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Things are not going well for Bill Self.
The Jayhawks fell in a historic blowout loss in Provo, Utah, on Tuesday night to cap what very well may be the worst two-game stretch of Self’s tenure in Lawrence. No. 23 Kansas fell completely flat in its 91-57 loss at BYU, which matched the worst loss since Self took over in 2003.
It marked the worst loss in program history as a ranked team to an unranked opponent and just the school’s second 30-point loss to a Big 12 team in the Self era. The Jayhawks, who started the season ranked No. 1 in the country, have now lost five of their last eight games. Kansas lost at Utah on Saturday, too, and has now lost back-to-back games for the first time all season.
The Jayhawks, who on Monday are sure to drop out of the national rankings for the first time since 2021, now sit at 17-9.
“It was awful, we’re all obviously embarrassed,” Self said, via 247’s Michael Swain. “We didn’t put up any resistance.”
BYU led the entire way Tuesday night and flew ahead to a 20-point lead at halftime. The Cougars, after a 14-2 run early, hit five 3-pointers down the stretch in the first half to seemingly put Kansas away then and there. They then rolled to their 34-point win in the final 20 minutes without any issue.
Kansas’ starters shot just shy of 31% from the field. The Jayhawks gave up 14 3-pointers in the loss and attempted just five free throws.
Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 22 points after shooting 9-of-13 from the field. Trevin Knell added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Mawot Mag finished with 13 points. The Cougars shot better than 51% from the field and outrebounded Kansas by 10. They now hold an 18-8 record and will head to No. 19 Arizona on Saturday night.
Hunter Dickinson led Kansas with 12 points and 14 rebounds. David Coit was the only other Jayhawks player to hit double figures, with his 11 points off the bench. Kansas committed 15 turnovers, too.
“Obviously we’re going to catch a lot of flack, whether it’s fans, national media, rightfully so because we just lost by damn near 40,” Dickinson said, via the Lawrence Journal-World’s Henry Greenstein. “That’s obviously not Kansas basketball. … Nobody’s going to feel bad for us now that NIL is a thing and players are getting paid.”
Kansas will be back in action Saturday afternoon against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks now sit sixth in the Big 12 standings, though five other teams are either tied or within 1.5 games of them with just five games left before the conference tournament.
After this rough trip to Utah, Self said the team is going to take a quick break. They’ll get back around 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning and will then take the day off before trying to regroup Thursday.
“We need to get away from each other, I’ll tell you that point blank,” Self said.
We’ll see if that is enough to jumpstart a quick turnaround as Kansas enters the last stretch of the regular season. If it’s not, the Jayhawks may be entering the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City next month for the Big 12 tournament at a new all-time low.
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