Here’s the thing about losses like the one [the 2nd-ranked Kansas basketball team suffered on Tuesday night to No. 13 Kansas State in Manhattan][1] — they tend to hurt the fan base more than they hurt the players.
Don’t get me wrong; the Jayhawks were bummed that they didn’t find a way to pull out a victory on a night when they didn’t play all that well as a team on Tuesday.
There wasn’t a single member of KU’s traveling party that didn’t leave Manhattan with a little bit of a sick feeling about the way the few hours before their departure had unfolded.
But here’s guessing they were over it by the time the bus arrived back in Lawrence.
There are a few reasons why.
The first has to do with exhaustion. After a battle like Tuesday’s overtime thriller, players on both sides are typically spent. Sure, they remember — and possibly even dwell on — a few specific plays that might’ve changed the outcome. But they’re also dead tired. And even getting worked up about a tough loss takes a little more energy than they might have in that moment.
So, it’s on to the next day. Which, for Kansas, means a day off and the start of preparation for Saturday’s battle with No. 14 TCU.
Speaking of that game, with another looming top-15 clash the Jayhawks just don’t have time to pout about Tuesday’s setback. KU fans, however, had to hear about it from their K-State buddies on Wednesday, and many of them will spend the next few days second-guessing all of the things that went wrong and emphasizing what should’ve gone right. That’s just what fans do.
Players, however, actually get to do something about it, be that at practice or in the next game. And the way Tuesday’s loss played out, with KU nearly winning despite so many things going wrong, should have helped with their ability to accept and move on from loss No. 2 on the season.
After all, KU went to overtime on the road with a top-10 team and in-state rival despite shooting 6-for-29 from 3-point range and watching three starters foul out.
The Jayhawks also were slow to get going in the game’s first 5 minutes and had to climb out of a 14-point first-half hole.
Fifteen turnovers and 10 missed free throws contributed to the loss, as well, but those two stats might be getting overplayed just a tad since the Wildcats also turned it over 15 times and missed seven free throws themselves. K-State did make one more 3-pointer in 12 fewer attempts, though, so KU’s off-shooting night definitely cost them.
If just one more shot had fallen, Kansas might have survived.
Not doing so, however, might wind up being the best thing for this team.
A couple of weeks ago, KU coach Bill Self said the team was playing with fire by winning all of these tight games. And junior forward Jalen Wilson said Tuesday that coming out on the right side of tight games against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Iowa State might’ve caught up with the Jayhawks.
Those outcomes do tend to even out over the long haul.
Wilson also showed his poise and perspective in the postgame presser by answering every question in a thoughtful and pensive manner and without so much as a hint of a scowl on his face.
These KU veterans, [Wilson in particular,][2] have been through so much during their college careers, and that past experience has taught them that these are long seasons and losses do, in fact, happen.
Remember last year’s loss at TCU, when KU got absolutely out-classed in every way in Fort Worth? Nobody would’ve said that night that the Jayhawks would win it all just six weeks later. But as it turned out, that loss played a huge role in the very reason why the 2021-22 Jayhawks won a national title.
It remains to be seen [what the Jayhawks learn from Tuesday night’s loss at K-State,][3] but it was clear in the immediate aftermath that the lessons were already starting to sink in.
So now it’s game on in the Big 12 race. Although they’re tied at the top with identical 16-2, 5-1 records, Kansas State technically sits in first place as of today by way of its head-to-head win over the Jayhawks.
KU will get a chance to even the score in two weeks, when the Wildcats come to Lawrence for the rematch on Jan. 31.
And there’s a lot of basketball to play before then, as well.
[1]: https://www2.kusports.com/news/2023/jan/17/wildcats-wire-no-2-kansas-falls-no-13-kansas-state/
[2]: https://www2.kusports.com/news/2023/jan/18/jalen-wilsons-defensive-effort-overshadowed-38-poi/
[3]: https://www2.kusports.com/news/2023/jan/18/tuesdays-kansas-basketball-loss-k-state-effective-/
