REPORT:Coach Bill Self discusses road angst as Kansas navigates its peculiar Big 12 schedule.

One of the worst things about the Big 12 men’s basketball schedule for 2023–24, in Kansas’ opinion, is that the Jayhawks will not have the chance to play return games in Allen Fieldhouse to exact revenge on losses they suffered on the road against Texas Tech, Iowa State, West Virginia, and UCF. There are very few home-and-home games in the Big 12 Conference because there are 14 teams and 18 games allotted to each team. In actuality, KU actually plays eight teams once (TT, ISU, WVU, UCF, TCU, Texas, Cincinnati, BYU) and five teams twice (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Houston).

To be honest, the Jayhawks would be proud to have another opportunity to defeat teams that upset them in front of boisterous, noisy spectators in their respective venues.

To be honest, the Jayhawks would be proud to have another opportunity to defeat teams that upset them in front of boisterous, noisy spectators in their respective venues. In response to a question on Thursday about whether his team would want to play the Red Raiders, Cyclones, Mountaineers, and Knights again at home, KU coach Bill Self answered, “Yes.” Self said, speaking of TCU and Cincinnati, the teams KU defeated at Allen Fieldhouse in their sole scheduled meeting of the season. “There are people that would like to bring us back to their place, too.”

That’s the way it works. Yes, we’d like to do that. Hopefully we’ll play well enough to play a couple of those teams in Kansas City (in the Big 12 tournament), but the reality is we haven’t played well away from home.”

Self emphasized that KU is 2–5 away from home, with a victory over Indiana in a nonconference game. Against the road, the Jayhawks are 1-5 in Big 12 play. Granted, based on what folks (who monitor the odds) informed me, we weren’t the favorite at Tech even with a healthy Kevin McCullar, Self admitted. “Monday’s 79-50 loss in Lubbock would have been difficult in any case, but we definitely should have given it a lot more of an effort.”

McCullar has missed the last two games because of a knee injury. The Jayhawks, who do get a chance to avenge their 75-70 overtime loss at Kansas State in a rematch March 5 at Allen Fieldhouse, on Saturday play an Oklahoma team that hopes to atone for a 78-66 loss to KU on Jan. 13 in Allen.

The No. 6 Jayhawks (19-6, 7-5) and the No. 25 Sooners (18-7, 6-6) tip off at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. ESPN will broadcast the game live. The opposition sizzling from three in front of their own supporters has been a recurring theme in KU’s road defeats. For example, on Monday, Texas Tech made 10 of 26 3s compared to KU’s 3 of 16. Additional outcomes Kansas State defeated KU by five points, making 9 of 26 three-pointers to KU’s 3 of 15.

Iowa State defeated KU 79-75 by making 14 of 30 three-pointers to their 7 of 20; West Virginia defeated KU 91-85 by making 12 of 21 and KU by making 7 of 23; and UCF defeated KU 65-60 by making 7 of 20 three-pointers to their 6 of 18 (KU leading by 16 in that game). “I don’t think a team that shoots the ball better at home is more geeked up,” Self remarked. “I believe that playing with more intensity, moving a half step faster, or twitching more quickly are signs of being more geeked up.

“I never really bought into shooting the ball.” We knew Tech, Baylor, and BYU were the three greatest 3-point shooting teams in the conference coming into the Tech game,” he continued. No other player on the Red Raiders was over 50% from three except for Darrion Williams, who was 4-for-4 from three on a night he scored thirty points.

According to the stats, we really did a good job on six of their eight guys. Warren Washington (5-of-7), and Williams (12-of-12) each shot 17-of-19 from the field, according to Self. In order to sweep the regular-season series against OU, KU will probably need to play exceptionally well on the road on Saturday. The Sooners are using the game as an opportunity to “remember the life and legacy of Billy Tubbs,” the famous coach who passed away in 2020.

Billy Tubbs Day is today. It will be fantastic, in my opinion, if they hoist the banner in honor of Coach Tubbs, added Self. He had also heard that Saturday would also memorialize Toby Keith, a country singer and OU alumnus who passed away on February 5. At the most recent OU-Oklahoma State game, Keith received an accolade.

The Lloyd Noble Center, which has 11,562 seats, is sold out, Self continued. “We will be playing a more intense game than they will be, considering other events surrounding the game.” “I think a lot of it is not being quite tough enough to finish and playing through some adversity when it hits,” Self responded when asked what the issues had been with KU’s road struggles leading up to the OU game in Noble Center, where KU had won two straight and six of the previous 11 games. The law of averages plays a part as well. That is a factor as well.