Kansas' Bill Self shares blunt roster outlook after loss to Arkansas

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The Kansas Jayhawks were ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, losing to the Arkansas Razorbacks, 79-72. It is yet another setback for the Kansas basketball program, following a difficult and disappointing regular season.

The Jayhawks were outplayed and trailed for the majority of the game. Afterward, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self was left to pick up the pieces and answer questions about the team’s roster construction, per basketball insider Adam Zagoria.

“We’ve got to reevaluate on how we do things, and you can’t afford misses,” Self said after the loss.

This year’s Kansas basketball team is veteran-heavy. They were led by senior big man Hunter Dickinson, and fellow seniors Dajuan Harris and K.J. Adams Jr., who left with a scary non-contact injury.

With the emergence of NIL deals changing the college sports landscape, one must wonder if Self is referencing wanting Kansas to be more aggressive with transfers.

On Thursday, Dickinson played about as poorly as you can remember. He finished with 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting, with nine rebounds, four assists and four turnovers. But he was also consistently beaten off pick-and-rolls by the more athletic Arkansas wings.

Meanwhile, Harris added just eight points on 4-for-11 shooting.

This is the second straight season in which Kansas exited the NCAA Tournament early.

Last year, the Jayhawks narrowly escaped an upset bid from #13 seed Samford before getting hammered by Gonzaga in the second round. That is something Kansas basketball fans are not accustomed to.

But as Self alluded, it is difficult to always measure up to such a high bar.

"No matter what you do in life, there are going to be some ups and downs,” Self said. “We just hadn't really had that many downs."

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