No. 14 Kansas would like nothing more than to regain its rhythm going into the postseason as it hosts rival Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks (21-9, 11-6 Big 12) have lost three of their last four, including a forgettable trip out West with back-to-back road losses to No. 2 Arizona and Arizona State. In a 70-60 loss at Arizona State on Tuesday, KU couldn’t overcome a slow start. Head coach Bill Self was ejected for the third time in his career and star Darryn Peterson shot just 2-of-11 from 3-point range.
Amid the latest rough stretch, though, KU also has a victory over then-No. 5 Houston, showcasing a team that has potential for a run in March Madness.
Maybe things will turn for the Jayhawks on Saturday. They defeated the Wildcats 86-62 on Jan. 24 in Manhattan, Kan., and haven’t lost to them at home since Jan. 14, 2006.
Self said on his weekly radio show that he plans on starting five of the Jayhawks’ six seniors, including walk-ons Wilder Evers and Justin Cross, for Senior Day.
However, there is a more pressing priority.
“The most important thing is we’ve got to play well. We’ve got to get back to playing well and beat K-State,” Self said on the “Hawk Talk” radio show. “I’m all for Senior Day and having it be a fun day for the guys and their families. I’m a lot more so for us playing well. Them playing and starting hopefully adds to us playing well because the energy level will be pretty good.”
In the first meeting, Flory Bidunga led the Jayhawks with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Peterson didn’t play in that game but remains the focal point. The potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft is averaging 19.5 points.
As a team, KU is looking to find more offense overall. The Jayhawks have scored 70 or fewer points in their last three losses and rank 13th in the Big 12 in scoring (75.6 points per game).
For Kansas State (12-18, 3-14), all eyes will be on the status of star P.J. Haggerty. Haggerty, the nation’s fourth-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, missed the Wildcats’ 65-63 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday with a left arm injury.
K-State interim head coach Matthew Driscoll said on a pregame radio interview that Haggerty had been playing through the injury for about a month but it was too painful to play through Tuesday. The plan is for Haggerty to return Saturday.
“He went to the doctor again today (Tuesday) to see how things were going to transpire. They didn’t transpire like we thought,” Driscoll said postgame. “So he got today, he’s got Wednesday, he’s got Thursday and he’s got Friday. He’s got four days of really good treatment and rehabilitation ahead of him. I’m super positive and eager to think that Saturday is going to be a go, because of who he is and what he’s about.”
C.J. Jones started in Haggerty’s place, finishing with eight points on 3-of-10 shooting against West Virginia. From a scoring standpoint, Khamari McGriff led the team with 18 points while Nate Johnson added 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
For the season, K-State is 1-9 on the road and 0-7 vs. ranked teams.
