Kansas hits second-half stonewall, struggling to execute offensively

Kansas made just two field goals over a 12-minute stretch in the second half as it fell 61-56 to UConn on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks made just five field goals in the entire last 20 minutes, scoring just 23 points.

Darryn Peterson missed his seventh straight game with a hamstring injury. Bill Self said the Jayhawks didn’t play offense the way they needed to without their star.

“We didn’t play the way we have to play without Darryn,” Self said. “Ball and body movement, don’t let the defense catch up as opposed to hold it, hold it, hold it. So that was, you know, that’s on us, that’s on me and I got to do a better job of getting those guys to actually play and have ball and body movement offensively. Because we just stood, at least the way I viewed it.”

Kansas didn’t play as a unit offensively and struggled to execute

Kansas showed flashes of good offense over the Players Era Festival. Tuesday was a different showing, as the Jayhawks attempted to make individual plays, often to no avail.

“It’s my fault, but we didn’t play like we did against Tennessee,” Self said. “The ball didn’t move. We had guys, we had individuals out there today, and we didn’t have that against Tennessee. So that was a little bit frustrating.”

Kansas has eight assists on 18 made baskets, a large drop off from its season average of 14.3 assists on 25.7 field goals per game. Self said the ball was sticky, and the Jayhawks didn’t play good offense as a unit.

“The one thing I will say that I didn’t like tonight was the fact that I didn’t think we played as a unit tonight offensively,” Self said. “I didn’t think we played as a unit and shared the ball. Because you can run bad offense, and if all five guys are sharing and cutting and moving, you can still get a good look. And we didn’t even do that, so that was disappointing.”

While the Jayhawks struggled to run and get into their offense, they also left things on the table from an execution standpoint. Self said UConn guarded well, but Kansas also had some self-inflicted mistakes.

“I think a lot of the stuff that we did was self-inflicted,” Self said. “Now, granted, they guarded us. I’m not saying that at all, but I think the lack of execution was pretty much self-inflicted and that led to some pretty poor possessions.”

Offensive woes started late in the first half and Jayhawks couldn’t get over the hump

Kansas’ offensive issues started late in the first half. The Jayhawks closed the half with six straight misses. They were unable to capitalize on holding UConn scoreless for the final two minutes, only leading by four at the break.

“We should have been up a lot more than four at halftime,” Self said. “Bad offense, unforced turnovers, the ball sticking, trying to play one-on-one, all that stuff led to us probably having six, eight, ten bad possessions in the first half where we had no chance to score.”

After outrebounding UConn in the first half, Kansas was on the other end in the second half. The Jayhawks pulled down just two offensive rebounds, while the Huskies scored nine second-chance points.

Despite making just five field goals in the second half, the Jayhawks still had their chances. Melvin Council Jr. cut the deficit to one after knocking down a three, but Kansas then went scoreless for the next 3:39. Elmarko Jackson made it a one-score game with a minute left, but then again the Jayhawks couldn’t get over the hump.

“I feel like just [we had] some opportunities we had with shots, we just didn’t hit them,” Jackson said. “Unfortunately, just how the game is, it’s ebbs and flows. And it’s something that we’ll definitely work on this next practice that we have and getting ready for Missouri.”

Kansas will take on rival Missouri at the T-Mobile Center on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.