Bill Self's Sweet 16 drought is getting very old for Kansas fans

Of the many wild things that could have happened in March Madness, the Kansas Jayhawks came up on the wrong side of the craziest one in the NCAA Tournament so far. Trying to bleed the clock out, Bill Self had his guys try to play the foul game with whistles to give. Instead, the St. John's Red Storm marched their way down the court to win it with a buzzer-beating layup at the rim to advance, 67-65.

Here is the shot that at the rim from Dylan Darling that sent St. John's to the Sweet 16 over Kansas.

As for Self, he got outsmarted by Rick Pitino to miss out on the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row.

Kansas fans cannot believe that Bill Self has missed yet another Sweet 16

Not since winning it all back in 2022 has Self led Kansas out of the first weekend and to the Sweet 16.

People are questioning if this is the end of the line for him in Lawrence after a dazzling 23-year run.

Above all else, Kansas fans cannot believe Self subbed in Elmarko Jackson with the game on the line.

St. John's will be taking on top-seeded Duke in the Sweet 16 next Friday instead of the Jayhawks...

Bill Self era of Kansas basketball may have run its course after this loss

No, this is not the first time Self failed to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament at Kansas, but it may be the last. Since coming over in 2003 to replace Roy Williams, Self has seen 11 of his Kansas teams fail to reach the Sweet 16. While he has won two national titles and been to three Final Fours in the last quarter century, fans are getting sick and tired of his teams failing to show up.

It may be the construct of the NIL era, but Self is not adapting to it as well as he probably should have. Clearly, the 2022 national championship run was the outlier and not the other way around. If we want to kick it back to the second most recent time that Self has led a Kansas team to the Sweet 16, that would be the 2018 team that got to the Final Four. That was nearly a decade ago. Time to move on...

With Self being firmly in his 60s, we have to wonder if this is it for him at Kansas or in the profession. Pitino is no spring chicken either, but he has St. John's buzzing as a behemoth in the Big East firmly in his 70s. While both coaches have won everywhere, one has not lost his fastball just yet, whereas Self's best attempt at developing a second pitch is to foul the opposing guards a ton all for naught...

The NCAA Tournament never disappoints, but Self has made it a nasty habit of late doing so for KU.