Were KU Jayhawks distracted in 65-59 loss to Houston Cougars? Here’s Bill Self’s take
Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball coach Bill Self shrugged off the notion his players were distracted by events preceding Monday night’s 65-59 road loss to the No. 3-ranked Houston Cougars.
The defeat came two days after ugly racist tweets were directed at senior KU guard Zeke Mayo, who missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer late in Saturday’s home loss to Texas Tech.
“I don’t think so,” Self said when asked about a possible connection following Monday’s defeat at the Fertitta Center on the Cougars’ campus. “Obviously when you comment on it, it makes for stories.”
Self, Mayo and Kansas athletic director Travis Goff each issued statements in response to the vile internet vitriol Saturday night on social media site X.
“I think that we will learn how to deal with some things better moving forward,” Self said, “but I didn’t think our guys were distracted because of that.”
The unranked Jayhawks (19-11, 10-9 Big 12), who lost to No. 3 Houston (26-4, 18-1) in double overtime on Jan. 25 in Lawrence, again played the Cougars tough. Impossible to overcome Monday, however, were the Jayhawks’ 20 turnovers (to UH’s six) and five offensive rebounds (to UH’s 17).
Those statistical discrepancies did not occur because of online controversies, senior center Hunter Dickinson said after scoring 17 points to go with 12 rebounds, three assists and seven turnovers.
“I wouldn’t say so,” said Dickinson, who hit 6 of 13 shots and was 5-of-6 at the line. “I’ve been getting those (negative direct messages). I would say those were light for me. That’s probably an off-day of DM’s.
“I think as a team we came together. At least I hope Zeke knows we have his back. That comes with the territory of playing the game, especially with gambling and everything. People are mad if you don’t hit their parlays. They let you know about it.”
Mayo had another rough night, going 1 of 3 from 3-point range for seven points with six turnovers. He failed to get the ball inbounds to a teammate and turned it over with 18 seconds left, Houston up by four, 63-59.
The Jayhawks lost this one on a night David “Diggy” Coit kept KU in it with four made 3s in six tries for 14 points.
“We did turn it over way too much,” Dickinson said. “I thought their defense had a lot to do with it. We were careless with the ball early.”
KU had nine turnovers to Houston’s two in the first half yet trailed by just three, 30-27, at halftime.
“I thought we did some good things,” Dickinson said. “When we didn’t turn it over, it (execution) was good. When they miss more shots than we take (Houston had 44 missed shots; KU had 42 shots total), it’s tough to win.
“Again, we competed, but in the end they still whooped our butt on the offensive boards.”
Coit said the difference was “rebounding, obviously.”
Houston outrebounded KU 37-34.
“Every game is going to be different,” Coit said. “This game and last game (vs. Tech), rebounds and key plays down the stretch were focal points. We’ve got to execute better under pressure, be tougher and make better plays It’s a credit to them.”
KU coach Self was asked about areas of concern in a game that KU had led 39-36 with 14 minutes left. Houston’s LJ Cryer scored 22 points, 18 during the first half, while Milos Uzan and Mylik had 10 apiece.
“We did turn it over too much,” Self said. “I actually thought their defense had a lot to do with it early. Obviously, when we didn’t turn it over, our own execution was pretty good.
“But yes, 20 turnovers and 17 offensive rebounds. That’s 37 times they had a chance to at least shoot the ball that was created by by us or them, where we only took advantage of 13 situations like that.”
KU’s KJ Adams scored 15 points (he hit 9 of 10 free throws) with four rebounds in 33 minutes.
“I thought he was great,” Self said of Adams. “Ball-screen defense is what he did best, but yes, KJ was great.”
KU will return home to close the regular season against Arizona at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. It will be KU’s Senior Day game for Adams and several other Jayhawks seniors.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 12:07 AM with the headline "Were KU Jayhawks distracted in 65-59 loss to Houston Cougars? Here’s Bill Self’s take."
