What was unexpected, however, was KU’s response to that shooting performance after the game. Kansas coach Bill Self wasn’t concerned after his team posted its second-worst 3-point performance of the season. In fact, he responded with no four times when asked if the effort from beyond the arc was alarming.

“No, no, no, no. If we get off 20 good threes, I think we have a great chance to make eight of them,” Self said. “I will very rarely judge how we play from a good or poor standpoint on whether or not the ball goes in the hole. Obviously it makes it hard to win when you don’t make shots, but we need to keep shooting it.”

The Jayhawks have only had one game where they made fewer 3-pointers so far this season. That came when they went 3-for-19 from deep during a 69-64 win over Duke in the Champions Classic.

Freshman Gradey Dick was responsible for three of the team’s four 3-pointers against Harvard, including a triple from well beyond NBA range at the buzzer just before the half. The team started 0-for-9 from beyond the arc before Dick made the team’s first 3-pointer at the 2:20 mark in the first half.

“I think a lot of it was just kind of having short shots,” Jalen Wilson said. “I think the first nine threes that we missed, coach said, were all short. So those are pretty easy fixes. When the ball is not going in, we have to find other ways to score.”

If Kansas has an off night like this one against someone better than Harvard — during Big 12 play or the postseason — it will likely result in a loss. But that’s true of any team, and the Jayhawks really haven’t shown much reason to be concerned by this performance.

KU knocked down at least seven triples in eight of its 12 games during the non-conference portion of its schedule. Kansas drilled double-digit 3-pointers thrice, including a season-best 13-for-29 effort against Texas Southern.

For the season, the Jayhawks are shooting 35.9% from long range and rank 85th in the country in 3-point percentage. They shot worse from downtown in three of the previous four years, with the lone exception being a 36.1% clip en route to winning a national championship last year.

According to KenPom.com, Kansas has a 3-point attempt percentage of 33.6% through a dozen games. That ranks 276th in the nation, but is right in line with each of the previous four seasons: 33.1 in 2022, 36.4 in 2021, 32.5 in 2020, and 34.9 in 2019.

“I said before the season that I thought this team would shoot more threes than my other teams have,” Self said. “This team is shooting (fewer) threes, in large part because the ball is moving and we are playing downhill and guys are getting to the paint off the bounce.”

In the past, the Jayhawks have defaulted to post-up plays when shots weren’t falling in a game. That is the obvious concern with this year’s small-ball lineup, but this team can still create easy looks with ball screens along the perimeter and short rolls with K.J. Adams Jr.

KU’s 2-point percentage of 54.5% is its best clip since shooting 54.9% inside the arc during the 2019-20 campaign. And KU had Udoka Azubuike and his record-setting field goal percentage prowess on that team. The Jayhawks are averaging 41.6 points per game at the rim, per Synergy Sports Technology, which ranks third in the Big 12 behind TCU and Texas Tech.

According to ShotQuality, Kansas ranks 29th in the country in frequency of attacking the rim. It might look different than previous Self-led teams, but this year’s group is still doing what needs to be done to get good looks.

“It’s definitely different with this being my first year of not having a really big big, like David (McCormack) or Dok, my last two centers,” Wilson said. “We are not going to get easy points by posting up, we have to find different ways (to score).”

The Jayhawks have done that through 12 games, ending non-conference play with a five-game win streak. The key will be continuing that into league play, as Kansas is the betting favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook to secure another Big 12 regular-season title.

KU will return to action for the conference opener on Dec. 31 with a home match-up against Oklahoma State.

Big 12 Championship Odds

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook ahead of league play

Kansas +195

Baylor +230

Texas +350

West Virginia +750

TCU +1500

Texas Tech +2500

Iowa State +3000

Oklahoma +3500

Oklahoma State +5000

Kansas State +5500