While the 5-2 Kansas Jayhawks have seen moments of promise often coincide with head-scratching moments, ultimately, the experiences the Players Era has given the Jayhawks are things that the head coach Bill Self and co. hope can be fruitful when the regular season churn gets underway, and there are close games left on the table.
For example, with six minutes to play in the second half in which culminated in yesterday’s 71-60 win over the Syracuse Orange, the ACC side hit a booming three that cut the Kansas lead to just two with a narrow 52-50 Jayhawk advantage.
In Kansas’ first matchup in the Players Era, the Jayhawks were only up by four against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with 7:30 to play. Once again, while Kansas would ultimately pull away and start their Players Era tour with a 1-0 start, there were moments of hesitation.
"We haven't finished games very strong or halfs like I think we should,” quoted Bill Self when speaking with the media after the Jayhawks’ latest win against Syracuse.
“We did have that good stretch after that [the lead being shrunk to two points], and that was good to see. When you win, you like to be stressed, and that stress will probably be good for us moving forward."
Kansas will finish its Players Era tour with the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols are hours off from a draining 76-73 win over the No. 3 Houston Cougars. Despite the star-studded matchup, neither the Jayhawks nor Rick Barnes’ team will be playing for the top spot in this edition.
The championship will be played by the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines and the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs. Following the third-place match, Self’s team will have a bit of rest before Kansas welcomes the No. 5 UConn Huskies on December 2nd.
Kansas tips off against Tennessee at 6 p.m. CT on TNT.
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