Kansas basketball's Bill Self gets 100% real about Jayhawks' effort vs. Creighton
12/05/2024 10:38 AM
The No. 1 Kansas basketball team took a 76-63 loss on the road against Creighton on Wednesday, and despite the loss, head coach Bill Self was content with the effort, saying that his team had a lot of good shot opportunities, and just did not score on looks they normally would.
“Our best offense is still putting the ball in our best players’ hands and we got a lot of good looks, Juan just didn’t make those five or six-footers like he normally does,” Bill Self said, via Matt Tait of Wave the Wheat.
In addition, Self said he was content with the 21 shots that Dajuan Harris Jr. took in the game because of the way Creighton was defending his team. Harris shot 6-for-21 in the game, shooting 3-for-9 from three. He was the Kansas basketball team’s leading scorer with 15 points, but he did not have an efficient night, of course. AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo each scored 12.
Kansas had trouble guarding Pop Isaacs of Creighton, who scored 27 in the game. Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner each scored 17 as well, and Kalkbrenner won the matchup inside against Hunter Dickinson, who scored just six points.
Kansas basketball’s outlook after loss to Creighton
The good news for Self and Kansas is that losing on the road to Creighton is hardly a big blow. Omaha is one of the toughest road environments to play at in college basketball, and the Blue Jays are a very experienced team led by Ryan Kalkbrenner. Also, when it comes to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll, other top teams in the country have lost recently as well.
No. 2 Auburn lost on the road against No. 9 Duke on Wednesday, while No. 4 Kentucky lost on the road against Clemson and No. 5 Marquette lost on the road to No. 6 Iowa State as well. Tennessee is still undefeated and likely to take the top spot in the AP Poll on Monday, and Auburn could jump ahead of Kansas given that Duke is arguably the most talented team in the country. However, Kansas could still stay in the top five, or at worst top ten. It would not be a surprise to see Creighton jump back into the rankings again now as well.
Kansas closes the non-conference slate of games with matchups against Missouri, NC State and Brown before hosting West Virginia for the first game of Big 12 play. Missouri is another tough game for Kansas, but the Jayhawks should go in expecting to win that matchup.
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