‘Something like this needed to happen’: Inside why Kansas basketball suffered its 1st loss of the season

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There was a moment in the second half Wednesday, when it looked as if Kansas basketball would be able to take over in the manner many would think a No. 1 team could.

After going into halftime down 41-31 against Creighton, the Jayhawks stormed back to trail 41-40. They did it all in about two and a half minutes. Junior guard AJ Storr would recall postgame when speaking with reporters they just started to get stops, and it all starts with defense.

But less than two minutes later, the Bluejays led 51-40 after a run of their own. Kansas senior guard David Coit called it deflating while acknowledging Creighton came ready to play that night and his side didn’t. And the Bluejays (6-3) never truly lost control of the game from that point on, winning 76-63 against the Jayhawks (7-1) and handing this national title contender its first loss of the season.

Kansas basketball vs Creighton recap: Jayhawks suffer their 1st loss of the season

“I guess it’s just one of those nights,” Coit said. “Still learning each other, still figuring it out. I think, obviously, something like this needed to happen so we could see who we really are as things get low, and what we’ve got to work on.”

When Coit talks about not being ready to play, he’s not just talking about the issues Kansas had offensively — which included struggling to consistently hit shots. He’s also talking about not sticking to the Jayhawks’ defensive principles. Those miscues, not to mention a lack of energy, intensity, and identity, allowed a quality opponent playing at home to feed off the crowd and coast to a win in which Kansas never led.

It affected the Jayhawks that junior guard Rylan Griffen was unavailable, but it’s tough to say how much he would have been able to alter things on a night like that. Ahead of a Sunday road game against Missouri, Coit said they have to be intentional with everything they do, starting with how they are on the bus and extending to how they watch film, get rest, eat right and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/something-needed-happen-inside-why-142645287.html

Author : The Topeka Capital-Journal

Publish date : 2024-12-05 14:26:00

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