Kansas basketball: Jayhawks flounder in ugly loss to No. 9 Texas

Kansas basketball

A seven-game win streak for KU came to a screeching halt when they touched down in Austin on Saturday. In a contest where nothing could go right for the Jayhawks, they fell to Texas 59-75.

All attempts of a comeback from Bill Self were surmounted by the Longhorns in this one. It was one of the lowest point totals for the squad this year. Jalen Wilson’s scoring drought came to an end, dropping a 23 point double double. He also was named on the Wooden Award ballot earlier today, and his subsequent quest will be to garner the Big 12 Player of the Year award.

No one besides Wilson reached double figures for Kansas. Dajuan Harris struggled in particular, connecting on just 2 of his 12 attempted shots, and Gradey Dick did not record his first point until late in the second half. He has been in a dry spell lately.

Kansas turned over the ball sparingly. Still, they hit just 36.2% of their field goals and let Texas get to the line 24 times. Gradey Dick struggled a lot on the defensive end — he was not effective today.

It was not an impressive showing by the Longhorns in the first half, but they came alive in the final 20 minutes of their Senior Night.

Nothing was at stake in the Big 12 race during this matchup, but a win could have nearly clinched a No. 1 seed for the Jayhawks. Now, the conference tournament will be worth monitoring if KU wants to play as a top seed in the Midwest region.

The Big 12 Tournament begins Wednesday for some conference teams and Thursday for others. Kansas plays the winner of the 8/9 game, which could be Oklahoma, Texas Tech, or West Virginia. This evening, a win for Texas Tech against Oklahoma State would secure their spot as No. 8 or No. 9.

It might have been an ugly showing for the Jayhawks today, but it can be considered a good thing that their win streak ended. Some teams need to experience the feeling of defeat before starting their NCAA Tournament run.