Over the coming weeks, No. 24 Kansas head coach Bill Self and his team have the opportunity to get their season right back on track. With what seems like better news over the health of star freshman Darryn Peterson, and the stubborn performance in Tuesday’s 78-66 loss to the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils, the light around Kansas basketball has taken a brighter tone.
Now the Jayhawks will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take on the Players Era Festival, where Self’s team is slated to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Syracuse Orange, before the rest of the tournament is laid out.
When speaking with the media following Kansas’ loss in Madison Square Garden in the State Farm Champions Classic, Self spoke about the opportunity the upcoming travels can offer the Jayhawks.
“...We need to grow together as a team,” quoted Self. “Sometimes those tournaments, I actually think, can be the best thing for a team throughout a year, because we get away, it's only us, you know, three days in a row. I always thought Maui [Invitational] was great for team building, and hopefully this will be the same going out to Vegas as well.”
Last year in what was deemed the “Vegas Showdown,” Self’s squad handled Duke with a narrow 75-72 win, before a blowout 86-51 win over Furman concluded their travels to the southwest.
The year prior at the aforementioned Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks collected an efficient 3-1 record with an 83-56 win over Chaminade, before their sole loss came to Marquette in a 73-59 showing, before Kansas capped off their travels with a 69-60 win over Tennessee and a 71-63 win over Eastern Illinois.
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Over these past couple of seasons, it has been apparent that Self and his squads have done well in these early-season tournaments, and with the starting lineup still under evaluation, along with the health of Peterson still under wraps, this seems as good a time as ever for the cohesion of this transfer-heavy team to grow.
The next chance to see the Jayhawks tip off is November 24th against the Fighting Irish. The game is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT with streaming available on TNT.
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