Kansas

Notebook: Self on Kansas’ shooting, mindset, play of offense and defense

Published

11 months ago

February 13, 2025

Notebook: Self on Kansas’ shooting, mindset, play of offense and defense

Kansas will embark on a two-game Utah road trip, taking on the Utah Utes and BYU Cougars. Bill Self met with the media on Thursday to preview the trip and discuss various aspects of where the Jayhawks stand. He talked about getting Kansas’ shooters going, the team’s mindset, and what he sees out of the offense and defense.

Kansas’ shooters need to be less reluctant

The Jayhawks’ three-point rate sits near the bottom of all Division One teams, with 33% of the team’s shots coming from beyond the arc. Kansas hasn’t shot it great from downtown (34.2%, 147th nationally), but Self thinks the shooting issues lie with the shots that his team isn’t taking. He said that when guys are struggling to knock down shots, they can become reluctant.

“A lot of times it’s them being reluctant, and I think that what I would want to eliminate from that is them being reluctant,” Self said. “So you don’t have to shoot more, but you got to shoot it when the situation requires you to shoot it.”

Self said Kansas turned down “between 8 and 10 wide-open looks” in the game against Colorado. The Jayhawks have struggled from three, but Self values shot selection more than whether they are made.

“I’ve always taken the approach that it’s a good or bad shot when it leaves your hand, not if it goes in or not,” Self said. “If this is the shot we want you to shoot and we’re telling you to shoot it, why would you ever hesitate shooting it? If it doesn’t go in, that’s my fault. I’m the one telling you to shoot it.”

Self’s current message to his team

Self has often described the 2024-25 Jayhawks as inconsistent. On Thursday, he once again reiterated that message.

“The thing I would probably say to them as much as anything is, you know, you’ve teased us all, and we’ve all known what your ceiling is. Anything operating under that ceiling is not good enough,” Self said. “It’s an impossible standard to live up to always be at your ceiling. But it is more probable that you get closer if you have the intangibles that allow you to get there in the first place. And we just haven’t been operating with those same tangibles consistently.”

His current motivation is getting to the root of who Kansas is as a team. Self said it’ll take a collective group effort to stay at a high level.

“We have to get to the core root of who we are and what we do, and this is what we believe in. And we have to all be at this level,” Self said. “And hopefully, collectively they want to do that as a group because the best thing about competing is winning. And winning is, you know, obviously something that brings as much joy or more joy to anybody that’s participating. And what allows you to win should be the motivation on what we all try to get to.”

Defense has been limiting factor in Kansas’ losses

Kansas remains in the top five in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. However, when you look at most of the Jayhawks’ losses, defense has been the main factor why they’ve faltered.

The Jayhawks allowed 60 points in the second half to Baylor and gave up a lot of easy looks against Kansas State. On the other hand, Kansas has been at its best this season when it puts together strong defensive performances.

“The problem is in the games in which we haven’t been successful, defense has been really the reason why we haven’t been,” Self said.

Self mentioned a couple of areas that can make the Jayhawks a better defensive team – shrink the floor on ball screens, tighter switches, better one-shot defense, and better on-ball defense in late-clock scenarios.

“I think that will have as much to do with us playing better moving forward as anything,” Self said.

Kansas struggling to finish possessions, but patience has been a positive

Self said the Jayhawks have struggled to finish off great possessions. In years past, Self’s teams have been able to cap off possessions about “80 percent of the time.” However, that changes when things aren’t going well.

“It seems like to me when things don’t go well, that same way to cap it off, we miss a wide-open three or something happens where it doesn’t cap it off the same way,” Self said. “I think we’ve had many more of those this year than what we’ve had in years past, which doesn’t mean our offense sucks, it means we just got to finish the dang possession.”

One positive Self mentioned is Kansas’ poise in late-clock scenarios. He said teams often panic with under 10 seconds on the clock, and it’s easier to defend, but the Jayhawks have remained patient.

“in many situations, I think what we’ve actually got better [at] is not panic in many situations,” Self said. “Okay, it may be late in the clock, but we may get Juan to turn the corner and shoot an uncontested layup with three left, which in many ways isn’t bad offense – in many ways that’s actually patient enough to give the offense a chance to work.”

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Kansas

Woman seriously injured Tuesday in western Kansas crash

Published

10 hours ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Woman seriously injured Tuesday in western Kansas crash

OAKLKEY, Kan. (WIBW) – A woman suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in Thomas County in western Kansas, officials said.

The collision was reported at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday on K-25 highway just south of County Road D. The location was about 15 miles northwest of Oakley.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol’s online crash log, a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country minivan was northbound on K-25 when it left the roadway to the right — or east — side and overcorrected back onto the roadway.

