Austin, Texas ? “Worse than Baylor” is the chant that emanated from the University of Texas student section in the closing minutes of the Longhorns’ 80-55 victory over Kansas on Saturday in the Erwin Center.
The students were letting the Jayhawks have it on a night Texas grabbed sole possession of first place from Kansas in the Big 12 Conference standings.
“We know we’re not worse than Baylor. They know we’re not worse than Baylor,” KU sophomore Russell Robinson said with a shrug. “We just have to refocus. After a big loss like this, there’s nowhere to go but up.”
Robinson said the Jayhawks would love a rematch against the Longhorns in the Big 12 tournament.
“There’s always hope. We can still win the league,” Robinson said. “It’s just disappointing because we felt we were playing so well lately. We were on a 10-game win streak. Things were all going right. Tonight, we just didn’t do the things we can do. If we play again, we’ll be ready.”
Sophomore C.J. Giles also said the Jayhawks would welcome a rematch.
“We’re a young team. We were not ready for the pressure,” Giles said. “We’ll be ready next time. It’s something we can learn from. We’ll get better as we go.”
One young Jayhawk looked like the freshman he is – Brandon Rush, who missed seven of eight shots and had just three points. He failed to score the first half, hitting his only shot, a three, with 11:09 to play.
“It’s as poor as he’s looked since he’s been here,” Self said. “But we expect a lot out of Brandon. He has to go through things like any freshman.
“We played young. I was very disappointed we were not tough, especially at the 3, 4, 5 (positions).
The Jayhawks, outrebounded 36-19, didn’t play well inside. Texas big man LaMarcus Aldridge ruled with 18 points and eight boards.
“When he’s playing like that, I don’t think anybody can stop him,” Giles said. “He’s got a fadeaway shot I don’t think anybody can stop.”