Saturday’s biggest headline was probably Kansas losing by one third consecutive timeeven because Kansas rarely faces losing streak from three games. Before this one, the last one came in February 2013. So, yes, Bill Self’s Jayhawks in a three-game losing streak and dropping to 4-4 in the Big 12 is a remarkable and unusual development.
But it shouldn’t be that surprising.
The context is important, and here is the context: all three defeats are single-digit road losses for teams in the top 40 at KenPom – specifically Oklahoma State, Baylor and Oklahoma. KU closed as a favorite in just one of those games. So while this streak of three consecutive losses is, again, remarkable, unusual and probably one of the things that will prevent the Jayhawks from winning at least part of the big 12 title for what would be the 16th time in a 17 year span span, absolutely shouldn’t, because it absolutely doesn’t put KU in a group with Kentucky and Duke when it comes to any talk about extremely disappointing blue blood programs. Unlike Duke and Kentucky, Kansas has four wins in the first quadrant. Kentucky has only one. Duke has zero.
“We had a difficult period – but we played three games on the road against [likely NCAA] Tournament teams, “said Kansas coach Bill Self after Saturday’s 75-68 loss in Oklahoma.” I don’t think we’re talented enough to not have a hard effort if we don’t play well, [when] we are playing on the road against teams that are [likely NCAA] Tournament teams. “
Self is right about talent.
The NCAA’s unsolved investigation clearly hampered KU recruitment, with evidence that only one of the Jayhawks’ starters (David McCormack) was a consensus among the top 50 candidates coming out of high school. Two starters (Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji) were actually less than 100 recruits – and there is no likely future NBA draft choice in the squad. So, all things considered, it’s really impressive that Self was able to keep things together, even though the Jayhawks are going through a difficult time right now.
Kansas fell to 15th position in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 ranking updated daily for college basketball. The Jayhawks’ next chance to break their losing streak is scheduled to happen on Thursday, when they receive the TCU inside Allen Fieldhouse.
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