A woman suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in Thomas County in western Kansas, officials said.(Source: MGN)

The vehicle then began sliding sideways into the east ditch, where it rolled once.

The minivan then came to rest upright facing southeast in a field.

The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, Terri Threlkeld, 50, of Page City, was transported to Logan County Hospital in Oakley with serious injuries. The patrol said Threlkeld wasn’t wearing her seat belt.

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Kansas

Where to watch Iowa State vs. Kansas today: College basketball free stream

Published

22 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Iowa State vs. Kansas today: College basketball free stream

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The Kansas Jayhawks hosts No. 2 Iowa State Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The Cyclones are 16-0 this season, but the Jayhawks won’t be an easy out at home, led by star freshman Darryn Peterson.

Iowa State vs. Kansas will air on ESPN, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial).

What: Men’s college basketball regular season

Who: No. 2 Iowa Cyclones vs. Kansas Jayhawks

When: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026

Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas

Time: 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial)

Here’s a recent college basketball story via the Associated Press:

WACO, Texas (AP) — Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures for No. 7 Houston, which overcame two extended shooting slumps before halftime in a 77-55 win at Baylor on Saturday. The Cougars set a school record with their 16th consecutive road win.

Joseph Tugler had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double in a row for defending Big 12 champion and national runner-up Houston (15-1, 3-0 Big 12). Isiah Harwell also had 12 points, while true freshmen Chris Cenac had 11 and Kingston Flemings 10.

The Cougars haven’t lost a true road game since at No. 8 Kansas on Feb. 3, 2024. That road winning streak is the longest active run in the country, with all of them Big 12 games for a league record.

Cameron Carr had 18 points for Baylor (10-5, 0-3), and Tounde Yessoufou had 10.

Houston missed 10 shots in a row over a 5 1/2-minute span early, then had another 0-for-10 span in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half. But the Cougars took control of the game with a 23-3 run in the six minutes between those droughts.

Sharp and Harwell both had two 3-pointers in that big spurt. The Cougars trailed 14-6 before Sharp ignited that run, and a 3 by Harwell put them ahead to stay. The lead was 29-17 after Tugler’s dunk off a Baylor turnover with 6:34 left. That was their last field goal of the half, when they still led 33-26 before a 13-3 run to start the second half.

The Cougars shot 39.2% overall (29 of 74) from the field, with only five turnovers and 23 offensive rebounds. They scored 31 points off 16 turnovers by Baylor, which got 33 fewer shots.

Up next

Houston: Home Tuesday against West Virginia.

Baylor: At Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

Can I bet on the game?

Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.

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Kansas

Kansas Bird Flu Tops Nation

Published

1 day ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Kansas is suffering from the worst outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country, with nearly 414,000 birds affected, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HPAI, an umbrella term for avian influenza that includes highly contagious strains such as H5 and H7, is considered a low public health risk, although it can pass to humans through birds and dairy products from infected cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with sporadic human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers,” according to CDC.

As of Friday, there are four affected commercial flocks and six affected backyard flocks reported in Kansas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Avian influenza kills almost 100% of the birds it infects.

The bulk of the infected birds, about 380,000, in Kansas were reported to be in a commercial operation in Pottawatomie County, USDA reports said.

In a map highlighting outbreaks across the nation, Kansas is the only state showing the most severe reports during the past 30 days. It is followed by Indiana, with about 87,000 birds affected, including two commercial flocks and five backyard flocks.

Kansas has not had a reported instance of avian bird flu in a human, according to CDC records. Since 2024, there have been 74 reported bird flu cases in humans and two deaths.

This year’s outbreak is similar to those during the last few years, said a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

“December and January have been the months when we have seen the highest number of positive cases since this outbreak began in 2022,” said Heather Lansdowne. “The winter of 2023-2024 was more active than this year, both in total cases and in number of birds affected. We are hoping this year follows the trajectory of those years and we begin to see a decline in cases moving forward.”

This year’s outbreak has spread primarily from migrating wild waterfowl, she said. The agency has encouraged poultry farmers and others to protect their birds from contact with migratory birds and their habitats.

“We have been promoting these actions to poultry owners from the start of the outbreak, both in public information and directly through veterinarians, extension agents, 4-H and FFA programs, to poultry owners we have through our systems, etc.,” Lansdowne said.

When the state discovers birds positive for avian flu, they work directly with the business owner to develop a response plan that includes a quarantine and long-term recovery plan, she said.

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Story via Kansas Reflector

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