Kansas
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.