The Big 12 slate this season has been a struggle for Kansas basketball, but the Jayhawks got back on track on Saturday with a dominant 96-64 win over Oklahoma State. This current stretch of the schedule against some of the worst teams in the conference will be welcome for Bill Self and company following a very difficult February.
In the lead-up to the battle between Kansas and Oklahoma State, rumors surfaced that Self had “seriously considered” leaving the Jayhawks for Oklahoma State, his alma mater, during the Cowboys’ coaching search last offseason. Ahead of the game, Self addressed those rumors via Brett McMurphy of Action Network.
“I spoke to them, answered questions about the job & offered my opinion about what is needed to win in our league,” the current Kansas head coach said, per McMurphy. “Which I have done every time the job has opened. They got the right guy (in Steve Lutz). I did join Karsten Creek, one of country’s top golf courses, as an out of area member but I’ve never spent a night close to Stillwater in last 20 years unless my team was playing there”
Oklahoma State eventually hired former Western Kentucky head coach Steve Lutz to replace Mike Boynton after a disappointing season last season while Self built one of the most talented rosters in the country at Kansas. Self played at Oklahoma State from 1981-85 and was an assistant there from 1986-93, so he has longstanding ties to the university.
As it stands, Self has a lot of work to do to get this Kansas team back to where it was expected to be this season. The Jayhawks started the season as the top-ranked team in the country after a huge offseason that included a number of key pickups in the transfer portal, including Rylan Griffen, Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr.
Now, this Kansas basketball team will likely be unranked on Monday even after the win against Oklahoma State in large part due to a blowout loss against BYU earlier in the week. Self’s squad is currently in sixth place in the Big 12 with a 9-7 record in league play. While the Jayhawks’ tournament hopes aren’t in danger, they would be wise to build some momentum during the final few weeks of the regular season. They will have a chance to continue doing that on Monday night against Colorado.
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