KU coach Bill Self says goal has not changed for Saturday’s road game at Texas: ‘There’s a lot of things to play for’

By Matt Tait     Mar 2, 2023

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Kansas head coach Bill Self shows his excitement with his players following the Jayhawks win over Texas Tech to clinch a share of the Big 12 Conference championship on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self left nothing to the imagination about his plans for Saturday’s regular season finale at Texas.

The third-ranked Jayhawks are heading to Austin to win and nothing else.

During his 20-minute press conference to preview the matchup on Thursday, Self was asked if he would consider resting some of his starters with the outright Big 12 title already clinched thanks to KU’s win over Texas Tech on Tuesday and Texas’ loss at TCU on Wednesday night.

“In a word, no,” Self said, pausing for dramatic effect. “This is a huge game. There’s a lot of things to play for.”

Included among them are postseason seeding, momentum and the chance to knock off a league rival on its home floor.

KU point guard Dajuan Harris Jr., who said Thursday that his ankle and foot injuries were fine and did not bother him at all Tuesday night against Texas Tech, emphasized the last part of that list.

“J-Wil really wants to win down there,” Harris said of KU leader Jalen Wilson, who is 0-2 in Austin during his Kansas career in the only games in which he has played. “I haven’t won down there yet since I’ve been here. And I know this game KJ wants to go play hard.”

Adams is a native of Austin. So, there will be an added dimension of bragging rights on the light for the sophomore forward in his hometown. But Harris said the team goals trump the individual desires every time.

“I feel like we still need to finish out strong to let the country know that we still want to be the best team in the country,” he said. “We don’t want to lose again. We just want to keep adding to the win column.”

The Jayhawks (25-5 overall, 13-4 Big 12) enter this one on a seven-game winning streak, lifting themselves from a 6-4 record midway through conference play firmly into the conversation for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

While a commitment to defense, stellar chemistry and key players making clutch plays in the biggest moments helped the Jayhawks respond to their three-game losing streak in impressive fashion, Self said the two most recent wins reminded him a little of last season.

A year ago, KU needed to scrap and claw its way to a pair of hard-fought victories over TCU and Texas in the final two games of the regular season to get a share of the Big 12 title. After they secured them, the team looked much looser and rolled through the Big 12 tournament and onto the national title.

“I’m hoping something happens like last year with us,” Self said Thursday. “Last (season), we played TCU and Texas back-to-back at home and labored to win both games. Ball didn’t go in the basket. Guys trying too hard. Very similar to West Virginia and Tech (this season). Then, after we did enough to get a piece of the (Big 12) championship, it seemed like to me the pressure was off a little bit and we played much freer after that. So, I’m hopeful that’s the case with this particu-lar team, beginning with going down to Austin.”

After Tuesday’s win over Texas Tech, which clinched a share of the Big 12 title and allowed the Jayhawks to celebrate on their home floor, Harris said in a radio interview that he hoped for a Texas win on Wednesday so that his team would stay locked in, knowing they needed to win on Saturday to win the Big 12 outright.

Texas’ loss eliminated the need for that and Harris only slightly changed his tune.

“I’m not disappointed that they lost,” he said. “I’m happy that we clinched it. But it would’ve been better if Texas (had beat TCU) and we would’ve won on their senior night and not let them share the Big 12. It really doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to take care of our own and handle business.”

That approach is exactly the one Self wants to see from his team. After all, you don’t grind through the ups and downs of the regular season to let up at the most important time of the year. If anything, now is when it’s time to shift into an even higher gear than before.

Self believes this bunch will do that. And he thinks there’s enough at stake on Saturday in Austin to inspire them to do so.

“We’re still playing to put us in the best and most favorable position come tournament time,” he said Thursday. “So, as long as we’re playing, we’re going to try to win.”

Saturday’s tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. on ESPN.

Looking ahead

Texas’ loss on Wednesday night wrapped up the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament for the Jayhawks.

As such, KU will play at 2 p.m. Thursday against the winner of the Wednesday matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds. Most of the conference tournament’s seeding remains up in the air and will be determined by what happens in the five games this weekend.

Although a lot can change, as things stand today, KU would play the winner of the West Virginia-Texas Tech game in Thursday’s quarterfinals. A win there would move the Jayhawks into the semifinals against the winner of the quarter-final game between TCU and Texas.

Grading the Jayhawks

Self and Harris were asked to give the team a letter grade — A to F — during Thursday’s press conference and both land-ed on the highest letter.

“Right now, I’m not going to say A+ but I would say A because we’re still learning,” Harris said. “If we just keep building on de-fense, we know the offense is going to come with it and if we keep defending we’ll be in great shape.”

Said Self, answering second: “I don’t know that I’d go quite as high as an A, but I’d probably go A-. I think the guys have done well; hopefully our best ball’s still in front of us. I don’t disagree with Juan, but he’s probably a little bit more of a leni-ent grader than what most professors might be.”

Wilson on Robertson list

KU junior Jalen Wilson on Thursday was one of 15 players named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy’s late-season watch list.

The award is given annually by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the national player of the year.

Wilson is on several national award lists and also is expected to be in the running for Big 12 player of the year honors. The coaches vote will be released Sunday and the Associated Press will name its Big 12 player of the year on Monday.

Harris said his teammate would have his vote.

“He deserves it,” Harris said of the Big 12’s leading scorer and top rebounder.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.