of-4.
“We certainly have made big ones. Tonight we made some big ones,” Self said.
Self had praise for the Tigers during his postgame session with the media.
“He’s doing a fantastic job,” Self said of second-year MU coach Gates. “Last year when we played them at their place, they tried to take us out by pressing. This year they pressured and didn’t press.
“This year the pressure was probably more effective than pressing because it didn’t let us get 2-on-1s, 3-on-2s. I think that was a very good adjustment. They are fast. We can’t simulate that in practice. Their hands bothered us (KU had 16 turnovers to MU’s 11).”
KU next will meet Indiana at 11:30 a.m. Central on Saturday in Bloomington.
This story was originally published December 9, 2023 at 8:56 PM with the headline "What Bill Self thinks of KU Jayhawks improving to 3-0 in renewed Border War series."
