Saturday marked a series of unfortunate events that might have sealed Kansas’ fate in the regular-season Big 12 title chase. An 84-68 loss at the hands of the unranked Cincinnati Bearcats shocked the confines of Allen Fieldhouse, while also providing the Jayhawks’ first double-digit home loss since 1993.
As of writing, the Jayhawks currently sit fourth in the Big 12, with a 10-4 record and a 20-7 overall mark.
The Jayhawks now have just four games — two of which are against No. 2 Houston and No. 4 Arizona — meaning time is running out for Bill Self’s squad to get this bad taste out of its mouth.
CBS Sports calls Kansas a ‘loser’ following poor display
Following the ugly loss, Self said if there was any good thing from the game, it was that Darryn Peterson was able to play the game without having to leave, thanks to his widely reported cramping issues.
While, of course, it is good news that the Jayhawks were able to keep the potential No. 1 pick healthy, it very clearly came across that the best thing about Kansas’ play was nothing of their own doing.
Throughout the first period, both sides traded blows, and the Jayhawks entered the halftime break down 36-34.
Yet while Kansas spent the second half sputtering, Wes Miller’s squad began to take flight, finishing the second period with guard Day Day Thomas and center Moustapha Thiam finishing with 27 of Cincinnati’s 48 second-half points.
In CBS Sports’ latest winners and losers article, the Jayhawks were one of six teams labeled as losers; of course, the opposing Bearcats were one of the 13 winners included.
Little time to lick wounds
In just over 24 hours, the Jayhawks will have to welcome Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars in what is a gargantuan clash between two powerhouses who are each suffering from recent losses.
ESPN Analytics gives the Jayhawks just a 40.2% chance of taking down the nation’s top defense, as Houston gives up just 62 points per game.
Tipoff against the back-to-back regular-season title holders is set for 8 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN.