Kansas Jayhawks: What the Two Losses Have in Common
The Kansas Jayhawks have lost two games this season, including their most recent game at Temple and their early season matchup with the #1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Both losses have come by at least 25 points, which Kansas fans are definitely not used to, and this season’s outlook has never been so bleak.
There are many reasons that Kansas lost these games, but I have researched and looked for some of the similarities that occurred in both games, and will break down the big reasons for the losses.
First off, the Jayhawks lost 77-52 (by 25 points) to Temple and 72-40 (by 32 points) to Kentucky, which counts for 2 of only 3 times in Bill Self’s 12 years (including this year) that the Jayhawks have lost by 25 or more points. That’s right, Kansas has only lost by 25+ points 3 times under Self, and 2 of those came in this young season. Their two losses combine to outscore Kansas by a whopping 57 points.
For me, this is why there needs to be so much concern from fans and Kansas personnel. This team has plenty of talent, but it could end up being one of the worst Kansas teams in the Bill Self era if they can’t turn it around quickly.
Kansas has only lost by 25+ points 3 times under Self, and 2 of those came in this young season.
Excluding the two losses, the Jayhawks have scored a season-low 63 points (against #13 Utah), which is 11 more than in the Temple loss and 23 more than they scored in the Kentucky loss. This really can show how abysmal KU played offensively in both losses.
The leaders on this Kansas team are junior Perry Ellis and sophomore Wayne Selden Jr., but neither one of them showed up to either loss:
In the two losses, Perry Ellis shot just 2-16 from the field, tallying a total of 9 points in the two games (4 against Kentucky and 5 against Temple). How can Kansas win when their top scoring option shoots just 12.5% on 16 shots? The answer is… They can’t, and we can see that.
Wayne Selden wasn’t much better in the two losses, as he shot just 6-20 in both games combined. He scored 15 points total in the two games including 9 versus Kentucky and just 6 against Temple. Selden has been extremely hot-and-cold throughout the season, but has been just about as absent as Ellis when things are going south.
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I don’t want to put all of the blame on these two guys because it’s not just them who is not showing up in these losses. As a team in these two games, the Jayhawks have shot just 25.9% from the field (29-112) and just 29% from 3 (10-34). This is such a big stat because the ‘hawks have really shot the 3-ball well this season, but it has killed them in the two losses proving the old saying true: “You can live and you can die by the three.”
One last thing I saw when looking at this season and comparing the two losses is that Kansas has only allowed 70+ points three times this year, obviously including the two losses and also the game against Georgetown (KU won 75-70). Keeping opponents under 70 is paramount to the Jayhawks success this year.
I’m not really saying that these are the only reasons that Kansas lost to Temple and Kentucky, because the entire team looked unprepared going in, but all of this plays a large part in their blow-out losses.
As I said before, this team has plenty of talent from top to bottom, but they have yet to find out how to play like a team consistently enough to be considered in the elite of college basketball. The Jayhawks have two more games before they start Big XII play, when the games start to get more and more important, and if they aren’t careful, they could find themselves finishing 3rd or 4th in their own conference.