In the last disappointment of the Kansas Basketball route, a defeat against Utah in Big 12 Play

That’s not there Kansas basketball is supposed to be.

Jayhawks Entered this season as one of the favorites to win not only a Big 12 conference title, but a national championship. In fact, they were pre-season team n ° 1 in the country. They entered the campaign with an enviable collection of return veterans and added a lot of talent to this group via the transfer portal and elsewhere.

But Saturday, after a match on the road against Utah, Kansas n ° 20 must face a defeat of 74-67 which could have been a victory if it had been late late. It is a loss that the two force the Jayhawks (17-8, 8-6 in Big 12) to face the reality that they are not only moving away from the relevance in the title race for the regular season From Big 12, but going down where they could be sown in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. Utah (14-11, 6-8 in Big 12) has become the last team to force an analysis of the place where Kansas should be held in the national landscape.

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“We were horrible,” said Kansas coach, Bill Self, The university network Postg show. “They played very well early, and of course, we did not have any answers for them on the defensive level. And obviously, I mean – people who listen probably looked at him. So we did not do very well. And then we had the game tied and they beat us on each tenacity in the section. »»

Calling this loss for Kansas an astonishing moment would be an understatement, because it came to a section in which the Jayhawks were supposed to win several victories due to an advantageous calendar. For all the coherence problems with which Ku has dealt with in recent weeks, there seemed to be an achievement of what should then happen before the current road trip. Everything that was said during the discussions that took place on what should happen next, the message clearly did not go through and the team never led in this game.

It seems unlikely at this stage that the Kansas will be classified in the top 25 when the team plays on Tuesday, on the road against Byu. It seems unlikely that the Jayhawks will be favored either to beat Byu, which would have been a surprising thought a few weeks ago. If the search for soul is the precise way to describe what is happening in the locker room at this stage, that research will better find its answers quickly.

On Saturday against Utah, Kansas could not defeat the striker KJ Adams at the end of the match. The Jayhawks were unable to overcome an unusual offensive performance of the Hunter Dickinson Center, which has always carried out his team by scoring-collecting 12 points on the 4-Pour-12 shot on the field and the 3-en-4 shot since the free launch line. It was not only that goalkeeper Rylan Griffen had another quiet performance, when Ku went to his bench, he is not much more so.

The Kansas has a 0-3 file in its last three games on the Big 12 road, each, extending to defeats at Kansas State and Baylor, coming from their own disappointing reasons. The Jayhawks were dull when it came to turning the ball and allowing offensive rebounds. Kansas has returned the ball more than 12 times and granted 22 points on this, while scoring only seven points on seven reversals from Utah, and has granted 14 luck to 16 UTAH offensive rebounds while scoring Only nine points of his own offensive offensive rebounds.

“I obviously did a work (explained) bring these guys to understand how we have to play to give us a chance to win,” said self, who described the team as frustrated and not being ready to play When the game started. “We left a lot on the board, especially in the first half, then we assisted ourselves tight and not. But even with all that being said, we still had the chance to win on the road and we did not close. So, it’s – it’s disappointing. And certainly, we will stay here three more days and we must – I am tired of grouping. We don’t need to regroup. What we have to do is to be essentially men as a whole organization and to go out and do what our work must do and accept the responsibility of everyone – players, coaches, everyone – when we do not Let’s not do well. »»

Jordan Guskey covers the University of Kansas Athletics at Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the sports editor of the Year of the National Sports Media Association for the State of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @jordanguskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: In the last disappointment of the Kansas Basketball road, a defeat at Utah