Kansas coach Bill Self knows just how treacherous the days before Christmas can be for an unprepared basketball team.
In 2014, his Jayhawks lost by 25 points to Temple in advance of the holiday. On the other hand, as he pointed out on his “Hawk Talk” radio show Monday, the Jayhawks have picked up plenty of great wins with the break approaching.
“It’s usually the team that understands that Christmas doesn’t start until the next morning that will play well,” Self said.
The unpredictability of these post-finals matchups has already been on full display.
“If you look across America, there’s some weird things that happened this week,” Self added Thursday.
UConn, which had been practically unbeatable since last season’s NCAA Tournament except for its narrow defeat in Allen Fieldhouse Dec. 1, lost by 15 to Seton Hall in its conference opener Wednesday night, the same evening that Villanova took down No. 12 Creighton. A day earlier, the only team to beat KU this season, Marquette, had fallen flat in a 72-57 loss to Providence.
Not to mention the near-misses. Indiana, which had the Jayhawks on the ropes in Assembly Hall last Saturday, then had to rally from down 15 to beat Morehead State by one point in the same building on Tuesday.
“Kids want to be somewhere other than where they’re at, and guys are leaving the next morning to get on a plane to go to their respective homes,” Self said on “Hawk Talk,” speaking generally. “And it’s that way all the time.”
The onus is now on the Jayhawks to take care of business — “We’ve done it both ways, and I know the good note is preferable,” Self said — by handling Yale on Friday.
KU is 16-0 in its history against Ivy League opponents, although the Jayhawks needed a memorable second-half comeback and a career-high 33 points from Sherron Collins to beat Cornell in January 2010. They are, though, 3-0 against Yale, with the last meeting an 86-53 win for the Jayhawks in 2008.
The Bulldogs, led by head coach James Jones in his 25th season at the helm, are searching for their school’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016, when Yale upset Baylor for its lone March Madness win.
This year’s team, which was picked to win the Ivy, might have been on its way to another upset at Gonzaga on Nov. 10 but couldn’t keep it close in the second half and lost 86-71. It’s been an up-and-down first month and a half for Yale overall, and the Bulldogs, who sit at 7-5, have seen five of their games decided by four points or less and two in overtime.
Most recently, they beat Quinnipiac in an intrastate matchup on Dec. 11, five days before KU played Indiana.
Self lauded Yale’s 7-foot sophomore center Danny Wolf, who he said “can score and pass like Hunter (Dickinson), and I’m not exaggerating.” Wolf is averaging 13.4 points and nine rebounds per game with about two assists, a steal and a block. Guard Bez Mbeng was the Ivy’s defensive player of the year last season and is leading the Bulldogs in scoring with 13.6 points per game, while forward Matt Knowling (11.5) and guard John Poulakidas (11) aren’t far behind. Poulakidas and August Mahoney are each making more than 40% of their 3s.
“They’ll be hard to guard, and they really move the ball, and if you’re a half-step behind, you’re way behind when you’re guarding these guys,” Self said.
And, he added, “A pretty bright team too, pretty smart, to say the least, for obvious reasons.”
No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks (10-1) vs. Yale Bulldogs (7-5)
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 7 p.m.
• Broadcast: ESPN+
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)
Keep an eye out
Practice makes perfect: Self and forward KJ Adams both spoke highly of transfer guard Nick Timberlake’s performance in Wednesday’s practice, with Self noting that “It’s a different-looking team when you make two out of three when you’re open.” In games, Timberlake has yet to find a niche on either side of the ball this season, though Self stated plainly Thursday that the staff didn’t recruit him to lock down opponents on defense. It’s his shooting that the Jayhawks need — and he’s 12 of 38 on the year, including 7 of 26 from beyond the arc. Self expressed hope that Timberlake’s work in practice would earn him some confidence entering Friday.
Helping Hunter: Adams flies so effortlessly to the rim that it’s hard to believe he doesn’t always make an impact on the glass. KU has been boosted all year by the center Dickinson’s outstanding consistency as a rebounder — he is racking up 12.7 boards per game — but outside of him and Kevin McCullar Jr., the Jayhawks haven’t gotten much in that area. Because Adams spends so much time in the paint, the burden may be on him to secure more than his 3.8 rebounds per game, which is actually worse than last year’s mark of 4.3. Self pointed out that if Adams improves in that respect, “he can bring it on the break, and he’s probably as good as we have at bringing it on the break,” a skill he displayed most notably against Missouri two weeks ago.
Building trust: Self said after the Indiana game that he was gaining more confidence in Jamari McDowell. That’s fitting because confidence is the attribute of McDowell’s that Self would like to see replicated by his fellow bench players. In the vast majority of his appearances off the bench this year, the freshman has brought a burst of energy and a remarkable self-assuredness even — and perhaps especially — in environments like the Champions Classic, the Maui Invitational and at Indiana. With Johnny Furphy away from the team fulfilling a family commitment, McDowell should get extended run Friday and a chance to show what he can do as a primary option off the bench, rather than a sort of failsafe (how Self has deployed him so far).
Off-kilter observation
According to the KU Athletics website, Yale graduates among the school’s faculty were responsible for the preservation of blue as one of KU’s primary athletic colors in the 19th century. (The crimson is a tribute to Harvard, the Bulldogs’ rival and the alma mater of early benefactor Col. John J. McCook.)
Kansas forward K.J. Adams Jr. (24) shoots during an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind.
Kansas guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) drives the ball at mid-court during an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind.
Yale guard Bez Mbeng controls the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Gonzaga, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga won 86-71.
Yale guard John Poulakidas shoots during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Gonzaga, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Spokane, Wash. Gonzaga won 86-71.
Yale head coach James Jones speaks to an official during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Gonzaga, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Spokane, Wash.
AP Photo/Doug McSchooler
AP Photo/Doug McSchooler
AP Photo/Doug McSchooler
AP Photo/Young Kwak
AP Photo/Young Kwak
AP Photo/Young Kwak