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Kansas Jayhawks: Latest Loss Won’t Matter in the End

By Mike Norris

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In the eyes of Oklahoma St. fans, it was a court-storm worthy victory.

In reality, it wasn’t much of an upset.

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Not because the Kansas Jayhawks (19-4, 8-2) aren’t that good, or the Cowboys (16-7, 6-5) are bad, but because the road in college basketball can be brutal.

Kansas was only a 1.5-point favorite, and now has a 3-5 record in Stillwater during the Self era, the only place where the Jayhawks are not at least .500 during that span.

Every year during the remarkable 10 straight conference-title run, the Jayhawks have dropped at least one game on the road — last year they lost four.

If they lose to Texas Tech in Lubbock Tuesday, it will be much more of a concern.

Take for example some other top teams in the country that have much worse losses than this game.

No. 4 Duke lost by double-digits at N.C. State, No. 5 Wisconsin lost at Rutgers, No. 6 Arizona lost at Oregon St., and No. 7 Villanova lost by 20 at Georgetown.

The biggest similarities between the winning teams were they were all unranked, and at home, which was also the case for KU.

Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty to  be concerned about in the loss.

The Jayhawks shot 10-of-20 from the free throw line, turned the ball over a ridiculous 18 times, blew an 11-point halftime lead, and Kelly Oubre, Jr. recorded just one point in 14 minutes.

That is certainly not a formula for success on the road.

Yet, they still almost won.

Don’t expect those to be trends moving forward, just chalk it up to playing on the road. There is a reason they call it home-court advantage.

The Jayhawks know that better than anyone else, losing just nine times in the past 11-plus years at Allen Fieldhouse, which will be the reason this loss means nothing, and they will still win the Big 12 Conference.

The good news for the Jayhawks moving forward is Wayne Selden, Jr. looks like he could be taking the next step in his game. He finished with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. It was his third straight double-digit game — his longest streak of the season.

Perry Ellis struggled at times against the physical Cowboys, but still finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Frank Mason III had his 20th-straight game of 10 points or more, despite scoring just one point in the second half.

The Jayhawks are still top dog in the Big 12, and will  be at the end of the season.

When they take care of business Tuesday at Texas Tech, and Saturday at home against Baylor, they will be sitting at 10-2, and still in the driver’s seat to the conference title.

At that point, this loss will be just another blip on the radar en route to 11 in a row.

That beats a court storm any day.

Next: Kansas Jayhawks: Naming the All-Bill Self Teams

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