As one of Kansas University’s senior leaders, Keith Langford is free to speak his mind.
He did before Wednesday’s men’s basketball game against Texas A&M — the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.
“Before the game, I told everybody last year was the first year I played in the Big 12 and didn’t get a ring, the first year Kansas didn’t get a ring,” said Langford, dismayed that Oklahoma State won the title last year after his Jayhawks claimed the crown in 2001-02 and ’02-’03.
“That should be the important thing,” Langford said of winning championships.
Either Langford’s words didn’t penetrate the hearts of the Jayhawks or Texas A&M is greatly improved from the past, because KU struggled to a 65-60 victory.
Albeit early, a home loss to the Aggies would have been devastating to KU’s title hopes.
“I won’t say we overlooked ’em,” KU coach Bill Self said. “That would take credit away from A&M. It’s a tough game for us in a lot of ways, because it’s sandwiched in between Georgia Tech and Kentucky.”
KU edged the No. 9-ranked Yellow Jackets, 70-68, on New Year’s Day and will travel Sunday to No. 8 Kentucky for a 3:30 p.m. tip.
“To me, the hard game to get guys to realize was a big game was last night. Subconsciously, even if we told ’em conference games are higher intensity, everybody in the back of their mind thinks about going to Lexington,” Self said Thursday.
And that’s where the Jayhawks are headed for Sunday’s game against the 10-1 Wildcats. Kentucky nudged South Carolina, 79-75, Wednesday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both squads. KU tripped the Gamecocks by the same four-point margin, 64-60, on Dec. 18 at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Guys are human,” Self said, “and the natural reality is you are not as focused as you should be (for A&M). We have this many family members going to Kentucky (saying), ‘Can you get us tickets?’ I thought we’d play very well last night, but in the back of everybody’s mind we were thinking about the game with Kentucky no matter if we admit it or not.”
KU is allotted just 150 tickets for the game at 23,000-seat Rupp Arena, about the same number the Wildcats will receive in returning the game next year.
Self said he would love for the series to continue beyond that. It’s a series Kentucky leads 19-3, with the teams last playing in the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The teams also met in the Great Eight in 1998. The last time the schools scheduled a home-and-home series was in 1989 and ’90.
“Hopefully, this series will go with energy and electricity and it’ll go on for years,” Self said. “For years it was one of the most-talked-about nonconference games. They’ve got some traditional-power-type games on their schedule. Tubby (Smith, UK coach) and I have not talked about extending it yet.”
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Simien update: Self said nothing had changed on the status of KU senior Wayne Simien, who has been out since Dec. 20 following left-thumb surgery.
“It’s still four to six weeks from Dec. 20,” Self said. “We’ll hopefully get him back in the four-week slot if he’s healed and if we find a soft cast that will allow him to play. We’re cautiously optimistic about four weeks if we find the soft cast. If we can’t it’ll be a full six weeks.”
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Next foe: SEC teams are 1-12 versus ranked teams this year. Kentucky is 1-1 with a win over Louisville and loss to North Carolina.
“We don’t play the SEC, we play Kentucky,” Self said. “We’re playing Kentucky, which to me means excellence year in and out.”