The Jayhawks didn’t just win their last two games – they've dominated. Kansas has also scored the final bucket late in an arguably unnecessary fashion. Baskets from Tre White against Kansas State and Flory Bidunga versus BYU drew attention, but neither head coach Bill Self nor the fanbase is losing any sleep over it.
When the starters are in, why stop?
Self coach made it clear he’s perfectly comfortable with how his team finished both games. Following Kansas’ 90-82 victory over the Cougars, Self commented on a basket scored by Bidunga with 0:19 remaining, up by six.
Another dunk scored by White with 0:09 put the Jayhawks up by 10.
“Of course I’m okay with it,” Self said. “If teams have their starters in, the game’s not over and they’re pressing, why wouldn’t you try to score… It's fine.”
Saturday’s late basket was the second game in a row up by two or more scores that the Jayhawks rocked the rim. The first instance against K-State featured an impression of the Wabash Cannonball by Melvin Council Jr.
The Jayhawks fended off a late run by BYU that featured a handful of triples by Richie Saunders, who scored 21 points in the second half, pulling the Cougars to within as many as four.
Four of Kansas’ starters played 35 minutes or more during Saturday’s game. According to Self, it was as worn out as he’d seen three of his players all season.
“We were exhausted,” Self said. “That was as tired as I’ve seen Flory, Melvin and [Jamari McDowell] all season. There was so much energy in the first half, it’s almost like you run on adrenaline so long that you run out and it switches jerseys.”
Up Next
The Jayhawks are back in action on Monday night against Texas Tech.
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