My concerns going into the NCAA Tournament

Our players are pissed right now. Self is pissed right now. They are going to be practicing their asses off the next couple of days. Their pride is hurt. They are embarrassed. They are humiliated.

All of those things bode well for KU and don't bode well for our opponent in the first round of the NCAAs, which is why I'm not worried about THAT game.

But what I am worried about is our SECOND game.

The same scenario played out when KU got humiliated in Lubbock, bounced back against Texas, and then got comfortable/cocky and got their asses handed to them by Baylor.

So will this team learn from their mistakes or make the same mistakes again? The answer to that question will be the difference between a 2nd round loss and a run to the Sweet 16 or possibly beyond.

All that aside, I can't believe how flat KU came out yesterday and I think, based on the quotes I've read, that Bill Self is absolutely disgusted with the lack of effort/energy his team played with yesterday, especially defensively.

I get that these guys were thinking they were better than they were...and then Texas Tech totally embarrassed them. But their memories must be pretty short to put up such a sad effort just a week after that debacle.

I would attribute a large portion of that to youth, but Sherron and Cole definitely have to shoulder the blame too. I've been somewhat down on Cole for awhile in that, when Sherron struggles, Cole doesn't take over. He needs to DEMAND the ball and not just say after the game "our guards just have to work to get the ball inside". Quit being so nice, Cole. Get pissed off. DEMAND the ball and take some pressure off of Sherron. If you don't, your season is going to come to an end sooner rather than later.