Kansas State Head Coach Bill will watch a team play against Kansas State in the first half of an NCAA College Basketball game held in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
David Smale Apsession Press
MANSHATTAN, Kansas (AP) – No. 16 Kansas has been consistently inconsistent recently, with the Jayhawks falling out of the Associated Press’ Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll.
The Jayhawks, the No. 1 team in the preseason, alternated between victory and defeat in their last six games, including a 81-73 loss at Kansas State on Saturday. Kansas (16-7, 7-5 Big 12) took the Jayhawks’ final lead 21-20, remaining at 10:56 in the first half.
The problem with Coach Bill Self’s team is that they don’t know how to fix it.
“I don’t know,” forward KJ Adams Jr. said when asked what would prevent Kansas from winning streak. “It’s a strange time in college basketball when players are coming and going. I think we had to understand that as a team.”
That ranked self.
“For some reason, it was extremely difficult for us to draw a great energy game back to back or consistently at all,” Self said. “There are times when we oppose elite teams. Everybody gets locked up and can’t protect the shadows.”
Kansas has been ranked for 78 consecutive weeks, with the second-longest current winning streak in Division I (Houston, 99). Over the past three weeks, Kansas has alternated victory over TCU, UCF and Iowa, losing to Houston, Baylor and Kansas.
The good news for Kansas is that there is still time to understand it.
“I think the biggest thing we’re trying to achieve in these next six games is combining consistency,” Hunter Dickinson said. “I think that’s the only thing that coach self is looking for, and I think that’s pretty true.
“If these next six games can be consistent, it’s very exciting and would be very good for our hopes at the (NCAA) tournament. In the tournament, consistent efforts and consistent Because you have to tie up six straight games of play. One bad game can end the season at any time.”
One of the big problems for Kansas on Saturday was when point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. picked up three quick fouls and played just four minutes in the first half. He played the entire second half but only scored four points.
“It crushed us,” Self said of Harris’ absence. “They were bad plays. I didn’t see the last one. They said he stumbled on him, but that might have been a good call. I’m not saying it wasn’t. .
“It’s not good for us to play without one of our best people. We need him for stability and consistency.”
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