Charged with bouncing back from a brutal weekend loss for the third straight week, the Kansas men’s basketball team has another opportunity to build some semblance of momentum when it welcomes Colorado to Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
It’s a chance for the Jayhawks to get on the right track toward demonstrating consistent energy, which KU coach Bill Self said the team has lacked in recent up-and-down weeks.
“When somebody tells you to do something harder or faster or tougher and you actually raise it a level, is that a positive thing that you raised it a level, or does it really show your employer or your coach that you really weren’t trying to begin with?” Self said. “That’s what I think we got to get is consistent energy, effort.”
He said attitudes have been good since the Jayhawks’ flat performance in a loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
“I’m looking forward to (seeing) how we respond, but that line shouldn’t be a line that we have to use consecutive weeks,” he added.
The Buffaloes, meanwhile, are still looking for their first win in Big 12 conference competition since the 2011 league tournament.
CU may have beaten defending champion UConn 73-72 in a shocking upset at the Maui Invitational in November, but its 99-71 loss to Iowa State the following day was much more indicative of what was ahead. The Buffaloes, whose head coach Tad Boyle’s first year at the helm was that final year of Big 12 competition, have now circled back to their former league and gotten off to an extremely rough start.
“Their personnel, guys, is good enough to beat UConn,” Self said, “but it hasn’t been what it needed to be to close out close games in our league.”
Seven of CU’s dozen losses have been by 10 points or fewer. The Buffs led 74-71 with three minutes to go on the road at UCF, at which point neither team made a field goal for the remainder of the game but the Knights managed four of a possible six free throws and won. They trailed by three against West Virginia with one minute and 30 seconds to go and conceded an 8-0 run. They made two of three free throws down 69-66 against Arizona State, got possession back on a traveling call and then Andrei Jakimovski had a potential go-ahead layup blocked.
Most recently, Colorado hosted Houston on Saturday and trailed by four with 3:45 to go but allowed seven straight points and eventually lost 69-59.
“They have everybody on the ropes all the time,” Self said.
Now CU will make its first trip to Allen Fieldhouse since the 2019-20 season, when it lost 72-58 to KU in nonconference competition. The Buffaloes have not beaten the Jayhawks there since the 1982-83 season, when Boyle was on KU’s roster.
Among a variety of deficiencies this season, CU hasn’t been able to keep up with its opponents beyond the arc. The Buffs allow a 36.6% shooting percentage from deep — one of a few defensive issues for the team that has given up the second-most points in Big 12 play — while converting just 30.8% of their own attempts (for just six 3s per game).
Another significant issue is turnover margin. Colorado’s 15.0 turnovers committed per game on the season (a number that is actually worse in league play) are tied for 345th in the nation. Seven Buffaloes have turned the ball over at least 30 times this season.
Ten different Buffaloes have started games this year, but the most consistent contributors over the course of the season have been senior guard Julian Hammond III and the fifth-year senior forward Jakimovski, a transfer from Washington State. Hammond is a potent outside shooter at 40.4% on 104 attempts, while Jakimovski is shooting 29.1% on about the same volume; Hammond is CU’s lone double-digit scorer at 13.7 points per game.
Jakimovski combines with forwards Trevor Baskin and Bangot Dak for 13.9 rebounds per game. Dak has been one of the league’s top shot blockers since the start of league play.
CU and KU two teams will face off again just 13 days after Tuesday’s matchup at the CU Events Center, which will be the quickest turnaround between rematches for KU at any point this season (unless the Jayhawks take on any of their March opponents in the Big 12 tournament).
But first comes one of just a handful of contests remaining for KU at Allen Fieldhouse, as the Jayhawks look to find what Self calls “another gear that we can get to.”
“The bottom line is we need everybody,” Self said, referencing the importance of support from the KU faithful along the way. “Our guys, when guys are laboring, that’s when we should rally around it the most. To be honest with you, we really need fans the least when things are going well.”
No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks (16-7, 7-5 Big 12) vs. Colorado Buffaloes (9-14, 0-12 Big 12)
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, 8 p.m.
• Broadcast: ESPN2
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KMXN FM 92.9)
Keep an eye out
Firing away: Self had said prior to the season he expected fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson to shoot the ball better during the 2024-25 campaign. While Dickinson has had a pretty good touch on midrange jump shots throughout the year, the center went 0-for-10 from deep over a 12-game stretch before making his first 3-pointer of conference play in the loss to K-State. He finished the game 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, with all of his attempts coming in the final four minutes and 39 seconds; even as some level of desperation likely informed his shot selection, it’s possible the 3-pointer could reenter his arsenal down the stretch in his final collegiate season.
Reason for optimism: On a similar note, senior forward KJ Adams put on by far his best offensive display since returning from a separated shoulder when he scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting at K-State. It was also noteworthy because he did all of his scoring in the first half, and because it was his highest total since KU hosted Furman on Nov. 30. Adams has taken a backseat on the offensive end this season as KU spreads the ball around to a greater number of potential scorers than it had last year — and he also simply hasn’t shot well. But on Saturday he finished well outside and even hit a jumper. If he can make the most of his opportunities as well as he did in Manhattan, it’ll give the Jayhawks a reliable peripheral scoring option even when wings Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr aren’t producing.
Desperate measures: Self resorted to a couple of rare defensive tactics as KU struggled to limit the Wildcats on Saturday: a three-big lineup with Adams, Dickinson and Flory Bidunga that he had previously employed with moderate success in the Jayhawks’ home victory over UCF, as well as, at one point, a zone. Neither worked for a sustained stretch, but both showed a willingness to experiment on that end of the ball on days when KU’s typical man defense and two-big lineups are lacking, which could come in handy in the future.
Off-kilter observation
KU legend Danny Manning is in his first season as an assistant for CU, working for his former teammate Boyle. He previously served as an assistant coach on Self’s staff in various capacities and was most recently at Louisville.
“The leading scorer and rebounder, and the second-best player to ever play here, will be on the other bench,” Self said with a smile, “and I’m not talking about Tad Boyle — even though Tad’ll be here too.”
AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann
