Kansas

If Kansas basketball’s season ended today, it would be defined by missed opportunities

Published

1 year ago

March 4, 2025

If Kansas basketball’s season ended today, it would be defined by missed opportunities

If there was a sequence in the loss to No. 3 Houston that encapsulated the Kansas basketball season, it came with about four minutes left in the second half.

The Jayhawks, on the road, had recently cut the Cougars’ lead to 57-54 on a bucket from Hunter Dickinson and gotten the ball back after a defensive stop. But on that ensuing possession, Dickinson turned the ball over and Houston went on a fast break and saw Mylik Wilson slam home a dunk to make it 59-54.

Then, when KU got the ball back, Dickinson was called for an offensive foul on that very next possession, and whatever momentum the team had seemed to dissipate.

The game didn’t end there. Kansas found itself within a possession in the last minute of the game, but chances squandered there and over the course of the game helped the Cougars win 65-59 in a Big 12 Conference battle.

The Jayhawks (19-11, 10-9 in Big 12) have now lost back-to-back games against highly-ranked teams they had their chances to beat. And if the season ended with this latest defeat, one that did see KU show some life in a matchup some might have been anticipating a blowout, KU’s season would be defined by its missed opportunities.

“The season’s almost over, we’ve got one more game in Allen Fieldhouse,” Kansas coach Bill Self said on the Varsity Network postgame show, asked how they can use this effort moving forward.

“Hopefully, our fans will show up to see some seniors that have meant an awful lot to this place over time — and I’m sure they will. But it was a different feel in the locker room after the game. I thought we had a pretty tight huddle. I thought the guys were — competed harder. Even the guys that didn’t play, they all thought it felt different, too.”

Self, later, added: “No moral victories, but this was going to be a — you were going to have to play a fantastic game to win down here and we almost pulled it off. Just didn’t quite get it done.”

If there are two things to point to that torpedoed Kansas’ chances at a win, they were turnovers and offensive rebounds. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 20 times and allowed 18 points off of those turnovers, while the Cougars turned it over just six times and allowed only eight points off of those turnovers.

The Jayhawks also allowed 17 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points by the Cougars, while Houston allowed just five offensive rebounds and six second-chance points by Kansas.

Dickinson’s 17-point and 12-rebound double-double couldn’t overcome those issues, with Dickinson himself responsible for seven turnovers in a game he would eventually foul out of. KJ Adams scoring 15 points and David Coit adding 14 of his own, the latter off of the bench, couldn’t either. Zeke Mayo and Rylan Griffen each had quiet nights offensively, which hurts considering they’re supposed to be 3-point threats and guys who help space things out for Dickinson.

It wasn’t as if one player on Houston’s team was responsible for grabbing numerous steals or collecting so many rebounds. The Cougars won with a team effort that helped them overcome a poor shooting night from the field. Even though L.J. Cryer got into foul trouble, which kept him from producing much in the second half, Houston overcame that, too.

Kansas’ attention now turns toward its regular season finale inside Allen Fieldhouse, a senior day matchup for the Jayhawks on Saturday against No. 23 Arizona. That leaves one more chance for Kansas to add to its resume before postseason play begins. It’ll just be a matter of whether or not the Jayhawks take advantage of it or let another opportunity slip away.

“They’re good,” Self said about Arizona. “They’re so athletic and everything. And Houston’s athleticism definitely bothered us tonight. Our guards couldn’t get past them, and that made a big difference. But our execution wasn’t awful. We just turned it over too much. But against pressure you’ve got to be able to drive it, and I’m sure Arizona will pressure us. So, our guards need to be able to drive the ball.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

Published

57 minutes ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Wednesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

6A Boys West Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka High 57, Washburn Rural 50 (will play Maize Saturday)
Junction City 70, Dodge City 56 (will play Derby Saturday)
Manhattan 58, Wichita-Northwest 56 (will play Wichita-East Saturday)

4A Boys East Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 62, Louisberg 57 (will play Bishop Miege Saturday)
Atchison 74, Wamego 43
Hayden 72, Independence 56 (will play Atchison Saturday)
Eudora 76, Santa Fe Trail 68

GIRLS

5A West Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hays 80, Topeka West 18
Eisenhower 55, Seaman 41
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 71, Emporia 41

5A East Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Shawnee Heights 89, Sumner 15 (will play Pittsburg Saturday)
Basehor-Linwood 74, Highland Park 28 (will play Piper Saturday)

3A Pomona-West Franklin Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Osage City 75, Columbus 31 (will play Frontenac Saturday)

3A Sabetha Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Silver Lake 48, Nemaha Central 26 (will play Riley County Saturday)
Riley County 51, Jeff West 40 (will play Silver Lake)

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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